I made a pillow case!

Yes, I'm very excited about this project! I was very intimidated at first, but after making a bunch of pillow cases, I started getting the hang of it. I followed the "Basic" style pillow tutorial at DIY Bed Pillow Cases: 3 sizes and 3 different styles and I found it really good in terms of instructions and sewing finish. As usual, I made mistakes along the way (somehow didn't sew straight, measured incorrectly, my first few times doing french seams were horrible causing me to redo my stitches, sigh). But practice makes perfect, and look at some of the basic pillow cases I made (woo hoo!):

Per my experience, some tips I'd like to share:

• If you're just learning to sew, buy cheap fabric and start practicing with it. I bought my fabric from Fabric.com (From a past Black Friday sale at $1.99/yard!). This way if I messed up, I wouldn't feel too bad.


• Because I found measuring and cutting fabric a bit of a tedious process, I decided to make a "pattern". It wasn't fancy - just a bunch of white paper, taped together. This pattern was constructed with 1/2 of the actual measurements, because it was easier for me to fold the fabric in half, measure once, and cut. You might want to do this too. Decided to also purchase a rotary cutter and a cutting mat soon (hoping this speeds up my cutting and reduce crooked edges, etc).


• As you follow the tutorial, pause multiple times and check that your work-in-progress pillow case fits with the actual pillow you will be using. Even with the right measurements, my first pillow case came out shorter with a flat pillow, but turned out fine on a puffy pillow. Both were standard size pillows.


• The tutorial probably assumes that one already knows french seams. I didn't. So I did some research and came upon a simple but awesome teaching video on YouTube on creating french seams: 

Here's a pillow case I created that was a birthday present for a special Batman fan:

And here's another pillow case that a certain My Little Pony fan loved:

They make such cute and unique presents/home decor! Now that I'm more comfortable with this project, I'd like to try sewing different types of pillow cases, such as the Burrito or Hotdog method (don't you love the names). Would love to sew a complete bedding set (pillow cases, duvet, sheets)... hopefully one day! Now go create some cute pillow cases!

Valentine's Day Hearts Tutorial

I started looking for a Valentine's day project that was quick, simple, and easy to sew. I was inspired by this soft heart tutorial. With about 2 hours or less to sew, a pile of scraps, and determination, I sewed up some stuffed hearts that turned out surprisingly nice. Here is the tutorial for creating a two-sided hanging stuffed heart. You'll find that after you make a few, you can't stop. Enjoy!

What you'll need:

• Fabric
• Paper (to cut out a heart shape pattern)
• Ribbon
• Poly-fil stuffing
• Pinking shears
• Fabric scissors

Steps:



1. First, cut out a heart from paper. Mine was bout 4.5" wide and 3.5" tall, but go with a size you like. I've selected two different fabrics and cut accordingly, making sure the heart fits. You can tell I didn't iron the fabric, because later I stuffed it and the fabric stretched out. See, saving time already.

2. Next place the fabric "wrong" side together. Meaning, the pretty/good fabric sides face out. Place the heart on top. Create marks on one side of the heart, about 1.5" in length. For the first round of sewing, you will skip this area, as this hole will be used to add the stuffing.



3. Because I want to hang this heart, I added some ribbon. Note to self: I need to find a sale and buy a bunch of colorful ribbons to use for future projects.

4. Insert the ribbon between the two fabrics. Now pin the paper heart pattern, fabrics, and ribbon together.

5. Time to get sewing. Start to sew around the heart, beginning from one of the end points you marked (making sure not to sew through the 1.5" area) and go all the way around the heart, stopping at the other end point. I suggest going slow around curves. Make sure to backstitch to make sure the thread doesn't get loose while you are stuffing the heart.



6. Get a handful of poly-fil stuffing to fill the heart. Since the hole is small, use one finger to poke and push the stuffing into the heart. Make the heart somewhat firm so the heart holds its shape.

7. Now return back to the sewing machine and close up the hole (remember to backstitch again).

8. Sewing is complete! Looking good.



9 & 10. To add a pretty edge to the heart and minimize fraying, use pinking shears to cut around the heart, but don't cut through the stitches. Stop when you get to the top near the ribbon.

11. Finish up by using fabric scissors to slowly cut around the ribbon.



Ta-da! Now you have a beautiful heart you can hang or give to someone special for Valentine's Day! I love how easy it was to whip these up.

I hope my valentine enjoys my special Batman Valentine's day heart!



Have a great Valentine's day!

A Beginner's Project: Sewing Coasters

This awesome coaster project was one of my first sewing projects and it was super simple and quick. I think it took me about five minutes tops per coaster. This is definitely a great starter project for those who want to learn to sew.

Tutorial: Sew Your Own Cocktail Napkins

Tips:

• Don't forget to leave a sizable hole so you can turn it inside out.


• When you turn it inside out, use something pointy to help push out the corners. I used a chopstick but I am thinking of getting a point turner and seam creaser tool to do the job after I watched this helpful YouTube video, How to Use a Point Turner & Seam Creaser.


• Want to get more creative with your coaster? Try using a different fabric on the other side.

This was such a fun and easy project to do, and the coasters are used quite often in my household. Next up...a table runner? A placemat? We shall see!