5 Fun Craft Projects For Back To School!

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Back to school has always been dreaded by most children, while celebrated by most parents. What can we do to make the transition more fun for our kids? How about some fun craft projects for back to school that they can use when they go back? We’ve searched for some awesome projects featured on other blogs and we’re going to share them with you! So, without further ado…

5 Fun Craft Projects For Back To School!

Vinyl Pouch Tutorial by Bonjour Quilts

This is a super fun see-through pouch that can be jazzed up with a fun print and colorful zipper at the top! Kids will love it when you make it with their favorite prints. And it can help them with organizing their school supplies. Everything within sight and easy to reach! It’s a quick and easy sew that will be a hit with the back to school bunch.

Felt Apple Garland by Heather Handmade

While maybe not as “useful”, this felt apple garland is adorable and would make a fantastic gift for a new teacher. It’s so simple and sweet and I could totally see it dangling cutely from the front of a teacher’s desk or across the top of a whiteboard.

Fabric Scraps Memory Game by Apple Green Cottage

If you have children entering preschool (or maybe a toddler jealous of older siblings going off to school), this one is fun! They can get their own back to school game! Just a few fabric scraps, a machine, and a little time and you have a fun (and durable) memory game that can travel anywhere easily! Use their favorite character fabrics to make it even more fun! And pair it with the vinyl pouch tutorial above for an easy storage solution to keep it all together!

Taco Zipper Pouch by On The Cutting Floor

This one is great even for the older kids! How cool is a taco pouch! I know my teen boy will jump at the chance to carry his pencils around in this one. It’s fun and colorful and just the right touch of trendy and unique to make it an instant winner!

Calico Cat Pencil Case by Sewing a la Carte

This last one is a HUGE dose of cute! Don’t be alarmed by the Dutch language you see when you click, if you scroll down there is a complete set of instructions in English too! I’m completely in love with this pouch, as I’m sure any kitty-loving child will be too! This one ups the difficulty lever by a smidge, but it’s still relatively easy to accomplish.

HUGE thanks to Bonjour Quilts, Apple Green Cottage, Heather Handmade, On the Cutting Floor, and Sewing a la Carte for sharing these amazing craft projects for back to school with us today! I hope you’ve enjoyed this little mini-craft roundup! If you have any new fun back to school craft ideas, please share them in the comments below! And please join us in our Facebook group if you haven’t already! You don’t want to miss out on all the fun! See you next week!

Why Blending Is Important

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We all want the perfect fitting garment, right? Well, no matter your body type, you CAN get that! How? By blending sizes! Let us show you why blending is so important and how do do it correctly!

Why Blending Is Important

In order to blend sizes properly, you will need current and precise measurements for the person the garment is for. You can find a handy graphic in all BSD patterns to show you how/where to get these so your sew comes out perfectly. Make sure if you’re using layers, that you leave on all of the ones that match your measurements. Keep in mind, that most bodies will not fit one specific size perfectly. To give you some perspective, I personally am a size 12 in the bust/overbust, a size 16 in the waist, and a size 8 in the hips. If I didn’t blend, I’d either be WAY baggy in the bust and hips or WAY tight in the waist.

Example:

Recently during our Sophia testing, one of our amazing testers sewed up 2 versions of our new Sophia top. One blended incorrectly, and one blended correctly. Here are her results.

Incorrect

You can see here that the blending did not go well. The back curve of the racerback is pinched and doesn’t lay right. This happened because the width of the back piece was blended incorrectly in proportion to the length.

Correct

In this picture, you can see that the pulling is not happening in the curve of the racerback and the back lays so much nicer. This is what a correct blending should look like in a finished project.

If you aren’t sure what you’re doing as far as blending, Melissa has created some pretty great videos that make it clearer. The first one was a blending video for the Apple Cardigan. And the other was a blending video for the skirt of the Emmaline dress. Or you can find a whole channel FULL of blending videos here.

Of course, if you need help, we also encourage you to join our Facebook group, where you can get help from the designer herself or any number of our amazing and talented followers! We have one of the best and most helpful communities out there and we are SO proud of it!

How to Sew a Perfect Neckband

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One of the things that I found myself struggling with when I started sewing with knits was getting a neckband just right. There are so many variables to consider. So today, I’m going to show you the best way to perfectly attach a neckband (in my opinion). Hopefully having pictures with all of the steps will help you get it right every time too!

How to Sew a Perfect Neckband

Step 1: Gather your supplies

You’re going to need your fabric pieces, straight pins, scissors, a sewing machine and a seam ripper (just in case). Once you have everything together, you’re ready to get into it! (For reference, I am demonstrating using our FREE Reagan Raglan kids pattern.)

Step 2: Stitch your shoulder seams

In order to have the foundation for your neckline, you need to have a hole to attach the neckband to, right? So first you need to carefully sew your shoulder seams, finish the edges and press the seam to the back of the garment. In the case of the Reagan, I have stitched the sleeves to the body pieces and pressed the seams toward the body of the shirt in order to have a complete neckline.

Step 3: Prepare to pin neckband

Preparation really is key, but it is also relatively simple. We’re going to separate the neck opening and the band into quarters. We’ll start with the band piece. First, sew the neckband piece together by the short ends. Then fold it over wrong sides together to create your band.

Stick a pin in the seam.

Then fold at the seam to find the exact opposite of the band and stick a pin there.

From here, open the band back out and place the 2 pins together to find the quarters and pin pins there as well. Now you have a quartered neckband!

Now for the neck hole. First, find the very center front and back of your bodices and stick pins in the centers. Note: In the picture above, pins are in the center front and center back of the body. Sleeves are to the center.

Then, fold the garment with the center pins together to find the quarters, like you did with the band. Note: In above picture, body is back to center and pins are centered to the sides. Important to note that center sides will NOT be at the shoulder seam (or center sleeve in the case of a raglan) in most cases.

Step 4: Pinning the neckband

Start by matching the pin in the seam of the band to the center back of your garment, right sides together, and place a pin through both to attach them. Then match up the other pins and repeat. Once all 4 quarters are matched up, gently stretch the band between the pins and add more pins. When you’re finished with that, you should have something that looks like this:

Step 5: Stitching the neckband

I always begin stitching right at the seam in the neckband, but you can decide where you’re most comfortable. The trick is to gently stretch ONLY the band as you go and make sure the neckline itself is staying flat. After you’re all the way around, flip it up to make sure you don’t have any bunches or gathers that shouldn’t be there before finishing your edges.

Step 6: Final touches

The first must to finishing off a beautiful neckline is to take an iron to it and give it a good press with the seam going away from the neckline toward the body of the garment. Then you can take it back to a machine to topstitch that seam down before giving it a final press and having that perfect neckband you’ve been dreaming of!

I hope I helped you learn something new today! If you have any other handy hints you’d like us to cover, please let us know in the comments below! And please join us in our Facebook group! We love new faces, new stories, new projects shared! We’d love to have you!

5 Sewing Techniques All New Seamstresses Should Try

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Getting into sewing is exciting, but it can be a little scary too. Learning new things is always an adventure, for good or bad. But the more you know and learn and grow, the better you are! So we’ve compiled a short list of 5 sewing techniques every new seamstress should try (and master)!

5 Sewing Techniques All New Seamstresses Should Try

1. Blind Hem

How to Sew A Blind Hem in 5 Easy Step - Must Repin for Later!

A blind hem isn’t used as much as it used to be, but if you’re wanting to sew heirloom quality  children’s clothing with woven fabrics, it is definitely a skill to learn! It’s also great for hemming ladies skirts and dresses. You can find an awesome tutorial for learning a blind hem right here! It’s PERFECT for BSD patterns like Alice for ladies or for girls!

2. Understitching

Understitching is a great way to add an amazingly professional finish to your work. It’s one of those often overlooked sewing techniques that we all should know about. Many Bella Sunshine patterns employ this technique for a beautiful finish, not the least among them is the Sahara. You can even practice your understitching by making matching mommy and daughter Saharas! Learn more about understitching by reading this informational post!

3. Stay Stitching

 

Stay stitching is a MUST have skill when working with about any fabric. It’s the thing that keeps necklines and armscyes from getting all wonky as you’re constructing a pattern. While not necessary for all garments, it’s especially useful in sewing v-necks like the Regan Raglan for ladies and kids. Best part? This one is FREE! You can learn more about what stay stitching is and why it’s so important in this post.

4. Ruffling

If you sew for girly girls, you know ruffles will be coming your way. Did you know there’s more than one way to make a ruffle? Find the method that’s easiest for you here and then use it to create a stunning Juliet!

5. Invisible Zipper

This one is the most daunting on the list, I know. But if you follow this tutorial, I promise it isn’t as bad as it seems. And think of how handy this new skill will be! Invisible zippers make a dress look so perfect! Take the Rebel Girl Party Dress, for example. Just… Ah! So pretty! You’ll be so glad you took the time to learn it!

Are there any other skills you wish you’d learned early on in your sewing career? Or are you new and there’s something not on this list that you’d love to learn? Let us know in the comments below! We might take your suggestion and run with it! If you aren’t a part of our amazing Facebook community, please join us! Share joys, triumphs, tears, questions… we love it all and we’re always there to help!

5 Reasons to Rock Out with PDF Patterns

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If you know Bella Sunshine, then you at least have a basic knowledge of what PDF patterns are. But what makes them so great? Why buy those over paper patterns? I have some great reasons to share with you to prove why PDF patterns rock!

5 Reasons to Rock Out with PDF Patterns

 

PDF Patterns Make Midnight Shopping Fun

We all get the urge to shop at odd hours. Or maybe you learn that your kid needs a specific outfit for school the next day that doesn’t exist in their closet. What do you do? With PDF patterns, late night shopping is so easy! You don’t even have to get dressed. Just browse, click, buy, print! You can’t argue with shopping in your PJs without having to leave your couch.

PDF Patterns Often Have the All-Important Layers Feature

Paper patterns can be confusing when you’re trying to get the right size cut. The layers feature that all Bella Sunshine patterns have make that aggravation a thing of the past. Only print the size you NEED to make the confusion go away. Yes, you have to assemble the pattern, but this tutorial will help make that easy too and you’re on your way!

You Can Reprint PDF Patterns Anytime

Another awesome PDF feature is that you store it on your computer. Or a flash drive. Or somewhere out in the digital cloud. So they take up SO much less space. And if you need a different size, you misplace a piece, something gets ripped, or any other myriad of things that might happen, you can just reprint what you need and keep on keeping on. Unlike paper patterns, where if it tears, you have to oh so carefully try to repair it. Or if you lose a piece, you have to re-purchase it. Or if you need a different size… well, that’s a whole other possible can of worm and brings me to my next point…

PDF Patterns Typically Have Wider Size Ranges

I was always discouraged to buy paper patterns when you only got 3 or 4 sizes and they were so expensive. But with PDF patterns, you get a much wider range of sizes (for example, BSD patterns range from 6 months to 12 years for kids and 0-30 for ladies). And with Bella Sunshine and a few other designers, you can also get Mommy and Me pattern bundles! I’ll be so sad when my baby girl doesn’t want to be like her mama anymore. (Pictured is Clementine)

Personal Service

Finally, one of the BEST bonuses to PDF patterns (in my opinion) is the personalized service you can receive. Since PDF patterns are largely created by indie designers, they often have Facebook groups where you can get to know them as people, get help from them, make requests for particular designs, etc. I LOVE being able to see the person behind the business and know I’m supporting a real person and their family, and not just some faceless corporation. Melissa, the beautiful and amazing mind behind BSD, has always amazed her fans with her sweet nature and her eagerness to provide the best possible service to her customers.

There are more reasons to shop and love PDF… I could go on forever. But I’ll leave you with this. If you want to sew clothing that will fit, with minimum aggravation, and with outstanding personalized customer service, PDF is always the way to go! Why do YOU love PDF patterns? Share your reasons in the comments below!

If you haven’t “met” Melissa or her team, or would love to share you projects, questions, or just join in the general sense of community, join our Facebook group and jump in! We’d love to have you!

Staystitching: What It Is and Why It Matters

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We all have sewing terms we know and love (or hate lol), and some we aren’t so familiar with. Occasionally we’ll touch on a term that might not be so well known. Today, that term is staystitching. It’s a very important part of one of our most adorable bestsellers, Josephine. Do you know what it is? How to do it? Why it’s so important to use it when a pattern calls for it? If not, today’s your lucky day to learn!

Staystitching: What It Is and Why It Matters

The Definition:

The stitching placed along a bias or curved seam to prevent the fabric of a garment from stretching while the garment is being made.

Why It’s Important:

Staystitching is a row of stitches on a single layer of fabric. Those stitches prevent a curved or angled edge from stretching during the construction process. When done correctly, these stitches won’t show on the front side. They are most commonly used with woven patterns on necklines and armscyes but are also occasionally used in knit patterns as well. Regardless of the fabric type, don’t ever skip it, because those stitches WILL affect the overall appearance of the garment if they’re overlooked.

How to Do It:

Staystitches are regular-length stitches. They are not removed like basting or ease stitches typically are. A row of staystitching should be sewn about 1/8 inch outside the seamline or about 1/4 inch from the cut edge on the 3/8″ seam allowance that Bella Sunshine patterns use. Be careful not to stitch across the seamline because the stitches will show on the garment’s right side.

Sew directionally, with the grain, to prevent distortion. Usually, this means sewing from the top to the bottom of a neckline or sleeve to protect the integrity of the curve.

The Moral of the Lesson:

If a pattern calls for staystitching, don’t skip it! It will ensure your garment goes together well, lays well, and looks just as good after multiple washes as it did when you first finished it. Plus, a well made and properly constructed garment will allow years (and sometimes even generations) of enjoyment!

If you have any comments for us, please leave them in the comments below! Also, if you would like to be a part of an AMAZING community to share your work or get help with our patterns, please feel free to join our Facebook group! We’d love to have you!

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch

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There are so many amazing patterns for knit fabrics out there… How do you choose the right fabric for the job? When sewing with knits, one of the most important factors to consider is the stretch percentage. It can seem hard to figure out at first, but we’ll show you an easy way to figure it out so determining stretch percentage will be second nature to you. And you’ll always be able to find the right knit for the job!

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch by Bella Sunshine Designs Oooh! This will come in SO handy for my next knit sewing project! Pin for Later!

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch

Where do we start?

The first step is determining how stretchy the fabric needs to be for the garment to turn out correctly. Most patterns will list the recommended stretch percentage with the fabric requirements near the beginning of the document.

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch by Bella Sunshine Designs Oooh! This will come in SO handy for my next knit sewing project! Pin for Later!

How to Determine Stretch

Now that we know what we’re looking for, we can check our fabric. First, grab your chosen fabric and a ruler of some sort. For demonstration purposes, I’m using my cutting mat. Lay the fabric with one end at “zero”.

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch by Bella Sunshine Designs Oooh! This will come in SO handy for my next knit sewing project! Pin for Later!

Next, grab the fabric at the 4-inch mark. Keep the other end securely anchored.

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch by Bella Sunshine Designs Oooh! This will come in SO handy for my next knit sewing project! Pin for Later!

The rest is relatively easy. Just start stretching while keeping a firm grip on that 4-inch mark and a solid hold at the zero. The farther it stretches, the higher the percentage. It’s all pretty simple. If the farthest you can stretch it is one inch, the stretch percentage is 25%.

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch by Bella Sunshine Designs Oooh! This will come in SO handy for my next knit sewing project! Pin for Later!

If it stretches by 2 inches (so to the 6-inch mark), the stretch percentage is 50%.

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch by Bella Sunshine Designs Oooh! This will come in SO handy for my next knit sewing project! Pin for Later!

Once the fabric stretches out to the 7-inch mark, you’ve hit a 75% stretch.

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch by Bella Sunshine Designs Oooh! This will come in SO handy for my next knit sewing project! Pin for Later!

And if you can make it all the way to 8 inches, you’ve got a fabric with 100% stretch!

Finding the Right Knit~ Determining Stretch by Bella Sunshine Designs Oooh! This will come in SO handy for my next knit sewing project! Pin for Later!

 

Just make sure that the stretch percentage of your fabric is at or above the recommended requirements. Also, if you’re using that fabric for things like neckbands or cuffs, you want to be sure that fabric also has a good recovery. Most ideally, when you relax the fabric it returns to its original size. A poor recovery fabric will stay stretched out and will make your garment look sloppy if it’s meant to be sewn with a good recovery fabric.

As always, if you ever need help with this or anything else, please feel free to leave comments below or join us in our Facebook group for camaraderie, help, tips, and sewing eye candy! Happy sewing!

5 Sewing Techniques To Try Today!

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In our quest for sewing perfection, we are constantly learning new things. Building skills that we can build on more to perfect our craft. Sometimes it’s easy. Other times, not so much. Today, we’ll look back on some previous sewing techniques that we’ve shared. Maybe you’ll find one you missed out on and can try something new! You never know…

 

5 Sewing Techniques To Try Today!

 

1. How To Understitch

This handy tutorial will teach you all about understitching. Why we do it. How to do it. And why it looks so awesome when you use it!

2. Adding Trim To Any Hem

Sometimes you just want to take a pattern up a notch. There’s a very simple way you can accomplish this. Add a trim to the hem! It can easily add a nice pop of color, or just a cool detail to make your garment stand out!

3. Add An Inseam Pocket To Any Skirt

You know you love pockets… Who doesn’t??? So why not add them to ALL of your dress/skirt sewing projects? This tutorial will talk you through how to do exactly that. Never be pocket-less again!

4. Installing An Invisible Zipper

Truth time. The thought of zippers used to terrify me. Any zippers. And invisible zippers? Forget about it. But I overcame that fear, and guess what? They aren’t that hard! As long as you know the steps… Read this tut to show you a quick and easy way to get them right every time! You’ll be glad you did. And never fear the zipper again!

5. Adding Appliques And Reverse Appliques

Another fun way to add a bit of spice or interest to your work is with appliques! Another scary-sounding prospect, I know, but SO worth it… and not as hard or scary as it sounds, I promise! Just read up to learn how!

Fabric Panels and What To Do With Them!

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Many seamstresses nowadays belong to any number of custom knit fabric groups on Facebook. Most of those groups are now offering fabric panels to turn into garments, blankets, bags… all kinds of things! But if you’re newer to sewing or newer to these custom groups or the concept of knit panels, what do you do with them? I’ll tell you!

Fabric Panels and What To Do With Them!

As far as clothing goes, panels can be GREAT fun. You can use them as a panel in a skirt front (think of a knit Isabella’s!). You could use it as the back of a cardigan. Or, my favorite, simply the front of a tee shirt, which is what I’m going to share with you today.

The fabric I’m using is from a  Facebook group called Moon Beam Textile Company (you can find the site for purchasing here), and they run SO many amazing geeky prints! I absolutely LIVE for the geek, so it’s one of my all-time favorite groups to be in.

Making a Graphic Panel Tee

To start, get your panel and make sure your shirt front will fit within the piece. Here, I’m using the Maggie for myself and also Maggie for my daughter. You can usually fit up to a size 4t on a child-sized panel and most adult sizes on an adult panel. When you fold the panel in half, make sure your fold goes through the center of the panel design so it isn’t off-center when you cut.

Cut your front from the panel. Sometimes you can get a neckband out of the panel as well, but not always. Cut your back, sleeves, and neckband (if you didn’t get it from the panel) out of a coordinating fabric and sew as usual. When you’re done, you have a unique self-made graphic tee that is perfectly you (or your kid) in every way from fit to personality!

I LOVE using fabric panels and fun custom prints to make wardrobes that are unique to my family. They fit all of our interests and personalities. They’re fun, colorful, and uniquely “us”, which is always worthy of striving for! Do you have a favorite fabric group? Or a way to use panels that we haven’t mentioned? Please share with us in the comments below!

Also, join our Facebook group to join the community and share your makes, questions, and triumphs with us! We adore our community and LOVE to see it growing with such amazing, kind, and talented people!

Pencil Huggers- A Valentine’s Day Craft

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Today we have a fun little project to share with you! Valentine’s Day is rapidly approaching and I don’t know about you, but I think my kids get MORE than enough candy during the holidays. So this year, I’m making these fun little pencil huggers for my preschooler’s class. They’re super cute, easy and fairly inexpensive to make. And I’m going to show you how to make them too!

 

Pencil Huggers- A Valentine’s Day Craft!

To start, we need supplies.

You’ll need:

  • a shape template (that you can get free here)
  • felt (pick a traditional red or pink, or go crazy with non-traditional colors or printed felt!)
  • some fun pencils (if you aren’t as concerned about the candy, you can use suckers instead)
  • pins
  • scissors

and

  • your sewing machine

Prep Work

We’ll start by cutting out the smallest heart shape from the template. Then take that heart and trace it onto your felt. I used a sharpie pen so it would be easy to see, and after construction, you shouldn’t be able to see the markings anyway. As you can see in my photo, I managed to get 12 hearts per sheet of felt.

After they’re all traced out, I laid the sheet of felt with the traced images directly on top of a second unmarked sheet. I then placed pins through both layers at the center of each of the traced hearts. This helps the felt to not slip while you’re cutting.

We will cut the two layers at once to make sure they are perfect pairs. this helps in the final construction.

 

Now, remove the pins, but keep your pairs together. Take the traced heart piece from each pair (I recommend doing this one at a time, so as not to confuse the pairs) and draw a roughly 1/2″ line about 1/2″ from the top and bottom center of the heart. This will be where the pencils are placed. Use your scissors to clip a little slit through the one layer where you drew your lines.

Construction

Now that we have everything ready, we’ll get to the fun part. At this point, I want you to consider that your perfectly matching heart pieces are right side together with the visible part of your tracing on the outside (wrong side). I want you to flip both of those pieces so that they are right sides together with the ink to the inside. If you did this correctly, your pieces should still be perfectly matched. Pin those pairs around the perimeter.

Here’s where you have options. You can use a hand blanket stitch to finish these if you’re good at that sort of thing (I’m not). If you are going to machine sew, you can choose to match or contrast the thread with the felt color. You can choose a straight, zigzag, or decorative stitch to complete the project. I chose to use a contrasting white thread with a decorative stitch, shown above.

The easiest way to do this without the machine trying to eat at the felt is to start at the center top and sew down to the bottom point. I place my felt just past the 1/8″ mark to sew. Then repeat for the opposite side.

Now all you need to do is stick a pencil through the holes and you have finished pencil huggers! Aren’t they adorable?

The BEST thing about these pencil huggers is that you can adapt it to ANY holiday by simply switching out the shape you use! Use a bunny for Easter, a pumpkin for Halloween, a tree for Christmas… possibilities abound! If you loved this craft, or have suggestions for other blog topics you’d like to see, please drop a comment below! Also be sure to join our Facebook group for fun, support, and showing off and all things BSD!

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