Archive Category: 'Sewing'

• Pieced Pot Holders & Recipe Book Cover: Vintage Pattern: Here’s a vintage pattern from the 1960s for two different pot holder designs and one recipe book cover. The pattern needed for the Octagonal Design is at the bottom, you can download this to your computer (.jpg file). Pieced Pot Holders & Recipe Book Cover Notice how scraps are chosen and arranged to accent each other. Materials Needed: Scraps of [...]
• Noriko Handbag: Free Pattern Download: Today’s feature is from Lazy Girl Designs with a free pattern for this delightful Noriko Handbag: This delicate bag, both graceful and whimsical, provides wonderful opportunities to showcase your favorite fabric. The bag features a teardrop shape with a top button closure and a bottom beaded tassel. This design is so unique and fresh, I just had to bump [...]
• Sweet Greetings Portfolio: Free Pattern: Today’s feature is from Amy Butler with Sweet Greetings Large & Small Portfolio (pdf): Perfect for organizing your cards, gift tags and other paper crafts. You can make a small or large portfolio depending on your needs (or even both!). These are great to keep all your greeting card supplies organized in one convenient place–and so pretty! [...]
• Top 10 Makeup Bags: Free Tutorials: Makeup bags are perfect to give as gifts and they’re quite handy for more than just cosmetics. I took my time selecting these bags, making sure there’s a nice mix of everything: Some simple, some zipped, some larger, some small. There’s one felted pattern (knitting) and the rest are sewing tutorials. For a treat I [...]
• Gadget Charging Basket: Tutorial: Hide the messy tangle of gadgets and cords with today’s feature tutorial from Oh, Fransson! How to Make a Charging Basket: Use this handy little basket to gather essentials on your dresser or desktop. It has an opening in the back for your phone or other small electronic item’s charging cord. Basket is 8” square and about [...]
• Pincushion Cuff Tutorial + Pincushion List Update: Today’s feature is from Keyka Lou Patterns with this sweet Pincushion Cuff Tutorial. All you need for supplies: Fabric scraps VELCRO (just 2″) Thread Polyfil Button Embroidery floss or wool thread Also make sure to check out my list of 41 Free Pincushion Patterns, it’s just been updated with a few more goodies mentioned here on Tipnut. Pincushions are great scrap [...]
• 20 Sweet Softies: Free Patterns & Tutorials: These softies are so cute, perfect for gift giving and stocking stuffers. They’re each sewn in fabric or felt, all patterns and tutorials are available free online (a few at the bottom have already been featured on Tipnut). I had no idea how difficult it was to find free tutorials for non-monster-alien-ish stuffies! Several Easter themed [...]
• Sunbonnet Sewing Case – Vintage Pattern: This pattern is quite the charmer, it’s a unique Sunbonnet Sewing Case which has the brim of the bonnet holding needles while the bonnet itself is a small drawstring pouch to hold sewing supplies (like threads, a thimble, small pair of scissors, etc.). This pattern is from 1936. Fabric: Use gingham, cotton print, silk or velvet. Cutting [...]
• Hanging Kitchen Towel Tutorial: Today’s feature is from Creativity With Corrina for her Kitchen Towel Tutorial, these have a unique twist to them that add to their usefulness: If you need a quick gift that you can make in less than 20 minutes this could be your thing! You take a kitchen towel (gathered in half), sew on a potholder (folded [...]
• Taffeta Knitting Needle Case – Vintage Pattern: This vintage pattern from 1945 specifies taffeta as the material to be used, but feel free to use a different fabric if you like. Knitting Needle Case Materials: 3/8 yard navy Taffeta 3/8 yard light blue Taffeta 3/8 yard Crinoline for interlining Sewing thread in matching colors Directions for Cutting: 3 pieces–13″ x 13 1/2″ (one of navy, one of light blue, one [...]
• Repurpose Old Towels: Bath Mat Tutorial: Today’s feature is from The {New New} York Etsy Street Team with this Recycled Bath Mat Tutorial, I’m so making this! What you need: An old beat up towel (this is the base for the new bath mat) A yard or so of fabric Thread & pins What you do: Cut the towel in two equal sizes (your bath mat base [...]
• Weekend Kit: Vintage Pattern: This pattern is from a 1920’s or 1930’s booklet by Columbus Blenback Oil Cloth entitled “How to Make good looking-inexpensive Things For The Home with Blenback Oil Cloth“. It’s quite a handy design that is a fold-over pouch with inside pockets to store items for travel (one wide bottom pocket plus 5 pockets across the middle). The [...]
• Vintage Needlecase Pattern – Flower Bouquet: This pattern is from 1936 and is a Flower Bouquet design. There are three pieces: the inside section, outer section and stem. The outer section and stem are transfer patterns, if you need help transferring them, see this page: Pattern Transfer Tips. Instructions from the pattern are below. Needlecase (Bouquet Design): Consists of 3 pieces. The outer case and [...]
• Organizing Fabric: Folding Tips: Today’s feature is an update to include this video demonstrating how to fold your fabric stash neatly for organized storage: This folding method is very similar to Happy Zombie’s Fabric Folding: This is the fabric folding method I used in my re-do (BTW, not quite yet a re-DONE but I’m getting there!). Anyhoo I’m not sure if [...]
• Thumb Pincushion Tutorial: Today’s feature is from Annies Crazy World with a tutorial for a Thumb Pincushion, easy to make and how handy is this! I made the pink thumb pin cushion at Nowra Crazy Quilt Retreat and have had a couple of requests for the pattern, today I have got around to writing the instructions… All you need [...]
• How To Make A Bath Towel Head Wrap: Today’s feature is from Marmadaisy with a great project for repurposing old towels with Bath Towel Head Wrap: As someone with long hair I can confirm that it’s mightily annoying to have your towel spontaneously unwrap and drop dripping hair everywhere. We all have those towels that have seen better days, lost their “fluffiness” and are, frankly, [...]
• Post Office Bag: Tutorial: Today’s feature is from Elsie Marley with Post Office Bag Tutorial, this is one super-neat bag! Now that I have an etsy shop I find myself at the post office more than ever. Along with all the packages I have to carry I have a stroller to push and a toddler’s hand to hold. The packages are [...]
• Wild Flower Pincushion – Free Pattern: Today’s feature is from Better Homes & Gardens with Wild Flower Pincushion (this one’s a keeper!): Choose a mix of your favorite fabrics, pile on the petals, and watch your garden grow — dozens of fanciful pincushions could sprout up over a weekend. Materials Needed: 1/4 yard multicolor print (pincushion sides, bottom) 1/8 yard orange floral (petals) 6″ square magenta [...]
• Apron Breakfast Set: Vintage Pattern Freebie: This set includes a pattern and directions for an Apron with matching Tray Cloth, Napkin and Potholder. Published in 1944. There’s a pdf download for this pattern at the bottom, enjoy! Apron Breakfast Set Materials: Flowered Muslin – 3 yds. J. & P. Coats Percale Bias Trim, single fold Eyelet Trim (1″ wide) – 6 1/2 yds. Scraps of toweling for interlining 2 [...]
• A Few Sunbonnet Sue Goodies: Today’s feature is a small mix of Sunbonnet Sue treats… Sunbonnet Babies Paper Dolls: Adorable free printables perfect for appliqué, quilting and embroidery work–or let the kiddos have some fun playing with them. Found via SharonB who always has nice finds on her site! QuiltersCache Pattern Freebie: 8″ block template with instructions for increasing to a 12″ [...]
• 14 Laptop Sleeves & Cases: Free Tutorials & Patterns: Here are over a dozen different sewing, knit & felting tutorials and patterns for laptop sleeves and cases. These are my favorite picks of what I found available online for freebies. Enjoy! Laptop Sleeves & Cases: Free Tutorials & Patterns Whip Up Tutorial: Fabric Laptop Sleeve: A nice and easy sewing tutorial for a fabric laptop sleeve, [...]
• 50 Tips For Sewing – A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom: These tips were collected from a variety of books and magazines from the 1940s and 1950s. Most of these tidbits are still helpful today, a few were included because they are a charming reflection of the time these were written. Enjoy! 50 Tips For Sewing – A Collection Of Timeless Wisdom Pressing seams as you go is [...]
• Vintage Panholder Patterns – Free Download: Here’s a fun freebie download, it’s a set of six different panholders (or potholders) from a loose sheet I had stashed away in my vintage patterns. I believe they’re from the 1940s-1950s. Some are straight sewing, others involve a bit of embroidery and some involve a bit of appliqué work–there’s something for everyone in this lot! The [...]
• Hanging Pocket Tool Holder: Vintage Sewing Tutorial: Make A Tool Holder For The Kitchen It’s handy to put mother’s name on a few of the more ordinary type shop tools and keep them in the kitchen. Then, when she needs a screw driver, hammer, or a pair of pliers, she knows they are in a convenient place. Also, if the tool is nearby, [...]
• Homemade Swiffer Cloth Patterns: A bunch of new patterns for reusable swiffer cloths added! Who doesn’t hate paying money for swiffer cloths that you just end up throwing out? Here are a few ideas for making reusable ones from cloth plus a bunch of knit, crochet & sewing patterns to make your own: Use old flannel diapers, jogging fleece, flannel [...]