Time for another swap! The Sew Sweetness Minikins bundle is full of great, quick patterns that make a perfect swap item. Even though the projects are fast to sew, I’m giving you plenty of time to complete the swap, so it’s meant to be fun and would be perfect for first-timers! Sara of Sew Sweetness has also offered up 2 gift certificates to be won by swap participants! 

If you haven’t been in a swap before, that’s ok! To sign up, fill out the form below, making sure to read the expectations at the bottom of the form. Basically, you sign up, wait for a partner, then once you’ve been assigned a partner, get started! Choose any pattern in the minikins bundle to make for your partner. You can add extras or even make a second minikins if you like, but it’s not required. You’ll need to check in twice on Instagram so I can make sure everyone is on track.
​Checking in with me involves posting a picture on Instagram, tagging me @reecemontgomery, and including #MinikinsBagSwap. First check in is due February 18, showing which pattern you’ve narrowed it down to and hinting at fabric selection; basically just showing that you’re ready to get started. Second check in is due February 28 and should show me that you’ll be able to send your item on time. Items due to be mailed March 7. 

For added fun, and if you’re looking for one more push to grab the Minikins bundle and join, there are 2 gift certificates to be given away to participants. Once projects have been completed, a random drawing for 2 winners will be done. The prizes are a $25 and $50 gift certificate to use in the Sew Sweetness shop.  Completing your check ins and sending your swap item automatically enters you in the giveaway.

Once you’ve submitted your form, repost my swap announcement picture and tag me @reecemontgomery with #MinikinsBagSwap to show you’ve entered. Make sure your profile is public so I can see your posts.

Happy swapping! If you still need the Minikins bundle, grab it here. Thanks for joining us! If you have any questions, feel free to ask – just send me a message.

This tutorial was originally released in the digital sewing magazine One Thimble, Issue 10. You can find loads of other articles and patterns there, but for now, I’m able to share my contribution with you here. Just in time for Valentine’s Day, this one counts as a seasonal craft!

My kids always come home with artwork with their handprints on them, often made into animals or other shapes. I love seeing them, and I try to keep most of them, but I wanted to find a more permanent way than just paper and paint to capture that moment in time. I decided to use their handprints on a pillowcase, which will be treasured in our home for many years to come. Rather than a regular appliqué, I chose a reverse appliqué, for that extra special touch. The extra work is so worth it.
Tutorial for pillowcase:
You’ll need:

• ½ yard fabric for pillowcase
• assorted scraps (for handprints and heart)
• ¼” fusible webbing (Wonder Tape)
• ½ yard lightweight-medium interfacing (I used Pellon Shapeflex 101)
• other basic sewing tools and sewing machine

​

I have 2 kids, so my project has 2 handprints. Really though, you can have as many or as little as you like, but you may need a bigger pillow if you add more than 4 handprints.

You can trace the handprints onto regular paper if you like, or simply take a photocopy and cut the copy out! Make sure when tracing or photocopying, that the hand is splayed enough that the fingers are not touching each other.

Pick some scraps big enough to overlap each handprint by about 2” – maybe have each child pick their own scrap to help personalize it even more!

Start by cutting out the main fabric for the pillowcase. My pillow form is approximately 15”H x 16”W and I used the formula of H+2 x 2W+5 to get the size of my fabric, so in my case, I cut 17”H x 37”W. For this tutorial, these are the numbers I’ll use, but if your project size is different, you’ll need to adjust accordingly.

Once you’ve cut the fabric, lay it out and, on the wrong side of the fabric, mark a line parallel to the short sides, 9” from the left, and another line 25” from the left edge – you should have a 16” section now, slightly off centre. Fold the outer edges in (wrong sides together) to overlap over the middle section and press in place along the lines you marked.

Now cut out the handprints from the paper and lay them in the centre section to help decide on your desired layout. I cut out a heart as well, and moved it around at this point too, as a visual aid for the finished project. Once you decide on your layout, trace one handprint where you’d like it onto the wrong side of the middle section of the pillowcase.

Now draw a line about ½” inside the outline of the print, but only for the palm of the hand (it may help to use a different coloured pen for this step). Draw lines in the centre of each finger, meeting each line to the centre. These lines will be referred to as the seam allowance.

At the ends of each finger, draw small diagonal lines, meeting at the centre line (seam allowance).

Draw small notches at each curve.

Add small pieces of Wonder Tape all around the outline of the hand, as close to the outline mark as possible.

Now we’re going to start cutting out the centre seam allowance. It’s important to note: DO NOT CUT the main outline of the handprint, only notches up to the outline. Starting with the palm of the hand, cut out the seam allowance.

For the remaining seam allowance, we’re only making slits for the fingers, and small clips for the curves. If you haven’t already, remove the backing from the Wonder Tape and start folding the seam allowance up and over, wrong sides together, securing in place with the Wonder Tape. Take your time here; you may need to make a few extra notches as you go.  Where the fingers meet the palm, cut a triangle-shaped notch to reduce bulk in seam allowance. You may need to use Wonder Tape on top of one finger’s seam allowance to lay down the seam allowance from the finger next to it (this is why I mentioned earlier to make sure the fingers are splayed). You may also find it helpful to fold up the bottom point (the space between the fingers at the palm). Fray-Check might help here too if you had to cut many notches at one small area.

Once all the seam allowances are folded out of the way, add another couple pieces of Wonder Tape around the outline of the hand, and lay your scrap over the opening, so the right side shows through the opening. Turn over and inspect; make any adjustments at this point if necessary.

Cut a piece of fusible interfacing that is about 2” larger than the scrap you just placed, and place over scrap at back of project (wrong side) so that fusible side is against wrong side of scrap and main fabric. Fuse to secure scrap in place over outline.

Repeat with remaining handprint(s) and heart.

The final part of the appliqué is to stitch all around the shapes we’ve formed. I used my regular foot and a slightly longer stitch length, at 1/8” from the edge of the shape. I used a thread to match my main fabric, but a contrasting thread would also be a nice look. For this step, take your time and go around each curve carefully. Leave your needle in the down position and lift your foot to help pivot and reposition around sharper corners (like the fingertips). ​

Once the stitching around is done, all that’s left is sewing the pillowcase.

Fold in each short edge by a scant ½”, press in place and fold in again, hiding raw edges inside the fold to create a “hem” on each short end, then stitch in place.

Now fold the shorter edges (the hems) in to the centre again along the lines you marked previously at 9” and 25” so one hem is overlapping the other and right sides of the pillowcase are out and you’ll have raw edges along the top and bottom of the case. Make sure the hems are laying nice and flat.

We’ll be doing French seams, so you want to make sure your edges match up. If you need to square the top and bottom, do that now.

Sew each raw edge (top and bottom) with a generous ¼” seam allowance. Clip corners and turn inside out. Make sure all corners and seams are pointed out and flat. Sew top and bottom seam with a scant ½” seam allowance to encase the previous line of stitching and hide the raw edges.

Now turn right side out and admire your new pillowcase!

I hope you enjoyed this idea and I’d love to see if you use it; if you do, please share with me! This would make a great gift for grandparents but works as functional art in the home too.

I’m alive! I’m still here, I’ve just been enjoying a slow start to the year, and recovering from the busyness of Christmas, and all that goes along with the winter holidays. I hope you all had a nice end to 2017. I had some sewing goals for 2017 that I didn’t quite get to, but I’m not upset about it either. To be honest, I’ve never been much for resolutions. I feel like if things are worth changing, they aren’t worth waiting for. So, before I move forward with any projects in 2018, let’s take a look back at 2017. I got this picture generated from 2017bestnine.com, and it does all the work for you if you enter your Instagram ID. 

Sew Sweetness released this amazing bundle of quick-sew projects, just in time for the holidays. The Minikins bundle includes 12 patterns and an instructional video to go along with each. This Zeppelin Pouch was my 4th make from the bundle and I can’t wait to make the rest! I whipped this up one night when I realized I still needed a teacher gift for the next day, yikes! 

Emmaline Bags’ Luxie Lunch bag took up one third of my top nine! No surprise really, since I made so many. The top two were for coworkers made with Alison Glass and Cotton + Steel fabrics, all from Fabric Spark. The bottom one I received in a swap, it was made by Jenny ofSincerely Jen. Here’s the one I made for the swap, using Libs Elliott’s Tattooed fabric collection.

For another Instagram swap, I made this foundation paper-pieced unicorn mini quilt. The pattern is from Robynie Patterns. I haven’t done a whole lot of paper piecing and this was definitely a challenge for me. It wasn’t particularly difficult but I did find it overwhelming at times, as it was much more labour intensive than I had bargained for. For the quilting, I chose scattered lines to go with the pieced fabric, but I also included some stars (you can see one quite well in the bottom right corner of this picture). I’m so proud of how it turned out and it was pretty difficult letting it go. I did receive a gorgeous mini in return so it all worked out.

I tested this bag when it was part of the Bag of the Month Club, but you can now get this as a stand alone pattern, or bundle it with an online workshop/video. You can read more details about this bag in my post from when it was released.

I made this adorable kiss-lock frame purse for a little girl for her birthday. I used Patty Sloniger’s Into The Deep collection from Sitka Fabrics. My son picked the fabric and was quite proud to give this as a gift for his friend, while announcing his mommy made it. I figure it won’t be long before they’re too embarrassed to give gifts I’ve made so I’ll take it while I can get it. The pattern and instructions are part of a Craftsy Class, or you can get the pattern by itself.

I can’t believe it took me so long to make one of these! The Retreat Bag is a free pattern from Emmaline Bags and is the perfect way to get your sewing fix in. I received this gorgeous Cotton + Steel Menagerie fabric as a gift and had big projects on the go, but I couldn’t let it just sit there, so I chose the Retreat Bag as my quick project to display the fabric. 

This is the project I was most excited about last year. My friend Lysa Flower designed this paper pieced pattern for a cassette tape and asked me to use Kim Kight’s (at the time unreleased) Snap to Grid fabric to turn a Polaris bag into a 3D cassette. You can read more about the project inthis post here. 

Along with the ones above, here are some of my favourites:

Backpacks for each of them! Details can be found in this post.

Castell Day Bag. I love this bag so much I hosted a sew along for it! I also personally used this pattern for my own carry on luggage and thought it was perfect.

Blue Calla Clover Convertible Bag. I wrote all about it at the beginning of last year when the pattern was released as part of the Bag of the Month Club; find all the details here.

What were your favourite makes of 2017?

It’s the summer issue for One Thimble and as cold it seems up here (in Canada), the celebrations down under are enough to inspire warm thoughts and sunny memories. This whole issue has a definite Mexican feel to it and you might want to skip the coffee and go for the Sangria while enjoying this read. I’m joining in on the Pattern Revolution blog tour so make sure to see the schedule at the bottom of this post for the rest of the tour.

This issue includes 14 patterns/tutorials for a variety of items including a couple handsewn projects and some bags, plus clothing and accessories.

​I love the assortment in this instalment: there’s a lot I would use, for myself and my kids. Sometimes sewing for boys doesn’t give a lot of inspiration, but there are several patterns here that my boys would love! 

Aside from the patterns, the e-zine is loaded with articles, including ones giving tips on faster sewing, embellishing fabric and sewing with denim. I loved the How-To from Kylie of Little Moo Designs for the Tassel Necklace; with Christmas around the corner, this could make a great quick gift. Speaking of gifting, you can also read about how to start a handmade gift tradition, including some ideas on what to make, plus some beautiful gift wrapping ideas which I’m sure to try out this season.

There’s also a whole section on growing your creative business, including graphic design tips and social media how-to’s. 

I really enjoyed reading about Frida Kahlo, who remains an inspiration worldwide even more than 50 years after her passing. The story of Tiyamike Sewing was uplifting, reading about women being empowered by sewing was so moving.

If you’re looking for things to fill your Christmas wish list with, that’s in there too!

Each issue also includes various discounts from sewing related businesses.

The Festival Clutch caught my eye right away. Fringe and tassels are so big right now and I resisted the trend at first (kinda like skinny jeans) but I’ve fallen hard, and I’m not looking back! This pattern is from Little Moo Designs.

I chose an indigo Essex Linen as the main fabric for my bag, to give it a denim look and a rich brown genuine leather for the accent and fringing. I topped the accent with copper rivets and I’m channeling my inner cowgirl with this clutch!

I love how quick and simple it was and that you can really change the look quite easily depending on fabrics and how you choose to dress up the accent. I chose a bright pink lining to keep it fun. 

The pattern comes in 2 sizes and I made the small, and I think this picture is deceiving because it’s really not that small, maybe my hand is just really big? Anyway, I thought it looked so cute next to my enormous hand.

Lately I’ve been intrigued by “slow sewing” and thought this would be the perfect pattern to get acquainted with embroidery. This is a pattern with only 2 stitches: the back stitch and the satin stitch, so it’s great for beginners, like me! This pattern is from Molly and Mama.

I loved the idea of adding a fun pompom trim and keeping the project in the hoop to display. Of course, you can also use it on a decorative pillowcase, or panel on a larger project if you like instead. Mine certainly isn’t perfect, but it’s not too bad for my first project.

I’m going to show you the back now, and I’m warning you in hopes you don’t judge me too harshly. My son remarked “it’s so crazy in the back, but so nice in the front” and he’s totally right! I’m actually sharing so you’re not too hard on yourself should yours look similar. You may note: I caught the interfacing and excess fabric at one point and just kept going, no guts, no glory!

No matter though, the pattern details how to hide that crazy back with a circle of felt and some glue. I feel like glue and felt are always the answer to my problems.

This PDF from Coco-Kalana is completely opposite of the last one in terms of how long it takes to complete; these are seriously quick and pretty fun too! I love the idea of reusable produce bags, and they make a great gift as a set too.

I never really imagined I would say “those pink bananas would be perfect for this!” but when I saw this project I immediately thought of pairing them with the pink mesh I had on hand. I matched the green leaves in the orange fabric to my green mesh and whipped up this duo.

The tutorial has 2 sizes and I made one of each. The large would be perfect for celery or carrots, or a whole “bunch” of bananas (sorry, I can’t help myself when punny opportunities come along). The small is still plenty big for fruit, or smaller vegetables.

This digital magazine just keeps getting better and better and this latest edition didn’t disappoint. It’s so much more than just a great price on a bundle of patterns. The articles, stories and additional tutorials give it so much more value and I truly look forward to “flipping through the pages” and reading morsels here and there and taking in all the gorgeous photos. 

​You can grab your own copy here, or really treat yourself with a subscription here.

Now follow along the rest of the tour to see what everyone else has been making!

Disclosure: Some links in this post are my affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thanks for your support.

Great bagmaking discounts to be found on this tour, plus prizes! Click the image below to get started on the tour.

Disclosure: Some links in this post are my affiliate links, which means I may earn a small commission on purchases made through these links at no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed here are my own. Thanks for your support.

You can find a discount code for frames from Emmaline Bags in my latest blog post.

Time for a fun round-up! I thought I’d share some patterns for framed purses, since there’s such a range and I find they turn out looking like you put more effort into them than you really did. I won’t tell if you don’t! There are several different types of frames, so I’ve broken up the post by type of frame.

Psst! Keep reading for discount details.

These purses and clutches remind me of dress-up as a little girl, with my “click-clack” shoes, long gloves, and mom’s old dresses. I still get a kick out of opening and closing them. 

This pattern from U-Handbag is true to its name. I found the sewing to be lemon squeezy, but I was a little nervous when it came time to glue the fabric into the frame. Thankfully I didn’t mess up and get glue all over, and it turned out beautifully! You can also find this pattern as part of the online Craftsy class Sewing Structured Bags with Lisa Lam.

Inside is simple, and the purse opens up quite wide.

You can also find an adorable mini frame with chain that works to hold a few coins or as a lipstick holder at Emmaline Bags; there are even pattern pieces to download for free to make 2 different minis. 

If you have the Sizzix die cutting machine, this Sew Sweetness coin purse will be a breeze with her coin purse die. You can also find the frames in 2 different sizes and 2 different finishes on the Sew Sweetness site.

These frames open up wide and snap shut with irresistible fun- really, once you install them in a bag, I dare you. You won’t be able to resist opening and closing the bag just for the sake of opening and closing the bag! This style of frame really helps give the shape of carpet bags or doctor bags. You can see how to install them in myvideo found here.

The Companion Carpet Bag from Sewing Patterns by Mrs. H is the first framed bag I made and I really fell in love with it. This bag will make you look like a genius! Once you pop that frame on, the wow factor is unavoidable.

This Craftsy Class features video lessons and downloadable resources, including the patterns for the Easy Purse (as mentioned above) and the Carpet Bag pattern by Lisa Lam.

Internal Wire Frames are inexpensive and relatively easy to incorporate. You can find them Emmaline Bags, and they come in 3 different styles: A, B & C.

This pattern from Little Moo Designs uses the Style A Internal Wire Frames from Emmaline. The Race Day Bag is insulated and tall enough to hold a bottle of wine! 

This FREE pattern from Emmaline Bags comes in 2 sizes and uses either Style A  for small or Style B for large. Download the pattern here.

This is one of my favourite patterns ever! I’ve made more of this pattern than most others. I love to use it as a lunch bag by insulating it and using a wipeable material for the lining. The pattern calls for the Style B internal wire frames and the bag opens up really wide so there’s plenty of room for your lunch in containers. Get the pattern here.

Here’s another free pattern for you! This pattern from Mrs. H uses the style C internal wire frames from Emmaline Bags. The large rounded top gives the bag a luxurious shape and is perfect for tall brushes and toiletries. It’s larger than it looks, and could even work as an evening clutch. Check it out here.

This large bag works as a day trip bag or even as an overnight bag. You’ll need the style C frames for this one. I hosted a sew along this summer so if you need some extra help check it out here.  To get the pattern, click here.

These ones don’t have frames but look like they do!

This bag, like a traditional doctor bag is structured and opens up nice and wide, but doesn’t require a frame. Instead, the pattern calls for boning at the top, in place of a more expensive frame. See the pattern here.

Now that you’ve learned about the different types of frames, get started on your own framed bag! Emmaline Bags is offering a 15% discount on any of their frames found at this link. Use code OKAPIFRAME15 at checkout. No minimum order required, offer expires October 31, 2017.