Sew Bittersweet Designs | Sewing and Designing in my BitterSweet World

Make Your Own Sewing Kits – A Tutorial

Posted on December 3, 2013 by Melissa Dunworth

This past summer I bought Anne a very simple sewing kit at JoAnns. It had a felt cat shape set and a felt heart shape set pre-cut and punched, it also had some fluff, decorations, a plastic needle and yarn for sewing.

The day after she turned 4 we decided it was time to start learning to sew. She whipped up the 2 patterns in no time and was begging to do more.

She made her cat first and then she quickly moved on to the heart.

As I knew she wanted to sew more, I figured I needed a more economical way to make that happen without constantly investing in sewing kits.

You will need the following supplies:

Felt (lots of colors)
A Leather Punch (I tried a paper hole punch too and the one I bought failed to even punch paper – I moved to the leather punch after a recommendation from a friend)Fluff
A child friendly needle (we are using the one from our original kit)
Yarn
Optional: decorations – bling those creations out!

Start with felt. I have no idea how I ended up with such a huge collection and selection of felt, but WOOHOO because we not have lots of options to get creative!

Next cut out a shape you want to sew. Fold the felt on itself so you cut out 2 identical pieces at once. Then grab your punch. I use mine on the 2.5 mm setting. I find it is the perfect sized hole for the small needles and small hands.

You will want to evenly space your holes around the shape. Anne wanted a blue stocking, we will likely be sewing this one after nap today. One thing to note is that the punch can be very difficult to use if you have weak hands like I do (darn RA!), you can either take lots of breaks or simply find someone with stronger hands to do the punching. My husband punched the star below for me and I marked each punch spot with a black sharpie for him.

The only thing I didn’t already own when I decided to make these kits was the leather punch. I was able to get one at Michaels using a 40% off coupon for $7.99. Totally worth the investment. Mine is an ArtMinds Leather Punch with 6 adjustable hole sizes.

This is not a sponsored post, just telling you which product has worked for me.

Anne and I are having so much fun sewing together. She is dieing to get her hands on one of my machines but she is still a couple years off from that, in the mean time, this is making her pretty happy!

Posted in Sewing with Anne, tutorial | 11 Comments

The “Babette” Skirt – A Pattern Review

Posted on December 2, 2013 by Melissa Dunworth

When my friend Rebecca asked me if I would like to review her latest skirt pattern I immediately said yes! Prior to sewing this skirt it had been 16 years since I had made an article of clothing for myself. The last time was kind of a disaster…I made pajama pants with the print upside down. This time, however, I had completely wonderful results!

Rebecca and her husband are the design team behind Rebecca Ruth Designs. They design patterns that are easy to follow and very versatile – which is what I need. This is the third pattern I have sewn from Rebecca. The first one was her Smock Monster Pattern and I also made her E-Book Reader Tablet Case. I have thoroughly enjoyed sewing each of these patterns.

What I love about the “Babette” Skirt is that it feels as though one pattern will truly fit most women. All you need is your waist measurement and where you want the skirt to hit on your leg and you can easily fit this skirt to any body. I decided that I wanted my skirt to hit just below the knee. I took the measurement from my waist to just below the knee and it came to 23″. I bought extra fabric, mainly because I loved the print I found. The nice thing about this pattern is that it is a paper pattern, no printing out tons of sheets of paper. I decided to trace out the size I wanted onto freezer paper so that I could reuse the pattern again if I ever want to make it in another fabric or in a different length.

All the supplies to make this skirt could easily be found at your local JoAnns, which made it a one stop trip for Anne and I. Total sewing time for me, a relative clothes sewing novice, was 3 hours. I think it would have been less but I did a bit of ripping out when I sewed in the buttons. Apparently I’m not very good at sewing a straight line!

I opted to make the Circle Skirt version and it has a truly unique closure method that I have never seen before. The skirt closes at the pockets. No zippers! You use buttons and some woven cording. Truly inspired. The skirt has 2 pockets, but you cannot tell when looking at it straight on unless your hands are in them.

Final Thoughts:

Skill Level: Beginner (because I am definitely a beginner!)
Materials: Easy to locate at your Big Box Fabric Store (my skirt is made with quilting weight cotton)
Time: 3 hours for me, but I think the second time around it would be much faster!
Size Range – Fits waist sizes 24″ to 51″

I loved sewing this pattern. I have already decided that this will be my Christmas Eve Skirt (with an extra thick pair of tights because I know it will be COLD).

Posted in Pattern Review | 12 Comments

December Goal Party – A Lovely Year of Finishes

Posted on December 1, 2013 by Melissa Dunworth

Well, we made it! It is now December. Thirty-one days and we can kiss 2013 good-bye! I have one very simple goal for December, to finish up Christmas presents. I am giving 2 quilts this year, both to two very special people, neither of whom have a clue! The first is the one I finished last month. The second was quilted was quilted by Vicki from Orchid Owl Quilts. She did such an amazing job. All that is left is to trim it up and bind it. The hard part will be trimming it because…IT IS HUGE! It fits on my queen sized bed.

Your Turn!

What one item will you choose to do for December? Will it be a Holiday Gift?

You have two requirements to be entered into the prizes this month.

1. Link-up {on this post} the first 7-days of the month

and

2. Link-up in the last 7-days of the month.

Add your blog post or flickr photo (with appropriate descriptions) to the linky party below.

Please grab a button or link back to Shanna and I so other people can join in the fun!

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Shanna, so there is no need to enter twice **

For those unsure of how to link up go check out our Q&A Page for A Lovely Year of Finishes – there are instructions on how to link up from a blog and from Flickr.

Grab a button from my sidebar and spread the LOVE!

Oh yeah and there are prizes this month (as always!), here is what our fantastic sponsors are offering.

December Prizes Include:

1, 2,3, & 4.

3 Thread Packs and one special thread pack from Aurifil Threads

5. Choice of $15 or 2 charm packs from Stitches n’ Giggles

6. A Paper Piecing Kit from Paper Pieces

7. A Fat Quarter Bundle from Moda United Notions

8,9. TWO winners each getting to choose one pdf pattern

from Sew BitterSweet Designs

($10 value)

10. Quilting Patterns designed by Quilting Lodge

Make sure to go visit 2 other people who have linked up before you so that we can cheer each other on!

This is the last of the “regular” link-up’s.

January 1-7 Shanna and I will be holding the 2013 year in review party with additional prizes, for those that finished 6 or more months worth of your goals.

Posted in A Lovely Year of Finishes, Fiber of All Sorts | 7 Comments

Gratitude Giveaway

Posted on November 27, 2013 by Melissa Dunworth

As I sit here on Tuesday night writing this post, which goes live on Wednesday, I realize that Thursday is Thanksgiving and a “Gratitude Giveaway” couldn’t be more appropriate for this week.

As part of the November Baby Love Project with Hopeful Threads, I have teamed up with Kristy for a gratitude giveaway. Below is what I am giving away, head over to Kristy’s blog post today and learn more about the giveaway and how you can get entered to win.

If you live in the United States, I hope you and your family have a very blessed Thanksgiving. If you are outside the United States, I hope you have a very blessed Thursday.

Posted in Hopeful Threads | 12 Comments

November Finishes Party – A Lovely Year of Finishes

Posted on November 24, 2013 by Melissa Dunworth

Congratulations! We have all made it to the end of November! How exciting!!

I have finished my project for November, but I can’t post my finish because it is a gift for someone who I think reads my blog, so I won’t be able to post my finish here until after I give my gift to its intended recipient.

Did you finish you November Goal?

Please grab a button or link back to Shanna and I so other people can join in the fun!

**Please note, the linky party is the same here and over at Shanna, so there is no need to enter twice **

For those unsure of how to link up go check out our Q&A Page for A Lovely Year of Finishes – there are instructions on how to link up from a blog and from Flickr.

Grab a button from my sidebar and spread the LOVE!

Our awesome prizes for November include:

1.A Prize from The Intrepid Thread

2. A $15.00 Gift Certificate to Fat Quarter Shop

3, 4. TWO winners each getting to choose one pdf pattern
from Sew BitterSweet Designs – that’s me!
($10 value)

5. Choice of $15 or 2 charm packs from Stitch n’ Giggles