Chasing Coco

What do you gift someone who eloped and then jetted off to Greece? A passport holder! I made the first one of these for a friend who had recently eloped but I also made one for myself because on my most recent trip I was enviously looking at everyone's cute passport holders! Now, I'm thinking about making them for everyone for Christmas. This project doesn't use much fabric, so it's a great project to use up extra pieces left from other projects. You could even use a bunch of different coordinating fabrics! Supplies List: Two pieces of fabric 9.5" x 7 for the exterior and interior back Two pieces fusible interfacing 9.5" x 7" Left side pocket fabric 4.5" x 10.5" Left side pocket interfacing 4.5" x 10.5" Three pieces fabric 4.5" x 7" for the back of the left pocket and to make both sides of the right side pocket Three pieces interfacing 4.5" x 7" Two pieces tab fabric 2"x 3" Two pieces tab...

One of my favorite things to whip up for gifts are infinity scarves in fun fabrics! Recently, I wanted to make a gift for a friend who had just had twins. I had made some adorable baby shoes and other things for the babies but I felt like momma needed something too! I thought a scarf could maybe double as a breast feeding cover but since I don't have kids, tell me if I am wrong? Maybe? If not she will look stylish as she totes the babes around. To give it a little something extra, I wanted to add a little pocket. Since she lives in a city with public transport, I thought she could put her metro card in there or a few dollars when she took the kids out for a walk, just in case. Of course, you can't put that much in a scarf but don't we all need more pockets? So how can you make a cute infinity scarf with a pocket? Supplies List: Large piece of woven fabric measuring at least 20" x 66" Additional fabric for the pocket flap, 6.5" x 4" (mine i...

I don't buy a lot of indie patterns but these Wild Things baby shoes from Twig + Tale were too cute to resist. This was my first pattern from Twig + Tale which mostly has patterns for children, since I don't have kids, I don't make a lot of kids' patterns. completed raccoons I have a friend who is currently pregnant with twins and I wanted to make some things to send her for the little ones. These baby shoes were just so cute I had to make them. I suppose I should also make her something practical, like burp cloths but we need something cute too, right? I have made baby shoes before and found it quite challenging because they are so darn small. I think the first time I made a size 0-3 months, which is tiny. It can be hard to work with such a small seam allowance and sew around a curve if you are inexperienced, which I was. If you are an inexperienced sewist, it will help if you choose a larger size. completed foxes I later made another pair and did like...

One area where I struggle with sewing is in the efficiency gained by making the same pattern several times. For me it is much more exciting to make something totally new and different, but that is also more time consuming. I am trying to be more practical in my sewing and make items that I need in my wardrobe rather than sewing whatever tickles my fancy, as I have been the last few years. Ok, maybe a little of what tickles my fancy thrown in! Really, I want to reduce my reliance on RTW clothes, and do that, I need to sew what I need to wear. With this is in mind I set out to make McCall's 7313 for the first time, thinking it could become a "tried and true" (TNT) pattern for me. Yes, I see the irony of making something for the first time with the goal of repeating patterns more often! I was attracted to this pattern because it 1) looked simple 2) I liked the general A-line shape 3) it had two necklines and several sleeve options 4) knit dresses are quick & e...

I am very happy with the results of Simplicity 8380! I wanted a quick sew for a black-tie optional wedding that I was attending with my husband but I only had a month to put something together and I sew very slowly! I also wanted something that wasn't so fancy that I wouldn't be able to wear it again. How many black-tie events are you going to? I think this was my first one ever! I was glad to be able to lean into the "optional" a little bit, hopefully without being under-dressed. Since I wanted something fast but simple, I set out to find a one shoulder dress that was for a knit pattern. One shoulder seems fancy, right? Right?!? To make the dress, I chose a black on black cheetah print from Cali Fabrics . I had ordered from them recently and loved everything but I was disappointed when this fabric arrived. The cheetah print was much more pronounced looking online, whereas it was basically a slightly textured black when it arrived. Oh well. I used it anyw...

I first encountered the lady hood rockers pattern from Mammahooch2 in a Facebook sewing group. I love seeing other people's makes, it gives so much inspiration. Since I speak German I thought it would be a fun challenge to sew a German pattern! This one was so simple to put together and with so many pictures, you can easily sew it up based on those and a little help from Google translate if needed :) Originally, I wanted to make the hoodie version, Lady Hood Rockers but realized that I didn't have enough fabric for a hood. I also inadvertently made it the full dress length, not realizing the hoodie was an add on to the previous dress version . I'm sure this would have been clear if my German was better. I leaned it to this and finished the neckline with a band and made it a dress. Sometimes I try to make a top and get a dress, it happens. A little bit of an '80s vibe! I made it with this fun feather print from fabric.com . The white turned out to be a little tra...

Zip pouches make simple quick gifts and are a great way to use scraps of woven fabric. I recently made several quilts for gifts and a really cute owl pillowcase, which has left me with a lot of large scraps of woven fabrics. I'm seriously in love with this owl fabric and I wanted to use up every last little piece! Sadly it's out of stock now but they still have it in other colors . Zip pouches are good scrap busters because they can be made almost any size. I have a small one, which was the first zipper I every installed (in a sewing class called "fearless zippers!") that I use when traveling to put earrings in so they don't get lost in my bag. Larger ones hold makeup or even bigger ones to hold an iPad or laptop! You can use these same directions to make a pouch of any size based on size of scraps you have and what you want to use it for. Materials needed: Strips of scraps (or scraps you can make into strips) Matching thread Zipper ( mine was 9 inches,...