Behold the beautiful fabric flower that will compliment your spring wardrobe and is an absolute cinch to sew up! This project is great for utilizing an overflowing scrap fabric stash and only takes about fifteen minutes from start to finish…so it’s perfect for giving you a creative boost when time is of the essence! I sewed the …

Corded pintucks are a beautiful and subtle vintage detail that you can add to almost any lightweight garment! A thick thread (embroidery floss* here) is used in the bobbin to create a raised surface detail. Already have a pair of tap pants sewn up, but looking for an extra detail to make them stand out? …

How to Sew an Invisible Zipper from Colette Patterns on Vimeo. Zippers can be daunting even for experienced sewers. The reason? Zippers are often installed the wrong way. Lots of seam ripping and swearing ensues, especially when it’s a simple mistake. There’s no need to be scared of zippers anymore! We’re here to help. With …

Tired of your lining or facings peeking up from the inside of your garment? Understitching solves this problem! Understitching is simply stitching a line close to the edge of a facing to keep it from rolling toward the outside. It comes in especially handy when sewing around a neckline. It keeps the facing, or lining, …

Today we have a sweet little tutorial featuring arrowhead tacks inspired by McCall’s Sewing Book. Tacks are decorative reinforcements used on the right side of the fabric at the ends of the pockets, seams, or pleats. Of course, arrowhead tacks are super cute and can simply be added to a garment just for looks, if you’re so …

This cute accessory can be made using small scraps from leftover projects. Because of its versatility as a pin, the bow could easily be worn on anything from a hairband to a purse. Here we’ve used stripe fabric cut on the bias. You can easily customize this using contrasting fabrics, or replacing the center band …

Seam finishing is a very important part of sewing. The inside of your garment should be as lovely as the outside. Why? Because finished seams not only look professional, they keep the edges of your fabric from fraying. If you’ve been attached to your pinking sheers or are looking for a different way to change …

Earlier we did a tutorial on bias bound seams. Here is another bound seam, this time pressed open. Usually this finish is found in jackets or garments made with thicker fabrics such as cotton twill, certain wools or other medium to heavy weight fabrics. Whatever the garment, the seams must lie flat so make a …

Flat fell seams are used to strengthen garments and are often seen on heavy weight fabrics such as denim and canvas. Last week, we showed you how to do a traditional flat felled seam with a felling foot, and how to do it without a felling foot. Now take a look at your jeans. From …

This is lesson number two today in flat felled seams for Celebrate the Boy month! Lesson one covered how to sew flat felled seams without the use of a specialty presser foot. But if you do have one, or are thinking about getting one, here’s how you’d do it. Why use a felling foot? Well, …

This month is Celebrate the Boy month, hosted by Rae and Dana! Now, I’m not known for kids patterns (I leave that to the experts like Oliver + S and Figgy’s), but I do agree that boys of all ages sometimes get short shrift in the sewing department. There’s no reason for that, because sewing …

Bias bound seams are a simple way to finish your garment. You can easily make the insides as interesting as the outsides by using patterned bias binding or play it down with matching colors. Either way, this is a nice finish and easily customizable. Keep in mind that the binding will add a some bulk …

Lace yokes are yet another nod to classic styles of the past that remain ever so popular in modern designs. Altering our Sencha pattern to incorporate a contrasting yoke is surprisingly easy, and can be varied in quite a few ways to create any look you want! I love the elegant lace we used for …

We’ve had so much fun putting pretty touches on our lingerie patterns and sharing the tutorials lately that we thought we’d do a roundup with these and a few more ideas! We drew inspiration from the lovely lingerie of past decades and changed them a bit for a more modern sensibility. If you decide to …

These vintage inspired french knickers are so simple and lovely that you’ll never need to buy another ridiculously expensive pair from the internet ever again! Well…maybe you’ll still feel the urge to splurge on vintage dainties (who can really resist vintage underpinnings, am I right?), but at the very least try our tutorial first. These steps can …

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, sewing a pair of dainties is a crafty and thoughtful way to get in the spirit for your loved one. Not only is our Nutmeg pattern cute, but there are endless ways to make it unique! In this tutorial we’ve used a set of vintage lace appliques that add …

One of the proudest moments for any sewist is finally flaunting the creation that so much time, energy, and love went into making. Who doesn’t cherish that cheerful moment when a compliment is tossed your way, giving you the opportunity to boast that you (yes, you!) created a gorgeous, expensive looking garment completely from scratch?! …

{photo of floral bias tape trim by uklassinus} As mentioned previously here, bias tape is pretty, useful, and adds a unique touch to garments. It’s also a fabulous way to use up scrap fabric from other sewing projects. After sorting through photos of bias tape for inspiration, I want to hole up in the studio …

Winter is definitely here in Portland! We came up with this fun winter scarf to keep you warm during the short cold days. Using two contrasting wool fabrics, one particularly soft, creates a warm blanket for your neck and shoulders. We used some leftover wool herringbone (in white) and a brushed twill (in pink). The …

I’m super excited about this newest sew-along. The awesome Peter of the menswear sewing blog Male Pattern Boldness is doing a sew-along for the Negroni pattern. If you’ve been interested in picking up this pattern, but unsure about the details of menswear, this will be the perfect opportunity to step up your shirt sewing. Peter …

Here it is, folks! Our free weekly sewing tips delivered by email, which I mentioned last week. Snippets delivers handy sewing tips right to your inbox every Tuesday. I love this format for sewing tips because: Sewing is about continual learning, and you can get that learning delivered to you. You learn new things in …