This is a fun and quick accessory to create, especially if you have a lot of ribbon laying around at this time of year. Chances are that you already have everything you need! We made two versions with different types of ribbon. The red striped band uses just one ribbon, and the green one has …

If you’re making a Negroni shirt, take a look at some of these free pocket variations you can try! Since there are so many options for doing cool things with pockets on men’s shirts, we couldn’t really decide. So here are several ideas, complete with instructions, for switching out the pockets and pocket flaps on …

This scarf is an easy way to use up fabric in your stash. With a nod to menswear, this scarf has a bit of an ascot look but with a fun pleat to lighten it up. No pattern is needed, you simply cut a couple of rectangles and sew! Items Needed: for scarf: 9 1/4” …

Looking for a way to spruce up your old winter coat or jacket? Using just a little bit of faux fur fabric you can make this fun addition to just about any coat in your wardrobe. The coolest part is that it is removable, so no permanent alterations are necessary. It’s attached with buttons sewn …

Bonjour! I’m Rachel, the newest editorial intern over at Colette Patterns. Boy, am I excited to be here! Sarai and I will be cookin’ up vintage inspired tutorials for all of you lovely sewists. Shall we begin? One of the most special aspects of vintage clothing are the unique little details and unexpected embellishments that add …

Let’s talk about cutting layouts. I’ve had a lot of experienced sewists tell me, “I just ignore the cutting layouts that come with patterns.” They say that they can usually find a more economical layout without them. Does that seem odd to you? Isn’t the whole idea of the cutting layout diagram to show you …

September was Before You Sew month, and boy was it a busy one! Since we didn’t quite make it through all the topics I wanted to cover in just four measly weeks, I thought I’d extend the topic through October. Here’s what we’ve covered so far: Sewing and Your Wardrobe: Why too much choice can …

I was doing a fitting with one of my lovely models last week, and as I pinned her into the gingham muslin, I told her that the dress she would be eventually wearing would be a beautiful blue silk. She had done a bit of sewing and said, “oh, I tried sewing silk once when …

Over at Gertie’s blog, she recently discussed cutting patterns vs. tracing them. There are clearly benefits for each, but I wanted to share a tip for the times you do trace, because there’s a wonderful solution for tracing your patterns available right in your local market. It’s called freezer paper, and it makes cutting a …

I am a hoarder of images. I love to collect visual inspiration, particularly for sewing ideas. But with the unending supply of beautiful inspiration sources on the web, the amount of input can quickly become overwhelming. I’d like to share some online tools that I’ve used to help manage and collect all of that inspiration. …

Prewashing fabric before you sew is something I think a lot of us learned the hard way. There is absolutely nothing more devastating in sewing then spending hours and hours on something you love only to have it shrink beyond wearability after one use. Ugh. That is where prewashing comes in. The idea is very …

Fabrics with nap require special handling, but with a few basic principles in mind, you can easily add them to your roster of sewing favorites. If you’re unsure what I mean when I say “with nap,” think about fabrics with a raised pile to them, such as velvet, corduroy, or velour. When you run your …

My sister turned 29 recently, and I neglected to buy her a present. When she mentioned that she needed skirts for the nursing program she’s starting in the fall, it seemed like an excellent opportunity to redeem myself and to try sewing with templates, wonderfully simple and useful tools that I learned about recently in Linda …

There are a thousand ways a sewing project can go wrong, though most of them stem from a few root causes: carelessness, bad materials, the wrong tools. As I was sewing this weekend, I started to think about the problems that have most often come up and ruined a sewing project for me (and others …

In my first few years of sewing, I never thought much about pressing. In my mind, it served the same basic purpose as ironing: flattening and smoothing fabric. The more I sew, and the more I read about sewing, the more I realize that the shaping and stabilizing achieved by pressing are just as vital — and …

I wrote a guest post over at the wonderful Sew Mama Sew blog this week, all about the mighty dart! Darts are one of those seemingly simple things in sewing that actually provide the key to understanding patterns and getting the right fit. Read my little primer on darts over at SMS so you can …

A while back I posted a review of this cool vintage buttonhole tool. Since the wonderful tutorial showing you how to use it seems to have disappeared, I thought I’d write a new one for you. This tool can be found in thrift stores and places like ebay. It basically acts as a nifty little …

This is a really interesting leaflet I found via the always lovely Millie Motts. It shows the beginner a step by step method for basting a garment and fitting it before sewing. You can click the images for a larger version. Did any of you learn to sew this way? It recommends basting the whole …

Yesterday, I wore this dress. I made it a few years ago; this is actually a terrible photo of me in it from 2007, hence the short hair. I don’t really wear it much because I prefer brown in small doses. But pulling it on made me realize that I really really need to sew …

  According to an article in an edition of Golden Hands magazine from 1971, ‘Fine Tucks Make Fine Fashion’, and who am I to disagree?! Especially when confronted with evidence as convincing as these fantastic illustrations. The article suggests that tucking ‘gives a well thought out, expensive looking finish to any garment, and lends itsef particularly well to simple, easy …

I’ve pointed a lot of people to the Small Bust Adjustment tutorial that Gertie wrote for us, using the Parfait pattern. SBAs are really useful adjustments for those with an A or B cup bust. This week, Shaerie of Sew LA in Los Angeles wrote to tell me about a similar tutorial she wrote, but …