Patterns, Techniques, Articles, Blogs, and other resources to learn how to sew
If your serger or coverstitch machine can make a chain stitch, you can use it for elastic thread shirring. Amity from Lolita Patterns shares a tutorial on Sewn Square One showing how. Unlike elastic thread shirring on a regular sewing… Read more ... 
Simi from Buttons & Paint shows how you can make a skull embellishment out of buttons. The white and pearl buttons are perfect for this – the colors remind me of old bone. She shows it as a page in… Read more ... 
Zaaberry shares a free pattern for making a pair of girl’s capri leggings. They’re cute worn with a t-shirt or tunic, or layered underneath a skirt or play dress. You can make a pair from 1 yard of knit fabric. … Read more ... 
Our scrapbooking editor Francine Clouden, and also author of Callaloo Soup blog, shares a tutorial over at Make and Takes showing how you can make these stitched leather bookmarks. They’re quick to make and require only smallish scraps of leather… Read more ... 
Amber from Crazy Little Projects shows how you can make a kid’s hooded towel cover up. You can give it a plain hood, or make it fun with a shark face like she did. Or any animal, really. She has… Read more ... 
Ashlee from My So Called Crafty Life shows how you can make this chunky braided fabric necklace. The braided fabric makes a lovely focal point! It’s a good project to use up scraps of fabric or, because you’ll only be… Read more ... 
Liz from Cotton & Curls played with the stripes on some knit fabric to make this eye catching pencil skirt. She shares a tutorial telling how she made it. She follows a basic stretch knit pencil skirt tutorial (linked to… Read more ... 
Melissa from Blank Slate Patterns and Melly Sews kicks off her 30 Days of Sundresses series with a tutorial showing how to make her Bow Back Dress. The deep scoop at the back is just the right amount of sexy,… Read more ... 
Beth from The Renegade Seamstress shares a tutorial at eHow showing how to make a throw pillow trimmed with custom piping. You can buy the piping premade at the fabric store, but the colors are so limited. And forget about … Read more ... 
Sew4Home shows how to make a unique gardening apron that’s designed for the bending, squatting, and reaching that’s part and parcel of active gardening. The skirt is actually made in two pieces to allow for easy movement. There are eight… Read more ... 
Veronica from SewVery shows how to make simple fabric drawstring bags you can use as storage bags or as reusable packaging for a special gift. They’re super easy to make, and you can whip them up in no time. You… Read more ... 
Lynette from Running With Scissors shows how to make a simplified cuff. It gives the look of a cuff and a placket, but look closely and you’ll see that the cuff is not a separate piece of fabric, but is… Read more ... 
Caroline from Sew Caroline shares a tutorial at Sew, Mama, Sew! showing how to make her Date Night Clutch. It uses a 10″ x 4″ frame for the top, so it’s a good sized clutch, big enough to hold just … Read more ... 
This travel bag would make a great Father’s Day present! It’s hard to see scale in this photo, but the boxy bag is big enough to hold a pair of shoes or perhaps a day’s outfit. Melissa from Polka Dot… Read more ... 
My favorite secret weapon for hemming knit fabrics is my twin needle. It creates two rows of straight stitches on the front of the fabric, but one row of zig zag stitches on the back which allows the seam to… Read more ... 
