It’s time for the fourth block tutorial in the Whitney Sews Sampler Sew Along! Haven’t heard about it yet?!? Each month I’ll be sharing a step by step tutorial to make a traditional quilt block as well as how to sew the blocks together to create a sampler style quilt that finishes in a great lap quilt/baby quilt size.
This week I’m sharing a tutorial for the Churn Dash Block. This block has been around since the first half of the 1800s.
I share the step-by-step instructions for sewing this block in the video HERE!
Don’t forget to share a pic of your finished block with #SamplerSewAlong so we all see it!
If you want more details on the supplies I use in my videos, you can find them all HERE! I set up an Amazon storefront so all my most used items are in one place and if you use my link to purchase anything I get a small percentage for referring you and that goes to help create more quality content like this video tutorial.
Could these two be any cuter?!? My girls love wearing skirts, so my mom and I thought it would be fun to let the kids pick out some cute fabrics and we would use them to make skirts. The skirts are so easy to make even a beginner sewer came make one in an afternoon.
The first thing you need is to pick out some fabrics. We went to JoAnns to get some fun cotton printed fabrics, but you can pull from your stash as well. We ended up getting several fabrics while there and you can see everything we got in our haul HERE!
The amount of fabric you get depends on the size you need the finished skirt. The fabric needs to be approximately double the person’s waist size. My kids both have 20 inch waists so I’m using the full width of the fabric which is about 44 inches. If the person is larger than 25 inches you will need to purchase more. For the length we went with a half yard. That was perfect for my oldest, Peyton, but I needed to trim about 1.5 inches off for my youngest. If your skirt ends up shorter than you wanted (or your kids go through a growth spurt!) you can add lace, ruffles, or other trims at the bottom for extra length.
In addition to your fabric you will need 3/4 inch elastic and your basic sewing supplies. You can see my favorite supplies to use HERE!
Now that you have your supplies it’s time to get started! Follow along with the step-by-step instructions in the video HERE!
See! So simple to make, but absolutely adorable! If you enjoyed the tutorial make sure to share the link and if you make your own skirt I would love to see a pic so feel free to post on facebook or instagram with #WhitneySews. I’ll be back next Wednesday with the next video in the Sampler Sew Along. Until then, Happy Sewing!
This week I wanted to share a fun project I made when my hubby requested a bag to carry his lightsabers in to and from JediOKC events. I put the project off for a while because I was nervous about coming up with a design that would work well for the large size. We finally came up with the idea of a carrying case that rolls up and fastens similar to a makeup brush roll or a crochet hook roll.
Check out my video all about the carrying case HERE and below will be some written directions for anyone wanting to make their own.
I started with a package of Bosal In-R Foam Plus measuring 36 x 58 inches. It is a foam stabilizer that is fusible on both sides and easy to sew through. I laid the lightsaber pieces out on the foam and marked the design I wanted around them with a marker. The carrying case needed a large pocket along the bottom, one smaller pocket up higher, a small zipper bag, elastic to secure the longer items, and a flap at the top to make sure everything stays in place and is protected. Then I used those markings to get the measurements for all the pieces.
The outer and lining fabrics are fused to the foam stabilizer then trimmed to the 36 x 58 inch size.
The remaining pieces were cut using the following measurements-
Fuse the interfacing onto the corresponding pieces. I like to purchase THIS interfacing by the bolt and use it for lots of projects. Fold the large pocket piece in half with the right sides on the outside and press the folded edge. Place the two flap pieces right sides together and sew along one long side and both short sides. Turn right sides out, press, and top stitch those three sides. Lay the two small pocket pieces right sides together and sew around leaving a small opening in one of the sides. Turn right sides out, press, and top stitch. Follow THIS tutorial to create zipper pocket.
After the outer and lining fabrics have been fused to the foam lay the large pocket along the bottom lining up the short sides and the bottom edge. Sew along those three sides leaving the top folded edge of the pocket open. Center the flap along the top edge and sew the long side to attach. Lay out your lightsaber pieces and mark where the large pocket needs to be sewn to divide it into multiple pockets. Also pin and sew the small pocket and zipper pocket into place with a top stitch. Add extra stitching at the top edges of the small pocket so it doesn’t start coming off later. Then cut 2 inch wide elastic so it is long enough to go over each piece and be securely sewn on each side. Sew each elastic piece into place.
Trim up the outer edges if needed then use 3 inch side strips of fabric to bind the edges as shown in THIS tutorial. Create a carrying strap as shown in THIS video, just skip the step where the clips are added in the video. I would recommend adding bosal in-r foam to the strap. I didn’t and wish that I had! Lastly cut two elastic straps that are long enough to wrap around the case with a couple of inches of overlap. Sew the elastic to the case with the ends of the strap tucked underneath. Refer to the video for closeups on this step.
I hope this was helpful! I know not everyone is interested in Star Wars DIYS and even less people need a lightsaber bag, but it was a fun project and I wanted to share it. If you found this post helpful please let me know in a comment down below. Until next time, Happy Sewing!
After posting my step-by-step memory bear tutorial earlier this year I got TONS of requests to show how I made some of my bears look like they are wearing overalls. This was a fun little detail I came up with for a custom order. I was making bears for a family who had lost a loved one and he ALWAYS wore overalls. So I knew I had to find a way to incorporate that into the bears. I love how it turned out and so did the family.
The overalls detailing is done using the same memory bear pattern as the rest of my bear tutorials – Simplicity’s It’s So Easy A2115. It is out of print, but a lot of people have still had some luck finding it in their local Wal-Mart. If you can’t find that pattern you can use Simplicity 5461 which is an updated version that is only for sale online.
You will need to make some markings on your bear body front pattern for the seam and strap placement. This is easiest if you have transferred your printed pattern over to plastic templates like I showed in a tutorial HERE! Then use some 1/2 inch wide washi tape for the marks. This allows you to place the plastic templates over your pieces as you work with them and line everything up perfectly.
See where to place the tape on your template, the pieces you need to cut and how to sew it all together in my step-by-step video HERE!
I hope you love this custom bear detail and give it a try when making your memory bears!
If you want to see more of the bears I make you can check them out on my Whitney Sews Memories facebook page. Want more info on some of the sewing and cutting supplies I love using?? Check them out HERE on my Amazon page! Anytime you purchase an item through my Amazon link I earn a small percentage and that helps fund future sewing tutorials.
Let me know if there are any other memory bear sewing techniques you want to see a tutorial on. Until next time, Happy Sewing!
It’s time for the third block tutorial in the Whitney Sews Sampler Sew Along! Haven’t heard about it yet?!? Each month I’ll be sharing a step by step tutorial to make a traditional quilt block as well as how to sew the blocks together to create a sampler style quilt that finishes in a great lap quilt/baby quilt size.
This week I’m sharing a tutorial for the Puss in the Corner Block. This block is a version of the basic nine patch block that has been around since the early years of quilt block piecing.
I share the step-by-step instructions from cutting to sewing this block in the video HERE!
Don’t forget to share a pic of your finished block with #SamplerSewAlong so we all see it!
If you want more details on the supplies I use in my videos, you can find them all HERE! I set up an Amazon storefront so all my most used items are in one place and if you use my link to purchase anything I get a small percentage for referring you and that goes to help create more quality content like this video tutorial.
If you’ve been around my channel for very long then you probably now that my oldest, Peyton, is OBSESSED with Shamu and all things orca related! So when we found this adorable orca whale fabric at JoAnns she insisted I make her something from it. I went through my HUGE pattern stash (you can see all of my patterns HERE!) and found McCall’s 6310. I love how the bodice and neckband form a shape that resembles a whale tail. This is the perfect pattern for this fabric!
The dress turned out exactly how I pictured and Peyton loves it!
For this week’s tutorial I’m showing step-by-step how I made Peyton’s Shamu dress using McCall’s 6310. You can find that video HERE!
The smallest size on this pattern is a size 4 (about an inch larger than Peyton’s measurements), but I didn’t want to make any adjustments to the pattern sizing since it was my first time making it. So after I finished the dress I folded a pleat in the back center under the loop and sewed a few hand stitches to keep it in place until Peyton gets bigger.
Let me know if you like videos like this and want to see more in the future. Until next time, Happy Sewing!
On youTube 100,000 subscribers in a huge milestone to reach. My channel is getting really close to reaching that 100,000 subscriber mark and I’m so excited about it! I will be hosting the biggest giveaway I’ve ever hosted to thank each and every one of you for your views and support over the years! Today I wanted to share a sneak peek of some of the items that will be in the giveaway, as well as a few other items Arteza sent me.
Arteza was so kind to send over a few items for my giveaway and I can not wait to share them with you all!
You can find more details about all the items mentioned in the links below. The links are affiliate links so I do earn a small percentage if you purchase one of the items through my link. This helps to financially support future Whitney Sews tutorials –
MAKE SURE TO USE COUPON CODE WhitneySews10 TO SAVE 10% OFF YOUR ORDER!
If you use sewing patterns at all I’m sure you’ve noticed that vintage reproduction patterns are wildly popular! They allow modern sewers to create vintage inspired looks with ease and convenience. No worrying about trying to track down a single size vintage pattern that is all in tact and in good condition. You can just run down to your local fabric store, pick up a pattern (hopefully on sale!) and start right in. Butterick, McCalls, Simplicity, and Vogue have joined the fun and are offering fantastic pattern options.
I recently shared my sewing pattern collection HERE, showing off all 308 patterns in my stash ranging from the 1920s to 2018! One really fantastic part of my stash are the patterns I own in reproduction AND the original printing!
This is the first vintage and new set I acquired. I picked up the reprint of Simplicity 3544 about 8 years ago when I first started collecting retro patterns. A couple of years later I purchased a bag of patterns at a thrift store and the vintage version of the pattern was inside. I didn’t realize at first that it was the same design. Once I noticed I was so excited that I had found one of the original copies just by chance.
I purchased several of those pattern grab bags at various thrift stores over the years. Inside one of the bags was this 1950s blouse, jacket, and skirt pattern. I feel in love with the smart style and it was in my size(!!!), but too fragile to actually work with. Just this week I went to Hobby Lobby to take advantage of their $.99 Simplicity pattern sale (I needed a different size in one of my patterns). While there I flipped through the vintage reprint section of the catalog and saw pattern 8462! It is one of their newly released patterns and a reprint of my beloved vintage original!
I’m not actually certain when I picked up this vintage bathing suit pattern. It was possibly when a local fabric store was moving. The store had several boxes of old patterns that had been given to them and they were giving them away for free to any one who was interested. Of course I was interested! My mom and I sat on the floor in the back room of the store and went through box after box of patterns. Interestingly enough that is the same store that is going out of business this week that I have been getting so many amazing deals at! I had forgotten all about this pattern until I was working on my pattern collection video. I have wanted to make a vintage style swimsuit for years, but never found a pattern I loved. Well, I love this one, but it’s too small. I was trying to work out how I could easily alter it to fit my size and the next day is when I went to Hobby Lobby. And wouldn’t you know, right there in the catalog was Simplicity 8139, a reprint of that same swimsuit pattern! Now I can make that fabulous swimsuit, in my size, without having to worry about damaging the original copy or drastically altering it to fit my waist and hips!
I absolutely love this part of my pattern collection and hope to acquire more vintage and modern sets in the future!
Which of these sets is your favorite?? Do you have any of your own? If so I would love to hear about them!
I own a LOT of sewing patterns! I haven’t actually used very many of them (it’s a goal to start using more!) but they are so lovely and inspiring, especially the vintage and vintage reprints. I thought it would be fun to dig out all my patterns and make a video showing EVERY single one of them! This way you all can see them and I can easily reference it as well.
I had such a lovely time going through my stash and discovering some patterns I had forgotten about. I hope you enjoy seeing my entire collections HERE! A pair of little shears in the lower left corner of the screen notes that I have used that pattern.
I also posted a bonus video today answering some of the frequently asked questions about my sewing pattern stash. I go over how my oldest, favorite, first used, and more! You can see all my answers to your questions HERE!
I hope you enjoyed getting a glimpse at my patterns and what actually hides behind the “curtain” in all my videos 😉
This week I have a fun, super easy project to share! My hubby Jeremiah wanted a new camera strap that was long enough to wear crossbody with a Star Wars theme so we whipped one up and he loves it!
We used THIS ribbon for the Star Wars part, but you can select any ribbon that suits your tastes.
Check out the full video HERE to see how the strap was made!
What kind of ribbon would you use?? Until next time, Happy Sewing!
