10 cool sewn things

Isn’t this one of the loveliest restyles you’ve ever seen!? I adore the finished product. Made by Tick Tock Vintage.

There’s something about this patchwork skirt that I really, really, really love. I think it’d be so much fun to make and wear. And I particularly like that the sewer said she made it for dancing in.

 

This backpack is so adorable! I’d like to make a backpack for Grady each year – as long as she lets me. I assume around 6th grade it will become completely unacceptable.

I’m obsessed with the color story in these quilt blocks by eileen josephine.

Lately I’ve been using large ziplocks as project bags, but that needs to stop. I’m sick of my needles poking through the seams of the bags, and I’m sick of how ugly it all looks in my purse. A project bag like this one is in order.

Another idea for a backpack for Grady.

This idea for a toddler dress from a t-shirt is great; the braided collar is such a nice touch.

Pretty self-explanatory, pretty useful.

This idea for spray-dying a fabric before sewing is so awesome. It’d be a great way to DIY that outer-space imagery trend.

Another make-your-own-underwear tutorial! Someday I really am going to do this. I swear.

10 cool sewn things

This is a shower curtain. And it’s so beautiful it’s causing me physical pain. Check out the tutorial at Sweetie Pie Bakery. (Also: I am so into DIY Anthropologie knockoffs. Into it in, like, a fist-pumping stick-it-to-the-man kind of way.)

Love, love, love this gray quilt. It’s just too pretty. Found at one flew over.

1. Aw. Kitty.
2. Wool throw! With pompoms! This would be so warm and easy and lovely. Tutorial at Design Sponge.

I’m definitely going to make Grady a crown of flowers (that, you know, I can borrow) soon, but I think it will be knitted/crocheted flowers. ‘Cause that’s more my wheelhouse. Anyway, this felt crown by Elsie Marley is inspirational.

I’m not actually a super huge fan of how this quiltblock looks, but I think it would be so fun to make that who cares how the thing looks? Wouldn’t this be a great scrappy quilt with thick linen stripes between blocks? Check out the tutorial at Sew Take a Hike.

Love, love, love this shirt-dress. So pretty. Tutorial from Prudent Baby.

OBSESSED. Oh man. A chevron quilt would be so incredible. Also, the colors in this block are perrrrrrfect. Tutorial at Bijou Lovely.

This, however, may just be the most perfect quilt to ever exist. Isn’t it beautiful? Found at Cosmic Dust.

I’m probably going to embroider this phrase and put it in my living room. I love it. Found via this isn’t happiness.

Cute! This scrappy flower tutorial from Create and Delegate is so great. It can be tough to find a quality fabric-flower tutorial. Considering making scarlet boutonnieres out of these for these musical scamps.

10 cool sewn things

I have serious feelings for these Vintage Sheet Quilts from Pins and Thimbles. They are so, so, so gorgeous. I am currently (“current” meaning April 27, when I’m writing this post) trying really hard to finished that dagnabbed purple and green quilt so I can start another and machine-quilt it. I know, I’ve said wonderful things about hand-quilting. And I do genuinely like hand-quilting. But MAN. It takes so much time. I started this quilt last June and have finished hand-quilting three of fifteen squares.

Cathedral Window quilt blocks were the things that convinced me that I wanted to eventually get into quilting. They are just so beautiful and intricate. This Cathedral Window Tutorial from The Sometimes Crafter is great.

LOVE this Value Quilt tutorial from Willy Nilly.

These color-coded quilts from In Color Order are great. Naturally, I want to make one of them in each color and then fold them all neatly and make the most impressive blog post ever.

I really like the idea behind this simple quilt from Katie Did, and might utilize it for the next time someone I know has a baby shower.

Or perhaps this simple fat quarter quilt from Craft could work for a baby shower. Obviously, I’m in a quilty mood.

These leggings were made out of a t-shirt! Waaaaaaant! In lots of colors! From Andrea’s Garden.

I want so badly to make dozens of these skirts for myself, but we know my issues with shirring. From Instructables.

SERIOUSLY. THIS IS TOO BEAUTIFUL. From In Color Order.

AH! I’m not a huge fan of random pillows, but this pom-pom pillow is excellent. Want. Found via Craft.

10 cool sewn things

Gorgeous quilt block by Grumperina.

The lady at Grosgrain made this dress from a vintage blouse. Love it.

Found via Mr. X-Stitch.

Quilt block tutorial found via WhipUp.

TOO GODDAMN GORGEOUS. (Yup. It gets to be full-size with all-caps. It’s that gorgeous.) Found via Craft.

I’m not generally that into skulls as an aesthetic choice, but I dig these. Found via Craft.

WANT. Holybowie I love this quilt so much. Grey/yellow is one of my favorite color combinations, and I love traditional patterns in modern colors. From wise craft.

I will love Grady no matter what type of elementary-school-kid she grows up to be. But it would be particularly awesome if she became a kid who likes these lunch sacks. Because seriously, how awesome are they? Found via Craft.

This pillowcase pattern/post was made for the purpose of philanthropy, but, uh, it reminds me of how I need to make my own pillowcases. I think that would be the perfect way to extend the theme of my bed/living room (yup. 1-bedroom apartment means that my living room is where my bed is. It’s cool.) and simultaneously make a dent in my massive fabric stash. Found via Craft.

Little Birdie Plush tutorial from A Beautiful Mess. I want to make these not as toys for Grady, but as decor. Which means I won’t be able to make them until she’s quite a bit older, because using toys solely as decor would kill the poor girl.

Written April 22.

10 cool sewn things

The cutest toys on the web can be found here. I swear.

Someday I will be able to accomplish this. I will. (Did I ever mention that I once tried to piece little triangles to create letters that said “Vote for Granato”? No I did not because it was a HUGE failure. The piecing, not the election. Well, now that I think about it, the election was much much much much much more of a failure than the piecing. Anyway, the point is this: I suck at piecing little bitty things.) From Craftapalooza.

ARG. TOO LOVELY. From Posie Gets Cosy.

This isn’t my style, but … I dunno. I love it. I think it would be cool on the bottom of a lampshade.

Yup. Grady needs this. It’s made from a t-shirt!

Tile quilting. YARG. Via Wee Wonderfuls.

Obsessed with the color choices in this quilt by Stephanie Japel.

How to “easily” hand-sew a quilt binding. I have my doubts about this “easiness,” but I suppose we’ll see once I finish quilting that purple and green beast.

TOO PERFECT.

I love this. The colors are great, but I also think it would be amazing in a random smorgasbord of ridiculous colors.

Written Feb. 12.

10 cool sewn things

Usually I’m not that into decorative pillows, but this one’s adorable. And bonus points for making anything out of a t-shirt.

Tutorial for an adorable smocked gingham dress. Smocking scares the hell out of me.

Easy kids pants from a t-shirt from Rookie Moms. Why don’t I sew more? I should just be sewing all the time.

Cloth shoe pattern. I’ve come to the conclusion that there are no shoes that fit Grady. Every shoe we’ve tried is too big, too small, or just impossible to put on. Her feet live outside the constraints of physical proportions.

Make a clothespin bag out of a curtain. I didn’t do much air-drying this summer, but am so excited to get back to it next year.

Make a reusable lunch bag out of a shower curtain. There are a lot of lunch bag tutorials out there, and this is by far my favorite. The others use waxcloth, which is just rediculously expensive.

Pattern for a strapless summer top. Love it.

Pouf! This is another exception to my no-decorative-pillows rule.

Craftzine made this great lesson about hems, which I really need to look into more closely. I have about 10 dresses waiting to be hemmed, and I’m too lazy and scared to start.

Amazing idea for a tote bag. And making log cabin squares is so much fun.

Written Nov. 13.

10 cool sewn things

Three dresses for three girls from angry chicken. Pictures like this make me think I could be convinced to have more children if I could be promised a swarm of girls.

Anna Maria Horner did a long informative post about quilting which I should probably read, but it included this photo that is just impossibly beautiful – it make the words unreadable for me.

Heinously cute homemade dress from Wee Wonderfuls.

I don’t know where these darlings are from, but I love them. And they look like they’d be pretty simple to make.

Do you think Grady would hate me if I used the same reusable wrapping for presents each Christmas? It’s such a great idea.

Tender.

I love the stitching on the trunk. Ug. I am not in the mood to be excited about sewing – is it horribly obvious?

Girl’s shirt from Wee Wonderfuls.

I probably should have read a post like this one about hand-quilting before I started quilting my purple and green monstrosity, but, you know, I didn’t wanna.

I think Grady would like these fabric nesting boxes.

10 cool sewn things

What with the childbirth and the breastfeeding, I’m a lot more comfortable with my body. Probably a bit too comfortable, as every time I wear a skirt or dress I’m much less aware and careful of how many people accidentally see my underwear. And the numbers are rising. So maybe I should make some of these ridiculously cute bloomers and retain a shred of modesty.

Toddler dress from a shirt by kojo designs. This tutorial requires a pretty specific shirt to begin with, but I’m sure now that it’s in my head someday I’ll see a similar shirt in some thrift store somewhere. Because this is pretty cute and Grady needs it. Poor girl. She’s going through a phase where she wants everything so much that it hurts. She’s this constant hurricane of want, and she’s finding it really frustrating.

Felted sweater becomes a bag from Not Dabbling in Normal. This is the first felted bag tutorial I’ve seen that I actually like. Those flowers are adorable.

Upcycle a skirt with ruffles tutorial from Craft. I don’t really see myself pulling this off, but it would be pretty great on a skirt for Grady in a year or two.

Petticoat tutorial by alisaburke. Aaaah! I need this, Grady needs this, Winston needs this – everyone needs one of these immediately.

A compendium of maternity sewing patterns from luvinthemommyhood. I tried to sew my own maternity clothes a total of one time. And it was a magnificent failure.

Lace applique tutorial from Ruffles and Stuff. This blog is a bit too sweet for my disillusioned bitter tastes, but this is a fantastic tutorial. It’s giving me dangerous ideas.

Strip quilt from whipup. Um. This is amazing. I may have just had some sort of hemorrage because this is too freaking amazing.

Abe Lincoln seed bead portrait by Eleanor Pigman. I want to touch it.

Forest flower dress from Posie Gets Cozy. This woman makes little girl dresses that are  … just too perfect. I have a bunch more saved for you, waiting to be put in yet-to-be-written posts.

These “10 cool …” posts are so peppy. I only write them when I’m in a good mood. And usually, when the pop up on the blog after weeks of sitting in the “scheduled” pile, they seem so foreign. But seriously. This stuff is amazing. The internet is amazing.