Sewing Business Blog

VIBRANT YELLOW HONEY BEES TISSUE BOX COVERS ARE BACK!!

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We’ve been selling out of our “Glittering Honey Bees On Yellow” fabric tissue box covers faster than we would ever have thought!!  It looks like everybody from bee keepers (honey producers) to honey lovers want to stock their rooms with the delightful glittering honey bees tissue box covers!

Then there are the Beautiful Glittering Butterfly and Rainbow Of Stars On Black tissue box covers that fans can’t get enough of.

Did I mention the Patriotic Tissue Box Covers that are flying off the shelf?  We’d sold out of the “Home Of The Brave” Flag design but it is back with four other patriotic designs.

Between the pollen / allergy season followed by the cold and flu season, we need tissue boxes in every room pretty much all year, and these colorful square tissue box covers can dress up every room in your house!

Check out all the designs in the GIFTS category of our website – you’ll find dozens of styles that you can use or give as gifts.

Easy To Make Gym Bag

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Those in the crafting business will love this post; however I believe the rest of us could use this information to help teach our children and grandchildren a little bit about sewing and crafting.  This quick and easy gym bag could easily be done by middle school age children, AND give them something they would be proud to use!  This gym bag could be used to carry tennis shoes for PE, or carry extra clothing when needed for practicing for sports.  We have several of these at our house ready for use at a moments’ notice.

EASY GYM BAG

Materials Needed:

Outgrown jeans or pants and thread to match

Outgrown jeans make wonderful gym bags, just as they make wonderful Country Aprons!!

Cut the legs off the jeans at the crotch line.  Open the legs at the inside seam and cut one half of the bag from each leg, making the length of the bag a length of your choice.  The side seam of the jeans will be the middle of the front and back of the gym bag.

With right sides together sew up the sides and bottom.  Turn the top edge down an inch and stitch in place.  Run cording through the top where you turned the edge down to make a handle.

Iron on appliques can be added for extra decoration.  And as mentioned previously, the upper part of the outgrown jeans can be made into Denim Country Aprons.

QUICK COIN PURSE – to use inside the gym bag!

Materials Needed:
1 10 x 12 or 9 x 12 piece of felt (your choice of color)
Felt scraps for trim
Co-ordinatinating color of yarn
1 snap

Cut a pattern for the coin purse 8″ high and 4″ wide.  Divide the lower two sections into 3″ segments, leaving the top 2″ for the flap.  Draw in the circular “top” of the flap.  Fold the lower third up to make the pocket.  Stitch around both sides with the yarn, then hand stitch around the top of the flap using the same yarn.  Fold the top flap down, then sew a snap closure on it.

If you’d like, you could braid several pieces of the yarn into a 12″-16″ length — stitch it to one side of the coin purse, and stitch the other end to the inside of the gym bag, so it will be handy to use whenever you use the gym bag.

Wearable Art

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Embellishing has become a national pastime for people of all ages!  From a simple applique to a dazzling design that thrills the eyes, you can certainly say that when it comes to embellishment – anything goes!  T-shirts and sweatshirts are the primary objects of embellishment although certainly not the only possibilities.  You can use the jewels, sequins, buttons and other trims on purses, shoes, belts, jeans and shorts, hair bands and bracelets, just for starters.

To get you started, try the razzle dazzle studded belt, or go for the trimmed sneakers.  Your friends will probably want you to make them a pair too!

STUDDED BELT

Make this lavishly studded belt in one evening, have a great deal of fun doing it and make a fashion statement in the morning.  Friends will rave about this ornamental belt and they won’t believe that you didn’t spend lots of money on it, much less that you made it yourself!

Start with a cloth or leather belt in the desired color (TIP: you may already have one in your closet that will work).  Adorn it with an assortment of gold and silvertone rivets, multi-shape Western motifs and colorful crystals.  There are many shapes, styles and colors to choose from on the market these days that won’t put a large dent in your pocketbook.  Remember to follow the manufacturer’s instructions for attaching your trinkets or try using a small hammer to push the rivets through and finish turning the points under on the other side.  Just follow your instincts on placement and you’re sure to have a gorgeous finished belt!

SNAPPY SNEAKERS

Use bright add-ons like these to give your sneakers pizzazz!  For kids age 5 to 95!  Buy precut vinyl shapes (hearts, lips, lightning bolts, circles, arrows, etc), small bows and beads at your local craft store.  Give all of these items to your kids and show them how to use glue to attach them to a plain pair of canvas sneakers.  Add beads to the shoe laces for a finishing touch.  Children will have loads of fun assembling them and they’ll have happy feet when they’re done!

Awesome New Cat Toys Pattern

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This pattern consists of full-size pattern pieces and step by step sewing instructions for two sizes and lengths of a “stick”, two ball sizes, a cute fish, and my favorite – an adorable mouse!  This complete collection of cat toys have either bells inside or crinkle material for the crinkly noise, as well as colorful feathers at the end of one of the sticks.  You can use your own imagination for the noise and placement of feathers, but one thing is for sure – your cat will LOVE them!  One of my grandsons wants to try to put some little wheels on the bottom of the mouse so it will move and make their cat run after it.

All of these cat toys can be made from fabric remnants from your scrap box, using whatever bold colors or glittering fabric (like the red ball) that you may have.  I do recommend that you use fleece for the mouse so you don’t have to “finish” the outside edges of the ears.  These toys are very easy to make, so make some for your cat and for your friends’ cats as well!  All patterns have 1/8” seam allowance included.

This pattern is available at our Etsy Shop – https://etsy.com/shop/patternsthatfityou   – or go directly to the Craft Pattern section.  You will LOVE this pattern and if you or your customers have cats, the cats will LOVE the toys!!!