Owl Oven Mitt Tutorial

Do you love owls? Then you are going to need to sew the Owl Oven Mitt Tutorial I designed. This is a fun and useful project, and the design perfectly matches the owls used in Ann Kelle's fabrics!

Let's get started!

The Alice Bag in Juxtaposey Fabric

Spring is in the air, and I've finally managed to get a little sewing done. It feels so good to sit and sew and finish a project in a single day. I wish I could do that every day, don't you?

My latest project is this cute, round purse I sewed using The Alice Bag pattern by Polka Dot Chair. The shape of this structured bag is fun and playful, and the size provides tons of storage inside a zippered closure. The fabric I used is the new collection  Juxtaposey by Betz White for Riley Blake Designs. I love Betz' use of llamas, turtles, birds, butterflies, chickens, and flowers as well as the color palette for her prints. 

Disclosure: I was provided the fabrics and pattern used in this post in exchange for sharing a project a sewed with them. All opinions are my own.

Round Cushion Pattern and Tutorial

These round cushions are the perfect decorative accent for a bed, or sew one to use as a padded seat on a round stool. My children love tossing them in the floor and sitting on them! However you use them in your home, you'll be sure to get lots of compliments, especially when you use fun fabrics like Panda-Rama by Maude Asbury or Flutter & Float by Ana Davis for Blend Fabrics.

Make a small 12" diameter round cushion or a large 18" diameter round cushion using my Round Cushion Tutorial below. It's easier to make than you might think!

Disclosure: I was provided the fabrics used in this post in exchange for sharing a project a sewed with it. All opinions are my own.

Panda Face Zipper Pouch Purse Tutorial

Recently, I was commissioned to create some fun zipper pouches using Ann Kelle's Urban Zoologie in Spring panel fabric. I had never attempted a project quite like this before, so at first, there was a little trial and error in figuring out the best way to make these tiny animal face bags. I think the end result works wonderfully.

The following Panda Face Zipper Pouch Purse Tutorial gives specific instructions for using the Panda fabric panel to create this purse; however, the same steps and methods apply for using any of the animal face panels to create a simple zipper pouch, wristlet, or purse the perfect size for a child. The fabric panels that will work for this tutorial include a fox, panda, lamb, two dogs, and a cat. My daughter loves the fox coin pouch I let her keep!

Keep reading for a list of supplies and step-by-step instructions to create this precious Panda Face Zipper Pouch Purse!

Go Bananas Bag

My daughter's teacher asked me last week if I could repair their old, worn out recess ball bag. The bag had completely come apart along one side and most of the bottom, and let's not even mention how dirty it was from being dragged on the floor! I told her there was no hope left for that bag, but I'd be more than happy to sew a new one. She gave me what was left of the old bag for measurements, and later that night, Ella and I picked out fabrics.

I had recently received a half yard bundle of the latest collection from Blend Fabrics-- Tutti Fruitti by Maude Asbury. When we saw the That's Bananas fabrics in pink and blue, Ella immediately said those were perfect for her class because they were wild and kooky like monkeys! We decided to use the Lemon Drop in yellow fabric as part of the lining simple because it was yellow like a banana! What we came up with we dubbed the Go Bananas Bag!

Disclosure: I was provided some fabrics used in this post in exchange for sharing a project I sewed with it. All opinions are my own.

Now, I didn't take photos for a tutorial because I needed to make this bag in a hurry, but I will give you basic measurements and instructions for the construction in case you want to make your own Go Bananas Bag. This is a very large tote bag that is perfect for carrying a variety of items, especially recess equipment likes kickballs, soccer balls, jump ropes, and a first aid kit.

Keep reading for the details!

The Satchel Bag for Selfish Sewing Week

I love the idea of Selfish Sewing Week. It's a reminder that sometimes we just need to make ourselves a priority and sew something that we get to keep and enjoy!

When sewing for myself, I almost always prefer to sew a bag or purse. For Selfish Sewing Week, I chose to make myself The Satchel Bag from Sewing Patterns by Mrs. H. This was the first pattern from Sewing Patterns by Mrs. H that I had tried, but I have been admiring The Satchel Bag design for some time now. So glad Selfish Sewing Week gave me the nudge I needed to try it!

A New Echino Purse and Zipper Pouch for Me!

With Spring in the air, I decided it was time to swap out my purse for something new and fresh! I've been dying to try out some of the gorgeous Japanese Echino Fabrics, and making a new purse with them seemed like the perfect project to do just that!

I received four pieces of Echino fabric from this cute fabric shop, Modes4U.  They have one of the largest selections of Echino and other Japanese fabrics that I have ever seen, and it was extremely difficult narrowing my choices down to these four!

Disclaimer:  I was provided with the fabrics and the purse lock in exchange for my honest opinion about these products.

Philomena Fox Mini-Pillow

Unless you live in a bubble, then you know foxes are all the craze right now.  I'm always so slow at hopping on board such fun trends, but I've finally done it.

Virginia at Gingercake recently asked me if I'd like to try out her re-released Max the Owl pattern which now includes Philomena the Fox!  I knew this was my opportunity to contribute to the fox fad!

Disclosure:  I was provided this pattern and fabric for free in exchange for my honest review.  As always, all opinions in this post are my own.

For my version of Philomena Fox, I decided to print the pattern out at 50% of its original size to make a mini-pillow.  Like me, my children love things in miniature, plus I knew I had enough of this Anna Griffin Maisie by Maude Asbury fabric left over from another project to make a tiny version.  

First, I cut out the front and back pillow pieces using the Ma Maisie Stitch Grape, the face and pocket pieces in Ma Maisie Pearl Watermelon, and the eyes and nose in Ma Maisie Clover Grape.

I just love the colors used in this line of Anna Griffin fabric.  All three colorways are so bright and cheerful and make me want Spring to be here right now!

Instead of cutting out two more main pieces to make a lining, I decided to use some light weight Pellon 44F Fusible Apparel Interfacing to give the fabric a little more structure.  I also used Heat-n-Bond Lite to secure the face, eyes, and nose in place before stitching.

The pattern has simple and clear instructions and lots of tips on how to play around with the construction of the pattern to make it a unique item.  Plus, since the pattern has just been re-released, it now includes instructions for making both Max the Owl and Philomena the Fox!  

For my mini-pillow, I found some tiny vintage baby ric rac in my trim drawer and sewed it to the edges of the face.  I love the little extra detail and texture that the ric rac adds.  

And instead of sewing buttons on top of the eye pieces, I used the print from the fabric as the iris and highlighted the piece by zigzag stitching around it multiple times.

I chose to add the pocket to the back because I thought it could be used for two different things:

     1. to put cute little notes in it for my son and daughter as a game of "what does the fox say?"

         or

     2.  to use it as a tooth fairy pillow (my daughter is now old enough to start loosing teeth)

I also thought about just keeping it for myself and using it as a pin cushion to match another project that I recently finished.  Here's a sneak peak of it.  But as you can tell, I already made a pin cushion (actually 2) to use with that yet to be blogged about project!

So, if you are looking for a fun, fast (took me only an hour to make this cute mini-pillow), well-written project, then I highly recommend you try out the Gingercake Max the Owl and Philomena Fox pdf sewing pattern.  

Have fun sewing!