My favorite piece of clothing on babies is the bubble romper. Learn how to make your own here.

Get ready for the pool or beach by making yourself a new floppy fedora.

Do you like to change your wallet with the season? Then bring in spring with a new bifold wallet!

Germs. We just can’t seem to shake them at our house as we are all sick once again. I am seriously contemplating making face masks for everyone (and they can match our outfits every day!).

I love a good fabric basket – especially if they have ‘interesting details’. I especially like the grommets and rope handles on this version.

I need someone to get married this summer just so I can make these adorable Bride & Groom Coffee Sleeves.

This is no ordinary tote bag, it’s an organizing tote bag (I need more of these in my life).

This week at Sew4Home it’s all about sewing nursery decor. Where was this diaper stacker tutorial when I needed it?

Create a custom flared skirt with this easy tutorial. Looking for something a bit fuller? Try this gathered skirt.

Protect your iPad Mini with a pretty handmade case.

If your room isn’t big enough for a beside table (or you just need a bit more organization) - this mattress\bedside caddy is a perfect solution (especially for storing remotes).

Congratulations to Karlyn R. – she’s our winner for the My Image Giveaway contest!  Thanks to everyone that entered – remember if you didn’t win this time, I’ll be having more fun contests\giveaways coming up this year…. there’s plenty of prizes to be had!

In the mean time, I’m headed to the laundry room to wash some new fabrics that finally arrived – spring has sprung and apparently this is the time I begin hording material!  I do have some plans for most of it, (Lady Skater dress, the Flora, a boat-neck tee, the Jalie (upcoming) dolman top (yes that is the EXACT fabric), and per request of my son a ‘flag outfit’ using my remnant Wonder Woman legging material and a new red stripe) although I just need a few free moments to  start sewing them up.

Yesterday I strayed away from sewing and did something completely different…. I made jewelry! I am definitely not skilled in this area, but when I saw the tutorial for Loose End’s Galaxy Bracelet, I knew this was something I could do… and I think my version was a pretty good first attempt.

My bands are not quite as tight, but by the time I was at the end of making this one, I finally figured out what I needed to do to make them consistent in size.  Plus my rhinestones are slightly smaller than what was called for in the instructions so you see a bit more space between the leather lace and the rhinestone. Best of all? This bracelet only set me back $7 and I have enough left over materials for one (maybe two) more! Woot!

The best thing about writing sewing articles is that I have the opportunity to work with unique materials and fabulous fabrics. My latest submission is a great case in point – Parson Gray’s Vagabond. I’ve been itching to work with this line the instant I saw it…. and finally found the right ‘excuse’ to play with it. Now if I could just learn to write my articles on the computer first and not have to do it the hard way (write it on paper, making notes, then type it out).

Just a reminder, there’s only a day left to enter the My Image Giveaway! You can enter daily for a chance to win a copy of this pattern magazine!

For everyone that is participating in the Ziggi Sew Along, there’s good news – the deadline for photo submission has been extended to April 30 (shhh, I still need to upload mine)! This gives you extra time to sew up your version if you’ve gotten behind or even sew a second jacket if yours is finished. Be sure to ask questions if you have them… with so many of us that have completed this pattern, there’s plenty of people available to help out!

I hope everyone has a fantastic, candy filled weekend and are able to sneak in a bit of sewing before Monday arrives.

Don’t forget to enter to win the latest copy of My Image pattern magazine here at StacySews! I’m even using Rafflecopter to make entering so much easier!

I think one of the most talked about tutorials this week is the adorable, Goin’ to Camp Duffle bags – and I see why, it’s pretty awesome!

It’s pretty safe to say that everything that comes from Elle Apparel is pretty awesome. The Falling For Florals skirt is no exception.

If you’ve ever seen\purchased\heard about cheer bows, you know they’re quite expensive. Skip the shopping and learn how to make one for yourself.

Ready for summer? Learn how to make the perfect summer swing dress just in time for the season.

If you haven’t caught the Riley Blake Union Jack Blog Tour (wow, that’s a mouthful), then I suggest you check out some of the great tutorials everyone has been posting (cosmetic bags, pajama pants). Before you leave her site, be sure to check out the fun, Pocket Full of Posies skirt, too!

Are you a fabric junkie? Love social media? Take Sew4Home’s Social Media Survey and be entered to win a mystery bundle!

There’s not a lot of (detailed) instructions on how to create this Sock Bunny, but it’s still awesome…. It’s a Sock Bunny – I love it!

I love instant gratification projects and this 30 minute sheath dress definitely fits the bill (and it’s stylish, too).

I may not be a huge fan of the word “totes”, but it’s cute and funny on this tote bag!

Easton’s birthday is next week and I’m thinking I may have to sew up one of these Felt Rainbow Birthday Cakes.

There was recently some talk about some people thinking about making underwear. I say, we do a sew along later in the year for it! Here’s a quick tutorial to get you started, though.

I am feeling the need…. the need for a GIVEAWAY!

I’ve been subscribing to My Image magazine for a year now and have enjoyed some of their patterns included in their magazine so I thought I would share the latest issue (Spring\Summer 2014) with one lucky winner. I’ve joined the 21st Century and decided to finally try out Rafflecopter – so hopefully entering the contest is much easier than what has been in the past. You can enter once daily and the contest ends on the 23! Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

It’s hard to believe that Easter is this weekend. While I have all the purchased items for the baskets, I’m a little behind on some Easter crafting! So yesterday, I sat in front of my machine and whipped out two stuffies using Urban Threads in the hoop Plushie Pals pack.

Since these little guys are Minky, I really should have used a ‘topper’ (a temporary stabilizer that keeps the ‘fuzz’ down, like Sulky Solvy that washes away when you’re done) because there are bits of fabric peeking out behind my threads, but I was in a hurry (last minute crafting) and I honestly don’t think my kids would notice\care if there’s a few ‘pokies’ sticking out. If I make more for gifts, I definitely will fix that! Otherwise, these little cuties took under 2 hours to stitch out, stuff, and attach the wings – so easy! I may even try to find some time to make a bunny before the weekend!

After some diligent sewing this weekend, I was able to finish my Rigel Bomber. Unfortunately, I can’t wear it today because it SNOWED overnight (I was able to snap some pictures while it was still 80 degrees yesterday. Yes, you read correctly, 80 degrees during the day with snow overnight…. CRAZY). On the bright side, I’m set for when spring returns. Enough about Mother Nature, let’s get to that jacket!

When I traced off this jacket, I went with an XS even though the size chart really places me in the small range. There was so much ease in the finished jacket that I thought it might be better to go one size down. Doing this made the finished jacket more fitted which worked with this look\fabric, but it is a bit more snug in the back than what I know it should be…. consequently, I’ll try the small next go around so somewhere between the two sizes to see how it changes the fit.

Overall this jacket wasn’t terrible to sew, although the welt pocket gave me some fits for awhile. At least the the end result looks nice from the exterior – just don’t look at the inside of the jacket… the pockets looks a bit sloppy and are definitely not representative of my best work. With that said, the rest of the jacket came together nicely and the instructions were great. My chief complaint? There’s no lining. While it’s really not a huge issue, I think I would have liked to see this one with a lining – at least it would hide my hideous pockets!

The bottom line: I can honestly say, I love this jacket. It’s on trend, not that difficult to sew (I would place this in the ‘intermediate’ category, but if you’d skip the pockets I could see an advanced beginner putting this one together), and doesn’t require tons of fabric and notions to put together. While the pockets gave me some difficulties, I think I have it sorted out enough to make a successful pair the next time around…. or a really awesome faux welt on the next go around! Overall, I’d highly recommend this one – it’s going to be fun to wear….. if we ever see spring again!

Today’s tweet was supposed to be me making a new shirt out of a very cute Kawaii Super Hero fabric, but my Rigel Bomber pattern arrived and we all know how distracted I get by new patterns!  LOL

So, instead of cutting into my Kawaii knit, I went shopping for fabrics and notions instead. After some very thoughtful browsing, I finally settled on ….. wait for it…….. a floral. I know it seems a bit obscure for a bomber jacket (although there seem to be quite a few out there with this pattern) and definitely not what I would ordinarily work with, but this sateen ‘called’ to me so I’m going with it (plus I think this jacket would be cute this spring with a pair of black shorts and a bright tank). I decided my first version won’t have the contrasting shoulders so I don’t need to worry about color matching! Here’s the details for the project:

Pattern: Papercut Patterns‘ Rigel Bomber

Fabrics: Floral Sateen “Bottomweight” from Joann‘s

Total Cost:

Pattern….$26.00

Fabric….$18.29

Notions….stash!

Total….$44.29