by Sherri Sylvester | Jan 10, 2017
Good Tuesday Morning to you!
Many of the friends and readers I talk to are beginner sewers. They love the DIY community and want to start sewing themselves. So, this month I am excited to post quite a few beginner sewing skill posts (+ regular stuff thrown in) and thought it would be a great time for a beginner-friendly pattern release. (Tester call below!)
Why am I doing this?!
These patterns help me to support this blog and my family! We’ve been a one-solid-income family since my kids were born. Both girls have been in full-day school for a few years now and so one of my blog-goals this year is to use my time to provide more for-sale content to help add to my husband’s hard work!
I’ve created PDF patterns for a few of my most popular free tutorials. These are PDF e-patterns with all of the instructions, updates, and pattern pieces in a tidy document. So far I have two available for a purchase of any donation.
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SUPER HERO CAPE PDF PATTERN: available for any donation!
This listing is for the 9 page instant PDF download of the Super Hero Cape Pattern + pattern pieces, a tidy version of the free tutorial posted here. It is available for any donation. Thank you for your support!
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CAT-EYE POUCH PDF PATTERN: available for any donation!
This listing is for the 10 page instant PDF download of the Cat-Eye Zippered Pouch Pattern + pattern pieces. A tidy version of the free tutorial posted here. It is available for any donation. Thank you for your support!
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P.S. You can find the Forest Glen Satchel Pattern and more in my Pattern Shop as well!
And… I’m also releasing a new PDF Pattern in a few weeks!
The free Fat Quarter Skirt tutorial has always been a favorite, and is well-used at our house. When I taught this skirt as a workshop at Creativ Festival, I sized it and provided a proper pattern to the students. Now I can release it to you!
The Fat Quarter Skirt PDF Pattern is Now Available!
Purchasing this fully tested skirt pattern gives you access to 5 sizes, child’s 2-6, to create a skirt that is 9-11 1/2″ (23-30cm) long. Expect lots of tips and tricks throughout, a glossary of terms, recommended best practices and instructions geared towards an absolute beginner. This pattern is truly a quick sew – allow yourself just 1-3 hours to finish, including your fabric cutting time. It’s also a great stash-buster, requiring only 2 fat quarters and a length of elastic… things you probably already have in your stash! To find out more about the pattern, click here.
Purchase the Fat Quarter Skirt PDF Pattern – $8.50 CDN
Thank you for your support!
*edited: Thank you, everyone! Testing is now closed.”
Pattern Testers, Please!
Before posting the final version, I would love to have some of you sew a skirt to make sure the pattern is perfect! If you would like to test the pattern between January 13-23, let me know by filling out the form linked below.
Anything Else?
Yes! Is there a tutorial here that you’d love to have a PDF for? Let me know in the comments and I’ll add it to the list.
Thank you so much for your continued support. I’m so excited to begin this new year with you!
by Sherri Sylvester | Jan 5, 2017
Happy New Year! I hope you and yours have had time to relax (and sew) this season! I know we partied too hard, because all four of us are sick over here – but not to worry, thankfully also on the mend thanks to my mom’s trusty Broccoli Cheese soup recipe (which we’ve eaten too many nights in a row to speak of – it’s easy and delicious!)
I love turning over a new year and talking about the last one. It is especially fun to tally up the posts you loved most in the past year. Since the #bestnine of Instagram 2016 were posted last week, it seemed fitting to post more Top 9’s. All blog-related this time – your favorite posts from 2016, and your all-time favorites. Plus, I had to choose my favorite Top 9 blogged makes from 2016 as well. Let me know if we’ve missed your favorite in the comments below!
Top 9 Thread Riding Hood Favorites of 2016:
1) Free 12 Page Quiet Book Tutorials ~ 2) Quiet Book Construction ~ 3) Perfectly Unperfect Quiet Book ~ 4) Quiet Book Cover Assembly Tutorial ~ 5) Quiet Book Page Assembly Tutorial ~ 6) Sewing Diaries – 12 Tips & Tricks for Sewing Knit Fabric ~ 7) Sewing Diaries – Tips for Sewing Thicker Fabrics ~ 8) Coiled Rope Baskets ~ 9) Sewing Diaries – Tips to Quilt on Your Machine
Top 9 Thread Riding Hood All-Time Favorites:
1) Free Quiet Book Sew Along ~ 2) Free Stuffed Animal Chair Pattern ~ 3) Free Cat-Eye Zippered Pouch Pattern ~ 4) Free Sunny Glasses Case Pattern ~ 5) Canadian Online Fabric Stores ~ 6) Quiet Book Construction ~ 7) World’s Fastest Pencil Case Tutorial ~ 8) Free Super Hero Cape Pattern ~ 9) Free Pretty Floral Divided Tote Pattern
Sherri’s Top 9 Favorite Makes of 2016:
1) Violette Easter Dresses ~ 2) Fancy Green Dress ~ 3) Chobe Bag ~ 4) Design Diva – free apron pattern ~ 5) Sweet Talk Phone Bag ~ 6) Tree Party Cargo Duffles ~ 7) Marmalade Faux Leather Jacket ~ 8) Makers Tote ~ 9) Frozen – Anna Costume
Thanks so much for your support through 2016 – Here’s to the next year!
P.S. Other year-end reviews are here if you are interested – 2013, 2014 and 2015.
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 26, 2016
Merry Christmas! I hope you have had a lovely holiday season so far.
SO much thanks goes to each and every one of you! I am reminded at holidays especially, how grateful I am to YOU! For coming back and reading and following along all year. I couldn’t do this without you!
For everyone following along on Instagram. everyone is posting their “Best Nine” pics again. The nine photos in 2016 that got the most likes (thank you!) So I thought it would be fun to share mine here with links to the blog posts if they exist.
Thread Riding Hood Best Nine of 2016:
(Top to Bottom, Left to Right)
1) Reposting a photo when Instagram was changing their feed from chronological to “whatever it is now”! ~ 2) My youngest’s “A Very Hungry Caterpillar” skirt ~ 3) My youngest sewing an unblogged chalkboard zipper pouch. You can find out more about the sewing videos for kids she’s using though. ~ 4) Tree Party Cargo Duffles for my kids ~ 5) My gold Chobe handbag ~ 6) My Sister’s Makers Tote ~ 7) An Extraordinary Girl shirt for my oldest ~ 8) Our cat! Her name is Cyan – because of her eye colour ~ 9) Faux Leather Marmalade Jacket
Have a wonderful holiday and I hope you get to spend some time off relaxing – and sewing of course!
I’ll be enjoying visits with family and friends this coming week, but I’m hoping to check in with an old project I just finished. I’m really excited for what next year holds and I’d love to hear what you are up to as well!
(P.S. My daughter has been wearing her shweshwe Pinafore all season – it’s perfect for Christmas!)
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 21, 2016
It does not feel ready to be almost-Christmas over here – and it’s not for any lack of snow – we’ve got piles outside! Thing is, our kids are still in school and will be right up until Friday. Crazy – they get out for holidays this year on Christmas Eve’s Eve.
So, I’m right on time with my teacher gifts – even though it’s so close to Christmas and they went to school with the kids this morning.
I try to get the girls involved in choosing fabrics and making cards for their teachers, plus we’ve made a tradition of giving something simple to each of them, along with a World Vision gift. I always have a hard time choosing something useful to sew (ie. something they would love to actually use!) – so a few years ago we decided to supply textbooks to kids in the teachers’ names.
We already sponsor two World Vision kids, so it is something we believe in. Plus, the girls have a connection to it and think the gift is pretty cool too! (This isn’t a sponsored post – just something we like to do!)
The awesome Japanese Girls fabric by Alexander Henry came from a Fat Quarter Swap with my friend Rachelle who writes That’s Sew Venice. I’ve been hoarding it for a year now and hope it’s perfect for my oldest’s teacher! Speaking of my oldest – she also insisted her cat-loving teacher would want the cat faces fabric for the lining. Let’s hope she’s right!
My youngest chose a less bright palette with my favorite plaid scraps and the navy owls I used to line this jacket. Of course, it is in her favorite colour, not her teacher’s. (Which I tried and failed to find out.) Again with hoping that she loves it!
Leather and Rivet Zipper Pull Mini DIY ~ a no-sew project!
The zipper pulls were a fun inspiration I thought up a month ago and finally got to use! These are “no sew” zipper pulls and are made the same way as my “Change a Zipper Pull” tutorial – except they are way more awesome because they are leather. And they have rivets to hold them together!
All you need to do is cut up a tiny 1/2″ by about 3″ piece of leather (or vinyl). Fold it over a large jump ring and attach it with a rivet. Take the original zipper pull off as per the tutorial – then use a smaller jump ring to stick the whole thing together. They look super professional if I can say so myself!
What is your favorite teacher gift?
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 16, 2016
I have a general lack of Christmas pillows, so I’ve been trying to make one each year to add to my collection.
This pillow was designed to be super simple. Two square sides, some quilting, and an invisible zipper closure + pompoms for some fun! My husband isn’t sold on them (yet?), but the kids and I think pompoms are definitely the way to go.
I’ve been stashing the materials for this in a project bag since before last Christmas. Which (of course) is when I planned to make it. As usual – the number of ideas “to sew” were bigger than the time there is to actually sew them. Sound familiar?!
This year I decided to buy all of my gifts, save a few simple zippy pouches for the babysitter and our teachers. I am so much more relaxed, and (thanks to online shopping) we only need to find a couple more things! I really miss planning homemade ideas and sharing them. But to be honest – it’s pretty stressful since I am a procrastinator and never (ever) start early enough. (Plus, there are always birthdays to make up for it!)
I’m also happy to be part of Janome Canada’s series “12 Days of Best Loved Accessories“ and this pillow fits perfectly into my favorite! I have LOVED the AcuFeed Flex (dual feed) system on the Skyline machines I’ve been loaned.
The dual feed system works like a walking/even foot – but the top feed dogs are connected directly to the machine – so it’s more accurate. Since I’ve been using it I’ve haven’t had any bunching or shifting on my quilted projects – and they worked great when sewing the matching the plaid pattern on the seams of my new pajama pants.
The Skyline S9 (and some other Janome machines) include more than one width of the foot – so I have a narrow and a wide foot available to me. Plus a 1/4″ quilting foot, open toe foot and a zipper foot! Great for making sure everything moves along evenly!
I spray basted these layers together and quilted them in a grid pattern with creme thread. I marked a few lines and then used the quilting guide bar to keep them “even”. I prefer a slightly wonky look to my quick projects since I generally can’t keep the lines perfectly straight anyhow! After that, it was simple to trim the pillow into a square, add the pompom trim and zipper and done.
Hmmm… as I’m writing this I just realized there’s a gold shirt in a project bag that is due to be upcycled into a pillow as well… maybe next year?!
Are you hand-making your Christmas gifts?
Fabric: Riley Blake Designs “Lost & Found Christmas” by My Mind’s Eye, from Country Clothesline (out of stock)
