by Sherri Sylvester | May 25, 2017
This past Monday was a lovely warm Canadian holiday, perfect for a trip to the park. The girls and I explored a new area nearby and had a great time taking photos of Frolic – Tamara Kate’s brand new collection for Michael Miller Fabrics. (Best fabric line name ever! Love it!)
Michael Miller Fabrics provided these knit Tamara Kate “Frolic” prints for me to play with. My opinions are always my own. Thank you for reading!
I am fortunate to know Tamara personally. (She’s Canadian too!) I’ve enjoyed meeting and working with her several times. Her fabric collections are filled with bright gorgeous designs, on-trend animals and pretty water-coloury florals. She’s a fantastic quilter and lovely and fun to hang out with in real life too!
Michael Miller Fabrics produced 8 knits along with the quilting cottons for this new collection. (Apparel fabrics, woot-woot!) Great for easy summer sewing, and a first for Tamara’s designs. My favorite kids’ handkerchief-hem Banyan tunic always turns out great. It’s comfortable and looks stylish too. The girls chose the “Frolicking” print in Berry and Royal Blue knits.
By way of a recommendation, if you ever get the chance to work with Michael Miller knits – they are my favorite! I found them when I started sewing knits a few years ago and can’t say enough good. The stretch and recovery are fantastic, they are simple to sew (without many of the usual issues you can get with knits) and they wear really well.
I was curious and did a test to see if they shrink during pre-wash and dry. My 4″ test square was only about 1/8″ shorter afterward. And I love that there wasn’t a need to press the fabric before cutting out my pattern pieces. These shirts are truly wash-and-wear.
The Tamara Kate Frolic collection will be shipping to stores on June 15th, 2017. Ask for it at your local shop! To find more Frolic inspiration visit Tamara Kate to find all of the Frolic Fabric Tour posts as they are released.
I’ve got another Frolic project to share with you soon. If you’d like, follow along to get sneak peeks on Instagram.
What is your favorite knit sewing pattern?
P.S. I love finding great scrappy knit projects and the girls’ headbands were easy to make with my offcuts. I used this knot headband tutorial from girl.inspired. They literally took about 10 minutes each with my serger!
P.P.S. Did you see the cute sizing tags? I made them with my on-loan Janome Skyline S9 – the little clothesline is perfect!
Thanks for visiting, see you again soon! ~ Sherri
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 13, 2016
What do you think of my new workwear?! Great, right? *Kidding* (of course), but that’s what I feel like they should be! I’ve been wearing these lounge/pajama pants every day since I finished them. This flannel is hands-down the coziest and warmest fabric I have ever had the pleasure of sewing with.
After school today I was out shopping for stocking stuffers with my kids. It is finally acting like winter around here, we even got about 5″ of heavy snow recently! Dark had settled in when we got home and we were all feeling a bit chilled. I went upstairs to change into my new pajama pants, and (I kid you not) I was warmed up in minutes. They really are as fluffy and thick as the photos look. My oldest is asking for her own now!
Sylvia from Country Clothesline and I worked together to bring you this new tutorial today. Adding cuffs to a pair of pants is a quick and simple project. Dress up your handmade pajama pants or add cuffs to a ready-made pair!
This fabric sells out fast! But you can find links to all of these re-stocked Mammoth Flannels below, available as of today. They are 100% cotton, yarn-dyed and double napped + it’s so soft to wear and washes up beautifully. I almost think I should have made a full-body onesie complete with feet and a hood – I’d never be cold again!
Sylvia’s usual selection of fresh and pretty fabrics also provided the contrasting cuff. It was so hard to choose from the three she sent over. After a ton of consideration, the paisley won out.
Country Clothesline Shop News
- All the Christmas fabric is now 40% off while it lasts and in store.
- Just in time for Christmas gifting – Gift Cards are available! Purchase and use them at the 471 Coburn shop in Toronto.
I’m also super pleased to say that I’ll be teaching classes at the Country Clothesline and Fabric Spark’s Toronto brick & mortar location in the New Year. Can’t wait to meet more of you, lovely readers!
DIY Pant Cuff Sewing Tutorial
These cuffs are a great contrasting addition to make a simple pair of pants more special. They use about a 1/4 yard of fabric, so you can probably even make them from a fat quarter!
This tutorial will make cuffs for any size you need. I used my favorite Ladies’ Harem & Lounge Pants pattern for the pants. This is my third pair – it’s great to have a well-fitting go-to pattern!
- Pre-wash and sew your pants according to the pattern, omitting the leg hem. (Or add cuffs to a ready-made pair.) Try the pants on and mark your desired length. Add 1/2″ for cuff seam and cut off the excess.
- Calculate your cuff size. Cut 2.
- Cuff Height = Double your desired height + 1″ for seam allowances
- Cuff Width = Double the Pant Leg Width + 1″ for seam allowances
- Place each cuff RST, matching the short side seam. Stitch with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Overedge stitch, zig-zag or use pinking shears to finish the raw edges.
- Turn and fold the cuff so the wrong sides are together and raw edges are matching, press. This will create a tube.
- With the pants inside out, place the tube over the leg opening, match the raw edges and pin. The cuff seam should line up with the inner leg seam on the pants.
- Stitch the raw edges with a 1/2″ seam. Overedge stitch, zig-zag or use pinking shears to finish the raw edges.
- Turn the pants right side out. Press the cuff seam allowance toward the pants.
- Fold the cuff up along the seam line and press.
- Tack the cuffs into place with a few stitches along each side seam to keep them in place.
- Press well. Done!
Enjoy your new pants!
——————————————————————-
I’d love to see your project! You can share your project on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram (links below) using the hashtags #alongforthreadride and/or #threadridinghood. Thank you!
This is a sponsored post. All content, opinions, and ideas are my own.
by Sherri Sylvester | Dec 2, 2016
It feels good to finish a long-term project, right?! That’s how I feel about these Cargo Duffles. I’ve been wanting to make my daughter’s their own overnight bags since I made the first one for myself. That was three years ago now, photographed the day after our ice storm in 2013. Now all that’s left is to sew up a matching 1-hour Dopp kit, of course!
I always feel projects like this are hard to photograph enough to show you all the details, so I’ve included a huge photo-bomb for you today. I’m so pleased with how these turned out, hope you like them too!
Earlier this year, Kelly Panacci sent me a fat quarter bundle of the Tree Party fabric she designed for Riley Black Fabrics. It’s just right for my girls’ bags and split out fairly evenly into a “blue” and a “pink” project since those are the current favorites around here. I have to confess, my oldest’s pink and red duffle is my favorite – though I LOVE the brown faux leather on the blue one too. Kelly was kind to include a few of her Happy Flappers prints as well – they match perfectly! I love all of the tiny details she puts into each design.
My dilemma of what-to-do-with-a-fat-quarter-bundle-when-I’m-“not-a-quilter” was quickly remedied when I realized 90% of the pieces in cargo duffle fit into the 21″ width of the pieces! Next dilemma, how do I arrange the fabrics so they don’t look too crazy together? They all match in colour of course, but print-upon-print can be a bit jumbled if you’re not careful! This was a bit of an epic process involving charts, layouts and lots of photographs.
Now that they are finished? I love the scrappy, coziness that resulted from mixing all the prints together. Plus, the “bunting” fabric I used for the binding on the blue bag is my absolute favorite! (I’d love to use it for a quilt sometime.) To add to the artisan-handmade effect, I used some stitches on my loaned Janome S9. These X’s on the pocket sides and the blanket stitch along the accent piece add so much. Taking time to carefully add a few extras always makes a big difference!
Anyhow, I’m getting off track… Back to the bag construction!
Since I’ve made 5 Cargo Duffle bags before (these were the 6th and 7th!), I didn’t plan to find anything new to do for them. I love following tried-and-true patterns. Once I’ve made them before, it’s easy to make more, so satisfying and less stressful – because I don’t have anything new to learn! All that to say – Yay, I’ve found a new zipper hack!
You can find links to all of my Cargo Duffle bag (and backpack!) posts and tutorials at the bottom of this post. If you look, you’ll find out how to change a double-zipper into a two-way zipper that closes in the middle, perfect for bag making. I’ve always been a bit disappointed in the colour selection for the double-zips at my local fabric store – so I was thrilled to find out I could use a regular one-pull zipper for this. (And honestly, not sure why I didn’t think of it before?)
D-I-Y Double-Zipper Hack!
- Buy a regular (one-direction) zipper in the size you need.
- Buy a matching second one-direction zipper in the shortest size possible – to save $$! (Or a different colour to mix-it-up!)
- Remove the zipper pull from the small second zipper and toss out the zipper tape sides.
- Feed the zipper pull onto the first zipper following the “Change a Double-Zip to meet in the Center” tutorial
- Done, so easy!
These bags were made with the
free pattern Anna from Noodlehead wrote for Robert Kaufman. It’s my go-to pattern for overnight bags so far, as with most things Anna designs! I did get a bit creative with my own Cargo Duffle, and then the ones I made my family for Christmas, so I added a lot of the same things to these as well.
- Corrugated plastic base: It feeds into the bottom of the bag and helps it to hold its shape. I cut up an old Ikea plastic bin I’ve been saving for 3 years – just for these! It fits into a piece of fabric I added to the base gusset before sewing the sides together.
- Zippered inside pocket: The construction of these bags makes it really easy to add pockets to the inside. Sized to the bag sides, they are basted in and then the edges are covered with bias tape after the bag construction. I pleated the pocket at the bottom so it holds more – perfect for keeping socks and underwear tidy.
- Coloured (non-inset) lining: I made these bags a bit more colourful inside by adding a layer of Kona Cotton (from my Sew Sister’s club subscription) before I quilted the different pieces.
- Business Card Slot: Of course my kids don’t have business cards! But they can for sure write their last name and a phone number to slip into the clear slot. It’s attached to the zipper pocket on the inside and if these bags ever get lost I hope they come back to us because of it!
- Non-Cargo Zippered Outside Pocket: Of course, this defeats the purpose of calling these “Cargo” Duffles – but I find the zippered pocket more practical – and less fiddly – to sew on. The original cargo pockets are amazing, but snaps and I haven’t gotten along well in the past! Plus, things don’t fall out of zippered pockets as easily. (Here’s the tutorial for these zippered pockets.)
- Zipper Tabs: I forgot to add fabric ends to the zipper before I installed it, so I added some tabs to cover the extra zipper tape.
I love working with Canadian Fabric Designers and want to let you know about Kelly’s latest designs for Riley Blake Fabrics – Road Trip! It’s gorgeous and inspired by their vintage trailer and trips to Ontario provincial parks over the past few years. Would you believe Kelly and her husband Mario sold their 28-year house in 2015, packed up and moved into a vacation condo! You can read more about her inspiration on the Kelly Panacci Inc. blog.
A little birdie told me she thinks you’ll find some Road Trip around here soon! What would you make with Kelly’s new fabric?
Other Cargo Duffle posts you might like:
by Sherri Sylvester | Nov 15, 2016
Hi there! I’ve been taking in the late-fall weather with a few books and detoxing my house from a month of neglect.
The lead-up to Creativ Festival was full of preparations, and while the event itself was fun, I needed to intentionally take time a bit slower afterward! There has been an overabundance of Creativ Festival talk here in the last month. And I promise we’ll get back to our more regular programming now.
My kids and I with a Janome #makerselfie after a long day!
I have scheduled post ideas all the way up to the end of January. (Eeep – trying to be organized!) They include lots of fun stuff that’s been sewn and waiting, new tutorials and Christmas things!
It’s hard to sum up my experience at Creativ Festival this year. Instead of my usual booth perusal and fabric stashing, I concentrated on my workshop, speaking engagements and emceeing Project Creativ Catwalk. Quite a step away from my usual behind-the-computer life – and I’m excited to be slowly learning how to get better at speaking. Even when they put me up on a huge stage riser!
Be Brave and Sew – Day 1. My daughter’s Easter dress is one of my most favorite makes.
Be Brave and Sew – Day 3. My wheeled Bluefig bag was perfect to transport everything for each show.
Yikes that stage was high!
I want to give a huge shout-out to the fabric shops that provided giveaways and discounts for everyone that came out to the Be Brave and Sew Talks. Sew Sister’s Quilt Shop for their super-cute Tula Pink Bundle. Fabric Please! for the Farm Fun Panels, Charm Packs and discount cards. And Meerkat Shweshwe for their great discount cards as well.
Fabric Please! a Canadian Online Fabric Shop. Check out the Moda Stacy Tsu Farm Fun Panel animals on the top shelf.
Sew Sisters Quilt Shop. LOVE that they covered their tables in quilty goodness! Check out their Tula Pink fabrics.
Meerkat Shweshwe‘s unique fabrics are imported from South Africa. Check out more details along with this free pinafore tutorial!
I’d be hugely remiss not to mention Janome – so much thanks to them for all of their support! They sponsored all of my events and introduced me to so many amazing people over the 3-day event. (Plus I love their machines!)
My Design Diva Apron in the Janome Maker Studio. Get the free pattern!
The Maker Studio had so many projects from the new M Series Look Book – and most are free tutorials/patterns!
Love this giant tomato pin cushion at the Janome Booth. It was about 10″ across!
Last, but not least… I am so thankful and grateful to my husband for his amazing support of this blog and everything I do. He came out every day to out postcards and giveaways, help with set-up and take-down, shuttle kids and props around and was kind when my tiredness and nervousness took over. I do not know what I would do without him. (Ok – gotta quit – getting teary eyed over here.)
I’m still taking it in and am sure all will come out in some sort of emotional post when it’s ready. For now, here are some more photo highlights of everything that happened.
Mona, one of my workshop attendees with her daughter’s new Fat Quarter Skirt!
Gorgeous quilts in the Lens Mills display – I really should have gotten some close ups of these!
Tamara Kate’s “Whatever the Weather” quilt is a free Sew Along on the Janome Life blog.
Rachelle from That’s Sew Venice thought to take a selfie of us. I never remember!
I love meeting blog readers! I happened to run into the lovely Irene, from Irene’s Studio on Day 2. I also found Melwyk from Magpie Makery and my friend Laura from Seams Sew Laura came to visit too!
Cynthia Frenette’s amazing Making Merry Quilt was on display at the Janome Booth. Get the free Mod Pods Matching Pillow tutorial!
Loveliness from Tamara Kate‘s booth where she was selling her fabrics. I had so many photos tried to only pick these three. It was so pretty!
by Sherri Sylvester | Jul 17, 2016
Eeeeee!!!! Thanks to YOU Week is back! It’s my 4 Year Blogiversary and we’re having a huge week-long celebration with 14 Giveaways and 16 online fabric shop discounts – all for YOU!
Last year I wanted to thank everyone for reading Thread Riding Hood and created the first ever Thanks to YOU Week. A whole week, featuring tons of with giveaways and an amazing Discount Weekend.
The week went so well I have been able to organize another one this year – and it’s even bigger – Yay! Three more giveaways than last year and two more shops have joined the discount weekend. I am so grateful to all of of the fabric shops that have made it possible. (Huge round of applause for them!)
As I reflect back on the past 4 years, once again I’m amazed and so grateful. From the first ever post until now I keep writing and you all keep coming back to see what I’ve said – it’s so humbling. I’m glad I can put these giveaways together to try my best to give back to you something amazing for all that you’ve given to me. I learn so much from you – your comments are my all-time favorite thing. And your emails – questions, comments and encouragement.
Everything here is Thanks to YOU!
Here’s how it works:
- Every day this week (Monday – Friday) I will be posting 2 or 3 giveaway posts.
- Each post has a new giveaway from one of the shops listed below. (And you can click their logo right now to see what they have to offer!)
- Find out each shop owners’ favorite sewing tool! Each shop told me their favorite and I want #allthethings!
- Enter for your chance to win the giveaway.
- One new person will win each prize and I’ll be posting the names next week.
- COME BACK and grab your discount codes! 16 shops are participating and will be revealed at midnight on Friday, 22nd. Save up this week and treat yourself on the weekend!
Follow along to make sure you don’t miss anything!
Come back often so you don’t miss out! Enjoy!
by Sherri Sylvester | Jun 30, 2016
Wow – time flies! Says everyone every year, right?! It’s the kids’ last day of school today, and we are so ready for some down-time this summer.
As is the custom, here are the comparison shots – first day of school, last day of school. I’ve officially got two kids in “real school” now – meaning they are both in a grade level. Wow, a first grader and a 4th grader in September – yikes! (BTW, Did you see their pink hair?! They’ve been patiently waiting for their promised “summer hair” for months and they are SO excited about it!)
Our back to school gifts have been sent to school with hand written notes and will hopefully be happily received. A one-hour baby blanket for my youngest’s pregnant teacher. It’s made from the cutest fabric I got from the now-closed Double Decker Fabrics last year. The characters actually shape the letters of the alphabet. I’m so excited to finally use this one. (and excited that I have a meter or so left in my stash!) I shared a photo on Facebook and Instagram this week.
I totally forgot to take photos of my oldest’s gifts. #bloggerfail She chose fabrics so I could make some Sunny Glasses Cases for her teachers. These are my go-to teacher’s gift since they are (hopefully) universally useful and can be made in about 1/2 an hour. Blue and cameras for the French teacher and Reds for the English teacher – apparently their favorites. I hope at least! It’s always a guessing game with end-of-year gifts. I’d love to know what your favorite teacher gift is. Or, if you are a teacher – what would you like to receive?
On a fabric-lover note, I’m so excited for my latest happy mail that came in earlier this week! Fabric Spark has asked me to curate a fat quarter bundle for their Monthly Sparks fabric subscription. As always I am humbled to be included in such an amazing list of bloggers that curate these bundles. Wow! It’s been sent out early to avoid our possibly impending postal strike… argh. So I get to share it with you today!
This bundle started when I noticed a lack of yellows in my fat quarter stash. Seeing as how my oldest has decided her bedroom redo will be a mix of turquoise, yellow and pink – I thought maybe it was a good time to replenish the stock – plus, isn’t yellow a nice fun summery colour? Mixed with the pinks I think it’s my favorite of the bundles I’ve put together so far. #funinthesun
I built the bundle off of the multi-colourful Andover Hothouse Flowers from Mo Bedell. The small splashes of greens in the pinks and yellows make me happy! Plus, who could be sad when there are cats and yarn involved. It’s my current favorite Cotton & Steel print. 🙂 Fabric Spark has a waiting list for the Monthly Sparks subscription bundle, and if you can’t wait, there are 4 other amazing monthly subscription bundles you can sign up for! And, have you heard of their fun Summer of Fabric Love? They have a new giveaway, deal, promotion or surprise every week, all summer!
I’m off to finish up some deadlines and plan the last details for our Canada Day/End of School pool party tomorrow. Have a wonderful weekend, Canada Day and/or Fourth of July!
