From the category archives:

Tutorials

Free Sophie fabric for tutorials!

by Susie on May 22, 2013

in Clothworks Projects,Giveaway,Tutorials

I found something really cool on the internet and I am hoping you all are game to give it a try with me. There is a neat website called Totally Tutorials that plays matchmaker between producers like Clothworks and crafty sewers/makers like you. We provide fabric shipped to your door and you put together a free tutorial using our products (we hope that will be some of you!). Basically we’ll do a sign up here and I will randomly draw 6 people out of a hat to be the tutorial makers, send you all the fabric and then you’ll be on the hook to make some kind of tutorial on your blog or elsewhere.

IF you’re unsure how to make a tutorial, here is a pretty good how-to by ArtMind. Totally Tutorials also has a link to a long page of tutorials that have been published and you can check some of those out to see how folks do it. And here is a link to an enormously simple yet beautiful tutorial to inspire you even further! So, if you’re curious, but green, go ahead and sign up and I bet you’ll be able to do it on your own. And if you can’t, I am sure we can work SOMETHING out!

So, let’s get to the meat of the sandwich here. I’ve got a big stack of fat quarter packs: 6 packs, each containing 9 fat quarters of a collection called Sophie. It’s pretty stinkin’ cute and has a featured pattern by Anita Peluso in Fons + Porter for some eye candy. All the fabrics are shown above and you can also head to our website to see all the other bits of Sophie if you’re curious. The tutorial itself can pretty much be anything that you make yourself AND that could explain to others online. If you have a sewing idea, do it! If you have a collage idea, do it! Just make sure to take pictures and put together directions for your/our readers. For even more ideas about tutorials, head to our Pinterest page. We’ve got several boards dedicated to tutorials and how-to’s. If you win, you’l have one month from the date your receive your goods to create and publish your tutorial on the web. To enter, we’re gonna use Rafflecopter so I can keep track of everyone and not get bogged down by counting comment numbers and cross-checking and other things involving a calculator! Scroll down to see the entry form. You don’t need to know what you will make in order to sign up–you can fill in that blank later! We just want you to sign on and then let the creative juices flow.

I hope this is fun. The added benefit is that if you are an aspiring, designer, blogger or the like, we will gladly promote you on all our social media once your tutorial is published.

Click here to sign up on Rafflecopter

Here are the official rules:
1. Only US residents
2. Contest ends 5/30 at midnight
3. One fat quarter pack containing 9 fat quarters will be awarded to 6 entrants. Entrants must agree to create a tutorial using the products and post it within 1 month of receiving their goods.

Thanks for playing!!

{ 58 comments }

Introducing Fresh Batiks by Clothworks

by Susie on May 15, 2013

in Clothworks Projects,Fabrics,Quilt Market,Tutorials

It’s true. We’ve been scheming a bit at Clothworks. There have definitely been some whispers and some, let’s not tell yets and all the stuff that happens when you have a BIG surprise. Well, here it is! We’re launching a 100+ strong batiks collection that is going to knock your socks off. It’s called Fresh Batiks by Clothworks and we have THE BEST people working on it to make it awesome and refreshing while staying true to the age-old traditions of batik art. With Quilt Market starting on Friday, we’ve been able to get a little bit of advance yardage and we are savoring every scrap to make some cool projects that we thing you will enjoy. If you’re not going to market, I will certainly share pictures here and on facebook of the beautiful Fresh Batiks AND we are doing a fun little window display showcasing some cushions that my Mom made. Each cushion that is featured there was made based on a tutorial that my Mom or I found on the internet for free and we have pinned them to the Clothworks Pinterest board. For those at market, there is a QR code they can snap to see all the tutorials but it’s much easier for you folks at home. HERE is a link to the pinterest board so you can have at it. And, we didn’t just pin the tutorials that we used. At this point, there are 40+ tutorials there and I hope to keep increasing the pins to make that board a really great resource for you all to find pillow tutorials. Some of them are very quilty. There are quite a few DIY/reuse ones that call for old t-shirts and the like. So, please take a look and have fun! Fresh Batiks by Clothworks will be in stores this fall (2013), so we’ve got a little bit of a wait.

Now, in the meantime, here are some photos of projects using Fresh Batiks by Clothworks and I promise we’ll have the WHOLE collection up on our website soon. It’s no easy feat getting 100+ different fabrics scanned and posted, so we are busily cranking out all our market stuff so we can move onto the regular work!! I’ll post pictures of the pillows from Quilt Market soon, and the projects shown here were created by Virginia Robertson, the designer of the collection.

If you’d like another way to get to the Pinterest board, here is the QR code:

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Sewing Clothes for Kids: Basic Skirt Tutorial

by Bloomsandbugs on April 18, 2013

in Clothworks Projects,Easy homemade gifts,Free Patterns,Tutorials

Sewing Clothes for Kids: Basic Skirt Tutorial

Hello, This is Anshu from Blooms And Bugs. I’m back with a new project to sew.
Skirts are summer must haves, which is good for us sewing enthusiasts because skirts are incredibly easy and quick to whip up and . The options and styles are pretty much endless. Also among all the clothes pattern, skirts are probably the easiest to self-draft. These two factors make them the perfect sewing project regardless of your skill level. So today I brought you a sewing tutorial for the basic skirt. So if you are a beginner you could take on this project without any qualms. As long as you can cut and sew straight lines, this project is a piece of cake for you. However, if you are at an advanced level, I have just thrown in a small twist at the end to keep you hooked as well

How’s that for a marketing ploy?

Basic Skirt Sewing Tutorial

Level: Beginner

Supplies:

Half Yard Fabric – 0-5 years size

1 yard fabric 5-8 years size

1 inch wide non-roll elastic – 30 inches

For the fabrics I picked a beautiful print from Forest Wonder Collection by Masha D’yan for Clothworks. I have a little girl who is partial to everything purple these days and she was positively thrilled with this collection. I too loved that the prints are just perfect for the summer.

Estimated time: 15 mins – half an hour

Seam allowance: 3/8 inch

Sewing Pattern: This is a pattern free tutorial. You need the following measurements to sew this skirt. These skirts also have a good amount of ease, which means that even if you guesstimate the measurements, the garment will still fit in all likelihood.

1. Length of the skirt ( L1) – Add 3 inches to L1, lets call this L

L=L1+3 inches

2. Width at the waist; measured all around ( W1) – Subtract 2.25 inches from W1, lets call it W.

W = W1 – 2.25 inches

Construction:

For the 0-5 years old kids cut a rectangle of width of fabric x L. Now this skirt won’t work on crawling kids, because it will get in their way. But other than that it works on most kids.

Sew a seam along the L sides ( right sides together). Now you have a wide cylinder left, fold the raw edges of this cylinder half inch on the inside and sew a seam along both edges.

Fold the top 1.5 inch onto itself and sew along the edge of this waistband. Leave a 1.5 inch opening to insert elastic.

Cut a piece of elastic W inches long. Use a safety pin to insert the elastic into the gap you had left earlier. Bring it out from the other side and sew both ends of elastic together. Sew the opening shut.

Now fold the edge at the bottom half inch onto itself to finish the hemline. I folded about 2 inch in the pic above because I usually add some margin to dresses and skirts since my daughter mostly grows vertically. When the skirt/dress is too short I let down the hem an inch and get some more usage out of it.

And that my friends is the basic skirt. Done and done!

Adding Pickups to the basic skirt:

captioned Sewing Clothes for Kids: Basic Skirt Tutorial

Mark about 4 inches above the hemline and 6 inches apart throughout the width of the skirt.

At each mark pinch the fabric on the inside with your hand and secure the pinched part by hand sewing it.

Now you will have a kind of peak on the inside, where you pinched the fabric. Now pull this peak about an inch above it along the length of the skirt and hand sew it at the point. You want to take really small stitches here so it doesn’t show much on the outside.

This will cause the bunched up fabric to gather vertically just below the stitches, thus giving it a nice pickup effect.

If you are sewing for older kids, you could sew more than one row of these pickups. However, each row of pickups shortens the length by about one inch so you have to take that into account while determining the length of the fabric.

And there you have your basic skirt with a little something.

So much fun, why stop at just one?

Visit me at Blooms And Bugs for more free sewing patterns and tutorials.

{ 6 comments }

Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

by Susie on March 20, 2013

in Clothworks Projects,Fabrics,Free Patterns,Tutorials

Hi, Robin here from Create Kids Couture. We are so excited to be visiting the Clothworks Blog today. If you’ve never heard of Create Kids Couture, we publish PDF and paper boutique style sewing patterns. We’ve got over 120 patterns for girls, boys, dolls, and tweens. We’d love it if you visited our Facebook page and our companion sewing support group where our wonderful fans come together to share tips, photos, questions, joys and sorrows.

Collagegirls Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

We were lucky enough to get a sweet little package of fabric in the mail from Clothworks to work with, and La Cage au Birdie by Ellen Crimi-Trent is just delightful!

Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

We’re loving this colors for spring! And the birdie print is just so fun!

savannah 31web Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

We decided to use it to make a free pattern just for you!

savannah 01web Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

And it’s just what every little girl needs….

savannah 04web Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

A purse, just her size!

savannah 20web Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

We’re also sharing the dress pattern free…

savannah 32web Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

Because what good is a purse if your outfit doesn’t match?

savannah 13web Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

These are both beginner patterns, so don’t be scared!

041crop Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

044crop Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

040crop Free Purse and Dress Pattern from Create Kids Couture!

You can download the purse pattern and instructions HERE.

and

You can download the dress pattern and instructions HERE.

We hope you enjoy our patterns and find the perfect Clothworks fabrics to make your own versions!

Please share them on our Facebook page; we’d love to see your work.

Happy Sewing from Create Kids Couture!

{ 18 comments }

Bloomers Sewing Pattern and Tutorial

by Bloomsandbugs on February 28, 2013

in Clothworks Projects,Free Patterns,Tutorials

Bloomers pdf sewing Pattern

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Hello readers, this is Anshu from Blooms And Bugs.

Remember this peasant dress pattern? We made these a while back and I promised you a tutorial for matching bloomers. Well, it took some time, but the bloomers tutorial is finally here:

Supplies:

Half yard main fabric

6 inches coordinating fabric

1 yard Waistband elastic 1/2 inch – 1 inch wide

Time:

1.5 hours

Sewing margin:

3/8 inch unless otherwise specified

Complexity:

Beginner

Pattern:

Download the free pdf pattern for bloomers ( 2t size). Print it on 8.5X11 inch paper ( A4 size) with margins set to zero.

Cut the pattern pieces and sew the inseams on both the legs. Serge both the seams.

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Turn one of the legs inside out and slip it inside the other leg. Align the crotch area on both legs and sew a seam. Serge along the seam.

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Turn inside out.

C04E3F78 EC69 11E1 BBC6 9115E475F8FE Bloomers Sewing Pattern and Tutorial

Cut a strip 2.5 inches wide X twice the circumference of each leg opening. Sew the smaller ends, right sides together.

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Fold twice along one of the raw edges and sew.

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Set the machine on highest speed, longest stitch length and high tension and sew a seam along the other raw edge, leave a long thread tail after sewing. This will ruffle the fabric. Now spread the ruffles evenly by hand such that the ruffled strip becomes equal to the leg opening of the bloomers.

Line up raw edges of the ruffle and bloomers ( right sides together) and sew a seam to join them. Repeat for the other leg.

I don’t have pictures of finishing the waist-band, but its quite easy to do. Fold the top of the bloomers quarter inch on the inside, iron and sew a seam. Now fold it again 1.5 inch on the inside, iron and sew but leave an opening of 2 inches. Now use a safety pin to thread a half inch to one inch wide elastic through this opening. The rule of thumb I use for the elastic length is 2.5 inches lesser than the waist of the child. Once you have threaded the elastic, sew the ends together and sew the opening shut.

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..See! cute little bloomers.

Visit me at Blooms And Bugs for more Free Sewing Tutorials and Patterns.

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Bias-tape Shoelace Tutorial

by Susie on February 5, 2013

in Clothworks Projects,Fabrics,Tutorials

I think I have to give my Mom credit for this idea because I vaguely remember her mentioning it. That said, the cobwebs around the idea make me think I have been carrying this one around in my back pocket for a while! But, when Photochrome Petals by Julie Creus of La Todera landed, I knew I had found the right fabric. Bright, playful and full of hot colors, this collection is a great stash builder for those of you who have a soft spot for vibrant hues.

I have got some mental block, when it comes to bias tape. I have a big stash from my Grandma Pearl that she didn’t get to use in her 90+ years of sewing quilts, aprons and hot pads (among other things!) that I have nearly moved through, and I do pick it up from time to time at thrift stores because they always have grab bags of 5-10 colors for 1.99! I use it bind seams inside dop kits, on hot pads and other small projects. However, when I sew a quilt, I just can’t use pre-made bias tape or pre-made binding. I don’t know what it is. I guess a little piece of it is that making bias tape or binding at home is SO easy if you have a tool (I have a Clover one and this is not product placement!! My Mom gave it to me and I just LOVE it!) And, it’s so fun to custom select fabrics that match (or contrast) with the quilt and it gives quilts a little extra special character. So, after years of making bias tape and binding, I have quite a few odd sized smaller pieces and I have been puzzling about what to do with them. This project answers that question and is just a fun small project to add a little flare to some shoes.

Now, to the directions.

Fabric Featured: Photochrome Petals by Julie Creus of La Todera, Y1098-36
Check out Julie’s new collection, A Closer Look, for more fun colors and good stash builders!

PS–There are many great tutorials out there for how to make bias tape. Several do a continuous loop, so you avoid sewing each piece together. Those are very nice, too. Here is a link to my favorite one from Colette Patterns. I guess I don’t mind stitching each segment because even though I have done these other methods, I always go back to my old way!! If you have a large quantity to make, I think the continuous loop method that Colette Patterns describes is probably REALLY helpful.

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How to figure yardage for a quilt by Marsha McCloskey

by Susie on February 4, 2013

in Clothworks Projects,Designers,Tutorials

Boy am I happy to be doing this post. This is something I have often wondered, but I have never sat down to try and figure out the math. Alas, Marsha McCloskey, the creator of Staples and soon to be released Everything Blue, and the author/designer of many amazing Feathered Star Productions patterns is here to answer our burning question of how to calculate how much yardage is necessary for a quilt (without a pattern). IF you are a quilter who ever looks at something and says, “I could make that”, but never really does it, this worksheet is going to get you going in the right direction. OR, if you are a budding quilt designer or just scrap happy (that’s me!), this will be an extremely useful quilting tool for you, too. Marsha’s process is very straightforward–you just need to follow all the steps. And, she even provides a way to proof your estimated yardage in sort of a ballpark fashion at the very end. So, if you try this out, scroll all the way to the bottom to see the conclusion and proof your work. And, if you really just need a ball park and don’t care if it’s over/under, you can use that proofing method to get a very loose estimate without moving through the more detailed steps laid out in the primary method. I also included a pdf for easy download/print so you can just print these instructions off, keep them in our quilt tote and use them at the fabric store, swap meet, thrift shop, grandma’s attic or where ever you source your material!! And the final kicker is that Marsha has included an inches to yards conversion chart for quick reference. It is totally useful, so I put it on the last page of the method worksheet. Now, quilt students, get our your pencils, calculators and notepads and let the math-ness begin!

See how to figure yardage for your quilt or scroll down to to see it here.

{ 2 comments }

Easy Homemade Gift Idea (the last one): Simple hot pad + BIG GIVEAWAY!!

by Susie on December 24, 2012

in Clothworks Projects,Easy homemade gifts,Giveaway,Tutorials

This post is a tutorial + giveaways. We’ve got a huge pile of these kits–18 total– AND a stack of 38 Fat Quarters. That is a full collection of Little Village by Kinkame. Here’s how this works. You’ve gotta share this post on your Facebook page (if you have one) and leave us a comment here on the blog! This one is going to be a treat-a-friend giveaway so every winner will receive one kit to keep and one to give away. And, we’ll choose one BIG WINNER for the huge stack of fat quarters, too! The kits include a bunch of little rectangles and at least one bigger piece to use for the backside and binding. They run between 1/4-1/2 yard of fabric per kit. You’ll have to provide your own batting, but I used the edges of batting that I cut off when I am finished quilting a full-sized quilt. There are always all these strips left over and I just zigzag those together to make bigger pieces. I’ve included a little pattern here, too, so if you don’t win, you can still make one of these darling hot pads using the instructions here, on The Works. It came together really quickly and I was a bit slapdash at the end, so my apologies for the junky-looking corners and wonky seams!! Contest ends December 27th at midnight PT–winners will be announced Friday morning!

Here are the instructions with a little extra visual to show the process.

{ 166 comments }

Furoshiki wrapping tutorial: Japanese cloth wrap technique

by Susie on December 22, 2012

in Clothworks Projects,Designers,Easy homemade gifts,Tutorials

Hello there—This is Elissa Barbieri, the designer of the collection Cultivate that came out in November. I have, with the help of some crafty family, created some tutorials on Furoshiki, a Japanese traditional art of fabric folding and tying for wrapping. You can use it for gift wrap as I have here, or you could use it for making a lunch sack or grocery tote(enlarged, of course.) The first instructions are for the folding and wrapping technique and the second set are for sewing a double-sided cloth wrap. Furoshiki can, of course, be done with any piece of fabric so don’t be limited by making a double-sided one if you don’t have time. It works great with hankies and scarves, too.

The first tutorial here requires a square piece of fabric and can vary based on the size of the item you’d like to wrap. To make the wrap, scroll down for more details.

Folding with a variation of the Basic Wrap from Furoshiki.com
(Another great source for furoshiki folding is from Betz’ White’s Sewing Green book, page 65.)

Double-sided furoshiki cloth construction:
1. Wash and size your fabric, ironing and de-threading each piece

[click to continue…]

{ 2 comments }

The Wonderful Folks of the Works: Meet Susie!

by stephanie on December 21, 2012

in Clothworks Projects,Easy homemade gifts,Fabrics,Show and Tell,The Clothworks Team,Tutorials

susie on bike sized The Wonderful Folks of the Works: Meet Susie!

Susie on her wheels in rainy Seattle

Greetings & Happy Holidays, my fabric friends! Welcome back to another installment of The Wonderful Folks of the Works. We’re now into our 4^th month of profiling the fabulous employees that work here at Clothworks. So far, I have shared the following stories of Debbie the Shipper,Tony the Warehouse Manager, and Susan the Order Department Extraordinaire. These folks share a common role in bringing the actual goods to our customers’ shops: from order entry- to cutting the fabric- to shipping out the fabric from our warehouse. The next employee that I’d like to introduce you to puts a different spin on fabric here at Clothworks. Allow me to introduce you to Susie, our Marketing Coordinator.

Back in March of this past year the position became available when our then Marketing Coordinator, Brandi, left the company to pursue another round of motherhood & new chapter in life. That’s when Susie rolled into Clothworks, quite literally, on a bicycle. After reading the job posting for Clothworks, Susie felt it was a good match for her love of blogging and her sewing experience. Susie comes from a crafty bunch, with quilters and sewists sprinkling her family tree. As Susie would come to find out in her new position at Clothworks, she could use her computer savvy, while learning new programs and online media tools to get the job done. And it helped for her to work in a lighthearted work environment that permitted her to keep work and home life separate. After all, she has her hands full with her son, Finn, who sometimes makes an appearance modeling fabric projects that Susie posts on the blog.

Bicycling to work and braving the Seattle rain, Susie begins each day with plenty of pep and coffee to keep her going. And boy, does she have many responsibilities to tackle! Her main role at Clothworks is to promote our company and product. She strategizes interesting ways to connect with our customers and our followers through online social media. On a typical day, you’ll find her engaging with our facebook followers, creating boards & interacting on Pinterest, blogging on The Works, and checking our social media analytics to see if folks are responding positively to the content that she posts. She determines what to do with small cuts of fabric that are too small to roll onto a bolt. She makes small projects with fabric, photographs them, and then creates fun & inspirational blog post tutorials. And if you haven’t noticed, Susie is our resident shutterbug– snapping pictures of everything from fabric fresh from the port, to quilts that have been pattern-tested, to sewing projects that our talented employees bring in for Show & Tell. She coordinates with designers who want to use Clothworks fabric for project submissions for magazine features, and also works with bloggers & sewists that fit the Clothworks groove for guest-blogging on The Works. Finally, Susie conjures up ways for Clothworks to help sponsor quilting & sewing events like Quiltcon and the Sewing Summit, as well as smaller quilting and sewing contests & give-aways. Phew! It’s amazing she still has the energy to ride her bicycle home after work!! Susie’s favorite part of her job is designing those super fun & eye-catching graphics, writing blog posts, and taking pictures….Oh, Snap! As we approach the end of 2012, her New Year’s Resolution is to write a blog series describing the production process of fabric: from field- to factory- to sewist!

Susie’s boundless energy is not just limited to time spent on the job at Clothworks. Her wheels continue to spin even after she pedals her way back home at the end of the day. Her crafty forays into DIY life run the gamut: from making clothing for herself, her son, and husband, to quilting, needlework, hand-drawing, fabric printing, and even making shrinky dinks! Like many artsy folks, her talents extend past one field. She bikes, she sews……. she sings! Yes, Susie is a singer in a 2-piece band, and loves to write & perform her songs. So if Susie were stranded on a desert island, what do you suppose she couldn’t live without? She’d trade her bike, her camera, and her sewing machine to make sure she’d have her husband, her son, and guitar along on that island. Now that sounds like beautiful music to my ears!!