I’ve got a new project up over on my Design Sponge Sewing 101 column: how to sew a triangle patchwork!

Have you noticed the geometric triangle trend that seems to be everywhere right now? I’m seeing triangles all over the place, from art prints to textiles to housewares. And each and every time, it makes me think of quilting. So I got inspired to whip up a couple patchwork triangle pieces to frame and hang on my (still bare) pink living room walls. (But careful readers may notice the walls are now a slightly different shade of pink! I’ll share the details on that soon.)

This isn’t technically a quilting project, since it’s not actually quilted — just pieces of fabric sewn together into a patchwork. But you could quilt this piece, or take the basic tutorial and turn it into just about anything, from a larger wall hanging to a pillow or baby quilt or even a bed quilt. (I would so love a triangle quilt for my bed!)

So click on over to Design Sponge to check out the full post and learn everything you need to know about sewing a triangle patchwork. It’s crazy-easy, not to mention simple to personalize–once you understand the basic construction, you’ll see that you can modify this project and make your triangles in any size or configuration you like.

Super big or super small! So go crazy & get your triangle on!

This week in my Sewing 101 column at Design Sponge I’m showing how to make pleated, lined curtains like the ones I made recently for my dining room!

I break down the whole process step by step, like how to make the lining so your exterior fabric wraps around and makes a border on the back (so if your curtain edges ever flip out a bit, you’ll see the “good” fabric and not the lining). Love that.

And I also talk about curtain weights, and how easy they are to use and how they give your curtains that extra profesh touch.

But the really, really juicy nugget in this tutorial is: PLEATING TAPE! We’ll talk about how to use it, and how generally easy and awesome it is, and how it will make you look like a total star and really never even ask you to give it any credit.

You just stick your pins into your tape–

And you get yourself some pleats that would make Betty Draper proud. Well, nothing makes Betty proud, but maybe she would scowl less intensely in the presence of these pleats. I think she would approve.

Hanging finished handmade curtains? Best feeling ever.

Pleated, lined drapes that look like a million bucks–they can be yours!

Click on over to Design Sponge to read the full how to!

Today in my Sewing 101 column at Design Sponge I’m showing how to make a sewn and woven basket made from… an old pile of packing paper!

Thanks to a couple of online purchases, I had this huge pile of packing paper hanging around in my craft room. The pieces were really nice and long, and they just seemed to have so much potential. I couldn’t bear to just stuff them in the recycling bin.

So I folded the paper into strips and adding top stitching along both edges to strengthen and stabilize the paper, and also to make it look pretty.

Then I wove a bunch of strips together…

…and made a pretty basket! I have to say, I’m kind of amazed that humble packing paper could be so transformed. I have this basket sitting on my dining table now (loaded up with that scrumptious MadelineTosh sock yarn and gorgeous needles by Indian Lake Artisans), and every time I walk by it I actually forget that it’s paper and momentarily think it’s suede, light-colored leather, upholstery webbing, or burlap. I actually had to laugh last night because my eyes kept playing tricks on me with this basket and making me do double-takes. Magic? Perhaps!

So head on over to Design Sponge for the full how-to and free pattern! And by the way, if you don’t have plain brown paper around, I think this method would work great with gift wrap or leftover wallpaper.

(PS: A quick shout-out to Indian Lake Artisans, the company that makes the knitting needles shown above. I happened to meet the company owners when I stopped by their booth at Vogue Knitting Live. It’s a small company run by a husband and wife team, and they’ve developed these fascinating hexagonal knitting needles. It’s a little hard to tell in the photo, but rather than being round like traditional needles, these are shaped like a hexagon! This shape is said to help keep stitches more uniform while also being easier on the hands. They’re made locally in Michigan from responsibly-harvested local wood, and each set is topped with a beautiful copper decorative shape. I just love a good sustainable-local-crafty-small-business story. Check ‘em out here!)

My latest Sewing 101 post is up over at Design Sponge – this week I’m teaching you, step-by-step, how to sew your own wool Christmas stockings!

I used a Pendleton-style wool, which is a super popular look this year. If you can’t get your hands on any wool like this in a fabric store, look for an old (damaged) blanket you can cut up, or even heavy wool garments from the thrift store (like old coats).

My post includes step-by-step photos for each part of the process, so even if you’re a newbie sewist, you’ll be able to follow along. There’s also a free downloadable template for the stocking shape. (Tip: you can shrink/enlarge the template on a copy machine to customize the size of your stockings. And if you prefer a longer cuff [more room for presents!!], you can just extend the top of the cuff as long as you’d like.)

So head on over to Design Sponge for the complete pattern and how-to!*

*Fifi approves of this project.

Exciting news! I’m super happy to announce that I’ve opened a temporary Etsy shop where I’m currently selling a batch of samples of some of my recent handmade goods from this year’s projects. It’s a VERY limited edition collection of projects handmade by me, mostly for my Design Sponge Sewing 101 column, and also for publication in Interweave Stitch Gifts magazine (as well as one lonely – but beautiful – crochet wrap that appeared in Vogue Knitting On The Go).

So if any of my recent projects have caught your eye, this is your chance to snag them for yourself, all nice and finished, without having to actually make anything!

Click here to visit my Etsy Sample Sale Pop-Up Shop, and shop away! Hurry before things get snatched up – and your item(s) will have plenty of time to get to you before the holidays. Fifi says:

I’ve been remiss in posting my recent Design Sponge Sewing 101 projects here, but I’ve got several new posts up over there, so check em out for easy, free step-by-step sewing how-to’s!

Above is a knotted fringe table runner, wherein you’ll learn how to make your own knotted fringe (which is a great technique to use for a variety of crafts, especially for fringe on knit and crochet projects).

Or perhaps you would like to make a tote with handles made of branches! This is a fun bag for the fall season and it’s very sturdy, so you could even adapt the pattern and make it into a log-carrying camping bag or something outdoorsy like that. Gift idea!

Or, make a zippered case for your electronics! This tutorial will teach you how to install a zipper around curves, which is a neat trick.

Luggage tag to get geared up for holiday travel, anyone? I also like these for gift tags–and let the recipient know the tag can be repurposed for their luggage.

And finally, I wanted to re-share this wool throw project from last year, just because I had to report back and let you all know that this blanket has become my favorite, most-used project I’ve ever sewn. It’s just the perfect weight, and so cozy–I literally use it every day.

So if you’re looking for super quick and easy gifts to make this holiday, I highly recommend a wool throw. All you need is a couple yards of nice wool, which you hem, then add trim. It literally takes less than a couple hours, and makes a gorgeous, luxurious gift. (Throws like this sell for well over a hundred bucks in stores.) Seriously, this project gets my vote for all-time favorite easy sewing project.

Head on over to Design Sponge to snag the free instructions for all of these projects, complete will full step-by-step photos for the entire process for each one. And get those gifts started early–you’ll be glad you did!

Thanks to Apartment Therapy for featuring my Design Sponge Sewing 101 Roller Blinds in their home sewing round-up! They’ve featured ten great free home sewing projects, so pop over there to read the piece and check them all out.

I don’t actually have a garden, but this week for my Sewing 101 column at Design Sponge I whipped up a little something for those of you who do: a gardening apron!

It won’t exactly keep you dirt-free, but it’ll keep all your tools and seeds at your fingertips, and that’s a good thing too.

Pop on over to Design Sponge to check out the full how-to, including lots of step-by-step photos.

If you’re a beginning sewer, this is a good one for you. It’s SUPER easy, and it’s made by sewing straight lines only! Imagine that!

Maybe I’ll wear mine when I plant terrariums, and I’ll just pretend that I’m working in my fantasy garden in my fantasy brownstone house.

I’m just in love with terrariums. I love the idea of a teeeeny-tiny little private world, I love the fact that you can create an ecosystem that can survive completely on its own, and I love that they allow you to display cute miniature figurines in a way that doesn’t make your house look like a knick-knack collecting old lady lives there.

So when my Design Sponge editor challenged me to think of a Sewing 101 project that combined sewing and planting, somehow the idea of a sewing a terrarium popped into my head. Could it be done?


Turns out, the answer is yes, and it’s very easy to boot! All it takes is some clear vinyl (available by the yard at the fabric store) and your sewing machine.

I came up with designs for three different shapes – a rectangle, a vertical container with inward-slanting sides, and an abstract circular fluted shape. They’re all really quick to sew, and simple, and fun.

Sewing the vinyl is just a teeny bit tricky, as it won’t feed through your sewing machine normally since it’s so sticky. But fear not! My post will show you an easy work-around for this, which involves simple tissue paper and paperclips.

In the post I also give some simple tips for planting a terrarium. I know lots of people think terrariums are hard to keep alive, and I’ve had that experience too. The biggest problem for me is that when you use several different plants, some of them die while others get all scraggly. But I’ve found that planting simple moss is the best way to go. It looks really lush and gorgeous, it’s easy to maintain – and honestly, I think it looks just as good (if not better) than using lots of different plants. I have a couple of glass terrariums at home with lids, and I never, ever even have to open them – they live completely on their own, with the lids closed. It fascinates me. With a container like these ones though, with open tops, you would have to mist the plants every so often – but that’s it. Easy, I promise!

So hop on over to my post on Design Sponge to learn how to sew your own terrarium!

PS fun fact: this ladybug figurine is from my childhood, I’ve had it probably since I was five years old, or even younger. As I kid I was obsessed with ladybugs and I had a little collection of ladybug goodies. When I was home about a year ago, I noticed this little lady in my old bedroom, and snagged her for terrarium use. She really makes me happy and I love having a way to incorporate a childhood memory into my adult home!

Recently I came across an image online of an eggs that had been embroidered, made by Ukrainian artist Forostyuk Inna. (See the original image here.)

We’re talking real eggs with real embroidery on ‘em. It seemed to defy the laws of physics – and it combined two of my favorite things, egg decorating and sewing. I couldn’t get it out of my mind.

How were the stitches worked? Was it all done, magical-surgeon style, through the tiny holes made when blowing out the egg’s contents? Was there another trick? And most importantly, how did the egg not smash to smithereens?

I had experimented with cutting eggs a few years back when I made some Faberge-style eggs based on an article in Martha Stewing Living. The article instructed you to cut the egg open with a Dremel tool, which sounded impossible but turned out to be completely doable. You really can cut an egg shell with a Dremel, and once you get the hang of it it’s not hard at all. (Use a diamond cutting disc, or other disc meant for fine work. And, uh, watch out for the egg-spray. Let’s just say I had liquid eggs in my hair and on my kitchen walls. Not classy.)

So, okay, I knew egg shells were cut-able. But how were they sew-able? I dug and dug online to see how embroidered eggs were made. There really were no tutorials out there, but I did find a few clues indicating that they were made by cutting a hole in the back of the egg. (First I tried working the embroidery through the small holes made my blowing out the egg, and it really seemed quite impossible. Maybe it could be done, but it wouldn’t be my idea of fun.)

After figuring out the hole-in-the-back secret, the rest was cake. I picked up some micro drill bits for my Dremel and tried drilling holes in the hollowed-out egg shells to make the embroidery. I was nervous that this would create a lot of breakage, but it really didn’t at all. I tell ya, the Dremel is my new best friend.

After that, all that was left to do was make stitches in the pre-drilled holes using regular embroidery floss and a long needle.

I created a full how-to of the process over on my Sewing 101 column at Design Sponge – so pop on over there to see lots of detail shots of how this technique is done.

And there you have it, embroidered eggs! (All the eggs shown in this post are by me.) There are so many ways you could run with this technique — embroider names, monograms, traditional cross-stitch patterns, crazy-quilt stitches — the list goes on and on.

What about you, would you give this a try or does this fall in the crazypants crafting category? :)

All photos by Brett Bara.