Top Ten Summer Sewing Patterns

To celebrate the official beginning of summer vacation, I've rounded up 10 awesome patterns, perfect for summer sewing.

10.Luggage Tags. Get those bags ready for summer travel.

9.Quilted Casserole Carriers. Because you know you are going to get invited to a potluck or five.

8. Car Seat Canopy. A great way to give baby some shade.

7.Bow Tie. Get your little man ready for all those summer weddings.

6.Art Smock Apron. Because they'll be finger painting at home for three months.

5.Sew Cool dress. Breezy sundresses for hot days.

4.Clutter Catchers. Add a touch of sanity to your summer road trip.

3.Reversible Bucket Hat. Stylish sun protection.

2. Boho Shoulder Bag. Carry your beach essentials in style.

1.Terrific Teepees. Because this is just awesome.

Embellished tabs. Finally!

I FINALLY finished the embellished tabs tutorial! Download the tutorial and template PDF!

Wonder Woman!

I've entered my Wonder Woman costume in the Bernina Halloween costume contest! To vote for me, and check out more awesome pictures click here. Voting starts 10/25. :)

Macaron-eee

I made super cute pandan flavored macarons using this recipe. They were WAY easier, and turned out much better than I expected. You know you want to make some!

Alleusion won the custom diaper giveaway!

I can't wait to see which fabrics she chooses!

I also popped over to her blog and found a really cool tutorial on dyeing wool yarn in the crock pot! You know how I love dyeing yarn, dontcha? Muuuusssstt ttttrrrryyyy! (That's my yarn dyeing zombie impersonation...)

The Cobblestone Quilted Rug.

What can you make with an old towel and some scraps from your fabric stash? This sweet rug! I sewed this up yesterday  and I LOVE how it turned out! I am working on the pattern, so you can make your own.

ADDED BONUS: You can make this with Jelly Roll Strips!

Custom Diaper Giveaway!

One lucky winner will receive a custom NykiBaby One Size pocket diaper with embellished tabs. The winner have tons of cute fabrics to choose from!

To Enter:

Go to http://www.pinsandneedlespatterns.com/ and check out our new site. Then come back here and leave a comment or suggestion below, for Pins & Needles Pattern Shop. Tell me what you like or what you'd like to see in the shop! Make sure your contact info is accessible, so I can tell you if you won!

Get Bonus Entries:


"Like" Pins & Needles Pattern Shop on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Pins-Needles-Pattern-Shop. Then come back here and leave another comment.

"Like" Fancy Cloth Baby on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/FancyClothBaby. Then come back here and leave another comment.

Only comments left on this post will be counted as valid entries. Contest closes Friday, July 15th, at midnight Pacific time. Winner will be announced on the 16th. Good luck!!

Open for Business!

My shop is officially up and running! We have so many incredible pattern designers selling with us. If you haven't already, check out the site here.

You can help out by sharing our shop with your sewing friends. :)

Adventures in Draping.

I've done a tutorial on Instructables, for making this Hand-Dyed Draped Silk Dress. Check it out! It is entered in the Burda Fashion Contest, So don't forget to vote after June 13th.

My new pattern shop is open!

I've just launched my new digital sewing pattern shop! If you are a designer, and you have PDF sewing patterns, you'll like carried in the shop, just e-mail me. Drop by and visit us. I'll be adding lots more patterns soon!

Make Handmade Chiffon Flowers

For the full article and slideshow instructions, click here.

Lazy and Non-artistic People, Rejoyce!

My semi-award winning play mat has been released as a PDF sewing pattern. It now includes all the templates needed to make your own! Check it out here.

My Entry for the Instructables Quilting Contest!

For a full tutorial, check out the Instructable.

Don't forget to vote for me after April 10th!

Cute office storage!

Scrapbook paper + old baby formula and peanut cans = Cute office storage!

Play Silks!

I dyed up some super fun play silks for the kiddos. Silk scarves from Dharma Trading Co., dyed with food coloring and vinegar...mucho fun! 

Dino Action!

Yay for Green Beans!

I picked our first green beans today! There are a million little tiny ones on the plants. In a week or two it will be green bean city.

In other garden news, we have tomatoes! (and zucchini, and squash.)

Make better Fitted Diapers with your NykiBaby One Size Diaper Pattern!

Here are a few little goodies to help you make better fitted diapers with my pattern:

*Single row of snaps. Fewer snaps to set is a good thing!

Snap placement for a single row of snaps

*My pattern directs you to not trim off any fabric in the leg elastic areas. I've started trimming of 1/2", just like I do through the rest of the diaper. I am liking this way better.

* New contour templates. These fit the diaper so much better. You can trim off up to 1/4" on these when you serge, if you like. I just barely skim them.

New and improved contour soaker templates

Performance Fleece You Won't Find at Old Navy.....

Old Navy might make a mean fleece vest, but they've never done THIS! To all the Kiki Pad fans out there, this is for you...

How to Make Fleece Kiki Pads

Click the picture for a larger image.

Garden Update!

Our lovely little patio garden.

Our yellow squash plant is large and in charge.

This zucchini plant has been named "The Boss." He is accompanied by his trusty sidekick, Rogue Butter Lettuce. The wind killed off all the other lettuce. This little guy is a survivor. Soon he will be a salad.

Gettin' figgy with it, is our dwarf fig tree. In our little herb garden, I've got rosemary, itty-bitty parsley and basil, and The Pho/ Tacos container with green onions and cilantro.

Early girl and Brandywine tomatoes. Don's ask me which is which. 

My poor, poor little eggplants. They refuse to grow. I went to Lowe's today to get more eggplants, but they didn't have any Japanese or Chinese eggplants.  :( Boo!

Another 'mater. He is huge compared to his peers. I've also got some green beans and wax beans in there with him.

My tiniest tomato plant. He was homeless up until last week when I picked all of our spinach, and tossed it into a delicious Tuscan chicken soup. He also has some beanie buddies.

"The Replacement." The pepper I started from seed was not growing, so I bought this guy. 

I actually got to sew something!

After MANY, MANY interruptions, I finally finished a diaper bag for my shop!