SewBaby News

Jeanine Twigg- owner of The Snap Source, is our guest blogger today with an exciting new product line! The Snap Source, Inc. is pleased to announce the addition of the Size 16 Pearl snaps in 2010. SewBaby will exclusively host these new additions that are a cute as can be in never before seen Pastel Pink, Pastel Blue, Mint Green and Pale Yellow colors. These new snaps are perfect for any type of fabric, but especially precious for your little ones in SewBaby's fabrics of choice -- such as the pink and blue gingham flannel , blocks/bear anti-pill fleece or any of the wonderful knit baby prints. Use these snaps with the new Size 16 Pearl Tool Adapter with the size 16 SnapSetter tool to set the snaps to any one of SewBaby's wonderful snappy patterns or Fleece Easy Baby Wardrobe pattern, their wonderful Wonder Jacket or even the adorably cute Petal Dress . Any one of the SewBaby patterns works great with the Snap Source snaps especially these cute new Size 16 Pea...

If you could see what I'm seeing- grey skies, snow blowing horizontally, and the thermometer dropping, then you would understand.  I've got to start thinking Spring! I started doing SWAPs (Sewing with a Plan) last year from seeing what the wonderful women on Patternreview.com had created for their contest entries.  Basically, you choose a color theme, and then plan several coordinating pieces so that when they are all made, you'll have instantly gorgeous outfits that you can pull out of your closet at a moments notice. I completed my first swap just in November with my Green Goddess Wardrobe entry.   I can't tell you how much I have LOVED this wardrobe.  It is so wonderful.  I wear something from it every other day.  But, I want to switch out of the greens for Spring, and have settled on a very traditional combination of Navy, White and Dove Grey.  Since these colors are all neutrals, I'll pep it up with accessories in chartreuse and bright fusch...

Kwik Sew just released a new pattern for a casserole carrier.  Here's a link to their pattern. Something about it looks SO familiar... oh yes... SewBaby has an almost identical casserole carrier pattern that has been out since 2000!  It's been in all of the major quilting catalogs, and is currently sold nationwide at Joann.  Here is our pattern: Ours is better!  Let's compare- theirs- $11.99, ours- $8.95.  Theirs makes you sew bias binding on the straps, which is really tedious, and ours doesn't.  Plus, you get the bonus that ours doesn't come with the not so fashionable apron! This is just bad business.  We have been a Kwik Sew dealer for 14 years, but no more.  You've lost a supporter and ally.  Shame on you, Kwik Sew!

I always like to know more about the designers of the patterns that we offer, and thought that our blog is the perfect way to introduce them to you.  Today,  I've asked Kristen from Little Lambs to do a guest blog post.  Kristen has designed some great patterns that are easy to sew and practical- what every new Mom needs!   This is Kristen and her adorable son and here is Kristen's guest blog post: I would like to thank Ann for inviting me to be a part of her blog. Sadly, I am embarrassed to admit that this is my first time to blog about anything! My name is Kristen and I am a stay at home mom and the owner/designer of Little Lambs, sewing pattern designs aimed mainly at babies and toddlers. I have been in business now for about a year and a half and absolutely love what I do!! I never envisioned myself doing something like this- I used to be a high school science teacher- but I grew up sewing and creating all kinds of things and have always loved being “crafty...

This hoodie was a Christmas present for my daughter.  I used a Burda Magazine pattern and this deer print sweatshirt fleece from SewBaby to make it.  Here is a back view .  One unusual detail in this pattern is the exposed seams.  You sew the pieces wrong sides together so that the seams show on the right side.  Then you topstitch each side down.  With fleece, it gives a nice kind of fuzzy feel to the seams.  Here is a close-up so you can see what I mean: She has worn it several times since getting it for Christmas, which means it has passed the ultimate test- her opinion! I may make this pattern again for myself.  There is an activewear contest going on at Patternreview.com for January that I'm thinking about entering.  Maybe I'll use this fleece for me!

Just to recap- what I've done so far:  interface the pieces, serge the edges, sew the outer fabric shell, sew the details like the pockets and collar, turn up the hem, sew the lining shell, and put them together.  Now, you turn the coat, right side out, and voila!  It's magic!  All of the raveling edges and interfacing is long forgotten.  Here is what the inside looks like: Here is the back: All that is left is the buttons and a little handstitching to whipstitch the openings in the lining closed.  For the buttonholes, I thought about doing bound buttonholes, but my fabric is so thick, that I decided bound buttonholes would just add to the bulk, so I did a regular machine stitched buttonhole and used Fray-Check on the buttonhole before I cut it open to try to prevent excessive ravelling.   Here is a close-up of the buttons that I used.  Note that they are buttons with a shank.  On a thick coat fabric, you either need to start with...

It started out at -1 degree Fahrenheit this morning, so what better to do today than keep warm working on my coat!  First I constructed the pockets.  This particular pocket is cut on the bias, so that you don't have to match the plaid, but the flap part is cut on the straight grain, so that you do need to match.  I hadn't thought about that when cutting, but with an amazing bit of luck, my flaps lined up just perfectly.   I pinned the pockets in place and tried on the coat.  The placement was too high for my comfort, so I lowered them 3 inches so that my hand could go in easily.  I also opted to not put a buttonhole in the flap.  I couldn't see trying to unbutton my pocket everytime I wanted to put something in them. Next was the back tab.  The back tab is also cut on the bias and gets inserted in the seams between the back, and the side back.  I originally placed them where it was marked, but the placement was way too high for me.  ...

Happy New Year!  I'm only going to make one New Year's resolution this year, and that is to keep a record of my completed sewing projects and how many yards of fabric I use.  Hopefully that will give me an idea of realistically how much fabric I "should" be purchasing.  I'm not sure if I'm going to go the low-tech way by keeping a scrapbook which includes a swatch of the fabric used and a illustration of the pattern, or some high-tech way to keep track of the same things, but digitally.  I'll have to ask around and see if anyone knows of any good software that could be used for such a purpose.  If you know of anything, please let me know!