sewing

How To: Patchwork Duvet Cover

I finally found time to make a patchwork duvet cover for Emma’s new big girl bed after making the fitted sheets. Originally it was going to be plain on both sides made from vintage sheets, but I started poking about in my fabric stash and thought it may be fun to patchwork a top together. After working out my measurements (not brilliantly as I will explain later), I had a ton of fun picking my fabrics and arranging the pattern. If you’ve always wanted to try patchwork, this triangle/chevron design is super simple and can be made to look really different depending on how the blocks are arranged. Feel free to play around.
I’ve included the pattern and measurements to make your own, but be aware it is based on Australian standard single duvet size, which is different to US and European sizes. You could adjust measurements or use this design to make a quilt instead. I’ve included some handy links for this option.
I’ve used metric measurements in cm throughout as our duvets are made to metric sizes.
To make a single bed duvet cover (Australian Standard size) 140x210cm read on…
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How To: Paper Pieced Hexies + Template

As you all know, I’m a big fan of using up every little scrap of fabric I have. My ‘affliction’ can be a bit of a burden sometimes especially when I’m tripping over big bags of fabric scraps on my sewing room floor. So a few weeks ago I decided to start making paper pieced hexagons using the smaller pieces, with no particular end project in mind, but as a way to start to reduce my overflow and busy my idle hands at the same time. Making hexagons is quite addictive it turns out, and the fact that it’s a portable project had me making them during Emma’s swimming classes, and even in bed!

I didn’t intend on blogging this patchwork project as there are so many hexie tutorials out there already, but an overwhelming demand from my Instagram followers for me to share a ‘How to’ means you are keen to see how I do it. Obviously I won’t be reinventing the wheel here, but I pride myself on finding the simplest way to do things, so hopefully you’ll see that hexie making wasn’t as hard as you always imagined.

I drafted up my own hexie template in photoshop and have converted it to a PDF for you to download and use. Read on for the template and instructions…
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Easy Cable Knit Skirt – A wardrobe refashion

Do you like cable knits? I do. I love the chunky texture of the cables, and the way they automatically evoke the feeling of ‘cozy’. I’m not a knitter but appreciate the skill involved in making all the patterns and designs, so sometimes I wonder why knitters spend so much effort making such labour intensive projects with less than pleasant yarns?

The sweater I’ve refashioned here was once a sad, shapeless and unloved acrylic sack, passed onto me by a family friend who no longer had a need for it. She knew that I like to felt knitwear, so thought it would be useful for one of my projects. Because acrylic doesn’t felt, it has sat around my sewing room waiting to be remade into something wearable.

Now that the weather is cooling down in Melbourne, it was the perfect opportunity to refashion the sweater into an Easy Cable Knit Skirt.
Both easy to make and easy to wear, I’ll be making a few more before the season is up.
Read on for instructions…
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How To: Make a Fitted Sheet

My baby is growing up, Sob!
Emma has grown out of her toddler bed and has graduated to a single bed (you call them twin in the States). We were lucky to enough to inherit this cool vintage one from a family member in great condition. I didn’t have any single size bedding so rather than hitting the stores, it was the perfect opportunity to make use of all those thrifted vintage sheets I’ve been collecting, the only hitch was vintage sheets are all flat, which is a pain in the backside.
No drama, with a few easy steps, all flat sheets can be converted to practical fitted sheets.
The instructions below apply to any sized sheet, so you can use this tutorial to make cot sheets right up to a king sized bed sheet.
Vintage sheets are great for this, but I if you don’t tend to use the top sheets that come in a sheet set (I use a duvet without a top sheet), it’s a great way to double the value of your bed linen purchase.
Read on for full instructions…
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Upcycle Style: Braided T-shirt Rug

I love making projects that involve at least one of the following criteria: decluttering, upcycling, sewing and a need. This Braided T-shirt Rug ticks all the boxes, so when I spotted a circular rug made by Sewing For Life on Pinterest, I was itching to start on my own immediately. Here’s why…
Declutter – I’d been hounding Mr Man to clear out some of his old t-shirts that he no longer wears, the bottom actually fell out of his t-shirt draw from the weight of all the excess clothing!
Upcycle – Most of said t-shirts were well past their use by date with most of them having holes, stretching or stains, so charity donation was not an option. Usually I tear old shirts up for dusting rags, but the truth is, who needs to dust that much?
Sewing – enough said
Need – With a chilly winter on the way in Melbourne, I thought it would be lovely to finally have a bedside rug to treat my feet to some cushy comfort on a chilly morning.

This Upcycled Rug is a super satisfying project to make but it wasn’t all smooth sailing, so this tutorial is less about ‘How To’ and more about what not to do and troubleshooting solutions. Read on to see how I made mine…
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Triangle Quiltalong – Binding

Hooray! The Triangle Quilt is nearly finished, all that’s left to do is bind the edges. Binding is the finishing touch to frame your quilted work of art. Choose fabric to blend in or contrast with your quilt, depending on the finished look you’re after. In the past I’ve been in so much of a rush to finish my quilt that I’ve machine sewn whatever bias binding I’ve had on hand, just so my quilt will be ‘done’. This time I decided to try a more traditional technique, one that is easier and gives a very neat result, ideal for beginners. Nice mitered corners are super simple when you know how…

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How To: Felt Egg Cozy

Keep your perfectly boiled eggs nice and warm while you butter your toast soldiers.
These pretty egg cozies are so easy to make, and are a lovely way to use up those small scraps of colourful trim and felt left over from bigger projects.
If you don’t have a sewing machine you can hand stitch them fairly quickly. I’ve included a downloadable template to make things super simple.

Why not make a few this Easter? Add a thrifted vintage egg cup and a chocolate egg for a truly personal gift.
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Triangle Quiltalong – Quilting

In today’s post of the Triangle Quiltalong, I will talk about the quilting process. There are lot’s of different ways to do this and there is no real right or wrong technique, just what you find suits you. I’m definitely no quilting expert, so some of my skills could do with improving, but as they say ‘Practice makes Perfect’ and like any craft, the process of learning and doing is just as important as the end product.

I think the quilting stage has been my favourite part of making this triangle quilt so far because once it’s done the quilt really gains so much personality. As a sewist/sewer I used to be very intimidated by this stage of quilt making, but thanks to a few tricks I’ve picked up along the way, I feel much more confident in my skills now.
Read on to see how…
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