My favorite sewing project tutorials

I've been crazy about my sewing machine since moving to a home where I have the space to set up a whole sewing corner in a spare bedroom. Not much to do in this sleepy town either, so I have had lots of time on my hands each weekend. One downside, though, is only one fabric store in town; I'm afraid I'll go wild and completely overbuy when I go out of town for the holidays.

I think I enjoy sewing so much because it often requires significant problem-solving but is also a real creative outlet. And if I'm going to spend half a weekend doing something, it sure is nice to have a "product" at the end of it all! Even if it's something as simple as a grocery bag dispenser.

I'll show you the end-results of my projects over the next few weeks, but here are some project tutorials that I've found incredibly helpful recently. I need a sunny day with good light to photograph all my final products!


Inspiring Sewing Tutorials

I love the use of a different texture- felt- on an otherwise plain pillow. I ran into a small problem after ironing metal pins over the felt, leaving a permanent mark on the felt. Still not sure how I'm going to fix it...

Source

I made a fabric memory game for my niece and nephew for this upcoming Christmas. Finding great patterned fabric was a blast, and this project was great practice for my rotary cutting tool and mat. So many perfect squares!

Source

After setting up my new sewing space, I needed a bin or something like it to collect some odds and ends that didn't get hung on the peg board. A fabric bin was just what the doctor ordered.

Source

This sock monkey project was just too much fun. It took some searching to find the right socks, but I ended up with two adorable sock monkeys- one big one and one smaller one. I have a feeling I'll have a hard time not picking up striped socks every time I go shopping now.

Source

This one was super easy and fast. In it's new space, my sewing machine needed a nice dust cover, and something that would coordinate with the other pieces in the spare room and bring it all together. I'm not much of a girly-girl, so I chose a different color scheme and skipped the flower.

Source

I really love felt and before I had my sweet sewing machine set-up, I did a lot of hand sewing using felt, making mostly Christmas tree ornaments. When I saw this, I couldn't help but pick up a couple small canvas tote bags at the local craft shop and some felt sheets. My nephew was happy to receive a bag inspired by this tutorial for his birthday this fall.

Source

Here's a great one for beginners- a plastic grocery bag dispenser. I made two with some cool dish towels with a great pattern and it was so simple! It's so nice to not have an overflowing pile of them under my kitchen sink anymore.Check out this tutorial from Martha Stewart.

Source

Maybe a semi-quilted makeup roll wasn't the best project to start off with, considering the bias tape border, but mine turned out surprisingly well. Easy to personalize with fabric colors or patterns and it would make a great gift. Or make one that's a crochet hook holder, or pen/pencil holder.

Here are a few photos of the one that I made!

Source

My proudest sewing accomplishment thus far has definitely been a zippered bench cushion for my spare room. I bought a wooden bench mostly for staging purposes two homes ago, and it has been crying out for a cushion. Mostly so that the cats don't scratch the surface of the bench. I used a couple different tutorials since I committed to installing a zipper (my very first zipper!!) and using pre-made piping. It was a taxing project, but I'm thrilled with the end-result. This is the method I've used for all my zippers thus far, especially good for throw pillows.

Source

Source