How to Sew a Little Drawstring Travel Pouch
How to Sew a Little Drawstring Travel Pouch

I have such a fun little tutorial for you today! My girls’ dance recital is coming up and Natalie and her friends like to give “cast gifts” to each other. We came up with the idea to make small drawstring pouches to hold their hair pins and other hair accessories. (If you have a dancer in the house, you know how important these things are and how hard they are to corral!)

This small pouch makes a great travel bag for jewelry and hair accessories, or you can use it around the house or in your craft room. It’s a perfect container for your Wonder Clips or quilting pins! They also make great small handmade gifts for little ones or teens. I know my girls loved carrying little things in cute little purses when they were little, and they still love receiving bags of any kind now that they’re teens.

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bags and pouches, tutorial, pattern shopNikki Schreiner Comment
FREE Sewing Pattern Notes Printable!
FREE Sewing Pattern Notes Printable!

I made you something! Well, I made me something and then immediately wanted to share it with you. I don’t know about you, but I make changes and alterations to every single pattern I sew. But, unfortunately, I rarely write them down! I think I’ll remember what I did differently, or what I would do differently next time I sew the same pattern, but of course, I don’t.

Sometimes I scribble a note on the pattern envelope, but I wanted to create something cute and functional that I could print out, keep a stack of in my pattern draw, and make notes on as soon as I finished and put away a pattern.

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sewing room, sewing toolsNikki SchreinerComment
DIY Fast & Easy Fabric Gift Tags (Sewing Optional!)
DIY Fast & Easy Fabric Gift Tags (Sewing Optional!)

I made something so fun and I’m excited to share it with you! I had bought some very cool gift tag fabric from JoAnn last year and knew I’d eventually turn it into some DIY Christmas gift tags of some kind, but I just didn’t get around to it and I wasn’t sure how to make it a very simple, fast project.

But, inspiration struck this year and I had a great idea for how to turn this fabric into tags, AND how to turn any fun Christmas fabric into pretty and personal gift tags this Christmas. These tags are easy and fast, plus they can be a no-sew project if you so choose. You can even reuse them from year to year, or put them on your Christmas tree as ornaments!

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Christmas, giftsNikki SchreinerComment
Christmas Pillows to Make, Cover, or Buy
Christmas Pillows to Make, Cover, or Buy

Are you a Christmas decor minimalist or maximalist? I definitely lean toward the minimal side, because too much extra decor makes me feel claustrophobic, but we have a few bins of beloved Christmas decorations we love to pull out every year (I will always love and cherish my Willow Tree Nativity that a dear friend gifted me piece by piece over several years!)

Pillows are one item that can really pack a big punch in your Christmas decorating and I’ve pinned some really great DIY Christmas pillow ideas this season! I’m excited to share them with you today, along with a hack for having Christmas pillows on display at Christmastime, but not having to store them. Don’t miss that tip at the end of the post!

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Christmas, home decorNikki SchreinerComment
How to Sew Pillow Cases (the easiest way!) || A Video Sewing Tutorial & Printable Pattern
How to Sew Pillow Cases (the easiest way!) || A Video Sewing Tutorial & Printable Pattern

If you’re wondering what to make your family members for Christmas, I have a great idea for you! I’ve been making pillow cases in fun fabrics for many years now. I’ve taught kids to make them, I’ve made them as gifts, and I even make my husband Star Wars pillow cases every year for Christmas, and now I’m going to teach you to sew easy pillow cases too!

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home decor, sewing for teens, sewing for kids, tutorialNikki SchreinerComment
What's In My Sewing Binder
What's In My Sewing Binder

Do you keep a sewing binder? I do! A sewing binder can hold all kinds of pattern pieces, tutorial instructions, sewing planner pages, and sewing machine setting notes. I’ve had mine for many years, but I don’t keep in it what you might think! There are some amazingly organized people out there who keep meticulous notes about patterns, future sewing plans, and stitch settings, but I am not those people, ha!

No, my sewing binder doesn’t have any pages of fabric swatches with washing instructions, but it IS a very important part of my sewing room, so I’m going to tell you about it today.

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sewing room, tips and tricksNikki SchreinerComment
My 4 Best Tips for Sewing With Kids
My 4 Best Tips for Sewing With Kids

As you may know, I spent a few years teaching kids sewing camps and classes. In total, I had around 80 children come through my sewing studio and finish countless projects successfully, so it's about time I share some tips with you. If you want to help the kids in your life learn to sew, whether they’re your own children, or you want to start teaching sewing classes, these tips for sewing with kids are for you. I’ll recommend the best sewing machine for kids, tell you what other supplies you’ll need, plus I’ll help you learn to just chill and let them sew, ha!

And, if you’re a parent who does not yet know how to sew, but your kids want to learn, this post will set you up for success so you can start sewing right along with them! If this inspires you and you want even more on this topic, I have another post here with all the content I’ve written about sewing with kids, including lots of project ideas.

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sewing for kids, tips and tricksNikki Schreiner Comment
Tips for Buying Your First Sewing Machine & My Recommendations for 2021
Tips for Buying Your First Sewing Machine & My Recommendations for 2021

I have gotten asked so many times for advice on buying your first sewing machine that I should probably save my answer in a note or something so I can copy and paste it, ha!

I do have a few solid pieces of advice that I always give when someone is looking to buy their first sewing machine, or which sewing machine to buy for kids or a for a beginner, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to put all that advice here in a blog post.

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sewing room, sewing tools, tips and tricksNikki Schreiner Comments
Quilted Christmas Stocking and Stocking Name Tag Patterns
Quilted Christmas Stocking and Stocking Name Tag Patterns

I added TWO new sewing patterns to the shop this week! Learn to sew simple and modern quilted Christmas stockings AND the cutest little personalized stocking name tags (or reusable gift tags!) with this new set of sewing patterns. Even if you’ve never quilted before, you can absolutely make these sweet stockings. I try very hard to make sure my patterns are beginner friendly and these two are no exception. I’m so excited to share with you this great new duo of patterns for your Christmas sewing and I hope it will add some handmade cheer to your holiday decor!

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Christmas, home decor, quilting, pattern shopNikki SchreinerComment
10 Sewing Tools on My Christmas Wishlist This Year
10 Sewing Tools on My Christmas Wishlist This Year

Christmas is coming like a freight train! It feels that way to me every year, but this year, since we’re being encouraged to shop earlier than usual, I feel like we’re breezing past the Fall holidays and going straight into Christmas.

Like many married couples, our custom is to give each other a wishlist, making it easy to buy what the other wants. My wishlist lives on Amazon and it’s called Nikki’s Christmas wishes (can’t make it much easier than that.) I update this list each year around this time and I’m always excited to see which things he chooses! Of course, he always adds a few surprises, which is fun too.

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gift guide, sewing room, sewing toolsNikki SchreinerComment
New! Coffee Shop Ornaments, a PDF Sewing Pattern
New! Coffee Shop Ornaments, a PDF Sewing Pattern

I’ll tell you what, I’ve been siting on the idea for little handmade coffee cup Christmas ornaments for a long time! I decided this was the year and I finally did it. Not just a coffee ornament, though! This new PDF sewing pattern can be made into a DIY matcha ornament, a pink drink, a Frappuccino, whatever your drink of choice!

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Christmas, pattern shopNikki SchreinerComment
Sew for Baby Pattern Bundle
Sew for Baby Pattern Bundle

I just wanted to jump in here and let you know that I’ve been quite busy in the Pin Cut Sew Pattern Shop and I’ve bundled together some like patterns in order to make it more convenient for you!

The Sew for Baby pattern bundle includes four beginner friendly sewing tutorials for baby items: a reversible baby bib you can make to fit any size baby, easy burp cloths, a ribbon tag baby blanket, and baby hats with top knots or bear ears.

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sewing for baby, pattern shopNikki SchreinerComment