DIY Cottage Core Hair Bows
DIY Cottage Core Hair Bows

My teen daughters are into cottage core style hair accessories lately and asked if I could copy a few that we’ve seen. One of those were some pretty, velvet bows we spotted at Target the other day. They were larger hair bows with long tails and so cute! But at $14 a piece, we knew we could DIY them for a fraction of the cost.

Sure enough, after spending just $2.50 for each spool of velvet ribbon and the same for a bag of hair clips, we have the cutest set of velvet hair bows! And I’m going to teach you how, so you can have some too :)

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fashion sewing, sewing for kids, tutorialNikki SchreinerComment
How to Make a Dress from Any Top Pattern
How to Make a Dress from Any Top Pattern

If you have a top or shirt pattern that you love the fit of and that you find yourself making over and over, you may have considered other ways to use it, including somehow turning it into a dress. This is something I’ve done many times with great success! So today I’m going to show you how you can lengthen any top sewing pattern to make a dress.

Let the pattern hacking commence!

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fashion sewingNikki SchreinerComment
Tour My New Sewing Room! Plus Tips for Small Spaces
Tour My New Sewing Room! Plus Tips for Small Spaces

I’m very excited to show you around my new, small-but-just-right sewing room today! As someone who has lived in 7 states now, you can imagine that I have sewn in all kinds of spaces, from big rooms to basements, to hallway desks, to living room corners. Because of this, I’ve amassed quite a few tips for adapting to sewing in small or make-shift spaces and I’m here to share those ideas with you today too so that you can make any space work for you!

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sewing roomNikki Schreiner Comments
Why I Love Improv Quilting and Resources for Getting Started
Why I Love Improv Quilting and Resources for Getting Started

The first quilt I ever made was an improv quilt! It was a scrappy, wonky house quilt backed with flannel and up until my toddler son got into some paint and painted the basement family room with it, including said quilt, it was one of the coziest too.

I’m here to chat about improv quilting today; what it is, how to get started, and project ideas!

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quiltingNikki Schreiner Comment
How to Teach Kids Sewing Camps & Classes || Tons of Tips and Ideas!
How to Teach Kids Sewing Camps & Classes || Tons of Tips and Ideas!

If you’ve been reading Pin Cut Sew for a long time, you may remember that this blog began because I started teaching sewing camps for kids several Summers ago when we lived in Hawaii. I needed a way to earn money that summer and teaching kids to sew quickly emerged as a FUN way to earn quite a bit of extra income in just a few weeks of sewing camps.

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sewing for kidsNikki SchreinerComment
How to Make Pin Cushions with Mason Jars || And Easy & FREE Tutorial
How to Make Pin Cushions with Mason Jars || And Easy & FREE Tutorial

I found myself needed a few more pin cushions for sewing classes and decided to try making some with a few mason jars I had in the cupboard already. The fun thing about making pin cushions out of jars is that they can hold sewing accessories safely in the jar portion and become a travel sewing kit!

Today I’ll show you how to make an easy pin cushion out of any size jar, and you don’t even need a sewing machine! Yep, this is a hot glue project, with a tiny bit of hand sewing. Keep reading for the step by step mason jar pin cushion instructions with all of photos you need to make this simple project.

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free pattern, tutorial, sewing room, sewing toolsNikki Schreiner Comments
12 Shorts Patterns to Sew for Summer (and some are even free!)
12 Shorts Patterns to Sew for Summer (and some are even free!)

Shorts can be such an easy, low pressure garment garment to sew! They don’t require as much fitting as pants since shorts are generally worn looser and and there aren’t any leg fitting issues to be dealt with. Plus, shorts don’t take much fabric, so you can even sew some cute summer shorts from scraps you have left over from other garments! They can be made in all kinds of fabrics too — I love easy, breezy fabrics like rayon and linen for summer clothes of all kinds, shorts included.

I’ve rounded up a great variety of shorts sewing patterns for women for you! There’s something for everyone here, denim and non denim shorts patterns, high waisted shorts, running shorts, and even some FREE shorts patterns to sew.

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fashion sewingNikki Schreiner Comment
How to Make Yarn Hair for Rag Dolls || A Video Tutorial
How to Make Yarn Hair for Rag Dolls || A Video Tutorial

When making soft rag dolls, there are lots of options for how to make the hair! Some dolls have permanent hair dos that are sewn on, usually out of felt, and others have actual wigs made of yarn. The latter is what I’m sharing a tutorial for today — and I think you’ll be surprised at how easy to it to make yarn hair for rag dolls!

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pattern shop, dolls and doll clothes, tutorialNikki SchreinerComment
Moveable Doll Arms Tutorial
Moveable Doll Arms Tutorial

I’m back with another short video tutorial for the Clara Ballerina Doll, this time for how to sew moveable, button jointed arms onto a rag doll. After all, a ballerina needs to move her arms, right?

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pattern shop, dolls and doll clothes, sewing for kidsNikki SchreinerComment
How to Hand Embroider a Simple Doll Face
How to Hand Embroider a Simple Doll Face

If you’re making a soft rag doll and are hung up on how to hand embroider the doll’s face, or even if you just need a quick run down on basic stitches, I hope this super simple video embroidery tutorial is helpful for you!

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pattern shop, dolls and doll clothes, tutorial, sewing for kidsNikki SchreinerComment
Clara Ballerina Soft Doll Sewing Pattern
Clara Ballerina Soft Doll Sewing Pattern

I am so elated to share my newest sewing pattern with you! My oldest daughter is an advanced ballerina and so ballet has been a big part of our family due to her all out passion for it these last many years. Through her influence, I’ve fallen in love with the ballet world along with her — the costumes, the music, behind-the-scenes, and the ballet itself.

That’s probably why this new pattern is near and dear to my heart. The Clara Ballerina Doll is the newest PDF pattern in my shop, or you can also purchase it on Etsy if you prefer. She comes with thorough instructions with lots of photos, and includes patterns for all her clothes: leotard, ballet wrap skirt, leg warmers and of course, her tutu.

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pattern shop, dolls and doll clothes, sewing for kidsNikki SchreinerComment
6 Surefire Ways to Get Your Sewjo Back!
6 Surefire Ways to Get Your Sewjo Back!

Have you ever wandered listlessly into your sewing room and wondered what happened to your sewjo? Or maybe you’ve wanted to sew, but just couldn’t seem to get started, couldn’t even see your cutting surface, or just didn’t have the materials you needed? If that’s ever described you, I have some tips for how to get your sewjo back!

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sewing room, tips and tricksNikki SchreinerComment