Maggie from the super homemaking and crafting blog Smashed Peas and Carrots, created this simple tutorial on Kirtsy for making double-sided cloth napkins. Cloth napkins are luxurious, thrifty and ecologically sound. Make a handful from cotton or linen fabrics in your stash, pack a picnic basket with cherry scones & a thermos of tea, and spend a lazy afternoon reading under a shady tree in the park!

Sarah made this easy-peasy tutorial for creating adorable hedgehog pincushions on BurdaStyle. Shade of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle! These would make a great last-minute addition to anyone’s sewing kit gift.
“Then Mrs. Tiggy-winkle made tea—a cup for herself and a cup for Lucie. They sat before the fire on a bench and looked sideways at one another. Mrs. Tiggy-winkle’s hand, holding the tea-cup, was very very brown, and very very wrinkly with the soap-suds; and all through her gown and her cap, there were hair-pins sticking wrong end out; so that Lucie didn’t like to sit too near her.” – B. Potter

Fionnuala at Basil Exposition present a tutorial for a customizable, easy–to-sew roll-up knitting needle case in a valiant effort to keep pairs of needles together, to avoid last minute scrambling for an errant needle. This project uses less than one yard of fabric, and would make a delightful gift for your favorite Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle or Madame Defarge.

Elizabeth contributed this classic, practical and easy to sew pattern for a computer laptop sleeve to SewMamaSew. This project requires less than half a yard of fabric, allowing one to be beautiful while remaining thrifty. These would make fabulous holiday gifts, using unique fabrics from Britex Fabrics. I’d love to make one in a charming Japanese cotton/linen the-king-has-no-clothes fairy tale print, or perhaps in an urban graffiti strewn home decorating print.

We have had several requests for old-fashioned bow tie patterns recently…the kind that you need to tie yourself. Once again, BurdaStyle comes to our rescue with this open source bow tie instructions and bow tie PDF for a delightfully chic, yet retro bow tie pattern. Jason is rocking an olive green bow tie but this would be swingin’ in menswear suiting, suave brocade, or even snappy seersucker. And for all you bow tie fashion mavericks, here are directions on how to knot your new attire.

We are wild for these quick and easy to make wool potholders. They would make a lovely and practical gift for anyone with a kitchen….and might even entice the recipient to back a creamy and rich chocolate ganache tart to share with you on a dank and rainy night! Wool felt can be found in squares on Britex’s 3rd floor, and by the yard on Britex’s 4th floor. If you wish to buy wool felt by mail, contact us through our fabric mail order department for detailed mail order assistance.

This handy-dandy bag is the other project that we presented at Maker Faire. This super-cute drawstring bag from BurdaStyle is a practical travel accessory. Make it as large or tiny as you need it. Supersized, it makes a stupendous laundry bag, and small, it makes a swingin’ bag to carry your drawing pastels. This project is great for everyone, from beginners, to experienced sewers!

This roll-up organizer is one of the projects that BurdaStyle, Britex and Singer collaborated on at last weekend’s Maker Faire. It is fabulous for organizing and storing sewing tools, knitting needles, paint brushes, and other craft tools It’s also perfect for storage and a placemat for a lazy afternoon picnic in the park.