Over the last few days, an idea has been bouncing around and I quickly set to work. I sketched ideas, drew up templates, and quickly got down to sewing. We were given some advance sample fabric of Alison Glass‘ new line, Ex Libris, and oh my goodness, it’s gorgeous! We expect to see it in our shop very, very soon!

On with the post – I’ve written up a tutorial for the Curvy Clutch to share with you all! We love to create, and know that many of you do, as well. So here we go!

Download your own copy of the Curvy Clutch pattern and tutorial here.

Let’s begin on your Curvy Clutch! You only need a Fat Quarter of all three fabrics used. You’ll also need some trim (3/4 Yard), a 9″ or longer zipper, and a yard of interfacing. I recommend Pellon Shapeflex SF-101.

1. Cut all your pattern pieces for the Curvy Clutch as directed on the templates. Trim your zipper to 7″ in total length. Be sure not to cut off the pull.

2. Take two pieces of your interfacing, making sure rough side facing up, and layer with under one main panel. Follow manufacturere’s directions for fusing. Repeat for other main panel. Fuse one piece of interfacing to each lining piece, following manufacturer’s directions. Set aside.

3. Take your accent pieces, and put them RST. Using a 1/4” seam allowance, sew along the curved edge, backstitching at both ends. Turn and fold the pieces, right sides now on the outside, and press carefully. Don’t stretch the fabric while pressing. If you’re using vinyl or leather, there will be no sewing on this step. Proceed to the next step.

4. Take your accent pieces and your trim, and then apply a thin layer of glue to the wrong side of your accent piece on the sewn edge. You’ll need to make sure your trim stays in place so hand press the trim well.

5. Once your trim is adhered, go ahead and apply some glue to the wrong side of the accent piece.

Alternately, you can lay the accent piece on the main panel, aligning top edges, and pin well. I don’t recommend pinning if you’re using vinyl or leather, as it will leave permanent holes.

6. Now, very carefully as not to snag and pull your trim, topstitch 1/8” from the edge of the accent piece to secure the accent piece and trim to your main panel. Sew around all four edges. Set aside.

7. Grab your zipper tab, and iron it in half, lengthwise. You should have tab that now measures 1” wide by 4” long. Open it and fold the outside edges to the middle. Press again. It will look similar to bias tape. Once pressed, open and insert your trimmed zipper edge, aligning it with the middle of the tab. Topstitch this tab, and trim leaving 1/8” extending past zipper. Repeat for other side of zipper.

With your zipper pull on the left side (for now), apply a thin layer of glue to zipper edge, on the bottom of the zipper.

8. Center your zipper on the right side of the back lining panel. Hand press to adhere zipper. This will help keep zipper in place. Place your back main panel right side down, centered on the zipper, and aligning top edges.. Pin well.

Note that the zipper pull is still on the left side. In the picture, my zipper is open so that I can easily sew this seam. Sew with a 1/4” seam allowance to finish making the back of your clutch.

9. Press both the lining and main panels away from the zipper, and topstitch the edge as shown. I use a 1/8” seam allowance for topstitching.

10. Repeat steps 7 and 8 for the front main panel and lining of the clutch.

11. In this step, you’ll sew together the darts, which create the curved bottom. Fold your main and lining panels RST and sew with a 1/4” seam allowance. Press seams toward the middle of the pouch.

12. OPEN YOUR ZIPPER!

OPEN YOUR ZIPPER!

DON’T FORGET TO OPEN YOUR ZIPPER!

Align your two main panels RST. Align your lining panels RST. Pin well. Leaving a 4” opening on the bottom edge of the lining, begin sewing your clutch together. Go slowly over the seams and when you get back to the lining opening, backstitch several times to reinforce.

13. Using the lining opening, reach into the hole and through the open zipper, turn your pouch right side out. While the lining is still out, sew the opening closed either by hand, or machine.

14. Push the lining back into the clutch, and press well. If you have used leather or vinyl, please don’t use the hottest setting on your iron as it will damage your clutch.  That’s it! You’ve completed your Curvy Clutch.

Share photos on Instagram using #TheCurvyClutch and #SewingWithPinkDoor

Let me start off by saying, I don’t have boys. I have two precious little girls who prefer all manner of pink and purple and glitter and sparkle. My youngest girl is pretty tomboy and not afraid of anything! I have to admit – I’m not the most girly-girl so I’m sometimes a little envious of the moms who can sew for boys. There is a market for boys’ items (albeit, smaller) and it’s amazing! There are tutorials and patterns, everywhere! I am compiling some of my favorite “sewing for boys” tutorials and patterns here, and I will mention, even my girls were quite excited about some of these! I’m quite excited about this Sewing for Boys post! Here we go!

1. Collapsible Play Tent
Is this not the most amazing tent!? I kind of want one for myself! You can find the tutorial to create your own little wonderland for your mini-me’s at Make It Love It.

2. Super Hero Fort Kit

If your little guy (or girl) would prefer to build their own tent, this is perfect! You give them all the supplies, tucked neatly into a customized bag, and let them build it themselves! This really is a great skill, and a lot of fun for everyone! You can find the info at Meg + Andy! Sewing for boys is looking more and more fun!

3. Sleeping Bag, while we’re camping and all…

Since we’ve discussed two ways of making tents, and with summer coming up, I figured I’d add in a tutorial for a kid size sleeping bag! Again, this works for boys and girls, and can be customized any way you’d like! You could even use flat bed sheets for the fabric, too! I think I’ll be adding this to my sewing list for the summer. Find out how to make your own at Crazy Little Projects!

4. Toy Campfire, because when camping, you need S’mores!
Apparently, I’m following a theme here, and maybe considering making ALL of these for my girls. Also, I’ve never had S’mores. Can you believe that?! I think it’s a childhood tradition that everyone should enjoy, or pretend to enjoy. 😉 There’s nothing better than family around a campfire!

5. Magnetic Fishing Pole and Fish
I took my girls fishing for the first time last summer, but they’ve played with fishing poles before. Nothing this cute, but practicing with a real one (missing the hooks). They really enjoyed going fishing and screaming and splashing and learning about patience. However, after waiting and waiting for fish to bite, they lost interest pretty quickly. I think this fishing set would help rekindle their love for fishing, especially since they’ll catch a whole lot of fish! This is just one of many great projects found in sewing for boys, and they all look like fun!

6. Tool Belt
I’m a firm believer that ALL children should learn to fix things. Starting small of course, but being self-sufficient is HUGE as they get older. Providing kids with their own tools now will further their curiosity of the world around them, and encourage them to ask questions, learn to diagnose and fix, and increase problem solving skills. I’ve made this tool belt for both my girls and they use them all the time, pretending to fix anything that catches their eye!

7. A backpack to carry everything in!

I have a couple pack-rats around here and there’s no shortage of backpacks and purses and lunch bags and reusable grocery bags filled to the brim with all the “must-haves!” I think this tutorial is perfect for making your own toddler/kid sized backpack for your pack-rats. 😉

See? Sewing for boys doesn’t have to be limited to ties and crayon roll-ups, and car holders. There’s a whole untapped world out there! Get creative!

Post what you make on Instagram using #sewingwithpinkdoor for a chance to win $25 to our shop to purchase anything you need to create for your children, whether they be boys OR girls!

Hello! Yes, it’s been a while, but that’s only because we’ve been working behind the scenes to create a pattern to share with you all! Exciting, right? We worked with Amy Wade (our awesome long-armer) from the Denver Metro Modern Quilt Guild to create this pattern. Well actually, she did all the hard work. We just made it pretty. 😉 The bed size quilt measures 95″ square, perfect for your queen size bed or smaller, and with such big blocks, this quilt goes together SO FAST! Can we take a minute to just appreciate the stunning quilting Amy did on this Valentine quilt? It’s so beautiful! I love how she did straight line inside the heart and fun free motion outside of the heart! It’s PERFECT!

And now, introducing our very first FREE pattern for our fans! Please welcome, Valentine’s!

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, we thought it would be nice to have a quick and easy mini-quilt to go along with the full pattern! Both quilts use the same exact pattern, just different fabrics and composition. It’s a great pattern for flexibility and if you change up the block size, it could be great for bee groups as well!

The mini quilt measures 30″ square in the pattern, but I made mine 20″ square. It’s pretty easy to resize however you’d like to make any size you need. As mentioned, I used the exact same pattern as Amy, but I opted for small low volume squares in the background as opposed to the checkerboard squares and then I cut into my Tula (GASP!) for the heart. You can have a chance to win this mini quilt (GO NOW!) over on Instagram. You’ll definitely want to participate in this one!

So there you have it! Our first FREE pattern for you! You can find the large size here and the mini size here. Have fun with it! Tag us on Instagram so we can find your quilts and show off what you’ve made! Thanks for supporting us in the past, present, and future. We are eternally grateful!

Hi All!

It’s been a busy first week of the New Year around here! Anyone else agree? I’ve been on this binge to completely purge my house (I do this often – don’t ask!) and I started in my sewing room. My desk…this big heavy metal beast of a desk, well, it needs to go. I have already procured a replacement from a friend of mine. The new desk is a beautiful old wooden desk from the local Holy Cross Abbey. It was one that the monks used fifty years ago. Can we say exciting!? I do need to sand it down a bit and refinish the top as it’s a little rough for fabric, but it’s otherwise in fabulous condition! I also need to disassemble it so I can bring it down to the basement, eventually. 😉 But anyways, in hopes of kicking off my new storage solution and work area, I created some fun little nesting boxes for my desk! You can find the pattern here and it seriously, took me no more than 3-4 hours to do them all! SO SO EASY!

I contacted Jennifer at Monaluna Design for the absolutely GORGEOUS fabric, and in case you’re curious, it’s called Westwood. You can find some for yourself here and I promise, you won’t regret it. It’s a lovely fabric made with Organic Cotton and the drape is amazing. It’s most similar in feel to Art Gallery Fabrics, but a little thicker. Not much! The colors are so very me! I especially LOVE LOVE LOVE the Deerheart print! Stay tuned for a project made with that.
++ Note: We are currently OUT of the Llama Love but will be getting more soon! ++

The pattern includes directions for four (4) different size boxes. There’s a small (3″ x 4″ x 2″), medium (3″ x 8″ x 2″), and large (6-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ x 2″) and with their 2″ height, they are PERFECT for inside drawers! The pattern calls for Fast 2 Fuse interfacing, but suggests that Peltex 72F will work too. I only had Peltex 71F, meaning it’s fusible on one side one, so I used Pellon Wonder Under to make the second side fusible. Works like a charm! I do recommend using a heavyweight interfacing for the nesting boxes as they are meant to be sturdy. Pellon DecorBond or similar will make for floppy boxes, and that’s definitely not the look I was going for.

The patterns was well written, and easy to follow. There are some diagrams to illustrate steps as you go and it’s seriously a very fast project! Like I said, I made all four in 3-4 hours with child interruptions (they’re ALWAYS hungry!) and picking up kids from school, etc. The only machine stitching you do, is while the nesting box is flat; there’s a bit of topstitching done. Otherwise, the pattern says to hand stitch the corners, but I rebelled and machine stitched mine. As long as you go slow, and take your time on that part, it can be done. Don’t worry about those pesky wrinkles you see (if you used Peltex 71/72F) as they’ll iron right out. I can’t say if that’s the case with the Fast 2 Fuse, as I didn’t have any to test out.

As you can see here, the boxes all “nest” together, hence the name, Nesting Boxes. They’re really the perfect size for all your notions or threads, or even a pair of scissors and glue pen. You can also separate the boxes and use them individually however you’d like! The possibilities are endless!

I definitely see myself making many more sets of these as gifts for my family and friends. Go get your pattern now and spend a few hours making them! You will not regret it!

The kids are back in school. The chaos has returned. The early morning struggles don’t seem to get easier. The struggle of Back-to-School is exhausting!

But, on the plus side, one of my kids is in Kindergarten, so while I get to spend to some one-on-one time with my youngest, she also goes to preschool three days a week for a few hours. That means just a few hours a week to be ALONE. This has been a huge transition and feels quite lonely initially but now that we’ve been in school about a month, I’m LOVING IT!

Big kid brought home her new school ID. She proceeded to ask for thread to hang up her ID so she didn’t lose it. Dad suggested buying a lanyard… I immediately nixed both ideas and got right down to digging through my stash for some fabric. See where this is going?

I have been hoarding stashing this Tula Pink Plume for some time now. My daughter asked if we could use it. I couldn’t deny her! She knows what she likes, and I can’t be more proud! So, lets get this tutorial started.

You will need:
– (1) 2.5″ x 5″ strip of fabric
– (1) 2.5″ x 36″ strip of fabric
– (1) 5/8″ Swivel clasp AND D-ring
– Rotary Cutter/Ruler
– Iron
– Snaps of your choice
– Sewing machine and all the goodies that go with that, like coordinating thread and a sharp needle.

So first, grab your fabric and cut the two pieces. You could very likely get all you need from a 2-1/2″ x WOF piece.

Then, you’ll take each strip and fold in half lengthwise. So now it’ll measure 1-1/4″ x 5″ or 1-1/4″ x 36″. Fold well and press with a lot of steam.
Open up each strip and fold the edges into the middle. Press again.
On the 5″ piece, take in your short edges, and fold them over by 1/4″. We want those raw edges tucked away.
Fold your whole piece back in half like you did in the first step. Your piece should measure 5/8″ wide.

On the 5″ piece, go ahead and top stitch all the way around. This piece is complete for now. Set aside.

On the 36″ piece, while folded, slide on your Swivel clasp. Then take both short edges, and unfold slightly making sure to align right sides together. Go ahead and sew those together with a 1/4″ seam. Press the seam open, and refold your strip.

Now we will topstitch the entire piece. It should look like one big circle if you have sewn it correctly. Make sure to keep moving the Swivel Clasp so you don’t sew over it.

Now you’re almost done! We just need to add the snaps to our little 5″ piece to create a loop, then add your ID, and D-Ring, and that’s it!

Go ahead and add your snaps following the manufacturer’s directions. I used size 16 plastic Kam Snaps that I had, but any other snap will work fine too. I won’t show you this step since it varies greatly depending on brand/type.

As you can see, on mine, I had to wait to add the second snap since it wouldn’t fit through the tiny slot on the ID. So this pictures shows that I added one snap, then the D-Ring, then the ID, and I’ll add the last snap part at the end. You may be able to do yours all at once, or may need to divide it like I did. Go ahead and finish this step.

Now, take your 36″ circle/strip, and move the Swivel Clasp to the middle. Meaning, my seam where I sew the two edges together will go on the top, and the swivel clasp will go on the bottom. Imagine it being on your neck. Get it? Squish that little end as flat as it will go and move your needle all the way to the right to sew a stitch line as close to the clasp as you can get. This will prevent the clasp from moving all over and staying put. I did the same thing with the 5″ piece but it’s not necessary.

That’s it! All you have to do is close up your little 5″ piece using the snaps, and then hook the Swivel clasp to the D-ring. DONE! Good job!