Free Pattern - Free is my friend!

I have really been enjoying my sewing exploits lately.  I have also been in love with the funky floral print fabric I used to make my handbag, the brown fabric is a cotton solid.  So, with this wonderful free pattern I found on the internet I made this beautiful tie dress as a birthday gift.

 I used the toddler version of the pattern and forgot to shrink the pattern for a 2T size, so the dress I made is a 3T.  I am amazed at the number of free patterns out there on the web.  I would much rather get something for free instead of buy it, who wouldn't right?!  As we say in our house, free is our friend!  :)  I used steam-a-seam2 for the embellishment on the bodice. 

Please remember to respect the pattern owner's wishes and never make items to sell if they request the pattern be used for personal use only.  Happy Sewing!!

Pleated Beauty Handbag - Something for myself!

Okay, so I do a lot of sewing, but mostly for others and rarely anything for myself.  After seeing a couple of these pleated beauty handbags a dear friend made I was smitten and just had to make one for myself.  They are trendy, chic, and just plain yummy!  The pattern can be found in "Bend the Rules Sewing" by Amy Karol.  The book has some other really cute patterns so I think it is worth the investment!  I now have it on my wish list for my own library as I just returned the borrowed copy. 

Please forgive my picture taking abilities...they need some help!  Here is the pleated beauty handbag.  A special thank you to my dear friend Fairlight for helping me along the way! 

The brown is linen and the print is a cotton fabric.  The pattern calls for embroidery, some machine and some by hand.  I decided to forgo the extra work and used Steam-a-Seam2 along with some of the flowers from the print fabric to add embellishments to my bag.  It made embellishing the bag super quick and super easy.  I was thrilled with the outcome and seeing the bag still puts a smile on my face!

What bag is complete without some matching accessories?  I just had to make a matching wallet to go along with my handbag.  The pattern I used is called Wallet Wonders and is by Lazy Girl Designs.  Both "Bending the Rules Sewing" and the Wallet Wonders pattern can be found at People, Places, and Quilts store in Summerville, SC.   The ladies at PPQ are incredibly helpful and very sweet.  I absolutely love my visits to PPQ, even when I just browse and don't buy anything.  It's like stepping back a generation or two to a time long since forgot by many.  It is a little taste of heaven.

I have to say that since buying my snap press from kamsnaps.com I will probably never use velcro again.  Putting in snaps is a breeze and should last the entire life of my wallet, unlike velcro.  I absolutely love my snap press and the 10 million choices for snaps, okay maybe not that many, but there are a lot and they are cheap! :) 

This will not be the last time you see these fabrics and color combinations.  I loved them so much that I decided to make a dress as a birthday gift from these same materials.  It is nearly complete and I'll blog about it in the next week or so.