Your favorite sewing posts of 2019

Today I’m recapping the posts that you guys have loved the most from 2019.

It’s been my best year on the blog. I’ve been burning the candle trying to make this site the most helpful place I can for you. Thank you for commenting, for sharing, and for coming back and reading more. This site has only grown because of you, and I’m grateful for each and every one of you that’s stuck in there with me!

And without further ado, here are your favorite sewing posts of 2019!

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7 Minute DIY zipper bag

Ah the 7 minute DIY zipper bag. It’s easily one of the simplest tutorials I’ve ever wrote, and it’s been my top post since I wrote it back in June.

I get it too. Zipper bags are so darn useful, you can make them in any size, and they’re fantastic little scrapbuster projects. And the promise of turning out a lined zipper bag in the time that it makes a pot of tea–intriguing right?

My family and I love Board Game Geek-level board games. Inevitably you come across a game whose components need a little organization help. I’ll just say there’s a lot of these little bags in our board games.

And in my real life, it’s been fun to see the women at my church take on the zipper bag by the scores to go into our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. It was such a joy to teach this little tutorial to my friends for my birthday and to the ladies at church for a craft work day for this purpose.

11 helpful sewing tools

I think we all love our sewing gizmos. For me, there’s a handful of them that I use, and the ones I use regularly I really really love.

And there’s a couple of those helpful sewing tools that are absolute game changers. Turn-it-All Tubes, I’m looking at you. I cried a lot of ugly tears over bias tubes before you!

If there’s no crying in baseball, there shouldn’t be any crying in the sewing room either. So if there’s a tool that prevents that, you better believe I’m sharing it!

You guys really liked it’s buddy video too!

The Ultimate Jumbo Mega Guide to Online Fabric Stores

I put a lot of effort into this one, so I’ve been delighted to see that you guys found it helpful.

The world has changed a lot since I first started sewing seriously. Just this last month, my favorite local store, my beloved Colorado Fabrics, had to close its doors.

I’d love it if we all lived close to at least one good place where you could buy good quality locally, but for so many of us, it’s not the case.

With that in mind put together the Ultimate Jumbo Mega Guide to Online Fabric Stores to help you find the places to find about any type of fabric you’re looking for without having to drive 800 miles to find it.

It’s broken down by each store’s specialty plus lists by geography. And I made a little bonus Fabric Swatch Guide that’s available in my Resource Library for my newsletter subscribers. After putting together the list, I went back through all 200+ stores and researched who offers swatches. Swatches are probably your best weapon in making shopping for fabric online as close to shopping in real life better.

Psst, if you want the Fabric Swatch Guide + all the other bonuses in the Resource Library, you can sign up right here.

16 Tips for Better Fabric Shopping Online

16 Tips for Better Fabric Shopping Online is the companion guide to the fabric store list, and man do I wish I had these when I first started buying fabric virtually.

I put together my best tips for taking the fear out of shopping for fabric online. Love it or hate it, online stores aren’t going anywhere, so this list is my crack at trying to help you navigate this brave new world.

It was fun to see the thoughtful discussion this post sparked over on SewOver50.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B2IyrQ7gNTT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

And it was an even more fun time to talk about both this post and the fabric store guide on my friend Maria’s Sew Organised Style podcast. They’ve done such a good job with the podcast, so definitely go check it out! They’ve even chatted with sewing legends Kenneth D. King and Susan Khalje!

How to Ice Dye Fabric

I’ve never met a bottle of fabric dye that I could say no to, so it was too fun to make my first proper fabric dyeing tutorial with How to Ice Dye Fabric.

I think ice dyeing is the easiest, least intimidating ways to dye fabric, plus it yields the most dramatic results.

I even used ice dye just this last week with some leftover dye for this top. It accompanies my ombre dyed corduroy jeans I made for Fabric Mart this month. You can read more about how I altered the ice dye process there!

And even though it’s December, you can totally still ice dye. A space heater will speed up the process!

7 Pieces of Sewing Advice that Transformed my Creativity

This was a more personal post, but my goal in sharing it was to pass on the best pieces of sewing advice that have helped transform my own sewing.

There’s this weird crossroads you face as a sewing blogger. I like a lot of people started out just sharing my projects. At some point, I’ve realized that I could go on making, making, making or be left with two other options.

1. Stop sewing (um, no, never) because I have enough clothes
2. Give back

Since the beginning of the year, it’s really been my hope to choose door #2. There’s a lot of knowledge I’ve accumulated over the years, and if any of that can help another person on her sewing journey, I’m all in.

Raglan Tee Patterns for Everyone

I love a good raglan tee! There’s so many things you can do with this classic tee-shirt style.

Raglan Tee Patterns for Everyone gives you some ideas of the base patterns out there. And when you’re ready, there’s more ways to hack a raglan tee in the Raglan Tee Series.

What makes a good thrift store refashion

I say it often, but I call my local thrift store (affectionately!) my weird fabric store.

Refashioning has been a part of my life and it’s going to always be a part of my life. But going into a secondhand shop and striking refashion gold isn’t always obvious.

Here’s what makes a good thrift store refashion. And if thrift stores creep you out, let me convince you that there’s hidden treasures there to be found! There’s sewing supplies lurking around every corner if you know how to look!

Sewing Encouragement for Beginners from the Pros

When I was a beginner, I needed a lot of people telling me I wasn’t dumb because I felt like it a lot.

With that in mind, I enlisted the help of a horde of people in the greater sewing world whom I admire to offer some sewing encouragement for beginners.

What they said was helpful, funny, and definitely what you’d want to hear from a friend, especially after you sew on a sleeve backwards.

Which I’ve never done. Just kidding! Did it just Tuesday.

The Day and Night Dress Challenge

The last post that you guys have loved this year is really a gigantor collection of posts.

I’ve loved hosting The Day and Night Dress Challenge! It’s been so fun seeing how people have interpreted the challenge.

No two ideas have ever been the same, and everyone whether they’ve shown up on Instagram #dayandnightdresschallenge or here on the blog took on The Day and Night Dress Challenge head-on!

So those are the sewing posts of 2019 that you guys have loved the most. Again, thanks for making 2019 such a good year. I’ve loved writing for you all!

Let me know what else I can help you with! You can hit me up in the comments here or join up on the newsletter. I love being able to communicate directly over email with my newsletter peeps! It’s an honor to help you sew something creative!