Felt Pumpkin Tutorial with Printable Pattern

October last year, I did a tutorial post to make Halloween Trick or Treat Bag. It was a post to showcase what that Baby Lock Sashiko machine can do. It was one of my most popular posts. Then, I found out that many people were interested in how to make the felt pumpkin I made to accessorize the bag. The felt pumpkin was something I made up at the last minute and hand sewed, so I didn't include that in the tutorial. Today, I am going to share the tutorial and a printable pattern! I hope you will enjoy it.

* You will need

Pattern
Orange and black felt (you could use wool too)
Orange and black embroidery thread
Stuffing
Thin Ribbon

* How to

1. Print out the pattern and cut them out.

2.Use the pattern and cut out the necessary parts.

3. On the original felt pumpkin, I embroidered the eyes and mouth, but I decided to cut the shapes out of the black felt and applique them instead. I wanted to show you different options. I used 1 strand of thread and stitched with whip stitch. You could do this with blanket stitch if that is what you prefer.

4. Fold the long orange felt piece in half and stitch the middle to make a stem.

5. Stitch down the stem and ribbon to the inside of the back piece of pumpkin.

6. Put the front and back of the pumpkin pieces together. Start from the bottom and leave about 1 1/2" open to stuff. I used whip stitch with 2 strands of thread. To secure the stem and the ribbon I sewed the top area twice.

7. Time to enjoy!

You could make this as a home decoration or a gift. Instead of sewing in the ribbon, you could add a pin on the back to make a cute badge too. There are many ways to enjoy this little felt project.

If you are curious about the Halloween trick or treat bag, please hop over to my tutorial to check it out!

My Mom's 70th Birthday ~ Purple Quilt

Before we can talk about the purple quilt, let me tell you a little bit about a red quilt I made 10 years ago... 10 years ago, when my mom turned 60 years old, to celebrate her special birthday, I made her a red quilt. There is an old tradition in Japan that when you celebrate your 60th birthday you wear a red vest and hat with your family and friends. My mom didn't want to wear them AT ALL, so I made her a red quilt instead. Even though I was born and raised in Japan, I had no clue about this tradition, how it started, and the meaning behind it. So I did a quick search and I wrote about that in my blog post 10 years ago, if you are interested, you can read it here.

During the research, I found out that there is a theme color for each decade and the color for 70 is purple. I told her that when she turns 70, I will make her a purple quilt. 10 years passed so quickly... and to tell you the truth, I had forgotten about the promise I made. One Sunday, I was facetiming with my mom and she was using the red quilt I made. Talk about divine timing!! I was thinking to myself "Thank you God SO MUCH!!" I definitely want to keep my promise to her. The last couple years were very hard for her and I wanted to do something special.

I made the red quilt with only solid fabrics to play with color gradients. For the purple quilt, I thought it would be fun to use prints and make it scrappy. I had most of the fabrics on my shelf, but I added some new ones to them. I used Half Square Triangles to create this quilt and I will show you how to make 8 of them very quickly. There are MANY tutorial posts and videos out there if you want to explore.

* Purple Quilt How to

Finished quilt size 64 1/2" x 80 1/2"

1. Cut 40 pieces of 9 3/4" x 9 3/4" squares from dark fabrics and 40 pieces of 9 3/4" x 9 3/4" squares form light fabrics.

2. Combine a dark and a light square, right sides together. Draw diagonal lines on the square.

3. Sew 1/4" seam on each side of each diagonal line. I had my 1/4" Quilting Foot with Guide on my Baby lock machine, so I just use that as a guide to sew 1/4" seam from the diagonal line. You could draw the lines next to the diagonal line before you sew too. Draw a vertical and a horizontal line in the middle of the square.

4. Cut in the middle of the sewed diagonal lines, on the vertical and horizontal lines to make 8 triangles.

5. Open them up and press them with an iron!

6. I didn't have a specific design idea in mind. After I made all the HSTs, I sat in front of my design wall and moved them around for a few days. I thought about doing a more unified look at first, but then I changed my mind to do a more scrappy look. I pieced squares first, then pieced them to make rows and sewed the rows together. Once I finished with the quilt top, I was going to take pictures and like always, my little dog came and joined the photoshoot. He was too cute to dismiss...

I machine quilted it myself, added the label and packaged it. Now the quilt is on its way to Japan and I hope my mom will receive it before her birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom!!

P.S. In case you are curious... The theme color for 80 is yellow. I normally don't use many yellow fabrics, but I better start thinking about what to do!

Eyeglass Case Tutorial with Printable Pattern

The idea for this project came purely from my own need, but I thought there might be some of you going through the same thing and looking for an eyeglass case.

I always had good eyesight up until few years ago (darn aging! My teen daughter often say, "Is there anything good about getting old??"), but I started needing glasses to see far and it seems to be getting worse. Because I am not used to carrying glasses around, I always forget to take them with me and I won't even think about them until I need to see the menu on the far away wall at the restaurant and such. Also, the glass case that came with my glasses was a big, bulky plastic case. I don't like carrying a big purse, and there is no way that that glass case will fit in my small purse... I just wanted a small, minimal fabric case to prevent scratches. After I did a few sketches, I came up with this design.

For the closure, I designed it so that you can just fold the tab inside, kind of like tucking the opening of a pillowcase when you are making the bed. If you prefer to add snap button or Velcro you could totally do that.

*You will need

1 - Outer fabric (8" x 9")
1 - Lining fabric (8" x 9")
1 - Interfacing (8" x 9") I used Pellon 809 Decor Bond. I like the stiffness.
Matching thread

*How to

1. Print PDF pattern and cut out the template.

2. Trace the template onto the fabrics and interfacing and cut them out. You can do this one by one, but I like to layer all three material together, trace and cut. This is not only a short cut, it is easier to ensure which side of the material is suppose to be put together. You can look at the picture below to see what I mean.

3. Fuse the interfacing on the the wrong side of the outer fabric.

4. Put all three layers together perfectly. Leaving a 3" opening in the bottom, sew all the way around. Cut and snip the corners for a cleaner finish.

5. Turn it inside out and press with an iron.

6. Top stitch the portion of the case.

7. Fold in half vertically. Use clips to keep them in place while you sew. Sew one side all the way to the other side.
At this point, it might be difficult to stitch through all the layers with some machines. In that case, it might be helpful to use thicker needles and go slow. People often ask me what kind of machine I use and I always say "Baby Lock. and I LOVE IT!" Whether you are beginner or an advanced sewist, I highly recommend Baby Lock machines to everyone. They offer a variety of machines (beginner ones start around $150!) I know how frustrating it is to have a machine that keeps having problems, and that actually takes the fun out of sewing. I have been sewing with Baby Lock machines for the last 10 years or so, and they are sturdy and dependable; totally worth looking into it. :)

8. Enjoy!

Here are the images of the case"open" and "closed"...

I got carried away and made more, thinking that this will make a great gift for my friends.

The thick interfacing gives just the right amount of stiffness without being bulky. This eyeglass case will definitely protect my glasses from scratches and easily fit in my purse which is exactly what I wanted. Happy sewing everyone!

Tunic Dress for My Mom

I sewed this tunic dress for my mom in Japan. I was supposed to go visit my family in Japan in April, but COVID happened... My trip had to be canceled and who knows when the next time will be when I get to go visit her. In the last so many months, something terrible and devastating happened to my family and I know it will take a long time to resolve the issues. There isn't much I can do right now to help the situation, but I am thinking about them often; especially my mother.

I remembered that I bought this fabric to sew something for my mom a few months back. While I was going though my fabrics and sewing books, I found a perfect thing to sew for her! She prefers clothing that is baggy and comfy, I thought this one would be a winner.

I don't think this book has been translated to English yet, but if you know basic sewing and your way around in Japanese sewing books, you could easily utilize the patterns.

I could totally picture her wearing this by itself as a dress, or wearing it with leggings. I thought adding a simple wooden beaded necklace would be fun.

I know so well that a piece of handmade clothing won't better their situation, but I hope she will feel that I have been thinking of her when she receives the tunic. Sewing has been truly therapeutic for my soul... it's always been and it always will be. Instead of worrying so much, being upset, and wallowing around aimlessly, I sew. What are some of the ways that help you feel peace? Whatever they are, I think those of us who have found that treasure are truly blessed in life.

Teacher's Christmas Gifts

Since I started making Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms regularly I think and dream of tiny tin rooms all the time. You know what that means??

My daughter's school teachers get them as a Christmas gift! But not sewing rooms... I made a class room for her homeroom teacher. I picked some things I thought they looked good together. Then, Rachel told me that her teacher loves Harry Potter books, so I added that personal touch.

Her music teacher got a music themed room. It was a bit hard to find miniatures for this room and to decide on the design.

On Instagram, I received such positive feedback for these rooms and some people wanted me to make more for sale. What do you think? I think it would be fun to have a variety of tin rooms but I need to be more organized before I can expand.

In the meantime, I am going to be restocking my shop with Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms. If you were waiting for them I hope you will find the one you have been waiting for!

Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms are Baaack!

This is the third addition of Tiny Tin Sewing Rooms to my etsy shop. It has been so fun making them and I am so thankful for those of you who purchased them previously. I was overwhelmed by the positive responses about those tiny rooms and this time I made twice as many and more...

Meet a couple Christmas themed rooms: "Tiny Tin Winter Wonderland"

Depends on the interests I might make more of those Christmas rooms along with the sewing rooms. What do you think of them?

Thank you for stopping by everyone!

Tutorial ~ Stickable Bottle Cap Pincushion

Over a year ago, I attended a quilt retreat. When I took a break to walk around I walked passed a much older lady sitting at her sewing machine and sewing happily. We struck a conversation and chatted for a while and I noticed that she had a tiny tiny pincushion stuck to her sewing machine. I asked her where she got it and she said she made it with a bottle cap. Ha! Why didn't I think of that before?? When I am sewing I put my pincushion on top of the machine or beside the machine and sometimes I forget where I put it. It would be very convenient if I could stick a pincushion somewhere on the machine: out of the way of fabric but still very close when I am pulling out the needles as I continue sewing. On the way home from the retreat, I was so ready to make one... then I totally forgot to do so until last week when I really could have used one.

I made some and created this tutorial to share with you! It is a very quick and simple project. Just remember to keep some bottle caps before you toss out the empty bottles.:)

{You will need}

Plastic bottle cap (Most of mine are from soda bottles. I found it better to have a deeper cap instead of a shallow one)
Fabric scrap
Fiber fill
Thread
Small trims (Pom-pom, lace, ribbon whatever you desire)
Glue gun and glue
Glue for the trim

{How to}

1. Create a 3"diameter template with tick paper, and trace that on to fabric scrap. Cut out the circle.

2. Stitch around the edge with big stitches.

3. Pull the thread a little and stuff it with fiber fill and pull the thread all the way. I like my pincushions stuffed very well.

4. I stitched the top back and forth to keep the top from coming undone then tie the knot to finish it off.

5. Place a little drop of glue into the bottle cap and put the fabric ball you made in step 4, stitched side down, into the bottle cap. Squeeze it tight for a minute or so until the glue is hardened and the pincushion is secure.

6. I added lace around the cap as a finishing touch...

7. For adhesive I chose double sided tape with some cushion. That way, if I want to stick the pincushion on uneven surfaces there is some flexibility.

I was so excited about this and had to test it out right away! Check this out, I can stick this on the top and the side of the machine or right by my hand.

Because it was so easy and fun to make, I made a few more...

This will make a pretty, practical and inexpensive gift for your sewing friends for sure!

I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Thank you for visiting today! :)