Things I Can Actually Sew

This past Saturday was my birthday which means that I have now had my sewing machine for 1 year.  It has definitely been well used over the past year and while I am by no means an expert seamstress now I have successfully completed many projects.  You may remember my very first sewing project, this camera purse.  I think it was a difficult project to begin with but while it is nowhere near perfect it protects my camera and I have used it numerous times.

Today's post is a round up of simple sewing tutorials that would be good for a novice sewer like me.  These are all tutorials that I have found through Pinterest and I have tried out myself.  The images are all of my own creations and I have included links to each of the tutorials if you would like to give them a try yourself.

1. Burp Cloths

A long time ago I pinned a collection of tutorials for making diy baby gifts.  One of the tutorials included was this tutorial for these cute burp cloths from Made.  I am always buying fabric quarters at Joann so I used those for the top layer.  I ordered a bunch of chenille from Fabric.com for the other layer.  These were so simple and made a cute gift for my sister-in-law who just had her second child.  I will definitely be make more sets of these to give as gifts in the future.

2. Lined Curtains

You can find the link to the tutorial for these curtain in this post from last November.  That post includes pictures of the curtains I made for the living room.  I made 6 panels for my living room and 4 for my dining room using this method.  They are super easy to make but require a lot of ironing.  The dining room curtains were slightly more difficult because of the fabric that I used (a sateen fabric made to look like Dupioni silk).

3. Maxi Skirt

 

I love the look of maxi skirts especially for summer but I had never purchased one for myself before.  When I saw this tutorial by The Winthrop Chronicles I knew that I had to make one.  I was even more convinced when I discovered all the cute knit fabric that can be purchased from Girl Charlee Fabrics.  I have worn it many times already and have gotten so many compliments.  I love it!

 4. Infinity Scarf

So I may have gone a little overboard with the ordering of chevron knit fabric at Girl Charlee Fabrics but that's okay because I can now make lots of infinity scarves.  I foresee making lots of them for gifts, so friends beware.  I used this tutorial from Sea Glass and Ribbons.  This was seriously the simplest sewing project in the world.  Anyone could do this and it only takes about 10 minutes or so to complete.

Well since this is a post on sewing I thought I would include an updated photo of the porch that includes the new curtains.

These curtains are made of outdoor voile and I didn't line them because I wanted them to be light and airy.  The porch is coming along.  I have been gathering all kinds of ideas for decor and art for this space and I hope to share them with you soon.  Lately my focus has been on the kitchen backsplash which is finally nearing its end.  I can't wait to share the finished project with you!