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Posts in fashion sewing

Monthly Makes || Everything I made in January!

I had a pretty successful sewing month, if I do say so myself. I don’t always feel like get a ton of personal sewing time, but looking back over the month and seeing that I did manage to make several things, helps me see that a lot can be accomplished in many short sewing sessions.

This year on my YouTube channel, I thought it would be fun to share what I’ve made at the end of each month! In January I managed to make 6 things and they were a good mix of garments, projects for patterns for my shop and just-for-fun projects (although it’s truly all fun).

fashion sewingNikki SchreinerFebruary 3, 2022Comment

Sewing Ballet Costumes: Patterns & Resources

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve recently been tasked by my daughter’s ballet studio with sewing a new solo costume for the part of Dove of Peace for this year’s Nutcracker. My 16-year-old daughter Natalie will be dancing the part this year, so I was VERY excited to say yes!

The studio owner pretty much gave us creative license, but definitely wanted it to use a white platter tutu, for which we can make an overlay. Then Natalie and I could decide what to do for the top. We spent the entire drive home that night talking about our ideas and came up with a plan. So fun!

costumes, fashion sewingNikki SchreinerSeptember 15, 2021 Comment

How to Sew a Shirred Dress (It's easier than you think!)

I’ve hopped on the shirred dress train! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ll have seen the shirred dress I made recently using a vintage pattern from the 70’s. Shirred dresses are so comfortable for summer, it didn’t take me long to want to add another one to my wardrobe!

I picked up some tips and tricks for shirring when I made that first dress, so this time I recorded the process to share with you in a video tutorial for sewing an easy, rectangular shirred dress with your sewing machine! I’ve posted the video below along with a list of the tips and troubleshooting ideas so you can refer back to it easily.

fashion sewing, tutorialNikki SchreinerJuly 28, 2021 Comments

The Best Tote Bag Patterns to Sew in 2021

Are you a tote bag person? I have a small collection of tote bags that I use for various types of outings and purposes, as I think everyone should! i’m not a hoarder or keeper of many things (we move too much for that), so the tote bags I keep are absolute favorites and get heavy use. My best bags are handmade and have lasted for years now. So, I have a few absolute favorite tote bag sewing patterns to share with you today!

Tote bags are very fun to sew and can be easy or skill building (I like that term better than complicated, ha!) The tote bag patterns I’m sharing today vary in difficulty from easy to somewhat advanced, so there’s something here for everyone. I’ll share my top three recommendations for tote bag sewing patterns that I have made and love, and then I’ll share a few more that are on my wishlist. Bags make such great handmade gifts too, so my bag patterns tend to get a lot of use!

review, ideas and inspiration, bags and pouches, fashion sewingNikki SchreinerJune 16, 2021Comment

How to Sew a Knit Neckband || My No-Fail Method

This is one of those sewing skills that took some real trial and error before I felt confident enough that I’d get it right every time. I did conquer the knit neckband, though, and I have a tried and true method that now works perfectly, so I’m here to share it with you today!

If you never quite know how to finish necklines and armholes of knits (that just means stretchy fabrics), this is a great solution for almost any knit fabric. There are of course other methods and I have a favorite way to “bind” the neckline of certain knit garments, but most of the time, especially for more casual clothes, I prefer a neck “band”.

tutorial, fashion sewingNikki SchreinerApril 26, 2021Comment

Amazon Prom Dress Refashion

Boy, do I have a good before and after for you today! If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve already seen this, but I’m so proud of it so obviously I have to share it here too.

My 16-year-old daughter Natalie got to go to homeschool prom! She was so excited for the opportunity, since she’s such a social butterfly and a total life-of-the-party type. A group of teens from church all went together and had the BEST time.

But, we had trouble finding a dress. We don’t live in a very upscale town and our shopping options are limited. Natalie recently got a job, is in driving school, and dances ballet 8 hours a week, so time to drive into Charlotte to shop was not presenting itself. We decided to go ahead and order a couple things from Amazon as a just-in-case backup plan. It turns out we didn’t need to go shopping because one of them fit her perfectly!

fashion sewing, sewing for teens, upclyingNikki SchreinerApril 12, 2021 Comments

Quick Tip for Pattern Hacking Pockets

I have a little tip to share today that I actually got from Emily Hallman Designs and it also turns out my mom’s been doing this for awhile now, so I’m behind the curve, but it’s worth sharing, even if I’m late to the game!

Read on for a quick tip for pattern hacking pockets!

fashion sewing, tips and tricksNikki SchreinerMarch 18, 2021 Comments