I’ve wanted an embroidery machine for years, but the cost of these fantastic machines had always prevented me from taking the plunge. That’s why when I saw this Singer Quantum Futura Embroidery machine pop up for auction on a local buy and sell group on Facebook with a starting bid of $150 back in October, I knew I wanted to get in on it. I heard that this was a good beginner machine, but the reviews were mixed online. This was the listing photo that pulled me in: After the 24 hour auction with $1 increments was over, I won the bid at a whopping $152. Whoohoo! Getting the machine…
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How to Thread the Singer 66 and Prepare to Sew
I’ve written about my Singer 66 before, but I wanted to share some videos I prepared about this fantastic, reliable vintage sewing machine. If you don’t have the manual, it can be tricky to thread the machine and wind the bobbin. I’ve created a video series that showcases the steps required get the Singer 66 vintage sewing machine up and running, from opening the cabinet, to threading and operating the machine, to winding the bobbin. I shared the threading video on my channel five months ago and finally finished up the bobbin video today. Video 1: Opening and Closing the Singer 66 in Cabinet 40 (with knee pedal) This video…
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Video: Diagonal Slice Quilt Block Tutorial
My go-to baby quilt for gifting is the diagonal slice quilt block. I love that this quilt looks so complicated yet comes together so quickly. Here is an example of one single block: I’ve created this tutorial as a video to show you just how easy it is to make your own diagonal slice quilt. However, if you prefer written instructions, you can view my text and image only tutorial here. This video will teach you how to create the diagonal slice quilt block and how to assemble it into the quilt top. I’m using a slicing technique that turns simple fabric strips into a complicated design. This baby quilt…
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Pillow Pals Spoonflower Cut & Sew Project Sewing Demonstration
Earlier this week, I posted a video on the Craftcore YouTube channel demonstrating how easy it is to make cut-and-sew projects from fat quarters purchased from Spoonflower. So fast! So easy! You can order the cut & sew fabric that I used for this project from Julien & Emily on Spoonflower – the specific design is Red Fox but there are many great designs to choose from in their shop. When you order one of the Pillow Pals project fat quarters, the fabric features the pieces you’ll need to make one pillow pal, plus a few mini pals too. Watch how easy it is to put together a cut-and-sew project in…
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How to Identify Simanco Singer Sewing Machine Feet
So you’ve just picked up a vintage Singer sewing machine from a thrift store, and you’re lucky enough to have all or some of the original attachments that came with the machine. But wait. What are all these things? If you are a new sewer, some of these won’t be familiar. How can you determine what they are? If the machine is Singer and if the attachments are authentic, they will have a Simanco part number on them. How to Identify Simanco Sewing Machine Attachments Video: After you find the number, visit the Accessory Part Numbers page on the Singer Sewing Info site. Match up the Simanco number from your…
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How to Sew Bar Stool Slipcovers Tutorial
To fulfill my dream of renovating my kitchen on a budget, I tried my hand at making custom slipcovers for my new-to-me bar stools for the breakfast bar we are creating. I didn’t buy a pattern to make these. Instead, I used my handy measuring tape and dove right in and figured things out as I went along. Each chair took approximately 2 infant nap times to cut out, sew, and staple – nap times are how I count time in my life now, apparently. Overall, I’m pleased with the results and am happy to share my process with you. This tutorial will show you how to recover a bar stool that has a…
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How Much Fabric Do I Need To Buy for Cutting Out Rectangles?
I’m trying something new on the blog. I get a lot of questions from readers that I answer privately, but they are often very similar to each other. I’m going to start answering questions that are not private in nature publicly on the blog so that everyone can learn from the answers. Let’s share the wealth! Have a question? Come ask me over on my contact page. Today’s question comes from DJ: HELP!!!! how much fabric would I need for 20 squares that measure 15″ x 16 1/2″? THANK YOU How Much Fabric Do I Need to Buy to Cut These Rectangles? The way I calculate this is very similar to the…
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How to Sew a Heart Mug Rug Quilting Tutorial
In this tutorial, I’m going to teach you how to make this super cute heart mug rug. I’ve made mine in red, white and pinks, giving off a major Valentine’s Day vibe, but you could easily swap up the colours for a totally different look all year round. You can watch my video tutorial or read the transcript below. I’ve included a few photos for reference but the main tutorial is on the video portion of this posting. How to Sew a Heart Mug Rug – Video Tutorial: This is a great project to use up fabric scraps. You’ll need three fabric prints in total: one dark for the background and…
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Use an Existing Bib to Sew a New Bib Sewing Tutorial
My son just turned four months old and he is definitely starting the teething stage. With teething, bibs definitely save a lot of laundry with all that gooey baby drool dripping everywhere. I’m slowly increasing my bib stash by sewing up my own bibs using existing bibs as a pattern. This sewing tutorial will teach you how to make a pattern from an existing baby bib to sew a new one. Two trim options are outlined: contrasting bias binding or self-facing. All you need for this tutorial is an existing bib that you love, some fabric, and some kind of fastener (snaps, velcro, etc). Before You Start the Bib, Decide the…
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How to Sew a Colour Block Tank Dress
At seven months pregnant, my belly is getting larger and my wardrobe is getting smaller. Time to sew some new clothes! I picked up a few scraps of two different solid knit fabrics (one grey, one blue) from the thrift store on the cheap – not enough to make a full dress, but enough to make a shirt and a skirt. I prefer dresses to separates, so I decided to combine these two textiles together into a simple colour blocked tank dress that’s easy to wear. This tutorial will teach you how to make a stretchy tank dress with an empire waist, using a tank top as a template…
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Sewn Knitting Needle Roll Up Case Tutorial
I’m getting really excited about knitting. I mentioned in my previous post about cat themed knitted dish cloths that I purchased a set of bamboo knitting needles in various sizes so that I would be good to go for a variety of knitting projects in my future knitting life. I ended up buying an inexpensive set from AliExpress with 18 different sizes. How could I store all of these knitting needles so that I wouldn’t lose them, and also in a way that I could add more knitting needles to my collection with ease? Behold: the knitting needle case! This project is very quick to sew up and holds at…
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Diagonal Slice Diamond Block Baby Quilt in Grey and Mint
Last year, I traveled to the fashion district in downtown Toronto with my mom to check out the various fabric shops. We didn’t go with a specific project in mind, instead, just enjoying the experience of touching all the different fabrics. I picked up two quilting cottons on my trip that I fell in love with, knowing I would come up with an idea for them later. I discovered two other fabrics in my stash that coordinated well, two prints that I had ordered from Connecting Threads a few years back. I wanted to make a quilt that had big blocks so that the fabric prints could shine. I decided to make the…
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Mirrored Heart Valentine’s Day Table Runner
This table runner is a great gift for a loved one for Valentine’s Day – or even yourself – for some festive February decor. I participated in a Valentine’s Day swap on an online quilt group and designed this pattern from scratch. This tutorial combines two basic techniques: the half square triangle and quick corners. Let’s get started! About the Table Runner Tutorial You’ll need five fabrics for the design. One red background fabric and four pink focal fabrics. The finished table runner will be 11″ x 317/8″. Materials: Backing Fabric: bare minimum 33″ x 12″ Batting: bare minimum 33″ x 12″ Red Background: Cut 4 squares @ 45/8″ each Cut 1 rectangle @ 7″…
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How to Sew a Lined Coin Purse
A few weeks ago, I purchased a metal purse clasp on a whim. I had never made a coin purse in this style before (I’m more of a zipper pouch gal), but I figured why not dive in and see how it would go. The construction is similar to making a lined zipper pouch with the added benefit of no zipper to install (yay!), but the added headache of handsewing the finicky frame (boo!). Let’s dive right in! Supplies You’ll Need lining fabric exterior fabric batting, fleece, interfacing, or some other fabric to add shape to your purse sewing machine, thread, pins, etc hand sewing needle strong thread in a coordinating…
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Bowling Themed Applique Mini Quilt with Printable Templates
I recently participated in a quilting swap online where each participant made a mug rug for another participant’s husband. Each woman provided a brief description of her husband’s interests, then we made a mug rug (mini placemat) that we thought he would like. These mug rug projects are a great way to practice your skills in a mini quilt format. This post contains affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I’ll receive a little commission at no extra cost to you. I was so happy with who I was matched up with because her husband was interested in bowling. I’m a league bowler with…
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Quick! I need a Halloween costume!
I love costumes. In my younger years, I did cosplay at anime conventions and at event meet-ups. For the past few years, my priorities have shifted and I haven’t been focusing on sewing costumes. This year, Halloween really crept up on me and I didn’t have a block of time to make a costume. I was scrambling to finish my pumpkin quilt. At work, we could wear costumes on Friday for Halloween so I decided to pull together something. I have this fantastic appliquéd anchor skirt my sister made for me years ago that happened to coordinate well with a striped blazer I often wear to work anyway. Time to…
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How to Make a Quilted Pumpkin Wallhanging
Two days before Halloween, I was scrambling to finish up a festive Halloween wall hanging. I’m thankful to have finished it in time to hang up for Halloween.t Now it’s one day before Halloween, and I’m scrambling to finish up this tutorial. You might not have time to whip this up before Halloween 2015, but please pin or bookmark this tutorial for next year It all started with a sketch. I originally wanted to make a larger quilt as pictured to the right in my sketch. It had a centre medallion with bats on each corner with an ombre style border. I cut out all the fabrics but I wasn’t loving…
