Patterns

Floppy Hat Pattern from McHats

Keep your cool this summer by making a floppy hat for protection from the sun.  Or, create super cute gifts from hat patterns from McHats Shop on Etsy!  We think these hat patterns are divine.  

Linen Flip Brim Newsboy Hat Pattern - image from McHats

The Linen Flip Brim Newsboy Hat is perfect for back to school – and you have all summer to sew!

Cut Out Beret from Craft Stylish - photo by jack deutsch

Or, if you’re feeling fancy, make yourself a felt beret.  These make terrific gifts – so get a head start on your holiday gift sewing.  Check out this tutorial by Nicole Smith from Sew Stylish.  You’ll need a good pair of small fabric scissors.  We think Havel’s Sewing Sew Creative 5 1/2″ Curved Tip Scissors will do the trick.

The online fabric store, Fabritopia, is run by Jona G., who also writes the delightful blog, “Stop Staring and Start Sewing!”

Fabritopia offers a multitude of sewing patterns, and Jona G. is designing patterns herself now, which you can download from the store site.  She also offers free pattern downloads, sewing kits and, best of all PRE-CUTS! 

Her inventory is carefully curated, and she has fabric from several of today’s most popular designers.  She doesn’t always carry an entire collection, but her selection of a collection is nicely managed.  For instance, you can’t get the entire Anna Maria Voile collection, but you can get a few choice pieces that complement one another.

March is National Quilt Month!

In honor of National Quilt Month and the upcoming National Quilt Day on March 20th, Havel’s Sewing would like to share a few quick links to some of our favorite quilt designers’ pattern shops.

Thimble Blossoms

Cherry House Quilts

The City Stitcher

Lazy Girl Designs

Quilt in a Day with Eleanor Burns

Java House Quilts

Larkspur Lane Designs

So find a design and get quilting! If you choose a Quilt in a Day pattern, you can make 28 quilts before the month’s end!

It’s not too late to make handmade goodies for all your Christmas giftees.  Got lots of scrap fabric lying around?  Then check out one of these great projects and get to crafting!

Making Kid-Tough Fabric-Covered Christmas Ornaments

Fabric Ball Christmas Ornaments

Fabric Gingerbread Ornament

Six Crafty Tree Trimmings (e-book)

Just this past weekend, when I needed a business card…I couldn’t find one. Usually, I keep a few in my purse. But to clear up some clutter, I removed the few I keep for emergencies. Of course, when I needed to hand one over to a new contact, I had nothing. And that got me thinking…isn’t there something I can make that designates my business cards without being messy or bulky or taking up too much space in my bag? Well, this is what I found:

Amy Butler’s Business Card Keeper Pattern

Erin Schlosser’s Business Card Case Tutorial

How About Orange’s Business Card Cases (made with her Amusement Park fabric) on Etsy.

You have your choice to make your own or purchase one put together by Jessica Jones. I might just do both. Enjoy!

Your child’s repetoire of toys probably includes several items from the local department store. Although those types of toys can create great pleasure for children, they often don’t stand the test of time. Or worse, they’re suddenly recalled due to deadly paint or toxic materials used in their production. The Columbus, Ohio company, Little Alouette, created the solution to such problems: totally natural, locally-sourced wood toys for tots and toddlers. Inspired by the “Farm Animals” set, Havel’s Sewing went online in search of patterns for the perfect plush playhouse to go along with such a whimsical gift.

Fabric Dollhouse by UK Lass in US

We found two very thorough tutorials for fabric houses. With a little adjusting to the details, you can create handmade heirlooms that will last through years of playtime. UK Lass in US actually started with a barnyard fabric house and altered the pattern for her tutorial. She created a wonderful fold out playhouse that kids can carry with them with ease. To see her tutorial, click here.

Fabric House by London Mummy

London Mummy has a very detailed tutorial on making plush houses. You could make a whole town of plush props for your child’s imaginative delight. To see her tutorial, click here.

And to find out more about Little Alouette’s heirloom wood toys, click here.

Although you can often find McCall’s patterns for a steal, sometimes we like to try more of what our favorite designers have to offer.  Most of our fave fabric designers offer free patterns on their websites.  And, sometimes, their fabric manufacturers do, too.  Here’s a quick list of Havel’s Sewing’s Favorite Free Patterns:

Amy Butler offers free quilt, yoga bag and tunic patterns here.

Anna Maria Horner offers free quilt and pillow case dress patterns here.

Made by Rae offers a darling free pattern for her Buttercup Bag here.

Heather Ross offers her Medocino sundress here.

Moda Fabrics offers several free quilt patterns here.

And, The Purl Bee offers a variety of free patterns here, including their Oilcloth Grocery Tote (which is more a tutorial than a pattern.)

We hope you like our selection of free patterns. Now get busy downloading and get your sewing machines started!

Closures are important components of any garment, but are often an afterthought when it comes to getting creative with your handmade wearables.  Whether you use the buttonhole function on your sewing machine or the Ultra Pro II Seam Ripper & Buttonhole Cutter, there’s a wide world of button options to explore.  Buttons are an inexpensive way to dress up your sewing projects or update old clothes.  Havel’s Sewing has collected some fun button designs for your inspiration. 

Face Buttons by RouDesigns

Wear your boyfriend’s face as your sweater buttons!  Or mix and match faces on your cardigan for an original button facelift for your clothes.

Antler Buttons by AnterQLWear

Add a natural, outdoorsy touch to your leather or suede jackets by buttoning up with these deer antler buttons.

Mushroom Fabric Buttons by vintageinspiration

Cover your buttons in your favorite fabric to create a statement – a testament to your personal taste.

Buttons are classic, but they can be also be crazy, wild and cool.  One of our favorite flea market finds here at Havel’s Sewing is a mason jar full of vintage buttons that we can mix and match on our sewing projects.  If you can’t make it to the flea market, check out the vintage button selection on Etsy.

Green Buttons in a Jar by morrjm

Sometimes we like to make our own buttons out of cute badges and earrings.  Found objects can make wonderful buttons that may not be otherwise available for your creations.  Just use a little imagination and a good buttonhole cutter, and the options are limitless!

We have a fabric obsession here at Havel’s Sewing. Like others who are fabric obsessed, we often purchase a yard here or a yard there of fabric we like, but we have no idea at the time what we’re going to do with it. Well, one of our friends recently started remodeling her living room. She has lots of art, but wanted to incorporate some of the bolder colors from her fabric stash. After a quick internet search, we headed to her house with our newfound patterns. Now, she’s the proud owner of one-of-a-kind artwork. Whether you sew the silhouette or paint the silhouette is up to you. You choose the fabric and you choose the colors. If you’re feeling really creative, you can even make your own shapes. Havel’s Sewing is happy to share our three favorite fabric silhouette projects.

Paint the silhouette.

Martha Stewart offers these quick and easy instructions to create marvelous art for your walls. Great for dressing up your living space or giving away as gifts.

Sew the silhouette.

Amy Butler Nigella Silhouette Project

Amy Butler offers this free pattern with instructions on how to sew silhouettes. She offers instructions that allow you to vary the size of the pattern.

Applique the silhoutte.

ModHomeEcTeacher's Fabric Silhoutte Project

ModHomeEcTeacher at Curbly.com offers a photo tutorial with instructions on how to create these wonderful circular silhouette masterpieces. She mentions that you can play around with materials and find what works best for you. Havel’s Sewing highly recommends such experimenting. Make something that is truly your own.

The Havel's Sewing Craft Knife makes smooth, precise cuts.

Each set of instructions mentions the need for a good craft knife. Havel’s Sewing offers our Professional Style Cushion Grip Blade Handle and AC11 or AC72 Craft Blades. When the blade dulls, you simply toss it out and replace it from our box of 100. Be sure to use a cutting mat when cutting out your silhouette patterns. Otherwise, you may need to make a pretty new tablecloth to cover the cuts on your work surface!

Under the Sea Patterns from Sublime Stitching

We’ve seen a lot of traditional hand embroidery patterns here at Havel’s Sewing. We’re not knocking ‘em, but we wanted fresh and contemporary patterns to apply to our current batch of bibs and onesies and tea towels (oh my!). We wanted to discover a life beyond the selection of leaves and scrolls and cupcake patterns we see every day. And we’re thrilled to find an embroidery world of mid-century modern lamps and mermaids! Jenny Hart from Sublime Stitching is a very talented embroidery artist who sells unique patterns, kits and embroidery supplies, as well as promotes hand embroidery as an art form.

Havel’s Sewing is also fond of Urban Threads. Here you can find featured artists who’ve designed patterns for the site, a blog and tutorials. Besides the large variety of contemporary hand embroidery patterns, Urban Threads also offers machine embroidery patterns. Just think of the crazy cool designs you can apply to hoodies and jeans, socks and scarves. Pillows and purses could also use a little embroidery love. Stitch your mark to make a statement!