Sew Inspired, LLC - Sleepless Crafter

Backstory For the past week I've been reattaching all my photos to each of my posts on some of my blogs due to losing all my photos when I deleted my main account (read about it here .)  I ran across the Singer sewing machine reviews that I had done--mainly the Singer 9960 Quantum Stylist --my all-time FAVORITE sewing machine!  I had sold it (along with my Futura XL-400 ) 5 years ago and purchased a Singer Futura XL-580 instead.  (I figured I could sell two machines and just use one, so I wouldn't be using up so much space in my bedroom.)   Since the day I sold it, I've regretted it.  I loved that machine.  A while back when I had checked to see if they still made them, I found it had been discontinued.  I was just curious so I looked again and was surprised that they started making them again!  On sale for $500 on singer.com .  So since I had sold mine on facebook marketplace years ago, I was just curious if someone was selling theirs....

A couple months ago I was in Joann's Fabric with my daughter and we saw some cute Looney Tunes fabric on clearance.  My daughter wanted me to make pencil pouches for her and her sister.  This kept me up for several hours one night, just looking for tutorials.  I found a great tutorial online from Positively Splendid for making cute and simple pencil pouches.   After cutting out the pieces, I also used my Cricut Joy  (which I love, by the way, and should post a review on it soon) and Iron On Vinyl to cut out the words.  I used the "Offset" feature in Cricut Design Space to give it the black outline.  I used black for the outside and silver for the inside.  I ironed them on before sewing. The first pencil pouch (FxBugz) I used Pellon Vinyl Fuse  for the outside as well as the inside.  I was not able to find anything online for using Vinyl Fuse on pencil pouches, so this was all trial and error.   I ironed on the vinyl f...

Pattern Description: “The Koda Cross Body Bag (by Huff 'N Cuffs ) is the perfect size for any event. Approx. 9 1/2" H by 10" W with a front zipper pocket for your phone. A top zipper closure keeps the rest of your possessions safe and easy to access.”

In my previous post , I laid out the directions for making the Bird Quilt found on Joann.com .  In this post, I will be taking you step-by-step from start to finish, with my alterations.  The finished product is 51x64”.

I’ve seen this bird quilt on joann.com before, and really liked it.  I recently acquired the bird block fabric (Nestled in the Branches Square Blocks) from a friend, so I decided to give it a whirl. The directions are vague, and some of the dimensions are missing.  The reviews are not good—mostly because the directions are so vague.  You have to guess what size to cut the sashing.

Following the video on youtube by TheCraftyGemini, I made some bowl cozies.  In the video, however, she says to use 9-inch squares and I used 10-inch squares.  I used AGM Fruit Salad fabric, and Susan Winget’s Baked with Love Kitchen Words fabric.

42 Presser Feet Guide What is included and what do they do ? Most presser feet cost $5 and up.  There’s a couple big kits with loads of presser feet on the market that are a lot more affordable.  There are many different variations of the kits , as well as different sizes. I purchased the 42-piece kit .  The box reminds me of a box of chocolates. Of course I had to make my own custom organizer: I searched on other websites for a complete list for what was what and their uses.  I couldn’t find any.  So…. I went through piece-by-piece and compiled a convienent list with photos, uses, and videos (also available on PDF ). They are in order from top let to bottom right of the box.

I searched all over online and couldn’t find a comparison chart.  I even contacted Singer and they don’t have one.  So . . . I decided to make one.  Using the features listed on the Singer website and the downloadable manuals, I created this chart.  I hope it’s helpful to many people.  Let me know if something is inaccurate.  Some information was not available, so I put “unknown.” Click here to download the pdf from dropbox. *Machines are sorted left to right, newest to oldest, starting with embroidery machines, then sewing/embroidery combos. Release Years (according to copyright on manuals) CE-100 2005 CE-150 CE-200 2005 SES-1000 2005 SES 2000 2009 CE-250 2010 CE-350 2010 SEQS-6000/XL400 2010 XL-550  2010 Quartet (FQ-4) 2011 SEQS-6700 2012 Quintet (5-in-1) 2013 XL-420 2013 XL-580 2013 Helpful links: Futura Support Futura XL-400 Support ...

Pattern Description: Misses Easy Waist Cincher Corsets Pattern Sizing: 6-14. I used size 12 and 10. Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?  Pretty Much. There were some slight differences since I did it a little differently. Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes. The hardest part was making sure I matched the right pieces together.  It is definitely recommended to mark each piece of fabric with not only the marks on the pattern but also the numbers and which direction (up or down) they go.

Pattern Review Outerwear Contest Pattern Description: Girls’ Top, Skirt, Cropped Pants, Jacket and Purse.  I made View B: the Vest. Pattern Sizing: 8-16.  My daughter wears size 10-12 in RTW and I used size 12 for the pattern.  It fit her perfectly. Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?   Pretty much, although I used a different fabric than what they used for the photo on the envelope. Were the instructions easy to follow?   Yes, very easy to follow.

My daughter found some overalls at a thrift store that she just absolutely loves.  They are slightly too small for her and the cheapest I’ve found them is at Walmart for $17.  I thought, “I can make you some for way less than that!”  So I found this pattern (the only overalls pattern I could find) and happened to enter Sewing For Children Contest . Pattern Description: Children’s overalls. 3 Styles—short, medium, long legs, and 3 different bib pocket styles. Pattern Sizing: My daughter is 9 years old and is a little big for her size.  She wears between size 10 and 12.  The pattern has sizes 6-11.  I used size 11.

I am a member of Pattern Review and pop in once in a while to see what contests they have going.  They happen to be having a Vintage Pattern contest, so I ran to my stash of patterns and found one that had been my mom’s years ago.  It is from 1975—Simplicity 6908—Size 5 for children’s halter top, knit shirt, shorts and skorts (or pantskirt as the pattern calls it).  Unfortunately my kids are too big for size 5, but I have a niece who is 3 years old.  I figured it would be too large for her, but I went ahead and tried it anyway.  I was thrilled when she tried the outfits on and they fit.  I made three outfits for her— view 1, 2, and 3 (with a bow as in view 5 ). View 1 and 2 were so easy!  View 3 of the shirt, using stretch knit fabric was such a pain!  I hate working with knits and this pattern reminded me why.  The rickrack around the neckline and sleeves was being difficult, so I gave up after ripping it out several times, and just pu...

I ran across some patterns that call for 20 stitches per inch.  I don’t have that setting on my machine.  All I have is numbers from 0.8 to 5.0.  So I printed a ruler on a piece of paper and started from 0.8 and sewed a one-inch line, counting the stitches as I went, then went to the next number up and so on.  I made a chart with the stitches length to go back to for reference.  These numbers are approximate, so please don’t be mad at me if they are not the same on your machine. I have a Singer Quantum Stylist 9960 and I used a #14 needle.

A few months ago I made my first Prairie Doll . She was made simple, faceless, and with not much “aging.” I have since then studied Primitive techniques and dolls, from Prims Magazines to facebook groups such as Purely Primitive Dolls, from Barb Moore’s book. So I “grundged” my first Prairie doll. I used a pattern I found from Happy Heart Patterns , which is SO much easier to follow and has better directions than the pattern from my first Prairie Doll. I stained the muslin using Rit dye before I cut out the pattern. I threw it in the dryer, then ironed out the wrinkles and went to work tracing the pattern onto the muslin. She turned out just lovely . . .

You can read my full review here . This was a nice change of quick and easy. I have been sewing things that have been taking all day long to finish, so when this dress only took two hours, I was so happy.

I made another backpack using Simplicity 1388. This one was for my youngest daughter. You may have read my last review of it. It was easier the second time around. The main thing that I did differently was that I made the bottom gusset piece 2” longer, which allowed the pieces to fit together better. Last time I had to trim off 1/2” from the bottom of the front and back.

Pattern Description: Backpack, I chose view A Pattern Sizing: One-size--pattern envelopes says 14x11x4 (mine is 13.5”x11”x4 since I had to take off 1/2” from the bottom front/back to properly line it up.) Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it? It looked even better! Were the instructions easy to follow? Yes, they were VERY easy to follow. The last backpack I did was from Butterick 6072. This pattern was easier to follow than the Butterick.

Pattern Description: Misses' knit wrap top with sleeve variations. (For contest entry) 1. Why do you think this was voted one of the Best Patterns? It is a very cute shirt. I'm sure many people like the style and it's fairly easy to make.