FREE Projects: Dreaming in French

Hello lovelies!

Today I feel very inspired by pastel colors and Paris! So I want to share not one, but two free projects using my Dreaming in French collection. Like this stunning Peony Pillow featuring  Pink Coquette design from Dreaming in French and Oval Elements' Petal Pink.

To download instruction click here.

What you'll Need: 

• 2 ¾ yd of Fabric A
• ¼ yd of Fabric B
• 1 (one) 21" pillow form round

And this sweet and cute Romance Pillow designed using Orchid Bloom from Dreaming in French and Pure Elements' Vere Violet! 

To download instruction click here.

What you'll need:

• ½ yd of Fabric B
• Fat eight of Fabric A
• 1 (one) 16" × 22" thin batting piece
• 11" × 18" piece of Steam a Seam 2 Interfacing (Double sided ultra light weight)
• 1 (one) 14" × 20" pillow form
• Color coordinated thread (lime green & violet)

I hope you enjoy creating these two wonderful and fun projects that will illuminate your home! 

Enjoy a happy day of sewing my lovelies

Love,

Dreamscape Pillow Free Pattern

Hi lovelies! As some of you know I have been working on many things at once (that's just the norm, lol), and I have posted sneak peeks through my social media profiles. Today I am finally posting the finished free PDF pattern for my Dreamscape Pillow that I created using both my Carnaby St. and Rapture collections. I also added White Linen and Tender Green from the Pure Elements collection by AGF.

I created hexagons by sewing together six 60° triangles in different fabrics, each bordered on one side with strip-pieced diagonal cuts of 1/2" strips in the Pure colors. I then added more triangles in between. I like to cut, sew, and arrange things spontaneously to see what starts to develop. This is my favorite way to design my projects and quilt patterns. I hope you like what I created this time!

How beautiful is the heart created by the wooden panels? I love it!

Happy sewing,

FREE PROJECT : Fabric Bin

Hello lovelies!

Today I have a special treat for all of you! I'm sharing with you a stylish way to organize your sewing studio. They're called Stash Away Fabric Bins, and they are the perfect solution for de-cluttering all that mess that has been accumulating in your studio!

Use them to organize your fabric scraps, misplaced threads, or even use them as your current project bag, where you have all your necessities for your current project in one place.

Here is what you need to make the Stash Away Fabric Bins.

The approx. finished size of each bin are as follows: Small bin: 12 ½" x 5", Medium bin: 14" x 6" & Large bin: 16 ½" x 8".

MATERIALS:
The medium size bin:
1. (1) 16” x 20” rectangle of Go-Go London Lustrous (Carnaby St. collection)
2. (1) 16” x 20” rectangle of Raspberry Rose (Pure Elements collection)
3. (1) 16” x 3” rectangle of Raspberry Rose (Pure Elements collection)
4. (1) 16” x 20” rectangle of Hard Interfacing

The small size bin:
1. (1) 14” x 17” rectangle of Ladylike Green tea (Carnaby St. collection)
2. (1) 14” x 17” rectangle of Fresh Water (Pure Elements collection)
3. (1) 14” x 17” rectangle of Hard Interfacing

CUTTING INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Cut (6) 3½” x 23 strips of Nocturnal (Pure Elements collection)
2. Cut (6) 3½” x 23 strips of Empire yellow (Pure Elements collection)
3. 1/4 yard of Girl about Town lime (Carnaby St collection)
4. 1/4 yard of Girl about Town Rose (Carnaby St collection)
5. 1/4 yard of Psychedelia Gold (Carnaby St collection)
6. 1/4 yard of Psychedelia Peridot (Carnaby St collection)
7. 1/2 yard of double stick fusible.

Here are the instructions for this medium sized Stash Away Fabric Bin with flower applique.

Make two rectangles of 6 strips each (3 strips of Nocturnal, and 3 strips of Empire Yellow).

 

Sew lengthwise with a 1/4" seam allowance alternating colors. You now have 2 rectangles each measuring 18" x 23". One is your lining and the other one is the frontal piece of the bin.

Grab the pieces of Girl About Town Lime, Girl About Town Rose, Psychedelia Gold, Psychedelia Peridot (from my Carnaby St. Collection), and the double stick fusible. Place the fabric on one of the sides of the fusible and iron it at a low temperature. This will stabilize the fabric so that you can cut each flower carefully. Cut through both; fabric and fusible.

Layer the lining and the frontal piece of the box face-to-face and pin them on top of the interfacing (the lining should be on top of the interfacing). Pin the layers together and sew along the edges with a ¼” seam allowance.

It is very important that you leave an opening of about 4" at the bottom, or enough space to turn the piece inside out.

Trim the excess material and turn it inside out. Shape the corners with a small pointed tool.

Press heavily, remember to close the opening that you left by hand-sewing it with an invisible stitch.

Now it's time to close our box. Fold the rectangle in half by matching each corner (the front of the box should be facing itself). Stitch along each side with a ½” seam allowance and then mark the bottom fold with a pin (this is the base of the bin).

Fold the base and align the side seam with the pin to form a triangle. Stitch across 3” in from the tip and repeat the same step in the other side.

The last step is to turn the piece right side out and fold the top edge over.

And that's it! See how simple it is! You can make sets of these to give to your friends or various sets of your own and place them in any room that just needs a little touch of style to organization.

Have a great Labor Day weekend!

FREE project : "Love, Mom" Bed Runner

Hello lovelies, it's time for a sewing tutorial!

Every time I turn on the television there are commercials for back to school. ALREADY?!? It seems like summer just started. Back to school makes me think of all of the kids going off to college for the first time. I remember when my son went off to college. I missed him so. I called him every day! But what an exciting time for him to go away to experience life and education.

I'm  feeling heavy-hearted thinking of all of the moms whose children are going off to school. So I'm inspired to make a tutorial for you moms to give your daughters something to remind them of home. It's a bed runner that they can put at the foot of their bed to remind them of you!

Finished size: 24" x 60"

MATERIALS:
For this project, I used the Pure Elements solids that I handpicked for Art Gallery Fabrics.

• 2 7/8 yd of PE-427 Spiceberry
• ½ yd of PE-401 Verve Violet
• ½ yd of PE-432 Sandstone
• ½ yd of PE-413 Caviar
• ½ yd of PE-405 Cherry Lipgloss
• Fat Quarter of PE-425 Mauvelous
• 35" x 75" Non-fusible BATTING
• 3/4 yd SINGLE-SIDED Fusible Interfacing

NOTIONS:

• 10 pearl beads
• Hand Sewing Needle
• Color-coordinated thread
• Masking tape
• Safety pins
• Scissors
• Water Soluble marker

INSTRUCTIONS
Sew all right sides together with ¼" seam allowance. Press open.

Cutting:
For base quilt-

• Sub-cut PE-427 into four (4) 24" x 30 1/4" rectangles

For flowers (10 big flowers and 10 small flowers)-

• Sub-cut PE-401 into four (4) 8" squares and four (4) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-432 into four (4) 8" squares and six (6) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-413 into four (4) 8" squares and four (4) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-405 into four (4) 8" squares and six (6) 5" squares
• Sub-cut PE-425 into four (4) 8" squares
• Ten (10) 8" squares and ten (10) 5" squares of interfacing 

Step 1. Making the base quilt

• Grab the four 24" x 30 1/4" rectangles and sew them in pairs creating two rectangles that measure 24" x 60". One rectangle will be the TOP fabric and the other one the BACKING fabric. Place the BACKING on a large surface (wrong side up). Stretch it with masking tape against that surface.
• Place the BATTING on top of the BACKING.
• Place the TOP on top of the batting (right side facing up). Smooth away wrinkles using your hands.
• Pin all layers together and baste using long stitches. You can also use safety pins to join the layers.
• For this quilt, I chose a straight and modern motif. Start quilting right at the center where there is a seam. From there, create parallel lines 5" apart from each other and quilt. Use a contrasting color thread so that the stitching really pops out. I used beige on the Spiceberry tone.

After you have finished, trim any of the excess fabric or batting, squaring the quilt to proceed to bind it. To obtain the binding, cut enough WOF strips of Spiceberry with a 1½" width to create a long strip measuring 180" (about 5). For detailed instructions on how to finish binding, check out my Free Quilt patterns here, and at the end of each quilt, it has diagrams on how to do it!

Now that the base is done, I will show you how to construct one of the big flowers and you can follow the same steps for the rest of the flowers, big and small.

Step 2. Flower Construction

• Start by grouping the flowers. For each flower, grab two squares with the same size and color and one square of interfacing (also with the same size). Place one fabric on top of the other (right sides facing together), leaving the interfacing on the bottom (fusible side facing up).

• Now trace the Flower Template on the top fabric, making sure you transfer all the points. Pin the edges of the three layers.
• Sew on top of the line, going all the way to the points. Go over the first stitches you created to secure the stitching.

• Trim down the excess fabrics to 1/8" all around the stitching line and clip in between each petal to allow for better turning.

• To turn the flower inside you, draw a 1½" long line on the center of the flower.

• Being super careful in order to cut JUST the top layer, pinch the fabric so that you can cut the line you traced.

Try to separate the top layer from the bottom and interfacing.

•  Carefully turn the flower inside out through the hole.

• Press well.

• Close the hole using a hand needle. Press the raw edges towards the inside of the flower and close with a slip stitch.
• Repeat this process to finish all of the flowers.

Now that you have the base and the flowers ready, it's time to sew them together!

Step 3. Putting it all together

• Pair one big flower with one small flower in a contrasting color so that you have ten combinations. 

• Place them on the base quilt to establish the order that your prefer. Pin them in place.
• Grab one big flower, one small flower, and a pearl bead. You will now begin to hand sew them to the base of the quilt. First start by putting the needle through the center of the wrong side of the big flower and go through the center of the flower, catching the bead as well by going through the hole.

• Now, go back through the center of the small flower, then though the big flower and catch the top layer of the base quilt.
• Repeat again.

• Do this a couple of times to secure the flowers well. To finish, do an extra stitch on the bottom of the piece, or in a hidden portion, and pass the needle back through the stitch to form a knot. Do it again to double the knot. 
• Repeat until you have finished attaching all the flowers to the base quilt.

I hope you enjoy making this bed runner. To creating great off-to-school memories!

xoxo

The Boho Dress Pattern

Hello! How has everyone been?

I want to share with you my very first CLOTHING PATTERN! It's called the Boho Dress and I couldn't be more thrilled about it.

There is a sewing trend that I perceive is growing bigger and bigger, and it's definitely planning to stay for a while... I also have been noticing that there are so many quilters that didn't sew at all in their lives but want to start now. The emails with requests I receive are more or less like these: Can you make a pattern that is simple to follow? Or... Can you do an easy and forgiving dress pattern? What about a nice skirt that I can complete in an afternoon... without knowing how to sew!  WOW!! These are exciting requests!

So I sat down to think. I went through fashion magazines. I teared pages from those magazines. I put them up on my inspiration board. I sketched. And then sat down to think a little bit more. My desire was a dress that could be both functional and easy to sew, without losing its style. The Boho Dress is the result!

As you can see, there are two options to this dress: option A is a short, sleeveless sundress to wear alone or with leggings.

And option B has a longer hemline and features long tulip sleeves.

See? Totally different styles but all in one pattern!

But this is not all.

Lately I've been seeing this sewing trend specially among the younger crowd; it's really amazing to see how young these girls are, and I think it's great that they are dusting off their mom's sewing machines and learning how to make their own stuff. They want to learn. They want to do it. They want cool, quick and stylish. It is also exciting that quilt shops are really happy to see a newer generation visiting their stores and shopping!

So I thought, what would be the best way for them to learn? We all know there's nothing better than a class; having a real person by our side teaching us step by step how to follow the instructions and such is priceless! But not everyone has the time to attend classes; specially college students or young mommys, with their fast-paced lifestyle and crazy schedules, there's really little time to fit a sewing class in there.

Plus, we're talking about girls who didn't have the chance to take home economic classes like a lot of us did, so they might find themselves in the situation of buying a pattern, getting home, start reading, and be like... "WHAT??!! I don't understand!!"

Some of you may be reading this and nodding your head and be like"YES! THAT'S ME!" So I have great news for you: I'll be your teacher! I'll be with you step by step, explaining you all the basic terminology, telling and showing what to do (and what not to do), so you'll end up with a fabulous, error-free dress in no time!

Now some of you might be thinking... "Okay... so... exactly how are you planning to do that?"

Well the answer is: DVD! Yes, the Boho Dress pattern comes in a DVD format, in which you'll be able to follow me by playing it on your TV or computer, and watching me making both options of the dress, step by step, in real time.

How does that sound?

All throughout the DVD there are super detailed graphics, definitions, and close-ups to help you truly understand and learn how to make the dresses; plus, the DVD comes with the one sided, printed real size paper templates, so you just basically have to pop in the DVD, have your fabric, thread and sewing machine ready and you're good to go!

But enough about me talking about it! Here's a little preview of the video so you can get the feel of it.

Are you ready to make your Boho Dress? You can visit your local quilt shop or order online.

See you in my sewing room!

Love,

And the winners are...

The Quilt Market giveaway has come to an end. A big thank you to all who entered! And thank you for all of your kind congratulations and comments. You sure know how to make a girl smile! So... what bag pattern did I mention in my Quilt Market recap video? The correct answer was: the Barcelona bag!

Now... the two winners are:

Congratulations to Vicki H and Janarama! They both won the Barcelona bag pattern AND the Carnaby Street fabric necessary to make the bag.

I have another giveaway coming soon! If you're signed up for my newsletter you already know all about it. You want to be in the loop? Sign up for my newsletter here. 

'Til next time... happy crafting.

Carnaby Street Style

Hi everyone!

How was your weekend? Mine was great! I was working on an album with some juicy pics for Facebook in anticipation of the debut of my new line. And.... the moment has come! I'm so nervous and excited at the same time, like I'm about to show my first line ever. There is no remedy for me :) Every time I introduce a new collection I always have butterflies in my stomach, thinking if you are going to love it as much as I do :) Each collection of mine comes from a feeling that moves me very deeply inside and this time is not an exception!

It's my pleasure to introduce to you: CARNABY STREET!!

Remember I was traveling to London this past June? I came back with so many ideas! What's not to love about British culture! Everywhere I looked, I couldn't find anything I didn't immediately fall in love with! 

My Boho Dress pattern made in several prints of the collection

During my time there, I decided to visit the infamous Carnaby Street. I wanted to visit the place where the British fashion culture of the 60s changed the whole fashion world forever. 

Take a look at my collection video for Carnaby Street, where flower power, love, and peace reign free! A big thanks to the best team in the world that helped my dream become a reality with this video :):)
I recommend you watch this in full screen!

When you walk down Carnaby St., you get the sense.. the feel.. the importance of the influence of the British culture and how it revolutionized fashion, music and many more aspects of our society. 

Brit Boutique Radiant shown here on these palazzo pants

It was truly inspirational place and an opportunity to design that should not be missed. The minute I came back, I began gathering as much material and inspiration of the Swinging London movement as I could find. I found so much material, with such a brightness and boldness in color, that I just had to design!

Think flower power and fashion! Groovy blooms and strong geometrics are the signature of this colorful line!

Carnaby Street comes in two vibrant color ways: Rad Love and Cool Peace!

Rad Love is full of bright citrus greens and lush raspberry pinks. With subtle hints of tender green and deep tones of royal blue, what's not to love about Rad Love!

Cool Peace is all about minty greens and dusty rose. With its bright touches of citrus green and dark hints of navy blue, enjoy the freshness and boldness of this chill palette.

One of my favorite prints in this collection is Psychedelia Gold and Peridot! This fabric is a combination of an overall print and bands that you can cut and use in many different ways. Here are some creative ideas.

This collection inspired me so much, that I practically couldn't stop sewing! I made groovy coasters, gorgeous FLOWER POWER pillows, and even a reversible table runner! Do I sense a few FREE patterns coming along?! I'm sure you'll love what I have lined up for you in the coming months!

Carnaby Street is perfect for combining with all the Elements that AGF has to offer!

If you want to thrown in some solids to the mix, here is a list of Pure Elements that go great with Carnaby Street:
PE-437 London Red, 405 Cherry Lipgloss, 439 Raspberry Rose, 411 Quartz Pink, 409 Light Citron, 416 Lemonade, 417 Emerald, 406 Burnt Orange, 407 Empire Yellow, 408 White Linen, 412 Tender Green, 424 Mirage Blue, 415 Parisian Blue, and 428 Nocturnal.

And here is a list of Oval Elements that are just waiting to be combined with Carnaby:
OE-913 Cranberry, 910 Sweet Pea, 928 Tangerine Tango, 901 Papaya Orange, 911 Golden, 900 Peacock. 918 Blue Lagoon, 932 Sapphire, 914 Emerald Coast, and 909 Key Lime.

And what's even better is that I have matching threads to go along with this collection! I've had the pleasure of working with Aurifil and coming out with my own thread collection!

The Bold Beauty Box is perfect if you're head over heels with the Rad Love palette! Great for quilting and sewing, this little case is all you'll need to start sewing those groovy projects!

The Eye Candy Box is wondrous when working with the soft jeweled tones of the Cool Peace palette!

Now... for my favorite part of this post! Here is Carnaby's FREE quilt pattern, London's Calling!

You can download the instructions here! It's a super easy, super fun project that you can make over the weekend!

Hope you like my new line and you can get you stitching with all these inspirational images :)
Stay tuned for some more inspirational posts on fashion and home decor featuring Carnaby!

XO,
Pat