Contest/Giveaway Archives - Page 6 of 7

P4P Halloween Costume Contest: The Winners!

November 3, 2016

Halloween costume sewing is basically my (Katy) favorite type of sewing. It’s allowed to be over-the-top, silly, and super creative. And I feel like it pushes sewists out of their usual comfort zones. We held a costume contest in a thread on the Patterns for Pirates Facebook group! If you were curious about all of the costumes shared, head HERE to find all of the amazing sews.

I have a hard time choosing just one winner. So I decided to let my husband and son pick their favorites too this time around! Here are our picks!

Louis’ Favorite (in the least surprising choice…from my Pokemon obsessed 6-year old): Jennifer Rowe with her Pikachu, made from the P4P Jolly Roger Raglan + Add-Ons, and the Pirate Playground Pants!

Bennett’s Favorite (another non-surprise from my Star Wars nerdy husband): Jennifer Richardson with her Darth Vader / Rebel Pilot dresses using the Me Hearties Peplum/Dress pattern.

Katy’s Favorite (I couldn’t help but die a little bit over this unicorn. I think the hooves sold me.): Jamie Grey with her Unicorn made from the Sweet Tee and Peg Legs.

Congratulations to the winners! I’ll be contacting you about your winnings!

And thank you so much to everyone who shared their amazing creations. I’ve now got a lot of new ideas for next year’s costume sewing extravaganza!

And the Winner is…. P4P Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway!

October 24, 2016

I truly enjoyed this past couple weeks with my newsfeed on the P4P Facebook Group, Pinterest and Instagram all filled with the P4P Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway entries! I loved seeing your sewing spaces big and small, messy and tidy, and sparse or packed full! It’s so fun to see how everyone sews! But, lets get to it, because I know everyone is ready to see who won the biggest giveaway we’ve ever done!

Who will get this amazing grand prize???

Okay okay…without anymore suspense… the random lottery winner from ALL the entries (there were a lot ladies!!)

From our Instagram feed! I will be sending you, livingyoungfitness a private message on Instagram!

Thank you all for participated and cheering each other on! I love to see the friendship and camaraderie the P4P Facebook Group is filled with! <3 We’re all just a bunch of ladies and gentlemen who have a love for sewing!

Thank you so much for letting me share the love of sewing with such a lovely group and I hope livingyoungfitness can build the sewing space she’s been dreaming of since the start of the giveaway! If you weren’t the lucky winner I hope you got some great sewing done with the motivation and have some ideas for your holiday wishlist for your sewing space too! 😉 I know I do!!

Last Call for Entries- Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway by P4P

October 23, 2016

I hope you’ve read and entered into our biggest giveaway ever!

The Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway- the chance to win a sewing room make-over!

We wrote a week full of posts all about planning, filling, organizing a great sewing space- rather you’re in the dining room, bedroom, or lucky enough to have a sewing shack we hope they helped you find the perfect storage solution, find the best tools, and plan a great layout that works for you!

We are also having our LAST sale of the year with a huge 30% site wide sale through tonight, use this code below for the discount at check out:

Today is the LAST day to enter or grab patterns with the sale code!

Contest and sale will end tonight at midnight. So last entries can be posted until 11:59PM Sunday October 23rd US Central Time Zone. (So you have about 8 hours to get somethings sewn up and post from now!)

Good Luck! Winner will be a random lottery winner- so everyone has a chance!

We will announce the winner tomorrow 🙂

Make sure to read through those entry rules here!

One last THANK YOU for all your support and giving me the pleasure of helping 30k members of our Facebook Group sewing up P4P patterns!

Sewing and Craft Room Storage Idea- Sew it, Win it, Build it- from P4P

October 23, 2016

We’ve been talking this week about building a better sewing space. We’ve talked about how to plan one, what our favorite tools are to have it one, how to store our fabric and patterns and now we’ll get into storing all the other sewing supplies that most of us have or want in our craft rooms.

We’ll start out with general organizing and move into specific areas.

I love to have little “station boxes” in my craft room. I have a storage box at my cutting table with my pattern prepping and fabric cutting tools. I used to have a mismatch collections until I got this matching little set from Hancocks while they were all going through their “going out of business sale”.

Another storage box next to my machines with those tools I need while I’m sewing like my tube turner, seam ripper, snippers, ect.

And again on my ironing board with my tools I use there like starch, hem tape, scissors, ect.

I love them because they’re convenient and I can close it up quickly when I’m done (or frantically tidying up because someone is coming 😉 )

If you are in a small space something like Roberta uses on the back of a door is a great space saver and you can keep a lot of smaller tools and supplies within an easy reach.

Thread storage!

I keep mine on a boring thread peg organizer. It works pretty well, it’s a little unstable since I just have it sitting on my desk rather that hanging. I also quickly filled it up! I plan on using a peg system, but much larger and on the wall on the new sewing space. I like that I don’t have to open anything, I can easily see all the colors I have instantly.

My sister and mom both keep their thread in a drawer container sorted by rainbow colors. They both love their system as well, easy in and out, and easy to compare the different shade when color matching.

I currently keep my serger thread in my desk drawers. It is convenient to grab at my machines and the shallow drawer works great.

My deeper drawer is more difficult to use this method and I end up digging a lot to find the set of colors I’m looking for (I keep the stretch thread inside the bucket within the deep drawer). So I will be planning on some kind of bigger peg board in the new sewing space!

Here is how my sister Nicole stores her serger threads in bins that look like the perfect height! PS- One day I’ll have all those color of serger thread 😉 #goals

I keep my bobbins in a little container like this. I love that I can close it and keep it from getting caught on anything as I’m reaching or sewing and pulling out a thread and trailing it!

Roberta loves the open circle bobbin holders like these:

Pin and Clip Storage!

My sister Nicole made this awesome pin cushion and basket for me last year and I LOVE it! It is meant to be a pin cushion on top and trash/thread scrap basket on bottom. But, I use the bottom basket for my wonder clips! That way I have both pins and clips right next to me at my desk easy and quick in and out while sewing.

I also have one of these classic pin cushions in my ironing station and in my cutting station as well!

A lot of ladies love to use a magnetic bowl of sorts to store pins. The magnetic helps grab and hold onto the pins.

Sewing Machine Pieces/Tools!

I am super boring here ladies. I keep all my parts/tools in the little ziplock bag that comes with the machine! Lazy? My sister Nicole has made an adorable zipper pouch for each of her machines to hold their extra parts, feet, tools, ect..

Buttons!

I feel like buttons are one of the sewing supplies that most are able to organize fairly easily. You can find so many little organizers with smaller compartments that work great for rainbow sorting. The only thing you have to worry about is little fingers coming along and “helping” you reorganize them… my Little Guy LOVES doing that!!

Stuffing!

If you have a big bag of stuffing laying around you can make a big, simple drawstring bag to keep looking tidy and easy to get in and out when you’re using it.

I’m sure I left some supplies out, some we didn’t have a great way we were happy with! But, I hope this helps you find the right storage for your craft and sewing supplies in your sewing space!

Don’t forget to enter into our Sew it, Win it, Build it Giveaway! Today is the last day for entries- until tonight (Sunday October 23rd) before midnight- 11:59pm US Central Time Zone.

Pattern Storage- Sew it, Win it, Build it- from P4P

October 22, 2016

We see the question, “How do you store your printed patterns?” all the time in the P4P FB Group! So, as we’re celebrating hitting 30k members in the group with our “Sew it, Win it, Build it” Giveaway we’re hoping to answer that question today!

We’ve been discussing all about planning, building and organizing your sewing room this week as one lucky member will win a Sewing Room Make-Over Grand Prize! Pattern storage is one that has been really tricky for me as I am planning my new sewing room! I’ve changed my mind a few times and I’m still not 100% certain with what I’ll have in there!

Currently, I use a file folder and standard filing cabinet. It works very well for youth size patterns. I usually only have to fold them a bit to fit nicely into a file folder and I have each drawer labeled as boys, girls, ladies, mens, ect. So, they’re very easy to find, throw back in, and keep fairly tidy. My only complaint is that my adult patterns do get folded quite a bit and I often have to re-tape and work at flattening them back out when I pull out and go to cut.

It’s currently in our garage since we packed up our house to show/sale, so excuse the packing tape and packed garage behind it 😉

So, I was wanting something that I didn’t need to fold- at least not as much- on my bigger adult patterns. Kelly hangs her with a little hole punch and ring:

This is a good solution for not having to fold, but I don’t have any closet space in the new room. So, I’d have to either do a curtain rod, wardrobe or something like this to use this method. I’ve been on the hunt for a beautiful antique wardrobe to hang them in, but they’re hard to come by! And I don’t have too much time to spend hunting, but maybe one will fall into my lap! I can hope, right? Patty hangs hers with clips onto a mobile wardrobe hanger.

Another option is big shallow drawers. I’ve found a few horizontal file cabinets for engineers or photographers that are pretty big that would work pretty well. The only pull back to this is how many drawers can it have? Not enough for each pattern to have a drawer that’s for sure 😉 So, I would have to think of a way to keep them organized even within the shallow drawers, which could be difficult! Plus, the couple I have found have been very high priced!

A lot of ladies use big envelopes to store their patterns. Patty has them with the pattern cover on the front and fabric requirements on the back. Then she has them sorted by categories in magazine holders.

Erinn stores her traced pattern pieces in binders. She has the pieces in a clear paper protector with the pattern and size labeled. She also keeps the bigger master copy just on the very top of her bookshelf if she needs to retrace a new size.

We’ve heard members rolling their patterns and slipping them into toilet paper/paper towel cardboard to store! Some use milk crates to keep slip each pattern into and hold it in place too, seems like a great way to keep the big master copies!

My sister only keeps her very favorite patterns she uses over and over. For those she makes a giant “file folder” from poster boards and labels them, slips the pattern pieces inside! And if you’re super cute like my sister you can even decorate them with hearts <3!

We saw a great share in the P4P Facebook Group that she likes to roll her big printed copies up and labels them with paper towel or toilet paper rolls!

I hope seeing all these option for storing your sewing patterns helps you find the perfect solution for your craft room! Don’t miss out on the rest of our posts this week and to enter into our “Sew it, Win it, Build it” Giveaway!

Fabric Storage Ideas – “Sew it, Win it, Build it” from P4P

October 21, 2016

We’re talking all about Sewing Rooms this week with our awesome “Sew it, Win it, Build it” giveaway! Today we’re going to continue talking about sewing rooms and how you can store all those supplies you need/stock/hoard? 😉

We hear a lot of questions in the P4P Facebook Group asking how to store things in sewing spaces. So, here is a little list to help you see the options you have out there. Today we’ll just be doing fabric storage, but we will also cover pattern storage as well as other sewing supplies later this week! *(This post contains affiliate links)*

The big one right? How in the world do you store all your fabric so that you can see and get to it easily when you’re trying to find that perfect coordinate, where it takes up minimal space, and where you can fit a lot? Or is that just something I worry about?

I store my fabric in open shelving. I like to be able to see my fabrics really easily so that I don’t end up pulling them ALL out to color match or see my options. (Although sometimes I still do this a bit!) I use cube shelving. I like that each cube isn’t too wide that the fabric gets lost under others. I’ve folded mine and rolled mine. I like the idea of rolling better, I can see it more clearly when that shelf is getting really packed full, but I’ll be honest and say I didn’t have much success getting myself to keep up the rolling! When I would get it out to color match or decide between a few choices I would find myself not wanting to roll it back up! So, back to folding I went 😉 I also will use the little bins for scraps as well, I have one for knit and one for woven scraps. (Yes, one… I’m not a scrap hoarder! When I get too full I go through it very quickly and give my nieces any that I take out for them to practice with.)

Maybe you happen to be a scrap lover…hoarder…like my dear sister Nicole 😉 She keeps everything! She sorts her scraps by color into bins:

There is the “ruler folding method” for storing on bookshelves. Which just helps you keep each cut folded at the same width so it fits nice and tidy on the shelves. I’m just always in too much of a rush to be this neat and tidy! Maybe one day 🙂 The jist is to use your quilters ruler as a guide to fold your fabric cuts. Here is a helpful blog post from my sister’s blog explaining how in detail.

Another way I’ve seen is to use comic book boards to fold your fabric around. It’s like having tiny bolt of fabric on your shelves! Roberta uses this method and it gives you such a nice and tidy look as well. She has done it for a while and can count the number of layers around the board to get a good estimate on yardage without unwrapping and measuring! Great little trick!

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You can also buy these fabric organizers made exactly for this use too. They have little grips to slide/tuck your fabric into.

Another way I’ve seen around is to use filing cabinets. You can hang your fabrics on the file folders and sift through them. Again, I think this really only works for smaller cuts of fabric. You could fill up a cabinet way too quick with adult size cuts of french terry! I’ve never stored my fabric this way, but here is a blog post I found explaining how she does it.

Another one I see often is in tubs. I currently have all my fabric in tubs because we had to pack up my sewing room to show and sell our house. But, I hate it! Personally I sew way too often to have to dig out fabric from tubs every time. I end up making a huge mess pulling it all out trying to find something! But, it would keep it out of eyesight if you don’t want your fabric on display.

When we helped organize my mothers quilting fabric, which is so different than apparel fabrics since it’s a lot of smaller pieces rather than larger cuts. We folded them and stored them into drawers and small bins vertically. That way she could open the drawer or bin, and see all her fabric in that one at once. she could easily pull pieces in and out without disrupting the others. This is a view with drawers open and looking down into the drawers:

The last way I’ve seen is to hang. On curtain rods, a wardrobe system, or if you happen to have a closet in your craft room. You can use a hanger and fold the fabric over the bottom like Patty does here:

Or you can use curtain rings and clip them. Here is an example of this from Crafterholics blog:

Now that you’ve decided what you’ll be storing your fabric with you can move on to thinking about how you organize it within that unit. I like to keep my fabric organized by type. Meaning I have all my french terry together, rayon spandex, sweater knits, ect. Some of my very favorite types I split into more– solids, prints… I also keep most of my “t-shirt weight knits” together and sort my solids, stripes, prints. So– it might looked haphazard to someone just looking at it. But, when I go to look for a certain project it’s perfect for me! I can look for the weight/blend that I’m needing for that project and then move into what print/color/ect. from there.

My mom also organizes her quilting stash in types. But, obviously not fabric type since it’s all quilting cottons. She uses the type of quilt it’s for… meaning- low volume goes together, a quilt set from a certain designer, brights, holiday prints, I spy quilt fabrics, ect. So that when she’s ready to sew up a low volume quilt she can go to that drawer, pull it open and pick from there. We also did her blenders all together in a rainbow sort. So if she needs a blender in a certain color she can quickly get to it as well.

My oldest sister Nicole organizes her fabrics in 2 big categories- she does both apparel and quilting sewing a lot. So, she has… a lot of fabric… a lot… lol… She has all her knits together and then sorted by rainbow colors. Then her cotton wovens together sorted again by rainbow colors. It does look pretty in there all rainbowed out!

My sister Megan organizes by type like me- she also has a separate place for fabric for her son and then for her daughter. It helps when they’re ready to pick something out!

Whew… Well, I hope that helps show you a few ways you can store your fabric!

Stay tuned for some more ways to organize your sewing/craft room this week including pattern storage and other supplies!

How to Plan the Perfect Craft/Sewing Room- Sew it, Win it, Build it- from P4P

October 18, 2016

When my husband was trying to sweet talk me into building a new house his biggest selling point was a bigger sewing space… eventually he won me over and I’ve been planning that sewing room since!! I’ve had a lot of fun researching and planning it, so much, that we’re giving away the chance for someone else to get a new sewing room! If you haven’t read our “Sew it, Win it, Build it” Giveaway post make sure you stop by and read how to enter for your chance to win!

Flooring-

I started with the basics first. I wanted NO carpet. And ladies, this first decision was a biggie, because it’s an expensive choice! But, after years of killing vacuums I was getting some floors that weren’t carpet! It took me months of persuading my husband, but as you can see…. I got my way! 😉 I was so excited to see those floors going in that day!!!

I looked into A LOT of flooring options (besides carpet). There is laminate wood, vinyl, tile, and hardwoods to name the most popular. I even looked into much crazier kinds, but none were very price effective that I found (like rubber, cork, ect.).

Furniture Arrangement-

I really love this little trick to plan a room! I use Adobe Illustrator, but you could use any drawing program, or just a piece of grid paper would work perfectly as well to draw my room out with it all proportioned correctly on a smaller scale. I prefer the digital program since you can easily change and move things around as you plan.

I drew the basic shape of my room using one inch as one foot. Then, I added the furniture I was planning on putting in there all to scale. This took time! But, I know the furniture I want will fit in nicely, what size cutting table I can fit in there with enough walking space around it (average is usually about 3 feet between furniture pieces), and where I needed my lighting! In the end it’s so much easier to take the time to create a template than to be measuring the actual room and furniture and trying to imagine if it will fit okay, if it will feel cramped, if you can make if even with this and that across the room, ect. I highly recommend this little step to planning your craft room!

You also want to keep in mind what you use most, as well as what you use together. Meaning, I use my sewing machines, iron/iron board together while I’m constructing. So, I want those two “stations” close together in my room. It’s almost like a kitchen where you typically have a triangle between sink, oven, fridge… but you have sewing machine, ironing board, cutting table!

Lighting-

I only had one window in my sewing space. I tried my best to add windows, but the way the house was set up it just wasn’t possible. If you have the option to have more windows… the more the merrier in my eyes! I love a lot of light when I’m sewing!

I put pot lights all along the U shape desks where my machine are going so I could see well while sewing. I also put a pot light above my computer desk because I read a lot there. Last I placed a hanging fixture above my cutting table in the center of the room. And let me tell you, I had GRAND plans of doing a dramatic lighting fixture like a chandelier, but I”ll save you the heart-ache of planning that because in a craft room you really need good lighting and something fancy like that isn’t great. They’re gorgeous and stunning and I wanted it so bad! But, in the end they gave off terrible light with rainbows and shadows everywhere 🙁 So… after realizing that I needed functional lighting I went with a pendant. Since I had a single fixture in my mind and had it wired for that I choose this one that meant I didn’t need to have it re-wired for another fixture, but still got 2 pendants for better lighting along my big cutting table!

Outlets-

When we did our electrical walk I added quite a few electrical outlets to my sewing room. Why not right? So now instead of having to have a bunch of giant cords running everywhere I’ll have an electrical outlet where I plan on having my machines.

I also added a floor outlet right where I plan on having my desk. You really only need this if you don’t want your desk along a wall. For whatever reason I was dead set on not looking at a wall while I work! I wanted to look towards the window! So, I again used my drawing of my room to scale to plop in my computer desk where I wanted it and then told the builders exactly where so I wouldn’t have to run my computer cords to the wall. (My husband thought this was great and used it in his office too!)

Furniture-

I’m not going to get TOO much into furniture today, because we have a separate post with our favorite sewing storage coming up! But, for my desks I plan on getting very simple desks with nothing under the table tops. I want to be able to move my legs freely and roll from machine to machine as easily and quickly as possible. And even though you want a lot of storage in a craft room function has to be number one! So, I will find storage other placed besides under my machines!

I plan on getting an Ikea “system” so that I can mix and match open desks for under my machines with some desks with storage drawers or shelving under others. So under my silhouette machine and heat press I will use that under storage space. Here are 2 desks systems I’ve been eyeing at Ikea: the Micke and the Linnmon.

If you only have 1 or 2 machines a system isn’t that important. I have enough machines that I really needed that corner unit! I use my sewing machine, serger and coverstitch together on a garment quite often. So I wanted them close enough to swivel between, but not so close I couldn’t fit my arms/garments between while working. I also wanted a little growing room 😉 just in case another machine finds it way into that room down the road… you know what I mean ladies!!

Decor-

This is of course a huge personal preference. But, I will say a sewing/craft room if it is JUST yours go all out! Don’t worry about doing what’s on trend, what your partner likes, what is kid friendly… if it is just for you and your hobbies then making it your little slice of decorating heaven! I plan on going full on GIRLY! Pastels, gold, antiques, lace, florals, you name it! Anything I want that I usually get a, “no way”, “are you kidding me”, “too girly” reaction to… that’s what I”ll be putting in my room! So have fun and celebrate a space that’s just for you!

Next up we’ll be talking about our favorite storage pieces in a craft/sewing room to finish planning it out! Don’t miss out on our other great posts all about sewing craft rooms!

Top 10 Sewing Room Tools – “Sew it, Win it, Build it” from P4P

October 16, 2016

As part of our 30k member celebration and giveaway, which you can read all about here, we’re sharing our top 10 favorite sewing tools to have in your craft room! *This post contains affiliate links* So if you’re just planning your sewing room or are a seasoned seamstress, I recommend having all these in your toolbox!

My number one tool I like to have is a LARGE cut mat. I love to be able to lay out my entire pattern piece on my mat! I currently have one that’s about 36×60. I plan on upgrading to a nicer Alvin one when we move! A self healing mat is perfect for using a rotary blade (which is my preferred method when cutting most things) and the grid makes cutting rectangles a breeze! We included this in the Amazon bundle the Grand Prize winner will receive!
A good iron is almost as important as your sewing machine. The more you press as you construct the more professional your garment/anything will turn out. Even on knits! I know a lot of ladies skip pressing for knits, but the rule still applies—the more you press, the more professional it will look. I can’t wait to upgrade my iron when we move! I’ve been eyeing a Rowenta and hope it’s love when I get it! The winner will also get to try it out in the Amazon bundle included in the Grand Prize!
My next is pins and pin alternatives (10 is a really small number guys! I had to combine a few 😉 )! I love to use nice pattern weights to hold my pattern pieces in place while I cut. I inherited a set from my mother that are hot pink and I love them. But, we have a set in our Grand Prize from an adorable little shop that is just starting out. She has all different styles to match your sewing space! I prefer pattern weights for many reasons— they’re quicker– they’re easier to not move/stretch your finicky fabrics while cutting– they never poke you or your kiddos 🙂 (My son also thinks they’re a great stacking toy!) Next up is wonder clips . These are nice to use when sewing. They’re quick to put on, won’t leave holes in any fabric, and they’re pretty impossible to forget to move and sew over. They’re also nicer to step on when you drop them onto the floor! But, I still love using traditional ole’ pins as well. I like these longer quilters pins best!
Great scissors is next on the list. Cutting is such a big part of sewing that a great pair of sewing scissors will be loved. I like these kai scissors . They aren’t insanely expensive and they work wonderfully. I use snippers as well right next to my sewing machine. I like to use little, sharp embroidery scissors for precise trimming of seams, cutting notches into seam allowances, etc. I get pulled in by the gold peacock Gingher ones just for that classic look! I also love a pair of pinking shears for trimming seam allowances down. I have cheapy ones, but next time I need to buy I plan on trying out Kai’s pinking shears since I’ve been so happy with their other products.
Bundling again 😉 Since they’re all rulers I think I can get away with it! I use rulers while sewing constantly! The clear quilters ruler is perfect for cutting those rectangle pieces with your rotary blade. The french curve is what you need if you’re having to alter any patterns. It will help you change a neckline or grade sizes with a smooth curve! I like this designer’s one here because it also has a straight section. So, you can just flip it easily for an all in one ruler as your marking/cutting. But, you can also grab a much less expensive one that is just the curves as well. You simple place your curve at your starting and stopping points (so if you’re grading sizes the smaller and larger size) and move your french curve until it meets your marks with the curve you’d like (concave, convex) and trace. Now you have a smooth curve without worry! Last is the hem gauge. This is an inexpensive little tool that is handy to have at your ironing table. You can move the little notch up and down to your hem allowance and move it along your hem line as you press giving you a nice even hem with ease. They also make ones that are more like a flat ruler you can fold your hem over and press onto, but I prefer this little dinky one personally! And lastly you need a soft measuring tape for measuring body measurements and if you need to measure a curve. I’m a sucker for the cute colors!
A rotary cutter is another cutting tool I can’t live without these days. Although I learned with scissor cutting almost everything, I now use a rotary the majority of the time. I like the Kai one because the blades are nice and it doesn’t have a button to press open and close. Instead you just push the blade and the safety cover automatically moves out of the way. Just a teeny tiny time saver that I ended up really loving! I used to always forget to shut my blade in the other style and would worry about dropping it off my cutting table.
I love using a wash away hem tape to help hold or stabilize a seam while sewing. It’s so quick and easy to use and really holds your garment exactly how you place it while stitching. I recommend it for hemming knits in almost all my patterns as well as an alternative to pinning carefully on certain steps where you need to sew from the right side but catch the underside. I prefer the wash away, especially on knits so that after a wash or two the knit will have it’s normal stretch.
One of my most used tools in my room is a point and tube turner. I had a really difficult time tracking one down for sale though!! Apparently they aren’t very common and maybe aren’t made anymore? But, I love mine! So if you can get your hands on one you should snatch it up. It is the easiest tool for turning small tubes like straps, drawstrings, thin belts, ect. I love that one end is rounded and one is pointed. You slide your tube that needs turned onto the rounded side all the way down. Then clamp the ends shut on the very end of your tube and pull/push your tube onto itself turning it right sides out. You will end up with the tube right sides out on the pointed side which you use to press out the corners of your tube if the short end is sewn.
Next up is my favorite marking tool– a Frixon pen. This pen is so neat. You can buy it in a few colors and mark right onto your fabric. The heat from the iron will make it disappear. With all marking tools, I recommend trying on a scrap piece first before marking your actual pieces. Every once in a while I meet a fabric that doesn’t like this ink and if you mark it and iron it there is a lighter mark left permanently. But, I still use it ALL the time! It’s easy to use, store and I like having the color variety for marking on different color fabrics.
We all make mistakes… so every sewing room needs one, or maybe a few seam rippers. I prefer this bigger style. It’s a bit harder for me to misplace ;). I have yet to try out one of the pretty nicer ones, maybe one day!

We had a few more that were on some of our top 10 that didn’t make the final list, but here a few with honorable mention:

Bobkin to guide through casings.
Thread Snippers for quick thread cutting at the machine.
Best Press spray for a starch alternative.
Bamboo Point Turner to help turn out the perfect corners with the pointed end and rounded seams with the rounded side.
Expandable Marking Guide use it anytime you need evenly spaced markings like button holes, pleats, trims, etc.

Don’t forget to enter our “Sew it, Win it, Build it” giveaway this week or the other posts coming soon!

Thank you to our Sponsors- 30k Members “Sew it, Win it, Build it” from P4P

October 12, 2016

We’re in the midst of our biggest, most exciting giveaway yet here at P4P! The Sew it, Win it, Build it giveaway celebrating our Facebook Group hitting 30,000 members is this week!

We have a HUGE grand prize for one lucky P4P fan that includes an amazing fabric stash worth a little over $1000.

To say thank you to our wonderful sponsors we’d like to take a minute to share their shops with you! Check them out! Here they are in no particular order 🙂

$50 gift card. Find Raspberry Creek’s Etsy shop here and their Facebook here.

$50 shop credit. Find Purpleseamstress’s Facebook Page here and Facebook group here.

$50 shop credit. Find Opulent Monsters site here and their Facebook here.

$50 shop credit for retail only. Find Pink Zeppelin’s site here and Facebook here.

$100 shop credit. Find Cuddle Muffins site here and Facebook here.

$50 shop credit. Find Sweet N Charmed site here and Facebook here.

$50 shop credit. Find Smoogie Farbic and Design’s site here and Facebook here.

$100 shop credit. Find So Sew English’s site here and Facebook here.

$50 shop credit. Find Knitorious site here and Facebook here.

$50 shop credit. Find Bow Button Fabrics facebook here.

Donated 2 Free Craftsy classes. Find Craftsy here.

$50 shop credit. Find Wanderlust Designs site here and Facebook here.

Donated a set a set of 8 pattern weights.

Donated $50 shop credit. Find Sincerely Rylee’s site here and Facebook here.

Donated $50 shop credit. Find Vintage Lace’s Facebook here.

$50 shop credit for retail only. Find It’s Sew Creative site here and Facebook here.

$50 shop credit. Find Pretty Posh Prints site here and Facebook here.

$50 shop credit. Find The Fabric Snob’s site here and Facebook here.

$50 shop credit for retail only. Fine the Fabric Cottage site here and Facebook here.

$50 shop credit. Find True North Fabrics site here and Facebook here.

$75 shop credit. Find Knitpop Facebook here.

We have a full week ahead of us while you grab some patterns on sale and are busy sewing up your #P4PSewWinBuild entries don’t miss our other posts!

Sew it, Win it, Build it- A Chance to Win a Sewing Room Make-Over from P4P

October 11, 2016

I’m so excited to announce that we’ve hit another milestone in our P4P Facebook Group of 30,000 members! I’m so very honored to have so many ladies interested in P4P it makes my heart (and maybe my eyes) swell!!

I brainstormed on how we should celebrate for a LONG time! In the past we’ve done free patterns for group members, big giveaways, sales… but I kept thinking about how much fun I was having planning and designing my new sewing room at our new house we’re in the process of building. Here I am in my soon-to-be new sewing space!

I get giddy every time I think about that new bigger space! So I came up with the idea to give away a new sewing room for one lucky member!

What is included in a Sewing Room Makeover?

We all thought long and hard about what we love in our current sewing rooms (and what we’d love to upgrade in them if we had the opportunity) and here is what we thought you needed for a brand new or upgraded sewing room!

We included an Ikea gift card to help furnish the space. I’m planning on doing a big U shape for my machines in my new room from Ikea! I will share some more on how I planned my room as well to help you!

We also included a Joann’s gift card to help get those supplies like scissors, good lighting, notions, and whatever else you may be missing that don’t have those extra funds for! Don’t worry if that sounds a little daunting to pick out- we will be sharing some of our favorite things this week during the contest to help you plan and pick!

We added a Hobby Lobby gift card so you can pick up some cute decor for your new space as well! Grab one of those signs, clock, mirror and jazz up the place 🙂

We will be sending a few things straight from Amazon to the winner to help fill out your new room! How about a great new printer and ink? Need some paper? I love this extra large Alvin Cutting Mat I’ve been eyeing for my room and I can’t wait to get a new iron too! And of course a brand new machine- a Brother 420, which is what I sew on! You will LOVE that automatic cutter ladies!! (*These are affiliate links*)

Last, but not least, is an ample fabric stash for your room! Thanks to all of our wonderful sponsors, which we will be highlighting with links to their shops this week, we have a HUGE stash for your new room. So make sure you get some great storage pieces from Ikea!

Speaking of storage, we will be sharing some of our favorite sewing storage tips this week as well to help get those sewing rooms organized and tidy… well, as best we can, creative minds can be messy right ladies? 😉

****Note**** With a prize this large, P4P will need a W9 filled out by winner prior to prizes being sent. Winner must claim prize on taxes per US law. International winner will have to remit up to a 30% tax withholding of prize winnings and subject to US tax/treaty agreements.

So, are you ready to enter? Here is how:

A few rules to highlight:

The item sewn up and shared must be a P4P pattern.

You need to sew it up as is, with only fit changes (so no hacks or mods ladies). Adding embellishments is great, just no major changes.

Your picture must be in your current sewing space showing off where you sew currently.

Share your pictures on one or all of the social media networks for more chances to win with hashtag #P4PSewWinBuild — it must be EXACT to come up in our search for the winner!

Let us know what P4P pattern you sewed up and what you’re most looking forward to winning or changing about your sewing space!

You can share as many sews as you can for more chances to win–but ALL items/images shared must be sewn AFTER the giveaway starts 10/11/2016! Any older sews will be disqualified from winning the grand prize. Last entries accepted will be Sunday 10/23/2016 at Midnight US Central Time.

Since you might need to grab a new pattern to get motivated we have a SITE WIDE SALE through the end of the giveaway! This will be the last site wide sale this year so grab them up while you can 😉 !! Sale ends Sunday 10/23/2016 at Midnight US Central Time.

Winner will be random lottery winner! So everyone has a chance from a beginner who might be sewing their first P4P to a seasoned apparel seamstress!

We will have a few more posts throughout the week to keep reminding you to sew up your P4P contest entries AND to help you plan your new sewing room or your sewing space makeover!

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