9
Aug

More Back to School Sewing

Back to School Free Sewing Projects, Tutorials and Patterns from The Cottage Mama

Can you believe that summer break is coming to an end in a few weeks and the kids will be heading back to school? Summer always seems like it’s going to be so long and then it flies by in a blink! We’ve already received our teacher assignments, so back to school is right around the corner! I wanted to share some sewing patterns that I think are really great for More Back to School Sewing. Maybe you want to make your little one, one special item for back to school or maybe you want to make them a whole bunch. Either way, this list will get you started!

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8
Aug

Another Pillowcase Dress for Africa

Pillowcase Dress Sewing Pattern from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

I have had this pillowcase dress hanging in my studio for a little while and realized I never took any pictures. So I snapped a few this weekend before I send it off to be donated. I loved creating those pillowcase dresses for Dresses for Africa a few months ago when I taught at Baby Lock Common Threads. The message of Dresses for Africa really spoke to me, so I decide to create another dress to send over there when this fabric arrived from Michael Miller Fabrics. These dresses are so quick to sew and really don’t take that much fabric. If you have an afternoon, you can make one of these special dresses, that will provide years of love and wear for a little girl in need. You can read more about Dresses for Africa in my previous post HERE.

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2
Aug

Apple Picking Bundle Box Pre-Order

Apple Picking Bundle Box Pre-Order from The Cottage Mama. www.thecottagemama.com

I’m excited to announce the Apple Picking Bundle Box Pre-Order now available over in The Cottage Mama Etsy shop! I know a lot of you were hoping to grab one of the first bundle boxes that sold out in under 4 minutes, so I’m please to offer you a new bundle box for this next month. Now, I’m still leaning towards doing a subscription service, but that is going to take my web developer a good amount of time to implement subscriptions onto the website incorporating all the features that I’m looking to have as part of that service.

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1
Aug

Old Vintage Sewing Book

Old Vintage Sewing Book from The Cottage Mama.

I have a thing for vintage related sewing and cooking items. I love old spools of thread, vintage patterns, vintage sewing kits, vintage notions, vintage cookbooks, vintage cookie cutters……..you name it, I love it! Now I haven’t gotten into collecting old sewing machines like a few of my friends, but I do think that those are a thing of beauty whenever I come across one in an antique store.

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25
Jul

Sold Out Bundle Boxes

The Cottage Mama Bundle Boxes. Sewing Fabric, Trim and Button Kits.

Sold Out Bundle Boxes

You guys……The Cottage Mama Bundle Boxes sold out in under 4 minutes! How did that happen?!?! When all those sold emails came into my inbox, I could hardly believe it! I wasn’t exactly sure how many boxes to put together. I knew I didn’t want to end up with too many left over, so I settled on 30 boxes. I figured that would be more than enough this first time. When I received the fabric yardage, I actually received less than I ordered (since these lines were pretty much sold out), so I was only able to do 26 boxes. But again, I figured that would be enough……wrong!! Who knew? I guess I should have planned for more…….

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18
Jul

Bundle Box ~ Fabric, Trim and Button Kits

The Cottage Mama Bundle Box. Fabric, Trim, Button and Thread Kits for Sewing!

The Cottage Mama Bundle Box

As a lot of you know, one of my favorite parts of the sewing process is selecting fabrics and trims for the different garments that I create. I love mixing and matching patterned patterned fabrics, using unique, classic trims and paying close attention to details down to the very last button.

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8
Jul

Happy 7th Birthday, Matilda!

Happy Birthday Matilda Jane! The Cottage Mama

Dear Matilda,

Happy Birthday sweet girl! Today you are 7 years old (which feels very weird to say)…….it seems hard to believe how quickly you are growing up. I know they say ‘the days are long and the years are short’, but it just seems like the years are getting shorter and shorter.

Here are 20 things that I would like to remember about you when you turned 7 years old and you might like to know about your 7 year old self……..

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13
Jun

Sewing Dresses for Africa

Pillowcase Dress by Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama.

Sewing Dresses for Africa

I just returned from one of my very favorite events of the year, Baby Lock Common Threads. Common Threads is an event for a fairly small group of people that are sponsored by Baby Lock Sewing and Embroidery Machines. It always feels like a family reunion because I consider these women a big part of my sewing family and it’s a thrill to get to see them at least one time a year and catch up with everyone. There are ladies from all aspects of the sewing industry……quilting, sewing, fashion, embroidery, home decor sewing and more!

Pillowcase Dress by Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama.

This time I had the pleasure of leading one of the three classes that was planned for the event. Each year we try to do some sort sewing for charity and this year we were dedicated to sewing dresses for the organization called ‘Dresses for Africa‘. You may or may not be familiar with this organization, but this is a group founded by Rachel O’Neill that sends dresses over to little girls that would otherwise have no clothes to wear. They focus their efforts on some things for boys and women as well, but the main focus is the little girls. Rachel flew in to speak to the group before we began the class and is was very impactful to hear her story. Their motto ‘We aren’t just sending dresses, we are sending HOPE!”….. really touches me.

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1
Jun

The Cottage Mama Fabric for Riley Blake Designs!

Dainty Darling Fabric Collection design by Lindsay Wilkes from The Cottage Mama for Riley Blake Designs.

I have an exciting announcement today!

Guess what? I am a new fabric designer for Riley Blake Designs!

I have been dying to share this news with you for months and now they finally said I could make the announcement since the fabric is on their website available for preorder for shops. I have toyed with the idea of creating a line of fabrics for a few years now since I released my book, but it just didn’t seem like the right time. I’m a firm believer in not rushing things and making sure that the business decisions I make are in line with what’s going on with our family first and foremost. But after we moved and got settled into our new home, I knew it was time and I got to work designing ‘Dainty Darling‘.

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26
May

DIY Framed Pegboard

DIY Framed Pegboard Tutorial. Sewing and Craft Room. The Cottage Mama.

I’ve been working on getting my sewing room all neat and organized since we moved into our new house last August. Seeing as though it is ‘my space’, it seems to have taken a back burner to all of the family spaces in the new house. There’s something so hard about committing to putting holes in the walls of freshly painted drywall. But I’ve gotten tired of not having my sewing room looking and feeling the way I wanted, so I’m slowly, but surely getting things up on the walls! I can’t wait to share my entire sewing room with you (if you’re following @thecottagemama on Instagram then you’ve seen some peeks), but it’s not completely ready yet for a full reveal.

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