sewing with minky – Teresa Coates

25 May 2021

New Embroidery Designs + the Brumby Pouch

Before work and on the weekends, I’ve been collaborating on embroidery designs with my artist daughter and we finally (finally!) have a couple available! There are two versions: one pincushion with a happy little face and one pincushion with a strawberry. The images are her original artwork that I digitized and I’m pleased as punch with them!

I wanted a way to show off the design and decided I would do it on a bag of some type, so I started looking through patterns and found that I’d bought the Brumby Pouch pattern from Sew Sweetness and it was perfect. It’s part of her Minikins Season 3 package, a fab collection of 12 PDF patterns and videos that show you how to do each.

I have used Sew Sweetness patterns a few times over the years and I’m always impressed with her pattern writing and her attention to detail. There are some patterns that are “quick and easy” and that’s their selling point. The thing I love about Sara’s patterns is the fact that your finished bag is going to be well-crafted and beautifully finished. She gives little details and hints to make the most of the pattern and I have loved every bag I’ve made with her patterns. If you’re new to working with her patterns, read them carefully, watch the video and trust her. It will turn out great!

The pincushion appliqué was made with Cuddle® minky (shocking, I know!) and I love the way it turned out, so textural and fun. It is available now in the Etsy shop in DST EXP HUS JEF PES and VIP files. If you get it and use it, please tag me! I’d love to see what you do.

Happy sewing!

31 January 202124 February 2021

How to Make the Buddy Bear [Sew Together Tuesday]

This week on Sew Together Tuesday, we tackled stuffed animals again. The first we did was Ellie the Elephant, a pattern from Funky Friends Factory. It’s a pattern I’ve taught quite a few times (and made at least a dozen of them), but it’s more complicated than some beginners might want to take on. The Buddy Bear from Melly & Me, on the other hand, is perfect if you haven’t really sewn stuffies or are new to sewing with Cuddle®.

29 November 2020

Making Pom Poms with Luxe Cuddle fabric

There are lots of tutorials for making pom-poms with yarn, but using plushfabric is a whole other look and is super sweet for all sorts of projects.

For this project, I used Luxe Cuddle Seal Snow, polyester thread, and a little hunk of Fairfield World’s Royal Silk stuffing for this one. I’ve also used Luxe Cuddle Sherpa and Luxe Cuddle Llama with good results. You can watch the video and/or follow the steps below:

Trace a 4″ circle on the wrong side of the fabric using a felt tip pen.
Cut out circle using short blade scissors or a sharp artist knife (such as the OLFA SAC-1).
Shake off the extra Cuddle dust. Give it a flick or two.
Using a long sewing needle and polyester thread, sew a basting stitch around the entire perimeter of the circle. Each stitch should be about 1/4″ long and 1/8″ to 1/4″ away from raw edge.
As you reach the end, pull the thread up a little and push in a handful of stuffing, then pull the thread up tight.
Holding it tightly, knot the end.
Take some big stitches across the end, forming an asterisk and pulling tightly, then knot at least twice. Push needle though the other side of the pom pom and clip thread.

I made three of these for our Sew Together Tuesday project: the Whimsy Winter Bench Pillow from Kimberbell Designs. It turned out pretty damn cute, if I do say so myself.

Give it a shot. Make some for your tree or as a garland–either would be super cute!

Happy sewing,

22 October 202028 October 2020

How to Sew a Cotton Binding on a Cuddle Blanket [Sew Together Tuesday]

This week we got to join forces with my friend Liz from Sew4Home.com and share a tutorial that she did on their site years ago. The Soft Elegance Big Bound Blanket originally used a fabric that Shannon Fabrics no longer makes, so I substituted in the Buffalo Check Cuddle. Combine that with Luxe Cuddle Sherpa and Carolyn Friedlander cotton… ooohh la la, you got a beaut.

13 October 202013 October 2020

How to Sew a Minky Binding [Sew Together Tuesday]

There are lots of things that intimidate sewists about working with Cuddle® minky, but I think the task that freaks people out the most is using it for quilt binding. It seems like a crazy idea at first, then you do it and see how great it looks and feels. Sorta like using it for quilt backings; once you try it, you’ll want to do with most of your quilts.

A few weeks ago, we tackled Cuddle® binding for our Sew Together Tuesday and if you’re thinking about doing it yourself, this is a good place to start. I show different Luxe Cuddle® fabrics and which work best for bindings, which stitches you might want to try and give some tool tips that can be helpful.

6 May 202013 October 2020

Sew Together Tuesday: Sleep Mask

Teresa wearing the sleep mask she designed

This week’s Sew Together Tuesday class we finally got to do a sleep mask. This is one of those ‘duh’ projects–of course you’d use Cuddle® minky for it–but I just hadn’t gotten around to designing one yet.

I drew up the pattern and made a second version where I added some cute eyelash appliqués, though that isn’t required to be effective. I just like adding a touch of cute when I can.

Happy sewing!