I hope you got to take look at the clothes I made with quilting cottons in Part 1 of this post and learned which patterns are best to pair with them. Now let's get to my top 5 tips for sewing with quilting cottons, interspersed with pics of these two adorable sets I made for sisters! Tip #1: Prewash. Many sewists don’t prewash their fabric. I think this is partly because ...
Read More
Quilting cottons are inexpensive as fabric goes, come in a huge variety of fun prints and colorful solids, and are very easy to sew. Don’t let the “quilting” part fool you - you can sew clothes with quilting cottons too! With some thoughtful pattern selection, you can have great results using quilting cottons for clothing. Obviously, don’t choose a pattern that needs stretch, because quilting cotton has none. Also, it has ...
Read More
You know that drawer you have in the kitchen with all the random stuff in it? Rubber bands, pens, stamps, coupons, playing cards ... ours also has a plastic baby from a King cake and a ball that looks like a bloodshot eye. Well this post is the kitchen drawer of the Cali blog today, a random assortment of goodies connected by nothing but the fact I made them recently ...
Read More
Typically when I think of fabric for children's clothing I tend to gravitate towards the ones that are low maintenance yet can stand up to some pretty tough play. Or maybe I'll select fancy fabric for those special occasion outfits that are only worn a handful of times because I don't want them to get ruined. Well, I think I may have found a fabric that falls smack dab in ...
Read More
Hi sewing friends! Lisa here from Tie Dye Diva patterns talking to you about the gorgeous color-changing sequin fabric known as two-tone, reversible, or flip sequins (or mermaid sequins as my daughter likes to call them!) If you “pet” them one way (and you will), they are one color, but brush them the other direction, they are a different color on the other side! You’re probably seen them in stores ...
Read More
Anyone else over the cold and dreaming of spring? Our winter here in Utah was unseasonable warm through most of January and February and I think Mother Nature is making up for it with snow storms and cold temps for the last two weeks. I'm so ready for sunshine and blossoms! To help beat those end of winter blues, I'm doing some transitional sewing with pieces that work well layered now ...
Read More
I love scouring fashion magazines and Pinterest as we head into a new season. I've been loving the huge embroidery trend and knew I wanted to incorporate it into my daughters fall wardrobe (I'm hoping to add some to mine too- can't let her have all the fun!). I hopped on Amazon and grabbed a bundle of embroidered flowers and then started brainstorming everything I was going to floral-fy! Jackets, ...
Read More
I'm a bit of a rebel when it comes to seasons and fabric. I probably should start sewing with all the heavier-weight fabrics that keep us warm as the weather cools down, but right now I find myself gravitating towards gorgeous, breezy cotton lawns and bright, candy colored spandex knits. Cali & Co. does not disappoint with their selection either! I had some pretty tough choices to make, but I'm ...
Read More
Can you believe these four cute looks are really only three garments? This mini "buh-bye-summer-hello-fall" capsule wardrobe is made with versatile fabrics and fun reversible patterns. The tee is one I made earlier, so by sewing only two more items - the Reversible Hoodie Vest Pattern and the So Flippin' Cute Skirt from Tie Dye Diva Patterns, I got multiple kid-approved looks while only sewing two things. Mom for the ...
Read More
Hi everyone! It's Gina here for Tie Dye Diva patterns. Today I want to share with you a beautiful dress that I made for my girl and wish I had for myself instead! As I was perusing Cali Fabrics the other day, because I never stop shopping for fabric, I was thrilled to see that they had Robert Kaufman's London Calling cotton lawns in a variety of prints. When my eyes ...
Read More