Sewing Tutorials

We’re Going ‘Wild’ Over this DIY Baby Tee How-To | Video Tutorial

June 13, 2017

Hello, fabric friends! Looking for an adorable and easy project that’s perfect for a weeknight? We love these DIY baby tees–they’re so quick you can knock out a bunch for gifts or outfit your kids in totally custom me-made wardrobes. And, as an added bonus, you can make one baby tee with just a fat quarter of fabric. Ready to get started? Grab your organic cotton knit fat quarter and some supplies and let’s jump right in!

If you’re more of a visual learner, Click here to jump down to the video. featuring Spoonflower ops superstar Tim. [Read more…] about We’re Going ‘Wild’ Over this DIY Baby Tee How-To | Video Tutorial

The Sprout Patterns Dress We Can’t Stop Making

June 6, 2017

Have you ever found a sewing pattern that you’ve fallen in love with and can’t help but make time after time? When you open your closet, do you see that specific pattern taking over your wardrobe until you realize you now have six versions of the same project? Spoonflower team member Meredith shares the Sprout Patterns project that’s taking over her closet: the Kielo Wrap Dress by Named Clothing. Keep reading to learn how she used the Sprout Patterns’ color coordinating tool to take her staple dress to the next level!

Kielo Wrap Dress in tribal jungle 2 by Laura_May_Designs

The Kielo Wrap Dress takes a tropical twist with “tribal jungle 2” by Laura_May_Designs

A Personalized Gift for Teachers: Kids’ Art Cheater Quilt

May 16, 2017

Have you found yourself looking at the calendar asking, “Where did the school year go”? With summer quickly approaching, students are counting down the days until the last school bell of the year, while teachers are reflecting on the leaps & bounds made throughout the year (ok… they may also be thinking about that last bell too!) Need a little help dreaming up a thoughtful end-of-year gift for your child’s teacher? Spoonflower team member Meredith demonstrates how to make a personalized cheater quilt for approximately $50 using student artwork and Spoonflower’s newest feature, Fill-A-Yard™.

Create a personalized end of year gift for your child's teacher

A personalized Fill-a-Project™ cheater quilt is a great way to thank a teacher this year! Border design by Little Arrow Design

Students’ artwork and a personalized quote make a great end-of-year teacher gift

Your Guide to Sewing The Perfect Curtains

May 9, 2017

If you’re just starting out with sewing, one of the best projects to tackle first is curtains. With just a few straight seams, you’ll make a huge impact and learn a few key basics. Plus, it’s something you get to enjoy every day in your home, out in the open for guaranteed “oooo” and “you made those???!” remarks. Grab your iron, sewing machine and scissors as former Spoonflower staffer Theresa takes you through each and every step to sewing the perfect curtains.

Birch, please! Curtain fabric design by Willowlanetextiles.

The DIY Leggings you NEED this Summer | Video Tutorial

April 25, 2017

Spoonflower has joined with Sprout Patterns again to show you how to stitch up a stretchy, sporty pair of leggings just in time for warm weather. The Sloan Leggings are comfy, stylish, and equally perfect for trail running and running errands. The pattern is for a simple well-fitting pair of leggings, with multiple lengths and a key pocket. Learn more (and get creating!) here. Choose your favorite Spoonflower design, create your leggings, and follow along with the video below. You’ll be comfortably stretching and lunging–or just hanging out with friends–in no time. Let’s get started!

If you liked this video, click the link below to subscribe to our Youtube channel for more DIY sewing and design tutorials!

Celebrate Earth Day with Our Most Eco-Friendly Fabric

April 21, 2017

Earlier this week we shared the different ways Earth Day is celebrated throughout the year at the Spoonflower HQ. Whether we’re composting our lunches, tending to the employee garden, or diverting more than 2,000 pounds of waste from the landfill to our compost, we’ve embraced the importance of protecting our mother earth. Now it’s your turn!

Show us how you’re celebrating Earth Day :

Snap a pic of your Spoonflower Eco Canvas project and tag your Instagram photo with @spoonflower and hashtag #SpoonflowerEarthDay2017 by 10 a.m EDT April 24th.
For every Instagram photo shared with our Earth Day hashtag, we’ll donate $1 to Recycle Across America.
One lucky person will win 2 yards of Eco Canvas featuring their favorite Marketplace design

Raglan T-shirt Refashion: DIY Raglan tee [VIDEO]

April 5, 2017

Our favorite DIY projects transform plain, tired garments into one of a kind works of art (inexpensively!) by adding a pop of colorful pattern. This raglan t-shirt refashion is exactly that type of project. We love raglan tees–they bridge the seasonal gap between summer and fall seamlessly, giving you more coverage and a classic, Americana look. Since we’re using a regular old cotton crewneck t-shirt (bonus points for thrifting it), this project is fast AND inexpensive. Click here to jump down to the video. Let’s get started!

Here are the materials you’ll need:

Crewneck t-shirt
One yard of a stretchy knit fabric (Modern Jersey, Cotton Spandex Jersey, or Organic Cotton Knit are great choices – choose a fabric similar in weight to your t-shirt). We’re using Crazy about Hats by Mariskadesign in Modern Jersey.
A raglan t-shirt pattern (We’re using the pattern from It’s Always Autumn–It’s free and comes with different sleeve lengths!)
Sewing machine w/ a zigzag stitch or a serger

Prep your t-shirt

Start by cutting out the neckline out of your T-shirt and set it aside – you’ll need this again later.

How to Create the Chocolate Milk Tent of Your Kid’s Dreams

April 4, 2017

Every kid deserves an after school (re)treat where they can hideaway. This one is next-level! One of our favorite projects featured in the first-ever catalog is SammyK’s chocolate milk tent, which she dreamed up just for us. The fabric is designed in eight 1 yard panels with assembly instructions included. You can shop the fabric here (we recommend choosing our Lightweight Cotton Twill, shown in this example), then follow along with our tutorial below, written by our talented friend Samarra Khaja herself. We won’t blame you if you end up using this more than your kids do…

Samarra: Hey, hey, fine crafty peeps! SammyK (aka Samarra Khaja) here with a fun new project I dreamt up especially for you (fine, fine, technically for the “kids” in your life, but you know you’re going to want one too. I know I do.) So without further ado, here are the sewing and assembly instructions for my SK-original Chocolate Milk Tent:

Step 1: Receive your festive Spoonflower package in the mail and stare at that stack of fabric goodness for a few moments before tearing into it. I like to take dreamy photos like this one first, before busting through the tissue paper to get to the heart of the matter.

Step 2: Cut out all panels along printed edges. Note that all seam allowances are 1” unless noted (this will give enough room to use French seams, if you want to rock fancy stuff like that.) Seam allowances are built into the design area, so just cut away all excess white fabric and your pieces will be ready to sew.

chocolate milk tent fabric by SammyK available on Spoonflower

Step 3: With wrong sides together, pin Panel A to Panel B along Line 1 (as marked). Straight stitch along Line 1.

Step 4: With wrong sides together, pin Panel B to Panel C along Line 2 (as marked). Straight stitch along Line 2.

Step 5: We’ll now call this assembled A+B+C panel the Left Side Panel. Set aside.

chocolate milk tent fabric by SammyK available on Spoonflower left side panel

Step 6: With wrong sides together, pin Panel D to Panel E along Line 3 (as marked). Straight stitch along Line 3.

Step 7: With wrong sides together, pin Panel E to Panel F along Line 4 (as marked). Straight stitch along Line 4.

Step 8: We’ll now call this assembled D+E+F panel the Right Side Panel (with straw).

chocolate milk tent fabric by SammyK available on Spoonflower right side panel

Step 9: With wrong sides together, sew Left Side Panel to Right Side Panel along Line 5 (as marked). Note that this includes the top edge and both sides and curved corners of that topmost panel (as marked). We’ll now call this assembled panel the Center Panel. Set aside.

chocolate milk tent fabric by SammyK available on Spoonflower center panel

Step 10: The right side of Panel G and the left side of Panel H will now need to be hemmed. Using an iron, fold edge of Panel G’s hem (as marked) in ½” and iron flat.

chocolate milk tent fabric by SammyK available on Spoonflower hemming

Step 11: Fold hem over again another ½” to encase raw edge. Iron flat, pin and hem in place.

chocolate milk tent fabric by SammyK available on Spoonflower second hem

Step 12: Repeat this step with Panel H. Once hemmed and sewed, iron them again to set the stitches.

Step 13: Position Panels G and H so they overlap along inner hems (as marked) so that the striped pattern visually aligns seamlessly. Pin together. Starting at the top edge, stitch a rectanglular box over the overlapping fabric, measuring approximately 1.5” wide by 6.5” tall to secure the panels together.

Step 14: With wrong sides together, sew the top edge of assembled Panel G/H to Panel I along Line 6 (as marked). We’ll now call this assembled panel the Front Panel. Set aside.

chocolate milk tent fabric by SammyK available on Spoonflower front panel

Step 15: With wrong sides together, sew Panel J to Panel K along Line 7. We’ll now call this assembled panel the Back Panel.

chocolate milk tent fabric by SammyK available on Spoonflower back panel

Step 16: With reverse side facing out, place the Center Panel over your tent frame structure. Directions on how to create the tent frame structure can be found here.

Step 17: Pin the Back Panel, reverse side out, to the back of the Center Panel.

Step 18: Pin the Front Panel, reverse side out, to the front of the Center Panel.

Step 19: Remove entire cover from tent frame structure and sew both the Front Panel and Back Panel in place. Your tent cover is almost complete! The anticipation is IMMENSE!

Step 20: We are now going to hem the entire bottom edge of the newly assembled tent cover.

Step 21: Using an iron to press everything in place, fold up ½” all the way around and then another ½” to encase the raw fabric edge. Pin in if needed. Hem in place.

Step 22. Flip tent cover right side out and iron flat. Slip tent cover over your tent frame, aligning all corners and edges.

Step 23: Using ½” thick foam core, cut a rectangle out that measures 6” x 47.25”. Cut off top two corners at a 45-degree angle.*

23. Insert this foam core board into the inside of the center top of the tent roof (what were original Panels C/F and now look like the topmost edge of a cardboard milk carton). Make sure it rests on the top center PVC pole of the roof. If you’d like, secure the foam core to the topmost horizontal pole with masking tape for added rigidity.

24. Crawl inside tent and enjoy a celebratory chocolate chip cookie in honor of your newly completed Chocolate Milk Tent…after the kids enjoy it first!!! Yay!

xo Samarra

finished chocolate milk tent

About Our Guest Blogger

Samarra Khaja makes happy, beautiful things, inspired by her love of travel, local markets, food and culture, and her young sons.

The daughter of an Indian architect and an Australian painter, Samarra got hooked on making interesting things when she was still a kid, raiding her parent’s high quality art supplies.

She studied for her masters in photography and moved to New York City to work across disciplines as a graphic designer, art director, illustrator and photographer for the likes of The New York Times, the Guggenheim, Bliss, Time Magazine, Victoria’s Secret and Cirque du Soleil, all in her signature whimsical style.

She’s been published and exhibited worldwide and won several awards, but gets the biggest kick from seeing her prize-winning 24’ x 120‘ mural, “Heartbeat Brooklyn” featuring a smiling clawfoot bathtub, bagels on a rollercoaster, and hot-dogs on a ferris wheel, all frolicking and untouched by graffiti on the side of Lowe’s Brooklyn store. Check out Samarra’s latest Skillshare class on how to design surface patterns like a pro.

How to Sew the Perfect Summer Tank Top | Video Tutorial

March 22, 2017

Today we’re going to show you how to sew a custom tank top using a yard of Spoonflower’s Modern Jersey (or something else stretchy) and the easiest pattern around… tracing your favorite tank top! Making your own tank tops is so fun and easy that once you know how you’ll never buy them from a store again. So go rummage through your drawers and find a well-loved tank top…we’re about to make something awesome! And don’t forget to subscribe to our Youtube channel for more DIY sewing and design tutorials!

Learn to Make a DIY Cosmic Diaper Bag with this Easy Zipper Hack

March 14, 2017

Spoonflower’s new Lightweight Cotton Twill is an absolute dream to work with. The weight is the perfect go-to for a multitude of projects, especially totes! The combination of this easy to work with material and its tough weave will ensure that you’ll end up with something that will not just look amazing, but wear well. In this tutorial, Gia from the blog Sew Gratitude will to take you through a simple “hack” using the Lightweight Cotton Twill and an Everyday Tote project from Sprout Patterns. Each Everyday Tote is printed to order on a full length of twill. Which means once you cut out and prep your tote you’ll have a HEALTHY chunk of fabric leftover to work with, almost 400 square inches worth! It’s an amazing deal to have the leftovers to coordinate. Without further ado, let’s jump into the how-to!

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Sewing Tutorials

Show us how you’re celebrating Earth Day :

Here are the materials you’ll need:

Prep your t-shirt

About Our Guest Blogger