DIY Reading Pillow - Free Sewing Tutorial

As a child, my mother always encouraged me to read and have an interest in books.  Growing up, reading was one of my favorite hobbies and I could read an entire Goosebumps or Animorphs book in a day.  I knew when I had children that I wanted them to love reading too.  Thankfully my children take after me and they love to read.  

My toddler loved her books so much that she would keep them in her bed and sleep with them.  It wasn't until I changed her bedding that I found the massive stash of books she stored in her pillowcase.  I tried to keep her from keeping books in her bed but it was a losing battle.  Keeping books in her bed wasn't an issue I wanted to fight about so I drafted a quick pattern to make reading pillows with a pocket for her to store her books.  

   

To make your own reading pillow, here are the supplies you'll need:   

• 1 yard of 44" wide fabric
• 3/4 yard of fusible fleece
• Fabric scissors or a rotary cutter
• Sewing pins
• Sewing machine
• Coordinating thread
• Acrylic ruler
• Cutting mat
• Iron
• Ironing board
• Hem guide
• 16" x 16" pillow form

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Pro tip: Wash your fabric before you cut your pattern pieces.

After you washed your fabric, you'll cut out the following pattern pieces.

To watch how I sewed the pillow you can watch my YouTube tutorial, which repeats the information provided in this blog post and shows you the step by step how to make your own reading pillow.

If you use this tutorial, don't forget to share your creations @diywithashley

Thanks for stopping by!!!

DIY Makeup Brush Travel Holder

Last-minute before my trip to NYC I decided that I needed a makeup brush holder so my brushes wouldn't get damaged.  I didn't have time to shop around or go look for fabric so I used scraps from a dress project.     

This is a beginner-friendly project that you can easily sew in an hour!  You can easily use this tutorial to make a pencil roll if you're an artist or you have a mini artist in your life.

To get started, here are the supplies you'll need:

•      ½ yard to 1 yard of remnant fabric
•       1⅔yards of lace
•       round template
•       sewing pins
•       hem guide
•       scissors or a rotary cutter
•       matching thread
•       an acrylic ruler and cutting mat
•       iron and ironing board
•       fabric marker
•       and a sewing machine

Next, you'll need to cut the following pattern pieces out of the fabric of your choice.

After you cut your pattern piece, watch my YouTube tutorial to see how to sew your makeup brush roll:

Thank you for stopping by!!!!!  

XOXO,

 Ashley

DIY Fabric Clutch Bag

*This post contains affiliate links*

I am very excited to share this tutorial with you all!!!  This tutorial was inspired by one of my YouTube viewers.  They followed my Trick-or-Treat bag tutorial and had leftover fabric so they asked me to make a tutorial on how to make a bag with the leftover fabric scraps. 

In this post you'll find your supply list, the measurements for your fabric pieces and the link to the YouTube tutorial as well.  The YouTube video below will show you step by step how I constructed the bag.

Supply List:

*All the supplies for this tutorial can be purchase at:

• Medium to Heavy Weight Fusible Fleece Interfacing
• 1/2 yard of fabric 
• Rotary Cutter or Fabric Shears
• Craft Scissors
• Sewing Pins
• Acrylic Ruler
• 6" inches of Double Fold Bias Tape (coordinating color)
• Cutting Mat
• Decorative Button
• Coordinating Thread
• Sewing Machine
• Iron and Ironing Board
• Hand Sewing Needle

Cutting Your Fabric:

Sewing the Clutch:

Happy Sewing!!

Love,

Ashley

DIY Fabric Headband

Recently my friend asked me to make her daughter a fabric headband to match a skirt I made her.  I tried to find tutorials that showed an all fabric and elastic headband but I didn't have any luck so I decided to make my own tutorial.

To make your own fabric headband you'll need:

1. 3/8 yard of cotton fabric
2. cloth measuring tape
3. 1/2" inch wide elastic
4. a cutting mat
5. an acrylic ruler
6. a rotary cutter or fabric shears
7. craft scissors
8. sewing pins
9. coordinating thread
10. a sewing machine

Pattern Instructions:

• Length measurement = circumference of head + 8.5" inches
• Width measurement = 1.5" inches wide

To watch how I made the headband, click the YouTube video below:

Happy Sewing!!!!

Love,

Ashley

Sweetheart Halter Pattern Review

*This post contains affiliate links.  Also, I made this 8 months ago.*

When I bought the Sweetheart Halter pattern, I was a little disappointed that it didn't have actual pattern pieces...Although it's not difficult to cut out rectangles and squares, I am lazy.  This pattern sat in my pattern stash for a year before I finally decided to use it.  It was quick and easy to assemble this top and the pattern mixing options are limitless.  I wanted to make a girly Army inspired top for Violet and I think I nailed it!  She loves it because it's like Daddy's uniform and because Mommy tells her how cute she looks in the top.

I followed all of the instructions in the pattern except for making bias tape for the tie.  I didn't want to use up a lot of fabric so I just cut small strips and sewed them together.  The top looks fine to me and I have enough fabric to make something for Nik.  

I cut this out in a size 3T so it would last more than one summer.  The back drooped a little but the top fit pretty well.  I can't wait to make more of these tops next summer!