Blog — Pin Cut Sew Studio

As you may know, I spent a few years teaching kids sewing camps and classes. In total, I had around 80 children come through my sewing studio and finish countless projects successfully, so it's about time I share some tips with you. If you want to help the kids in your life learn to sew, whether they’re your own children, or you want to start teaching sewing classes, these tips for sewing with kids are for you. I’ll recommend the best sewing machine for kids, tell you what other supplies you’ll need, plus I’ll help you learn to just chill and let them sew, ha!

And, if you’re a parent who does not yet know how to sew, but your kids want to learn, this post will set you up for success so you can start sewing right along with them! If this inspires you and you want even more on this topic, I have another post here with all the content I’ve written about sewing with kids, including lots of project ideas.

sewing for kids, tips and tricksNikki SchreinerNovember 9, 2021 Comment

Tips for Buying Your First Sewing Machine & My Recommendations for 2021

I have gotten asked so many times for advice on buying your first sewing machine that I should probably save my answer in a note or something so I can copy and paste it, ha!

I do have a few solid pieces of advice that I always give when someone is looking to buy their first sewing machine, or which sewing machine to buy for kids or a for a beginner, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to put all that advice here in a blog post.

sewing room, sewing tools, tips and tricksNikki SchreinerNovember 8, 2021 Comments

Quilted Christmas Stocking and Stocking Name Tag Patterns

I added TWO new sewing patterns to the shop this week! Learn to sew simple and modern quilted Christmas stockings AND the cutest little personalized stocking name tags (or reusable gift tags!) with this new set of sewing patterns. Even if you’ve never quilted before, you can absolutely make these sweet stockings. I try very hard to make sure my patterns are beginner friendly and these two are no exception. I’m so excited to share with you this great new duo of patterns for your Christmas sewing and I hope it will add some handmade cheer to your holiday decor!

Christmas, home decor, quilting, pattern shopNikki SchreinerNovember 3, 2021Comment

10 Sewing Tools on My Christmas Wishlist This Year

Christmas is coming like a freight train! It feels that way to me every year, but this year, since we’re being encouraged to shop earlier than usual, I feel like we’re breezing past the Fall holidays and going straight into Christmas.

Like many married couples, our custom is to give each other a wishlist, making it easy to buy what the other wants. My wishlist lives on Amazon and it’s called Nikki’s Christmas wishes (can’t make it much easier than that.) I update this list each year around this time and I’m always excited to see which things he chooses! Of course, he always adds a few surprises, which is fun too.

gift guide, sewing room, sewing toolsNikki SchreinerOctober 28, 2021Comment

New! Coffee Shop Ornaments, a PDF Sewing Pattern

I’ll tell you what, I’ve been siting on the idea for little handmade coffee cup Christmas ornaments for a long time! I decided this was the year and I finally did it. Not just a coffee ornament, though! This new PDF sewing pattern can be made into a DIY matcha ornament, a pink drink, a Frappuccino, whatever your drink of choice!

Christmas, pattern shopNikki SchreinerOctober 20, 2021Comment

Sew for Baby Pattern Bundle

I just wanted to jump in here and let you know that I’ve been quite busy in the Pin Cut Sew Pattern Shop and I’ve bundled together some like patterns in order to make it more convenient for you!

The Sew for Baby pattern bundle includes four beginner friendly sewing tutorials for baby items: a reversible baby bib you can make to fit any size baby, easy burp cloths, a ribbon tag baby blanket, and baby hats with top knots or bear ears.

sewing for baby, pattern shopNikki SchreinerOctober 13, 2021Comment

How to Sew Easy Pot Holders with Hand Pockets

I’m reviving a tutorial from my old blog for these handy, easy to sew DIY pot holder mitts. I sewed a bunch of these up for Christmas that year, so I tried to create a design that was easy to mass produce — no fussy bindings or anything like that! I think it would be fun to whip up another batch this many years later, to gift to my current local friends, which is why I went looking for my old tutorial!

I love this style of pot holder in particular because it has pockets for your hands, so you’re not in as much danger of burning yourself as you are when using a basic square pot holder. Also, when cooking with kids, these mitts are great because they can grasp pans more easily that when wearing huge, clunky oven mitts!

tutorial, gifts, home decor, pattern shopNikki SchreinerOctober 11, 2021 Comment

5 Tips for Costume Sewing (and how to do it on the CHEAP)

It’s no secret around here that I looooove costume sewing! I’ve been making DIY Halloween costumes since my kids were little tykes and I’ve shared pretty much all of them here with you over the years. But today I wanted to share some tips and tricks for sewing Halloween costumes that I’ve picked up that have made costume sewing both easier and cheaper. You CAN DIY your kids’ costumes, and your own too!

If you want to DIY some home made costumes this year, but don’t know where to start, how to find costume fabrics, how to do it frugally, or how to find patterns for that obscure cartoon character your kid wants to be — you’re in the right place!

I’ve been having some fun over on my YouTube channel lately, so in addition to writing these tips here, I created a video with my costume sewing tips too! Enjoy :)

costumes, Fall, Halloween, tips and tricksNikki SchreinerOctober 5, 2021 Comment

How to Sew a Baby Hat, 3 Ways! A Beginner-Friendly Tutorial

I set out to create a truly simple, easy, fast baby hat pattern and I think I’ve succeeded! Learn to sew these cute knotted baby hats or hat with adorable bear ears with this beginner friendly video tutorial. These baby hats are sewn with soft stretch knit fabrics and can even be made with t-shirts from your giveaway pile as a frugal option.

sewing for baby, free pattern, pattern shopNikki SchreinerSeptember 27, 2021 Comments

How to Sew Simple Baby Burp Cloths: A Video Tutorial

My husband has a few coworkers who have recently become parents and he asked I'd like to make them some little baby shower gifts. He suggested burp rags and although I made many of these when my own kids were babies, I've never made a tutorial for them. So here we are! How to sew easy baby burp cloths: a totally beginner friendly tutorial.

I realize this is a very simple project that most people can figure out on their own, but I wanted to create this easy sewing tutorial for those who may not really know where to start. In fact, this would be a great first sewing project for someone just getting started! We'll cover the best fabrics to choose for burp rags, whether or not to line it for extra absorbency, and what size to make them.

sewing for baby, tutorialNikki SchreinerSeptember 24, 2021Comment

Secrets to Fabric Shopping at Hobby Lobby: Updated for 2021!

If you’ve been following along with me here or on Instagram for a length of time, you’ll have noticed how many of my fabrics I get from Hobby Lobby. I am lucky to live very near to one currently, which hasn’t always been the case for me, and may not be in the future, but I’m thankful for it now! Not only is JoAnn not as conveniently located for me, I almost always leave there frustrated, so I rarely ever go. Hobby Lobby, on the other hand, I have had great success with for fabric shopping! Hobby Lobby sells such nice fabrics and I’m willing to bet they have way variety than you think!

sewing room, sewing tools, tips and tricksNikki SchreinerSeptember 20, 2021 Comments

Sewing Ballet Costumes: Patterns & Resources

If you’ve been following along on Instagram, you’ll know that I’ve recently been tasked by my daughter’s ballet studio with sewing a new solo costume for the part of Dove of Peace for this year’s Nutcracker. My 16-year-old daughter Natalie will be dancing the part this year, so I was VERY excited to say yes!

The studio owner pretty much gave us creative license, but definitely wanted it to use a white platter tutu, for which we can make an overlay. Then Natalie and I could decide what to do for the top. We spent the entire drive home that night talking about our ideas and came up with a plan. So fun!

costumes, fashion sewingNikki SchreinerSeptember 15, 2021 Comment

Latest in Tutorials

Latest in Quilting

Latest in Tips & Tricks

All Blog Posts