Make maker story and how I earned a quarter million dollars sewing and selling on Etsy

Posted on by SewSpire

Many thanks to the Cabin Branch Quilters of Woodbridge, Virginia for inviting me to share my entrepreneurial journey and maker story at their June 18, 2018 meeting.

I hope you enjoy this recording of my talk and will be inspired to pursue your dream(s)!

For more information about my work please visit:

Sewing and creative inspiration: www.sewspire.com
Mentorship for the handmade entrepreneur: www.thefourthseam.com
Custom camera bags and strap covers: www.etsy.com/shop/watermelonwishes.com

To schedule a speaking engagement and/or discuss the possibility of a creative collaboration, please email Andrea Chapman at watermelonwishes@me.com

How to sew a Classic Ticking Apron

How to sew a Classic Ticking Apron

Posted on by SewSpire

Hey y’all and welcome to Sewspire!

Today I am here to show you how to sew a Classic Ticking Apron. I love this style of apron because it is unisex and offers a full length front pocket for the cell phone, clean utensils and hand towel.

This particular apron makes a lovely Father’s Day, Wedding or Housewarming gift and could easily be personalized with a name or monogram on the chest.

For this project you will need 1.5 yards of cotton 44″ wide ticking material.

Precut the fabric to the following dimensions:

Body, cut one, 28″ wide by 38″ long

Straps, cut two, 5″ wide by 44″ long

Pocket, cut one, 21″ wide by 12″ tall

In addition to one 1″ tri-glide or two 1″ d-rings (1.5″ size will work too!)

I hope you enjoy the tutorial and will share photos of your finished aprons with me on Instagram and Facebook.

Ashley and I will be live on YouTube Tuesday, June 19, 2018 at 10 a.m. please join us!

Until we meet again, the creative genius in me will be celebrating the creative genius in you!

XO,
Andrea

Sewspire Sewing Studio Update, Thursday, June 14, 2018

Sewspire Sewing Studio Update, Thursday, June 14, 2018

Posted on by SewSpire

Hey y’all and welcome to Sewspire!

In this week’s studio update we are preparing for my first public speech, sharing the milestones of my entrepreneurial journey, previewing the classic ticking apron that we’ll be making on Saturday, demonstrating how to cut large pieces of fabric and how to create a fat corner and a boxed corner without bunching.

SEWSPIRE GROUP FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/183488042371692/

THIS WEEK’S BEHIND THE SEAMS: https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=97b8cd91b8

THIS WEEK’S LIVE STREAM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu6r4XpiuDI

ULTIMATE REUSABLE GROCERY SHOPPING TOTE BAG TUTORIAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZGGi5vt4QU&t=913s

HAPPY MAIL: http://sewspire.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=f5af97927c

DESIGN WORKSHOP PRE-REGISTRATION: https://sewspire.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=4b09685e75

Please join us on Tuesday’s at 10 a.m. (E.S.T.) for our live stream Q & A session and our new Sewspire tradition, #whatisinyourmug. Please send your questions in advance to sewinginspiration@gmail.com or tune into the live stream to chat in real time with the Sewspire community.

Xoxo,

Andrea

How to sew the Ultimate Reusable Grocery Shopping Tote Bag by Sewspire

How to sew the Ultimate Reusable Grocery Shopping Tote Bag by Sewspire

Posted on by SewSpire

Hey y’all and welcome to Sewspire!

Today I am here to show you how to sew The Ultimate Grocery Shopping Tote Bag.

For this project you are going to precut the following fabric pieces:

Handles: 5″ x 28″ (cut two and line with Pellon 809 Decor Bond)
Body: 24″ x 40″ (cut two and line one with Pellon 809 Decor Bond)
Interior Dividers: 24″ x 20″ (cut two)
Base: 9″ x 36″ (cut one)
Pellon Flex Foam 77 Base Insert: 8″ x 15″ (cut one)

Approximate finished measurements of the bag:

8″ deep
14″ tall
14″ across the base

11″ handle drop

Suggested yardage: 1 yard of the exterior and 1.5 yards of the interior: total 2.5 yards.

I hope you enjoy the project and will share photos of your finished bags with us on Instagram and Facebook.

SEWSPIRE GROUP FACEBOOK PAGE: https://www.facebook.com/groups/183488042371692/

THIS WEEK’S BEHIND THE SEAMS: https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=3d8135a717

THIS WEEK’S LIVE STREAM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFtX358jCSQ&t=25s

KEY FOB TUTORIAL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U1TxXaVbYI&t=1s

HAPPY MAIL: http://sewspire.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=f5af97927c

DESIGN WORKSHOP PRE-REGISTRATION: https://sewspire.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=4b09685e75

Please join us on Tuesday’s at 10 a.m. (E.S.T.) for our live stream Q & A session and our new Sewspire tradition, #whatisinyourmug. Please send your questions in advance to sewinginspiration@gmail.com or tune into the live stream to chat in real time with the Sewspire community.

Xoxo,

Andrea

Sewspire Studio Update, Thursday, June 7, 2018

Sewspire Studio Update, Thursday, June 7, 2018

Posted on by SewSpire

Hey y’all and welcome to Sewspire!

In this week’s studio update we are offering a tour of the studio with a focus on organization, talking about the yoga bag remake, the upcoming design workshop series and previewing Saturday’s planned sewing tutorial.

SEWSPIRE GROUP FACEBOOK PAGE:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/183488042371692/

THIS WEEK’S BEHIND THE SEAMS:

https://us11.campaign-archive.com/?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=3d8135a717

THIS WEEK’S LIVE STREAM:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFtX358jCSQ&t=25s

KEY FOB TUTORIAL:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9U1TxXaVbYI&t=1s

HAPPY MAIL:

http://sewspire.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=f5af97927c

DESIGN WORKSHOP PRE-REGISTRATION:

https://sewspire.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=4b09685e75

Please join us on Tuesdays at 10 a.m. (E.S.T.) for our live stream Q & A session and our new Sewspire tradition, #whatisinyourmug. Please send your questions in advance to sewinginspiration@gmail.com or tune into the live stream to chat in real time with the Sewspire community.

Xoxo,

Andrea

How to sew a Market Tote Bag with button tab closure by Sewspire.com

How to sew a Market Tote Bag with button tab closure by Sewspire.com

Posted on by SewSpire

Hey y’all and welcome to Sewspire!

I am here today to show you how to sew my version of The Market Tote. For this project you will need approximately 3 yards of fabric, a 1.5″ swivel key fob and an oversized fabric covered button kit, plus 3/4 yard of quilt batting.

To begin, precut the following fabric panels:

For the body, cut four 18″ x 15″ panels and two like size pieces of batting.

For the exterior pockets, cut two 18″ x 12″ panels.

For the handles, cut two 6″ x 24″ panels and two 3″ x 20″ strips of batting.

For the interior pockets, cut two 9″ x 18″ panels.

For the key fob, cut one 6″ x 9″ panel.

For the button, cut one 3″ x 3″ panel.

For the button tab closure, cut one 12″ x 3″ panel.

I hope you enjoy the project and will share photos of your finished Market Tote with me on Facebook and Instagram using #sewspire.

I will be back soon with another inspired sewing project. Until then, please know the creative genius in me will be celebrating the creative genius in you.

XO,
Andrea

Studio Update, May 23, 2018

Posted on by SewSpire

Hey y’all and welcome to Sewspire!

In this week’s studio update I am introducing my eldest daughter and summer intern, Ashley.

We’ve planned a fun filled ten weeks and are excited to share the details with you!

Highlights of the master plan include a weekly live stream every Tuesday at 10 a.m. EST, in addition to the weekly vlog scheduled for Thursday and our regular Saturday Sewing Session you can watch for our newsletter “Behind the Seams” to arrive in your inbox on Wednesday.

For those of you that would like to send a greeting card and receive a greeting card, the studio mailing address is: P.O. Box 427 The Plains, Virginia 20198

To ensure you receive the next issue of Behind the Seams please verify you have added your name to our mailing list:

http://sewspire.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=d91a957cb9

To register for Happy Mail drawings enter your info here:

http://sewspire.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=9ee364d60da52e094f8a423c1&id=f5af97927c

We’ll see you quick this Friday for our live stream test and then again on Tuesday at 10 a.m. for our first live stream Q & A event. If you can’t tune in; but, would like to submit a question and watch later please send an email to sewinginspiration@gmail.com and we will add you to the list.

Until then, please know the creative genius in me will be celebrating the creative genius in you!

XO,
Andrea

Sewspire Sewing Studio Update for Friday, May 11, 2018

Sewspire Sewing Studio Update for Friday, May 11, 2018

Posted on by SewSpire

Hey y’all and welcome to the Sewspire Sewing Studio Update for Friday, May 11th!

In this weeks vlog I am sharing some happy news that will benefit us all, announcing the winner of our first ever Design Challenge, talking fabric storage, sharing five of my favorite bag designs from the Watermelon Wishes vault and launching a new Sewspire Group page whereby we can easily collaborate on future tutorials and share pictures of our Sewspire sewing projects. I will be back soon with another studio update and sewing tutorial. Until then, please know the creative genius in me will be celebrating the creative genius in you! 

XO,

Andrea 

How to sew a large purse tote bag organizer

How to sew a large purse tote bag organizer

Posted on by SewSpire

Hey y’all and welcome to Sewspire! 

Today I am here to show you how to sew a large purse / tote bag organizer / insert with a two way divided interior compartment and ten exterior pockets.

The finished organizer measures approximately 8″ tall by 14″ across the base and top and has a depth of 5″. The double handles are side positioned to accommodate extra heavy loads.

For this project you will need to precut the following pattern pieces:

Body Panels, cut 6, 16″ x 10″

Exterior Side Panels, cut 2, 6″ x 10″

Exterior Base Panel, cut 1, 6″ x 16″

Exterior Side Pockets, cut 4, 8″ x 6″

Exterior Front and Rear Pockets, cut 4, 24″ x 6″

Handles, cut 2, 6″ x 10″

Flaps, cut 4, 7″ x 14″

Interior Base Panels, cut 2, 4″ x 16″

Interior Side Panels, cut 4, 4″ x 10″

Additional supplies: two 16″ and 8″ cuts of 1/4 elastic and two 5″ pieces of sew in hook and loop tape

Use a 3/8″ seam allowance to sew interior seams

I hope you enjoy the project and will participate in our future collaborative tutorials. I will be back soon with another inspired project. Until then, please know the creative genius in me will be celebrating the creative genius in you!

XO,

Andrea