One of my favorite "new baby traditions" is the practice of bringing the siblings of a new baby little gifts to also make them feel special. That is the idea behind our adorable Big Sister Dolly Quilt. We used the scraps from yesterday's Beautiful Baby Quilt to create a matching 14" x 18" blanket the perfect size for a doll bed. The center patchwork is made up of 2" x 2" squares, which were sized to be a perfect showcase for the pretty little motifs of our Cloud9 Maman fabric.

This handy little fella is modeled after the lanyards you often get at conferences or other events, in fact, you could certainly use it for that or to hold travel documents and ID. But it's also a perfect size to hold credit cards, cash, even your keys... all on a removable lanyard. The secret back pocket is held together with Velcro so nothing will tumble out. This is a great ScrapBusters project; you can mix and match the three fabrics needed to create just the right look. Choose a fabric combo that highlights the recipient's hobby or just his/her favorite colors. If you have an embroidery machine, add a special design or a monogram on the outside. Quick, easy and fun!

We took the idea of a traditional closet/drawer sachet and super-sized it as a Great-4-Guys Valentine's Day gift idea. You can make a simple pillow design or add a ribbon loop or ties so it can stash in the closet on the rod or a hanger. Our Valentine's love letter fabric is another one of the great Japanese Kokka designs, courtesy of Callie at CityCraft. It would be so sweet if you typed up an actual love letter and tucked it in with a box of these sachets! We filled ours with aromatic cedar shavings, which is another reason for the larger size. Plus... cedar is a better choice for most guys over the more common rose or lavender sachet scents.

Jazz up your jammie-time with these adorable sleep shorts. There's one pair for Him with a drawcord and pocket, and one pair for Her with kicky ruffles and a satin bow. We show you how to make a pattern using an existing pair of your favorite shorts. Super easy, super comfy and a super cute idea for Valentine's Day, especially in pretty pinks (remember... real guys can wear pink) and grays. We used a combination of fabrics from both Dena Designs and Robert Kaufman, courtesy of Fat Quarter Shop.

I don't know about you, but I always seem to have a cabinet full of plain glass flower vases. I can never remember exactly where they've all come from, but there they sit. I don't want to throw them out, but they seem to multiply like bunnies. So, here's a great Valentine's Day... or ANY day project to dress up your vases with a pretty fabric skirt. Turn them from kitchen cabinet dust collectors into bright and beautiful flower stem vessels. Our skirts are ruffled and be-ribboned for a pretty and playful feel -- perfect for simple Valentine bouquets of daisys or carnations. But just think of all the other options: satin and lace for roses or silk and voile for giant peony blooms. You could make a whole vase-skirt wardrobe... and empty a cabinet in the process!

Our cute quilted case is sized to hold everything from thin readers to designer sunglasses. Batting makes it soft, and the smooth cotton lining will help keep your lenses scratch-free. We added a perky ruffle to crank up the cute factor. Plus, there's a carabiner key clip so you have all the essentials at hand: glasses and keys; "I can see... I can drive. I'm ready to rumble!" We picked the pretty Oh La La fabric collection by Pillow & Maxfield in Red Petite Fluers and combined that with Dear Stella's J'Adore Stella Pink Sunburst Stripe. Two different designers but both with a French accent! Together they create a wonderful color and print combo for a lovely Valentine's Day gift.

One of our S4H New Year's resolutions is to experiment more with the wonderful variety of fabric types available. Called 'substrates' in the trade, this refers to the base fabric onto which the design is applied. For today's project, we've chosen two of Anna Maria Horner's gorgeous velveteens to create our fabulous scarf. What a great project to chase away the winter blues and still stay toasty warm. Ours is done in rich Valentine's Day colors and would make a lovely gift. No need for wrapping paper; simply tie the scarf itself into a big beautiful bow.

When we decided to call our website: Sew4Home, we liked it because "home" is a word that expands beyond the traditional elements of home décor pillows and linens to encompass so much more: the family within your home, the friends you welcome into your home, all the things both inside and out that make a house a home. Many times over the past months and years, we've brought you projects that fall into these special categories, including our Gypsy Romance tiered skirt that debuted in March of last year. Even when venturing into garments and other accessories, we still follow our goal to make everything as easy as possible. This skirt is rectangles gathered together and finished with a drawstring channel waist. Simple! As a "Re-imagine & Renovate" project, it's fun because you can experiment with everything from three casual organic cottons to three shimmering layers of silk. Since the "maxi" is back with a vengeance, our beautiful new batik version is long and lovely.

Cut-bind-stitch. Three steps and you have a wonderful accessory for yourself, a gift for a friend, or a dandy little craft fair/boutique item to sell. I'm a big fan of the eyeglass case because it's the best way I've found to keep track of my eyeglasses or sunglasses. Plus, it protects them when I need to toss a pair of into my bag. We added a cute dangling fob made of leather and beads. This tutorial is also a great way to practice your bias binding technique. We use packaged binding, and have lots of photos to show you how to go smoothly around the curved bottom and make pretty mitered corners.

This pretty kitty is ready to help with any wardrobe malfunctions that strike while you're away from your trusty sewing tools. We've all been there; it's always right before an important meeting or presentation, a strategic button falls off or a seam opens up. We created a small sewing kit that contains just what you need to fix nearly any disaster. And, since it's a hand sewing kit, we made ours a hand sewing project. All the pattern templates are available as a free download. Simply cut the pieces out of felt, and stitch them together with needle and embroidery floss. The kitty's happy face is lightly stuffed to create a built-in pincushion. This is also a perfect gift for the person in your life who's favorite garment repair tools are a stapler and Scotch Tape.

There are lots of patterns out there for reusable hot cup jackets, but none with our signature touch: the girly-girl ruffle! Skip that boring ol' cardboard sleeve and wake up your morning cup of coffee or tea with a fun and frilly custom jacket. Our instructions are for one jacket, but we ended up making three as we perfected the instructions. They are super fast and easy, and you can really get an assembly line going: cut-cut-cut, ruffle-ruffle-ruffle, stitch-stitch-stitch. These would be awesome for a craft fair or as an Etsy item.

In the world of design, a 'project board' is a very common, very important tool. It's used to collect pieces of inspiration, idea starters, color and texture samples and more. You refer to your project board throughout the creative process to determine direction and refine the look and feel of your design. It's a bulletin board for your brain. They are used by fashion designers, interior designers, fabric designers... and YOU! Our Half Moon Modern project board is bold and bright with a large center area to pin all your ideas plus two handy pockets to hold whatever else you need. The bright, happy colors of Moda's Half Moon Modern are an inspiration in and of themselves. We kept our project board purposefully sparse for our photo shoot so you could best see how it was constructed; they are usually chockfull with layers of great ideas.

We are nearing the end of our Sewing Room Series in Moda's Half Moon Modern collection, and we have saved one of the best projects for last. I love this apron! I've always been partial to half aprons, but this little fella with pockets a'plenty is as hardworking as it is cute. The bright apple red, ocean aqua and snow white of the Half Moon Modern fabrics are about as happy as colors can be. Tie it on, load it up with your favorite notions, and get ready to smile.

Did you know the modern ironing board was invented and patented by African American former slave, Sarah Boone in 1892? It's true. Although hers was not the first ironing board on the scene, it was completely unique in its narrow, contoured design, which allowed sleeves to be drawn up over the board. We'd like to think Ms. Boone would be pleased with our cheery Half Moon Modern ironing board cover. Just about all sewing projects require a fair amount of time spent staring at your ironing board. Why force yourself to look at those gawd-awful striped covers they sell at the local Target®... I swear those things must have been designed by someone with his eyes closed and both hands tied behind his back! You deserve a pretty cover. And, the bright colors and clean geometric lines of Moda's Half Moon Modern are absolutely perfect. The design is clean and energizing, yet the motif and colors we selected are subtle enough to provide a neutral background for all your ironing tasks.

When a box of faux leather arrived from Fabric.com, it ended up sitting on the floor next to a paper shredder. I had to wonder: do these two things mix? At the risk of having the evidence permanently ensnarled in the teeth of the old paper shredder, I fed it a swatch of faux leather, stopping with a half inch remaining uncut. I used the reverse switch to remove it, and ended up with a nice little fringe. Where the shredder didn't cut all the way through, it scored it well enough that it took less than two minutes to finish using scissors. The result: perfect fringe. Roll it up and you get a pretty tassel.

Walk into any store selling clothing or accessories this season, and right there in the front display you will see it: faux fur! It is everywhere, especially these adorable sets of faux fur scarves and gloves. Super trendy: check! Super duper easy: double check! With a little bit of fur and a little bit of time, you can create beautiful matching scarves and cuffed gloves for yourself and everyone on your holiday list. Part of our Lush & Plush Series sponsored by Fabric.com, both of these projects are fast, easy and fun. The scarf has just three seams and a big 'buttonhole-like' opening for the pull-through. The cuffs take a little measuring, only one seam, and some hand stitching. Stylishly cozy in about an hour!

We love all the projects we get to create here at Sew4Home, but there are some that rise to the top. Certain special ones we want to keep for ourselves to decorate our own homes as opposed to just display in the S4H studio. Today's faux fur throw and pillow certainly make that list. So easy yet so luxuriously elegant, we couldn't stop hugging them. Part of our specialty fabric series sponsored by Fabric.com, the steps are so simple, you'll spend more time vacuuming up all the stray fur than actually sewing. One or both would make great gifts... that is if you are able to let them go once you're done. We couldn't! Make two... there'll be less crying.

Belts are all over the torso this year. From hip huggers that add shape to a shift, waist-cinchers for a pretty feminine look, and empire waist belts for a figure-enhancing trendy look. Pick your position, cut, sew and go. These 30-minute wonders are easy and satisfying to make; a classic plaid adds a lovely touch of fall to your wardrobe, especially when mixed with something unexpected.       

This ScrapBusters project is not only really fun to make, it is an awesome low-cost gift idea. We found the key fob hardware at Ribbon Retreat, one of our Shopping Directory vendors, for just 50 cents each... 40 cents if you buy a bunch. If you have fabric and trim scraps on hand (and who doesn't???), you can make a super cool little gift for under $1.00! We made a version for Mom and one for Dad as well as a trendy Teen version and one as the perfect Teacher gift. Fast, fun and inexpensive... it's a triple treat.

THIS CONTEST ENDED 11/01/11. THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO ENTERED.

Our creative friends from Renaissance Ribbons are back in the house with a pair of very pretty patchwork pillow covers, featuring Kaffe Fassett's beautiful fabric as well as his rich, jacquard ribbons. The pillow covers were designed by Kaffe himself! Ribbon guru, Elaine Schimdt was able to take Kaffe's sewn prototypes and turn them into a Guest Tutorial. It's a beautiful way to see how his ribbons and fabrics combine and coordinate with one another. To sweeten the blend, Renaissance Ribbons provided two Kaffe ribbon kits for us to giveaway.

I woke up this morning to fog and mist rolling up from the surrounding forest like something out of a Stephen King movie. Halloween is in the air. For the last two years here on Sew4Home, we've gone all out with Halloween projects for you and your little goblins to make and enjoy (and as an excuse to buy numerous bags of mini candy bars to use in the photo shoots). This year, we focused our Halloween creativity on the recent Haunted Hostess Apron: It's A Graveyard Smash. But, while we're eating a few of those little Snickers bars (yeah.... we bought another bag anyway), we want to remind you about the Nine Terrifying Tutorials lurking in our pages.

R is for Rascals. This super cute Alphabet Bunting tutorial not only creates a banner that looks great, it's also a secret learn-to-spell game. All the pennants have a front and back so you can put a different letter on each side. And, they're easy to string and re-string, so you can make lots and spell out a new word every day. May we suggest: I LOVE SEW4HOME?! This dandy little decoration is just one of the eight projects in our new Storybook Lil' Boy's Room Series sponsored by Moda Fabrics and featuring the nostalgic Lil' Rascals collection by Chloe's Closet .

Crocodile tears, runny noses, spit ups and blow outs... there's almost never a time you don't need a tissue around the nursery. Why not let them pop out through a grommet on the top of our cute and clever tissue box cover? This fun project is one of eight pieces in our new nursery series sponsored by our good friends at Michael Miller Fabrics. We created the collection using their new Color Story concept, selecting the Citron-Gray Color Story for a modern baby boy nursery: happy yet soothing with bright, bold geometric shapes reminiscent of groovy sixties fashion.

Little projects for your pets are always fun ways to use up scraps. For our cute doggy bandana you only need one 16" x 16" square and one 4" x 31-44" strip. We added a length of reflective tape so you can walk in the gathering dusk in style and safety.

Wide, tie-front belts - sometimes called obi belts, are a top fashion trend this season. Our unique design is a great way to use a few of your favorite pretty scraps. Choose a fabric with a dramatic motif, like the striking Gypsy Bandana we used by Pillow & Maxfield, because you'll use long quilting stitches to outline and accent the designs. Complete the bohemian look with sparkling beads and large accent buttons to provide a huge amount of interest in a very small space.

Summer seems like the prefect time to pull up some projects that will make the most of all those pretty pieces in your scrap bag, bin or box. This week's ScrapBusters Series brings you five great little-bit-o-fabric ideas, starting with today's perfect baby gift bundle of two binkys on their own little leashes and a matching drawstring carry bag. This project is at the very Tip-Top of the Cutie-Pie Ranking & Rave Scale. For those of you unfamiliar with the C.P.R.R.S., a project's ranking consists of the combined number and volume of "Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhs" generated at baby showers. It's an independent ranking, so don't even try to find it on Google.

Back in the day, your 'beach towel' was simply a ratty bath towel that had seen better days and which Mom allowed you to drag outside. Today's beach towels are colorful terry cloth works of art in jumbo sizes. We used one to make our simple summer beach wrap. A clever cut allows you to make optimum use of the towel's bound edges, and leaves you the perfect scrap to create a matching pillow. To add a splash of summer fun, we braided three colors of polka dot knit to create the wrap's wonderful ties. It's all super quick to make, so you can be lounging by the shore in style before all the good spots are gone.

Project made from your scrap stash: gentle on your wallet. Soft padded mask lined with satin: gentle on the eyes. No slip headband to keep it in place: gentle to the hair. Blocking out the world while you travel: gentle to your soul. The pretty piping that curves around the entire edge of our sleep mask adds a special zing of style, but does also make this a slightly more intermediate project. You could leave out this step to make it faster and easier.

Two things we love here at S4H: 1) all kinds of aprons, and 2) cute accent pieces that add a splash of personal style wherever they land. Do we have some that feature pretty, pretty patchwork? Of course we do! We picked five little lovelies for you to try. Be sure to use those new patchworking skills you've been learning all week long. All five projects are very beginner friendly, but even seasoned sewers will love the end results... and you can spin off with your own custom style.

All those black suitcases, spinning 'round and 'round on the luggage carousel... the signs are right: 'Many bags DO look alike.' However, you'll be able to spot yours in an instant. 'That's mine! The one with the cool tag!' Our good friend, Alison Newman of Sponsor, Janome America created this adorable luggage tag out of recycled materials. You can follow her re-make and re-use lead, utilize scraps of fabric you have from other projects, or find something new at the fabric store. The clear window is perfectly sized for a business card, so it would also be a great ID tag for a briefcase, laptop bag or iPad sleeve.