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Saturday 29 May 2021

Five Fabulous Freebies from Bernina's "Other" Blog

Bernina's Other Blog
image courtesy of Bernina.com...
In February 2020, I posted about Bernina's Through The Needle magazine archive and briefly mentioned that they publish a decent blog called WeAllSew.

While searching online for something a few months ago, I happened upon another Bernina blog that I didn't know existed. It dates back to May 2014 and is accessible in German, Dutch and English versions according to a language menu. (As an aside, if the English version doesn't seem to be up to date — the blog should post fairly regularly — check out the other two and have your browser translate the content for you.)

Interestingly enough, on that same menu is a selection for "US" (which is not a language, but whatever) that links up with WeAllSew, which has different content altogether.

Wonder why that is?

Make it in May at eSheep Designs

Anyway, today I'm going to share five fabulous freebies from this "other" blog. (Yep, we're going to finish off the last week of Make it in May with a bang: five tutes!) Links are available at the end of this post; those of you who live in the US can let me know if you're able to access them. 




First up is a tutorial for a stuffed animal of a species close to my heart: Bernina's version of a plush sheep. Sample shown here is trimmed with denim.

Bernina plush sheep
image courtesy of Bernina.com...

A downloadable pattern for two different sizes is yours for the taking. (Small is about 10" high x 14" long; large version is about 14" high x 19.5" long; since this content is meant for non-US folks, the project measurements are given in metric.)

It's worth mentioning that the tutorial even gives you an idea of how much fill you'll need. It looks fairly simple and if you have some old plushy blankets that you no longer need, it would be a great recycling or repurposing project.

Next up are some slippers; I love slippers. Have made a few myself, like here and here. Living in a cold climate, it's always more comfortable about six months out of the year to have my feet covered in some way.

Bernina Soft Slippers
image courtesy of Bernina.com...

These ones look super cozy, with the sherpa fleece lining. Again, if you have an old blanket that's fallen out of favour, consider harvesting the material for the inside of this slipper or the outside of the plush sheep.

The pattern provided is for a European size 39, which translates roughly into a North American 8.5. But it's usually not too hard to adjust these types of patterns slightly up or down to fit.


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This next project is definitely different. The title of the post refers to recycling party tent fabric into bags! Not sure exactly what European party tents are made out of, but I assume any sort of rip stop nylon would meet the criteria here.

image courtesy of Bernina.com...

In any case, you will find three different patterns here to make simple bags for all occasions: the purse shown above, a backpack style bag with a flap, and what they call a "man bag" (LOL), which is a sling bag of sorts. All in all, quite fun and if you want templates to play with to make your own version of these using more conventional fabric, it's a great starting place to be creative.

The next project also meets my strict criteria for being different: it's a fabric votive holder.

Bernina star shaped candle holder
image courtesy of Bernina.com...

Particularly with the advent of LED votives, these would make great mood lighting for any special occasion without fear of burning down the house.

Again, templates are provided, but this one looks to be a bit more challenging in that there is a fabric ring to sew in place around a small round opening. What I like about it is that it inspires me to think of other shapes — like a starfish or a flower — that I can convert into this idea.


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The last project that I have to share today is one that falls into my definition of fabric origami: it's a folded gift box.

Bernina folded gift box
image courtesy of Bernina.com...

I've always loved these boxes. Everyone I know has shared the same lament about our Chinese takeout: they're never in these kind of boxes like we see on TV! (Although admittedly, some noodle places are using them now.)

This tutorial gives you templates for two different sized boxes, one with a 3" square base and the other with a 3.5" base. The project uses a paper product called SnapPap which is probably similar to Kraft Tex. (I may have to give that stuff a try someday.) Alternatively, I would try fabric piecing with Peltex like I did with my match box.

Here are the links to the Bernina projects that I've discussed above:

If you're finding it more and more difficult to seek out blog content that isn't "same old, same old", this is a worthwhile blog to check in on regularly. For those of you into making your own clothing, they also offer a free pattern every month (which is only available for free downloading during that month).  Enjoy!

'Til next...

1 comment:

  1. Oh that sheep is stinkin' cute! Love that it's two sizes.
    Kathleen - kakingsbury at verizon dot net

    ReplyDelete

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