AllFreeSewing & National Sewing Month

I owe a lot to AllFreeSewing.com...

AllFreeSewing.com and I have a long history together... dating back to the beginning of February 2014, to be exact.

I recently realized that in the roughly seven and a half years since — just a few months less than the length of time this blog has been in existence — it has been the most important partner I've had during my sewing journey. What a revelation!

At one point, [original] Craftsy would have held that honour, but the closure of its marketplace at the end of 2018 relegates it to second place.

AllFreeSewing is a bit of an unusual entity in that it has actually managed to improve on itself over its lengthy tenure, in a space where many — including some not so well-intentioned — have tried to make an imprint.

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I've mentioned at various times that I didn't have a clear picture of what I was in for when I started this blog. There was no road map to follow. But from understanding how the world wide web works, I knew that I had to be found in order to build a small following.

While one can interact with other blogs to try to gain traction and visibility with a new blog, it's an excruciatingly slow process with no guarantee of success. At best, one might get five percent of another blogger's audience to come over and have a looksee. If lucky, perhaps one percent of those will remember to come back.

In short, I knew that I had my work cut out for me if I was to go around to various blogs and start commenting or joining in on link parties in hopes of getting return visits. (And honestly, it wasn't the kind of work that I wanted to do.)

That's where AllFreeSewing came to my rescue.

My first project featured on AllFreeSewing...

For those of you who don't know, AllFreeSewing is an organized directory of sewing tutorials and articles that is available — as the name implies — for free. While it hosts some content on the site itself, most of it consists of direct links to blogs and other sites where the tutorials originate.

When I submitted my first tutorial to AllFreeSewing in January 2014, I was hoping that it would open much wider doors for me than I'd get by merely knocking on the doors of other bloggers.

Did it ever. 

Turns out AllFreeSewing had (and still has) a highly successful newsletter campaign that provides unparalleled exposure for sewing designers.

Back then, the descriptions were written by AllFreeSewing staff...

Not only does traffic come from a tutorial being linked by the website itself, every now and then, a project may get featured in one of those newsletters. (Or, in extraordinary circumstances, one might get nine projects featured in a single newsletter, as happened for me recently.) 

The newsletter driven traffic is a game changer, as more often than not, my ad revenue even goes up as a result. Participation in any linky party these days is nothing compared to what I get as a result of being featured in one of AllFreeSewing's newsletters.

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Watch live classes for FREE at CreativeLive! [affiliate link]

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AllFreeSewing's website changes everyday. They feature a project of the day, a hotlist of currently trending tutorials, as well as a list of what's new. Content is managed via categories that range from Accessories to Wedding & Bridal. Within each category, you can view the results alphabetically, by most recent, or by most popular. The site is very easily navigated. (Sure, the ads are somewhat annoying and often clickbait, but remember that all of this comes to you at no cost.) They also run regular giveaways and offer product reviews.

Truly, it's a one stop "shop" for sewing info.

Last fall, one of the editors at AllFreeSewing emailed to thank me for having promoted them on various occasions. That led to my Crossbody Sling Bag being featured on their Facebook page in October.

image courtesy of AllFreeSewing (Facebook)...

Then in November, they added my Handy Hacks for Handmade Bags blog post to their main site. Further correspondence led to plans for me to contribute to their September celebration of National Sewing Month this year.

AllFreeSewing typically has a ton of content on offer during National Sewing Month, as well as giveaways galore. In my post from 2020, you can see that they gave away everything from a sewing machine to thread. It's a great place to hang out every September, as the whole atmosphere is elevated.

[Word has it that a Bernina B-325 valued at about $1300 is the grand prize this year. For those who are aiming to up their embroidery game, there's also a draw for a Floriani Total Control U Embroidery software package. Other goodies up for grabs include an Oliso iron, various fabric and thread.]

This year, I'm super pleased to report that my Things to Sew for Travel series will be part of the fun over there. (If you missed them, here is part 1 last month about toiletry cases; part 2 about drawstring bags was a couple of weeks ago.) I seriously doubt that I would have lasted this long without the promotional power of AllFreeSewing, so I'm both tickled and honoured to be a contributor!

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Check out crafty classes at Creativebug! [affiliate link]

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National Sewing Month celebrates with a different theme every year. Last year, it was I create with fabric and thread. What's your superpower?

Celebrate National Sewing Month this September...

For 2021, the theme has to do with new sewing traditions and traditional sewing techniques. Maybe it's how traditional sewing techniques have led to the development of new sewing traditions during the age of COVID?

There's no doubt that the past year and a half has seen a lot of sewing machines being taken out of storage and dusted off to make masks and other PPE.

Whatever the theme means to you, embrace it and be thankful for being one of those special people who — as was touted last year — has a real life superpower worth celebrating.

Happy sewing and make sure you check out AllFreeSewing during National Sewing Month. You never know what you might find.

'Til next...