Pin Cushion Project

Every stitcher should have their own pin cushion, in which to put all their straight pins, right?
Right! Well, if you are new to sewing and don't have one yet, here is a step by step on how to make your very own adorable pin cusion! This is a great kids sewing project!

Start by cutting out two 6" squares of some really cute fabric.

Place both pieces together, with right sides touching and stitch (using 1/2" seam allowance) along three of the four sides. Should look something like this:




















And here is a closeup of the stitching:















Next, turn the fabric right sides out and stuff with pillow fill. It should now look like this:















Now turn the raw edge over, tucking in about 1/2" and secure in place with straight pins. Should look like this:















Now, sew this last side either with a machine (using 1/2" seam allowance) or by hand, like in this photo. As you will see, you can sew it as neatly, as you would like. We like to do a nice big, messy handstitch, giving it that organic, home-made feel ; )















Voila! The perfect beginner sewing project that I guarantee any stitcher will use for years to come!

Our Fourth Meet Up - Hostess Apron Project

What a great Meet Up we just had! Sorry, if you missed it, but we all had a great time stitching our adorable hostess aprons!

With a total of four Meetups under our belt, our group just keeps getting bigger and our Meetups just keep getting better! For this one, we stayed local and sewed together at the M Avery Designs Studio/Boutique and snacked on munchkins from DD.

Take a look at the photos from the process, as well as some of the finished aprons! Every single one came out amazing and members were proudly wearing their new cute aprons out the door when they left!



Not a member of Fashion Lab Meet Up Group yet? Click here to become a member. It's free and you will be in the know for all our Free Sewing Events!

Katie & Eliza Sewing Challenge

Okay, so I need to learn that you can't make the camera vertical when you are filming video. Either way, it's a cool video to check out Katie & Eliza's (both Fashion Lab After School 2009 Alum) sewing skills:

Take a look at Nicole's & Hannah's Sewing Skills

I must say, I am kind of impressed with Nicole's proficiency on the sewing machine. Here is video of her trying out the "hard" practice card:

The Tuesday / Thursday Groups are Rockin' the Sewing Machine

Here are some quick picks of the Tuesday & Thursday Groups first Day of Fashion Lab Summer Camp. The videos are coming soon! Just click on the photos to scroll through the collection.

More highlights from Day One!

Here are some fabulous photos of our afternoon group yesterday! They got their T-shirt Assignment and worked on their sewing practice, as well as completed a brand new headband/scarf that they all got to wear home. Not bad for NEVER sewing before!

Here are the photos. Just click the photos to scroll through the set of 18:






If you or some youngster in your life is interested in doing this too, we have another session starting on July 27th that still has openings! Check out all the details here.

And either call or email with questions!

megan@maverydesigns.com or 201-876-1198.

Day One Was Awesome!

Today was the first day of Session 1 Fashion Lab Summer Camp and oh what a great day it was! We had five students in the morning session and five more students in the afternoon session.


Most of our students today had never sewn before in their life and wound up leaving class with a new found confidence threading and using the sewing machine, as well as a brand spanking new, funky headband, they made all by themselves!

Everybody got their new Fashion Lab Summer Camp T-Shirt and instructions for their homework project they are to work on throughout the five weeks of camp.

Here are some more photos of this mornings group. Just click each photo to scroll through the set of 25 or so snapshots.

Fashion Lab Summer Camp Goes Hi-Tech

It's gonna be a great summer!!!

We started the Fashion Lab Summer Camp season with a bang and had a great first day! We took lots of photos (coming soon!) and even took our very first Fashion Lab Summer Camp Video.

We are pretty excited about the video so I wanted to get it up right away - So here is the video of one of our campers doing the finishing touches of her headband. It's short & sweet, but stay tuned for more:

Hoboken Charter School Fashion Show

This past Wednesday marked the end of another marking period for the Hoboken Charter School. With that comes the end of the Year "Arts Cafe". For this marking period I was lucky enough to teach 9 high school aged ladies how to design and actually sew their own fun accessories. At the Fashion Show, they had the opportunity to show off their wares on the runway. I was able to take a couple of shots at the Fashion Show and thought I might share them with you all: