10 for Tuesday: Mother's Day Sewing Tutorials

Need an idea for a homemade gift for the mother in your life? I've gathered 10 free sewing tutorials that would make great Mother's Day presents.

P.S. My 10 free apron tutorials from last week would also make great presents!

The Sweetheart Apron

Last year for Christmas I made my brother's girlfriend an apron using a tutorial from WhollyKao. I'd pinned that tutorial ages ago to make one for myself, but had not gotten around to it. I think what turned me off for awhile was making all that ruffle. However, I picked up a remnant last fall from the fabric store that just screamed "apron" to me. In the spirit of giving, I decided to turn it into a Christmas present. I dedicated a whole afternoon to just making the ruffle. It was a lot of work, but I love how it turned out (and so did the recipient!) so I think it was worth it.

I was left with extra ruffle, but not quite enough to make a whole 'nother apron. As cute as the original had been, I just didn't want to spend the time consuming process of making more ruffle. Still, I really wanted to sew a cute apron for myself.

How to Sew on Buttons (with a sewing machine)

I can't remember the first time I heard you could sew on buttons using a sewing machine, but I thought it seemed hard. How do you line up and sew the little holes in the button without accidentally sewing your button and bending or breaking your needle? Sewing buttons by hand just seemed easier.

The problem, though, is it takes a long time to sew buttons on an entire shirt by hand. Who wants to thread a needle, sew, and knot 9 times in a row? All for a little button too. So, while I was fine with replacing a button or two by hand, if all the buttons on one of my shirts needed replacing, it usually just lay there in the "to fix" pile for a long time.

Then I was asked to replace all the buttons on two shirts. This was a paid job, not something I could just throw in a "to fix" pile. I freaked out a bit, thinking about how long that would take me. So I decided to teach myself the mystery of machine button sewing to speed up the process.

10 for Tuesday: Free Apron Tutorials

I have a lot of love for aprons. The obvious reason being that aprons protect your clothes during messy kitchen experiments. But I also like how a pretty apron can you feel a bit better about yourself when you've been lounging around the house in an old t-shirt and sweats all day. Yes, those two reasons contradict each other. That's why I like having multiple aprons. I always keep one around that I don't mind getting dirty and the others I use for less messy cooking.

The other reason I'm so fond of aprons is that they were first real sewing projects when I decided to get serious about learning how to sew. Along with the basics, they taught me how to sew waistbands, use interfacing, and make ruffles. These skills were very useful for other projects. Aprons teach a lot of the basics for clothes making, but with less expensive fabrics and less worry about messing up. After all, it's just an apron!

I've rounded up for you 10 free apron tutorials. Some I've made, some I want to make, and others I just think are pretty.