March is National Craft Month! To celebrate, we’ll be featuring a few of our favorite projects from past issues of Classic Sewing magazine right here on our blog. The projects we’ve selected to feature include both garments and home decor projects, and range from embroidery projects to items you’ll make with your sewing machine and serger. All the projects are perfect for springtime sewing. We’ll also spotlight some of our products, clubs, and online classes offered on our sister site, The Sewing Collection. We hope you enjoy!
CUTIE PIE CARROTS PROJECT TUTORIAL
by Missy Billingsley, originally featured in our Spring 2017 issue
This little in-the-hoop carrot is sew cute! It’s a pincushion! It’s a coaster! It’s a treat bag! It could be all of the above! Make just one or a whole bright bunch! Whether you’re the recipient of this homegrown gift or the lucky seamstress who gets to create these Cutie Pie Carrots, Missy’s in-the-hoop project will coax out a smile of Easter delight.
Choose a unique combination of orange prints and patterns for each patchwork design and tufts of green ribbons and rickrack trim for the whimsical stems. The pocket in back can be left open and filled with treats and trinkets, or you can stuff your finished carrot with polyfil, stitch closed and use as a coaster or pincushion. The choice is yours.
SUPPLIES
Note: Supplies listed are based on ONE carrot.
- 1/8 yard of 5 various orange fabrics
- ¼ yard back fabric
- ¼ yard Baby Lock Ultrasoft or lightweight fleece (my favorite is Pellon 987F)
- Cut away stabilizer – heavy or light depending on the firmness you want in the finished bag
- Embroidery thread
- Embroidery hoop – 5” x 7” size
- Ribbon/Trim– various widths cut about 6” long or length of choice
CUTTING
- 5 pieces 3” x 7” of each various orange fabric
- 2 – 6” x 12” back fabrics
- 1 – 6” x 8” Ultrasoft or fleece
- Various ribbons or rick rack trims 6” each or your choice of length
INSTRUCTIONS & MACHINE EMBROIDERY FILES
*Get a downloadable PDF featuring the step-by-step instructions here.
*Download the machine embroidery file type you need from the list below:
Missy Billingsley – Cutie Pie Carrots – DST
Missy Billingsley – Cutie Pie Carrots – EXP
Missy Billingsley – Cutie Pie Carrots – HUS
Missy Billingsley – Cutie Pie Carrots – JEF
Missy Billingsley – Cutie Pie Carrots – PDF
Missy Billingsley – Cutie Pie Carrots – PES
Missy Billingsley – Cutie Pie Carrots – VIP
Missy Billingsley – Cutie Pie Carrots – VP3
ABOUT THE DESIGNER
Although Missy Billingsley‘s mother tried to share her love of sewing with her daughter, Missy wasn’t interested at the time. Now that Missy has embraced sewing for over 20 years, the roles are reversed. Missy travels around the country teaching classes on sewing, serging, embroidery and software with a special focus on heirloom sewing by machine and serger. Additionally, her in-depth software knowledge has enabled her to create her own website featuring her digitized embroidery designs, in-the-hoop projects as well as other sewing and serging projects. Some of her projects include companion instructional DVDs! She teaches regularly at Baby Lock’s Love of Heirloom events and at Baby Lock’s Dealer Convention. To add to her credentials, Missy is a Martha Pullen Licensed Teacher and a Sulky Certified Instructor. She’s appeared on the “Martha’s Sewing Room” television show and has been featured in several magazines such as Classic Sewing, Sew Beautiful, Creative Expressions, and Creative Machine Embroidery and Quilting.
ENJOYED THIS PROJECT? WE THINK YOU’LL ALSO LOVE:
Classic Sewing magazine: Published four times a year, each issue features beautiful patterns for making children’s garments, casual pieces, gifts, and projects galore — all created by the industry’s best designers and leading sewing celebrities.
The Sewing Collection Online Shop: If you’re looking for the best sewing notions, supplies, and digital patterns, look no further than our Sewing Collection Online Shop! Our curated collection of sewing notions includes the tried-and-true tools that our staff uses over and over again in our own sewing rooms. Plus, you can shop machine embroidery collections, ready-to-embroider baby items, e-patterns, and more.
The Embroidery Club: This is the premier online club for sewists who love machine embroidery! Members receive access to multiple design collections, including alphabets, seasonal designs, children’s motifs, and more.
The Doll Club: Featuring exclusive patterns designed by Connie Palmer, this online club offers members downloadable patterns for creating an adorable wardrobe of clothes and accessories designed to fit popular 18″ dolls.
Online Classes: We offer 100+ online sewing classes and workshops! In addition to a wide catalog of start-anytime courses, experience the fun and business opportunity of a Martha Pullen Online Licensing. Each licensing curriculum includes 30+ projects, taught by Licensing Staff along with other sewing educators.
Original Sewing & Quilt Expo: Join us live and in-person at any of our Original Sewing & Quilt Expo events held across the country. These fun and inspiring events include three days of classes, shopping, presentations, and galleries! The Expo also offers a great selection of live online sewing and quilting classes via Zoom throughout the year.
Our YouTube Channel: Visit our new YouTube channel for endless hours of sewing inspiration. You can view classic episodes of the long-running PBS show, “Martha’s Sewing Room.” More video content will be added in the future, so subscribe and stay tuned!
Plus, sign up for our newsletter to get weekly inspiration delivered right to your inbox!
