DIY Projects | Lifestyle | Living

or so it seams…lol…I have been doing a lot of sewing lately so pardon the pins, I mean puns. I have really been enjoying the process of using a sewing machine and teaching myself to get better at it.

The story of how I got my sewing machine is somewhat interesting. I was looking for a new credit card and an Amazon credit seemed appropriate given the number of frivolous expenditure we attributed to the website every month…might as well earn some points in the process, I thought. What made the deal sweeter was that Amazon, at the time, was giving a $100 credit for getting their credit card. I got myself their credit card and it is with this money/credit that I bought my $99 Brother sewing machine.

The month and year – December 2019.

Throughout the months of January and February 2020, I was terrified of using the machine. Intimidated, is more like it. I tried to make some scrunchies and but the primary focus was on learning how to sew in a straight line.

Then, life, as we new changed. Yep! The pandemic shutdown hit everywhere and everyone was on a desperate search for masks. Thanks to the many YouTube videos, I was able to teach myself how to make masks but I didn’t really have much fabric except some random ones I had purchased at our popular repurpose art/craft supplies store. I “braved” the pandemic waiting in long lines at Joann’s to buy various kinds of fabric.

Without dragging this post too long, suffice to say, I not only made a decent amount of money selling over 300-400 masks all across the country, I also donated a similar count to first responders, teachers, and others who needed them.

This learning by doing was really helpful in figuring out stitches, sewing in straight lines, taking on small projects, and so on. I eventually graduated to making zipper pouches which was a big deal. I also made and sold zipper pouches with food grade inner lining for little snacks.

Since then I made more of the same kind of pouches on and off but never really tried to sell anything. A co-worker paid me for two pouches for her sister-in-law back in 2023, but that was about it. Then in 2025, I returned to sewing with renewed interest. I learned many new things – bookmarks, e-reader/book holders, gift card holders, jar openers, AND bowl cozies.

This Christmas, I gifted bowl cozies to a lot of my coworkers as well as a relative. I had bought one a few years ago from a market vendor and this season, I saw them all over on my social media. I watched some videos on how to make them, invested in some 100% cotton thread, used the 100% cotton fabric I already had, bought the inner batting that is safe for microwave usage and went to town. Altogether I probably made about 25 cozies…too bad I don’t have a single picture of the ones I made.

However, here are some other pics of the items I did make.

Pouches with matching scrunchies

E-device/Book holders/cases