Every Sewing Beginner should have this tool : Sewing clips

 

As a sewing beginner, do you feel very frustrated in sewing? You may wonder why I failed in a simple sewing project? What is the magic behind all the others?

Of course, sewing is a skill you need to practice . No one said it’s easy and actually it’s quite difficult to master the skill. And you may use some tools to help you. Today, I would like to introduce you to sewing clips.

Why use sewing clips?

In Order to hold layers of fabrics, we can use sewing clips instead of bead needles.

By using the sewing clips, layers of fabrics won’t move around and you will find the whole sewing process become easier. 

Compared to bead needles, clips won’t accidentally destroy the fabric or you won’t get hurt easily. Besides, you can easily remove or adjust the position without moving the fabric.  

Sizes & Types of Sewing Clips:

There are few sizes and shapes for sewing clips. You may choose the right one depending on what project you are working on.

Different Sizes:

Normal Size: 

It’s useful for most of the sewing projects, such as tote bags, drawstring bags, shirts, dresses, etc. Nothing too thick or heavy will be great for using the normal size.

Large Size:

Good for heavy fabric or multiple layers of fabric. 

Mini Size:

If you work on doll clothes or mini pouches, these mini clips will be your project help!

(This is me making a doll kimono)

Types:

There are mainly 2 types of sewing clips. The most common one is One-Side. The bottom is flat and the top is curved. You can’t use this upside down.

And the other one is double sided, it usually has one size only. You don’t need to worry which side to use since they are both flat.

Hope you find this helpful! And I will share more beginner sewing tips and how I improve my sewing skills & pattern making skills. 

I hope you find these information useful. Although it's not something WOW or huge, it's useful introduction to sewing beginner. I will list all the sewing clips I find on Amazon. If you like this post, hope to have your support. Your purchase through below link will be a huge support to me.

Thank you so much and hope you have a great day!

Sewing clips link:

Mini Sewing Clips

Normal Sewing Clips

Normal Sewing Clips in bulk

Large Sewing Clips 

Multi Size Sewing Clips 

Singer Assorted Size Quilt Clamps

Fountain Pen Case Update: In love with Purple

 

Purple is a magic color. It's either love or hate.

I may not be the biggest fans of purple, but I am surround by purple lovers. 

And it's not easy to find a nice purple printed fabric so I rarely got any purple fabric.

Few years ago, I saw a stunning Japanese vibes purple fabric and made a few thing with it. My friends were so happy about it and this become one of my working mission: make lovely purple fabric craftsmen for purple lovers!

Here is a small collection of my purple fountain pen case.

the right top corner one was sold out once it released and I was very thankful about it.

If you're a cat slave who love Japanese stuff, these two maybe your perfect fountain pen case.

They are both available in my online shop. And I plan to write more on how to make your pen case or pen roll in coming. If you also want to make your own pen roll, welcome to follow me on Instagram or Youtube. 

And for sure, if you wanna purchase these pen case, welcome to visit my shop ^^

Thank you so much for reading my post, it means so much to me!

Welcome to send me DM on IG^^
Love you guys!!!!

How long did it take you to perfect your pen case?

 What do you wanna know: How long did it take you to perfect your pen case?

I posted an IGS and asked everyone "what do you wanna know from me"

Thank you so much for the question! This really help me on writing the post^^

For pen cases, it's tough. When I first started making pen rolls, it took me about 3 times to make the final pattern. It used to be a very large pen roll with a small pocket. At that moment, it's not tailor made for fountain pens.

(The pen roll I first made in 2019)

Then comes the fountain pen roll with one slot and one pen. I remember it also took 3 times to have the final version. I made slots with different widths and put my pen for testing.

(The Fountain Pen Roll)

Triple pen case is the latest product I made, it took me 2 times to get what's available now. In the beginning, The pen case was shorter so it was not 100%covered when it was closed. I knew that it's a no no for some people  so I made the 2nd pattern. Although it may be a bit long for a pocket pen, I rather let most of the pen got 100% covered.

(The 1st Triple Fountain Pen Case sample)

It was a long progress for development, I also change the filling from normal interlining into soft cotton lining for all the pen cases so even though it may be a thin woven, it still has a certain thickness and holds a better shape.

(The Triple Fountain Pen)

I am having so much fun in creating pen case & pen roll, it's the best category for me(a fabric geek +stationery nerd)

After the local market, I will work on developing something new.

Stay tuned~~~~^^

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-Shop at my payhip online store
-Payment services provided by Stripe
-Welcome to follow my IG

#Bousidesign #handmade #handcrafted #smallbusiness #christmasgift #fountainpenpouch #fountainpens #StationeryLove #giftforwriter #fountainpencase #writingaccessory #japantravel #japantrip #Japan

No Etsy? What platform do I use for my handmade shop.

Hi everyone!

Today I would like to share my experience of using ebay & Payhip for my handmade business. Actually, I never thought that I would write a blog post like this.

Once I decided to start my handmade business, I opened the Etsy shop as my major selling platform. However, since Etsy shut down my shop, it gave me no choice but to start a new journey.

[my handmade project bag]

How was my Etsy doing?

My Etsy shop was not huge, and the total revenue of 5 years was only $US8K, which is totally unsustainable. I am a fabric craft artist making pen cases, tote bag organizers, drawstring pouches, etc. My shop was not huge, it usually had about 30-50 listings. Since it’s a one man band shop and I have a huge limitation of space, this is the maximum variety I can offer. 

To be honest, I felt very lost and struggled in these years. The unstable political situation in my city & Covid hit me so hard. In the covid period, airmail was mostly unavailable and a lot of customers cancelled the order because of that.

In early 2024, Etsy suddenly shut down my shop. There is no explanation and even if I file an appeal, it didn’t help at all. They gave me no choice but to leave.

I thought of giving up since the financial struggle is huge. However, I truly like my brand and would love to sacrifice anything for it to turn it into a sustainable business. ( I rejected most of my friend’s dinner, didn’t spend on any crap but only fabric & tools, and had some part time job.)

Since my Etsy shop was shut down, I have to find a new platform for selling my works. I can’t afford any platform that requires Fee, that will be too much for me. So I started using Ebay and Payhip websites.

How is my Ebay doing?

For ebay, I believe that it is a very competitive platform for me. It’s quite difficult to stand out among all other commercial suppliers. The sale on ebay is very slow, I only had 3 sales from March to October. Stationery & Handmade crafts are not on the 10 top best selling items on ebay and it may explain the reason.

 However, I believe that it’s still a nice place to try since there is no listing fee.

I will try harder and see any people looking for interesting handmade craft there.

One huge disadvantage of Ebay is money transactions. If you use payoneer, there is a minimum transfer requirement. In my case, since my sales are very low, it took a while to reach the minimum, otherwise the money will just be stuck in there.

How about Payhip?

The second platform I used is Payhip, it’s a free website builder and it provides a very low cost online selling service. It provides listing, shipping options and even promotion code services which is amazing. It’s basically free and costs 5% for each transaction. It is super friendly for start-ups or a very small handmade designer like me.

Payhip uses Stripe to receive payment, and so far it is doing ok. There is no minimum transfer requirement!!! As every self-made website, it’s difficult to attract traffic to the website. For most of the customers, they know my work through instagram. Pinterest & Google bring small quantities to my website but there is no transaction yet.

My Goal:

I am so grateful that most of the customers turn into friends and they keep on supporting my work. I know that it is a very difficult working path as I am just a no-body. Why would anyone buy from me? I think about this question all the time. 

I guess my love of Japanese textiles is the answer to why I keep going. I really wish everyone can enjoy the beauty of it. No matter if it's cute animal illustration or traditional Japanese aesthetic, I will try to collect the best one and turn them into cute pen cases, pouches, etc.  

In 2025, my humble goal is to achieve “livable income”, hope to have at least 50 orders per month. This will be such a big move for me!!!! 

If you are planning to start your handmade biz or any small business, hope you will find something useful here. Let’s fight for our dream and make something beautiful for our world!!!!

P.S. if you like to know more of my work, welcome to check out my instagram & youtube

Instagram: bousidesign

Youtube: bousidesign4674

My Etsy shop was shut down! Goodbye Etsy~!

 

Hi Everyone~!
I am so sorry to inform you that my Etsy shop was a history now.

If you are reading this without know me, Hi, I am Alice from BouSi design, had been selling handmade pen case, bags and doll outfit on Etsy.

From 2018, I had been working very hard on building the shop, time was tough, so as my business.

From no order to having some progress, I spent so much effort on it and I finally became a 5 stars seller. I am so happy that there were lots of happy customers telling me that they love my design and products.

Then one day in Feb, 2024, I just turn back the shop to open from holiday mode, I was informed that my shop was suspended. I have no idea of what's going on. The email from Etsy just said I can't get back the account and they won't share their internal discussion.  

I was very upset and frustrated, however, I believe that it's just a push for me to build my own store. The transaction fee of Etsy has been increase a lot and the listing fee is quite a burden to me & my customer.

I know it will be difficult to build up my own shop but that's my only way to go! 

Thank you so much for my followers and lovely client, your support is really important to me. I will work harder and make more cute fabric crafts for sure!

If you want to know more about me, my story or my design, welcome to follow my on Instagram and online shop.

BouSi Instagram

BouSi online shop by Payhip

Happy Sharing~! My Etsy coupon code 2023

 

After opening my shop for few years, I just noticed that I haven't updated the blog for a very long time. I mainly post on Facebook and Ig. 

I believe that I will be more hard working on update and creating new designs. 

A little update for my shop, I am now focusing on making pen sleeve and doll clothes.

And I will share more about my working process of these few items. If you are interested, stay tuned~!

Last but not least, remember to get my shop COUPON, this one last until 31st OCT, 2023.
Shop with Coupon (Click me)

IG(Handmade): https://www.instagram.com/bousidesign/ 

IG(Plush Doll) : https://www.instagram.com/bousi.doll/

Etsy Shop: https://bousidesign.etsy.com

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@bousidesign4674

Crazy Fabric Shopping in Tokyo-Nippori

" Guilty voice" Here is a post I put on my web before and I would love to share with you here too.😁

Hello? Welcome to my Japan travel blog. If you are reading this post, I think you love sewing & design just like me. Are you a fan of cute printed fabric like cats🐱, bear, fox illustration🦊...or traditional Japanese art printed cloth🍙🍤🌸? If yes, you gonna go to Tokyo-Nippori Textile Street for a crazy fabric shopping. Trust me, it is a heaven for designers and sewing lovers. 

During high school, I read a Japanese comic called “Paradise Kiss” by Ai Yazawa sensei. It is a story about a group of Fashion Design student and I first knew the place Nippori through this comic.

Until this year, I finally had a chance to visit Nippori as there was a sudden trip to Tokyo, yeah💖💖💖Now it’s time to share my Nippori shopping experience.

What’s so special about Nippori Textile street?

Nippori Textile street is not a super huge area but there are 92 fabric & trimming stores within this little place. I strongly  recommend you to get a official Nippori Sen-I Gai map ( Fabric Town) either online or hard copy at the Nippori Station. It is a very clear map with all 92 shops’ detail listed including their major content, phone number and day of closing. It gives you better idea of what kind of shops (fabric, trims, buttons, leather, yarn, sewing tools, etc)  are available and where you wanna go. 🧐

Official Nippori Sen I Gai Map 

Nippori Offical web: www.nippori-senigai.com/

If you plan to do a lot of shopping, you better bring enough cash since most of the stores only accept cash payment.

What shops did I visit?

Since I only had half day for exploring, I did my very best and visited 5-7 stores. Here are 3 shops that I spent most of time and money. (It’s such a dangerous place as the fabric is way too adorable and there are loads of cat prints!!! My wallet was nearly empty after this shopping day...)

no.53トマト本館(YAMAYO MAIN BUILDING)

Tomato is the biggest fabric retail on Nippori textile street and there are 5 stores selling different kind of fabric & sewing tools. If you want to buy fabric for making bags or clothes, it’s better to visit only the main building. 

In main building, there are 5 floors including imported fabric, huge variety of knit, both solid & printed woven, special material for stage costume and super sales section.😍😍😍 

On 5/F sales section, you can find a huge selection of small pieces fabric (usually comes in 50cm X 55cm) from 180 yen to 350 yen. (~US1.6 to 3.1) I guess that’s the heaven for quilt maker.  For me, I spent most of the on 1/F & 4/F where they put all the beautiful printed cotton canvas & linen cotton. Oh, they also have cute printed corduroy & peached fabric which are perfect for infant girl winter dress. 

And any Kokka fans here reading this post? Gonna tell you this is heaven for you. I didn't count how many Kokka fabric I bought. Their product is just amazing and when I was waiting in cashier, I suddenly noticed that 50% of my selection are Kokka's, haha.😘

BTW, the stores was packed with people during lunch time even though it’s Friday. I can’t imagine how crazy would it be on Sat. Although there are shopping carts available, it’s quite difficult to get one or use it in such crowded place. So better plan your visiting time carefully. Finally, If you don’t have much time for visiting Nippori, Tomato main building would be a nice place for you to start the tour.

Tomato Web (Japanese only): https://www.nippori-tomato.com/

no.26 やまよ支店(YAMAYO Branch store)

This shop is located in the starting section of the street , close to Nippori Station. Most of the adorable printed linen cotton fabric rolls are put outside the store so it’s difficult for you to miss it. For linen cotton,  I found some of the prints here only .🤨

And there are more special sale of those small pieces of printed woven. It is a very nice shop for a quick visit.

Yamayo Web (Japanese only): https://yamayo-nippori.com/

no.45 ツキヤス(TSUKIYASU)

Just the opposite of Tomato, Tsukiyama is a small shop which full of surprise. The options for small pieces fabric sales are huge.👏Although the retail price for regular fabric maybe not as good as Tomato, it’s good to have a look on the sale section. 

Something more about Nippori area:

Nippori is an old district in Tokyo and lots of railway lines go through this place, including the JR Yamanote line and Ueno-Tokyo line to Narita airport. 

Besides of textile street, Yanaka Ginza is also famous in Nippori. It is an old market area with lots of small boutique, grocery store and cat theme shop or cafe. As I read from other’s travel sharing, there are many cats in this area. And the mascot of Nippori is a cat too~!😼😼😼 I found its gashapon  inside Nippori station.

If you plan to buy a lot of fabric, staying in Nippori for 2 days would be nice. By my experience, I bought mainly thick woven which are quite heavy. It would be lovely to have a afternoon break, sent the morning shopping back to hotel and kept walking. (unfortunately I could only stay for 1 night and reach tokyo at 5:00 pm,I had been carrying 18 kg of fabric on the shopping day.) There are few hotels near the station and I stayed in APA hotel. The room is a little bit small but clean & tidy. And it’s very close to the Nippori textile street. 

There are lots of small restaurants & cafes around the station. I had Ramen for dinner ( perfect for dinning alone🍜🙆) and a lovely tuna toast as breakfast. Those are perfect resting places for a long shopping day.

This was my first visit to Nippori and really wish to explore it again! Hope you enjoy my sharing and find the info useful.  If you wanna know see my fabric haul, welcome to visit my Instagram (Eng mainly) or Facebook (Cantonese mainly). And I am working on developing new design by those fabric now. 

Hope to show you soon on Etsy Shop
Happy Travel Happy Sewing!