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I love to sew simple summer skirts. They are so easy to sew that you don’t even need a sewing pattern! Just take a few measurements and you’re ready to go. This skirt was sewn using some adorable seersucker fabric making it cool and easy to wear during the summer months. To get the full…
I hope you enjoy this t-shirt pattern refashion made with Liberty of London fabric. If you like this project you may also like these DIY Fabric Headbands also made from Liberty of London Fabric. Today I’m going to share with you the results of my “selfish sewing” initiative for the month of July. With summer…
A lot has been on my mind with regards to the “blog world” lately. After attending both SNAP and Quilt Market in a month’s time I found myself really thinking (and somewhat confused) about what makes a good blog, and what direction I want my blog to go. I think right now there are two…
Before we tackled the renovation of our guest bedroom, I pulled together a sampling of fabrics and paint colors to create a mood board. The look I’m going for is a modern cottage; a bold navy paint color softened with touches of “cottage decor” such as antique quilts. Sherwin Williams sponsors this post. Today I’m…
It was a long and horrible winter, have you heard??? I’m sure you didn’t hear me complain about the cold, dark winter at all, huh?!? (ha! who are we kidding?) The winter started early and lasted FOREVER, in fact, we are under a freeze warning today…. AUGHH! Totally NOT normal for Kentucky… but I digress….
Get ready for an epic party with these adorable printable polka dot party hats! Just print, tape, & glue and you’re ready to go! It’s been a “polka dot party” all month long on the blog. I hope that you’ve been enjoying it. I think we need to make some Polka Dot Party hats to…
Create a festive polka dot table runner with a few simple craft supplies! We used blue glitter for ours, but you can easily customize this project to match your home decor or party theme. A big thanks to Meijer for sponsoring this post by providing the supplies for todays project // Even after yet another…
I stitched up Tilly and the Buttons Mathilde Blouse for myself. Find out how I liked the pattern get my tips for constructing the blouse in today’s blog post. One of the sewing goals I set for myself this year was to dive more into apparel sewing—both for my teenage daughters and me. I told…
I’ve got a really FUN Valentine’s Day DIY project for you today! These stamped leather conversation hearts would make a great gift, especially if you’re looking for Valentine’s Day gift ideas for a guy! I don’t even know how I came up with this idea, but it was one of those ideas that got stuck…
We are WAY overdue here for a Saturday Snapshots post! For those of you that are new, I usually post on Saturdays more “personal” blog entries on, just to let y’all get to know me a bit better. I’ve fallen off the wagon lately, and am excited to pick it back up for 2014. I…
The last couple of days I’ve shared with you my top 10 posts of 2013 according to Google Analytics. This list always surprises me it’s not always the same as MY favorites of the year. Figuring out what resonates with readers is still a fun ongoing challenge for me. Inspired by so many other bloggers,…
If you’re looking for a quick, useful, and giftable sewing project, this DIY mason jar sewing kit is a perfect place to start. It’s simple to assemble, beginner-friendly, and a great way to keep basic sewing supplies organized and easy to grab when you need them. This is sponsored content. Today, I’m sharing how to…
I’m dropping my oldest daughter off at college this month and we’ve been busy all summer getting things ready for her new dorm room. Dorm rooms present special challenges, so I’ve been researching fun DIY Dorm ideas on the web this summer. Here are some of the ones that I’ve found, along with a few…
No serger, no problem! Learn six unique, simple ways to finish a seam on a sewing project without a serger! Hello! For this month’s Sewing Lesson, we will talk about “How to Finish Seams,” and guess what, you don’t need a serger! If you’re new here, Sewing Lessons is a year-long blog series hosted…
if you’re new here, I use my Saturday Snapshots posts to share a bit about my life with you here. Things I’m doing, things I’m thinking, and things I like. This week was one of those that felt like it was a month-long. I won’t go into details, but I felt very overwhelmed and…
I just received a new sewing machine, a BERNINA 710 machine. Here are some of my favorite features of my new machine. The Polka Dot Chair has a new friend. Polka Dot Chair meet 710, now 710 meet the Polka Dot Chair. Y’all get along now. Last month I welcomed a fun new addition to…
Spread some love this Valentine’s Day with one of our heart-filled and clever craft projects! Here at the Polka Dot Chair, we love a good seasonal craft project! Every Halloween and Christmas, you can find us happily tucked away in our craft room, working to create something to help us celebrate the holiday! I’ve always…
Today’s project are these DIY Quilted Halloween Pillows. If you’d like to know more about making quilted pillows then just hop on over to this Quilted Pillow Tutorial Article. Happy Halloween!! This is the last Halloween project that I have to share with you. Between you and me, I’m ready to move onto the next…
I hope that you’ll enjoy this simple Dresden Block Baby Quilt tutorial that I’m calling “a Dresden Burst!”. If you like this post you may also like this Turnstile Baby Quilt Tutorial. For this month’s free tutorial, I am going to show you how to make a baby quilt from Dresden Quilt Blocks. I love…
I’m Melissa Mortenson! Hello, I’m Melissa Mortenson, a “creative mama,” published Author, Content Creator, Licensed Fabric Designer, and the Polka Dot Chair blog founder. The Polka Dot Chair is a place for Creative Moms and Families to find simple and inspiring DIY projects for their homes, sewing projects, Holiday crafts, and family recipes. Its mission is…
Okay, now on to day 3 of our adventure in Amsterdam, if you’re new here you can see my other posts by clicking the label Amsterdam… you can also subscribe to this blog over here —–> to get the rest of the story…. after that I’ll go back to posting about crafty stuff 🙂 We…
Turn a plan notebook into a DIY planner using printable calendar pages! I like to use a desk calendar to keep track of my blogging commitments and content timing. I use my iPhone primarily for family scheduling, but I needed something to keep near my desk to keep track of projects, due dates, etc….
Thank you so much to all of you that played along with my Handmade Christmas Quilt Along. I hope that many of you were able to give handmade quilts for Christmas (or another holiday) this year. Christmas Quilts: This is a post about the Christmas quilts I made for my kids one year for Christmas….
For several years in a row, I had the privilege of chairing our Church’s Festival of Nativities. It was a lot of work, but the end result was totally worth it. I know that many of you are planning similar Nativity Festivals (or Creche Festivals) and maybe looking for ideas for your event. Here are…
Okay to kick of my theme of “home” this month, I thought I’d share with you photos of my sons room that we recently redid. I shared a little ‘sneek peek’ on my facebook page last month and thought I’d share the details with you today. This room has been through a few transformations. When…
Whew!! How was your all’s weekend? Ours was crazy busy…. We had a family wedding to attend, sick kids needing to get better, and a million errands to run. In the midst of it all, I spent lots of time last weekend doing this… Writing, editing, and writing again, and fighting with the computer to…
A few years ago, I helped our area start a new tradition, hosting a Festival of Nativities. It was a long process to get it going and took many hands to pull it off. I’m excited to share with you some photos of our event, in hopes that it may help you plan a similar…
We finished our basement a couple of years ago. To help save on costs we tried to do a few things ourselves. My husband put the floor in my craft room, I ran the wire in our media room and we had always “planned” on doing the tile on the fireplace ourselves… Well… that was…
If you’re looking for a special gift to sew for a new baby you may like this tutorial for a simple baby quilt and dress made from fat quarters! I love Fat Quarters. I discovered them a couple of years ago. I think I love them for the same reason that I love pattern…
Day 3: I wanted to go to a Parisian Flea Market, I had read about them and thought there would be some good shopping. However I didn’t know which one to go to, or how far was too far to go for one. I’d never been to Paris before and spoke only about 10…
Learn how to make a book page banner using a cricut machine, an old book and a bit of glitter! We will walk you though the steps to create an upcycled book page banner for Valentine’s Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas or any other Celebration! Recently I made a “Believe” book page banner for Christmas, I didn’t…
So a very exciting thing happened to me last month. I was asked to be a Moda Bake Shop designer! I was SOOOOOO excited! I didn’t dare say anything until I had my first post up over there, but today I have my first tutorial on the Moda Bake Shop… It’s this patchwork skirt tutorial. If…