Back in the 1970s I wanted my mom to buy me a real leather jacket. Unfortunately, she was only prepared to spend for one made of synthetic leather. As much as I wanted to believe it looked genuine, it just looked fake. Today's fake - excuse me, faux - leather looks so much more like the real thing. And, not only is faux leather less expensive than genuine leather, it's also easier to sew with. We give you the simple tricks and tools.

Today's faux fur gives you the luxurious look and feel of real fur at a fraction of the price and without harming any animals. And, because of recent improvements in fabric manufacturing, it comes in an amazing array of rich colors and lush textures. It truly starts out beautiful on the bolt. But if you treat faux fur like regular fabric, your project can end up looking like a bad haircut.

A plain cotton sheet set at a department store might cost $25-$30. But add a line of decorative stitching along the turn-down edge, and it looks like the $99+ set that came out of a fancy catalog. Maybe you don't care for fancy sheets in catalogs – but the point is: a little decorative stitching adds a lot, and can take a sewing project from ordinary to "Did you really make that?!"

Ah, sheer fabrics. There's nothing like them for that light, airy look when you want simplicity with elegance. But many sewers avoid using them because you can't sew with them quite as easily as you can regular fabric. We recently started a series of beautiful Hostess Aprons, all of which have sheer fabric accents. Our first apron, Cocktails At Eight, debuted last Monday, September 19th and featured rich taffeta and frothy organza. Tomorrow, we have a Halloween Hostess Apron that is ghoulishly gauzy. Yes, it takes some care and patience, but there's really no reason to fear the sheer. You just need to follow some simple precautions and basic rules to get sheers to do what you want them to. Then you'll be able open up new creative possibilities with these wonderful fabrics.

Tassels are are the "jewelry" of home decor, adding an elegant finish to your project. And, like jewelry, they can be quite expensive to buy and the selection of colors is limited. No problem for you! Because tassels are actually very easy to make, and the embroidery floss you use to do it is inexpensive and comes in hundreds of hues and textures. We bring you this no-hassle tassel tutorial just in time for holiday sewing, which cries out for tassels on stocking cuffs and toes, ornaments, table runners and more. 

In French, a 'ruche' is a ruffle or a pleat. That's pretty much what it means in English too. But everything sounds so much fancier in French. La Ruche est une merveilleuse technique (see how cool that sounds?!). Use it to add decorative effects to all kinds of sewing projects. Our embellishment tutorial shows you the basic way to create strips of ruching by machine. Then we show you how we turned a single ruched strip into a pretty spiral flower to use as a pillow accent.

This is a sewing therapy tutorial. Because, like spiders, snakes and giant zucchinis, many new sewers have an irrational fear of zippers. And, invisible zippers?! Don't even ask. Maybe it's because zippers have teeth? Not to worry; they don't bite. In fact, they're actually a friendly little notion. And here's a secret to facing your fears, concealed or invisible zippers are even easier to put in than a regular zipper.

The use of the monogram can be traced back to Roman and Greek times when it was used as a royal signature or seal, as well as on coins to identify a particular ruler. In the Middle Ages, printers, potters and other artisans used renderings of their initials to mark their work. But it's their use in Victorian times that we are most familiar with, when a monogram was a symbol of aristocracy. Upper class families thought it crucial to mark their table linens, cutlery, and other household goods with their monogram as a sign of prestige. We chose to use a monogram as a feature embellishment on two of our eight Citron-Gray Nursery projects: the crib bumpers, posting tomorrow and the baby quilt, posting on August 15th.

Here's another response to the questions and comments received in our You Asked 4 It survey: "What is the best way to keep my machine running smoothly?" The most common culprit in poor machine performance is usually lint, which is an unavoidable by-product of sewing. The more you sew, the more lint sifts into the guts of your machine. A little regular cleaning will keep your machine running smoothly. A clean machine is also a quiet machine.

When you walk into a fabric store, you'll notice that most fabric is wrapped around cardboard bolts that stand upright on shelves. What you may not notice is that at the end each bolt is a label that provides important information about the fabric. If you want 100% cotton, read the label so you don't accidentally come home with a poly-cotton blend. But, there's a lot more good information on that little label...

Today, during Pretty, Pretty Patchwork Week, we take a short break from projects to review some of the tips and tools that make the process easier. The biggest tip: PRACTICE! The more you do, the better you get. No surprises there, but with patchwork, there are a number of repetitive tasks you only get better at over time.  It's like a giant fabric puzzle, fitting together all those beautiful shapes into a field of color and design. If you know the basics and use the right tools, there's a much better chance of a frustration-free experience and a result you'll be proud to show off.

We've been asked numerous times by Sew4Home readers, "How do you get your double rows of stitching so perfectly even?" We've quietly given out our secret to several of you. But now we've decided it's time to reveal it to the world. The way to get perfectly even, super close, double rows of stitching is... to use a twin needle. If you're one of those people who think twin needles are way too complicated, you're in for a very pleasant surprise: twice the stitching is half as hard as you might imagine!

About a month ago, we ran a survey to find out what you'd like to see on Sew4Home. We were curious what you would like to make. Which projects are the ones that not only inspire you to turn on your machine, but also make you want to share that project with your friends and family? Are there techniques you've always wondered about? Is there a tool or notion you wish you knew how to use? We wanted to make sure we continued to bring our fans and followers the type of inspiration and information you're looking for. This is the first in our series of answers to your requests. One of the top comments was really a multi-part wish: many folks asked about basic sewing techniques: zippers, buttonholes, hand stitches, gathering, fussy cutting, etc. Lo and behold... we had answered the majority of these questions already, but realized the various articles were spread out over several categories and might be hard to find, so we decided to collect them in one handy article you can refer to any time.

A blind hem is exactly what it sounds like: a hem with stitches you barely notice. It's perfect for window coverings or anywhere you want a clean finished edge. When I first started sewing, attaining a perfect blind hem was like finding the Holy Grail. And then a funny thing happened, I practiced it a few times, and realized it was really easy. It's sort of like learning to use chopsticks – at first it seems so awkward and difficult and then, suddenly, it's second nature. Try a blind hem and you'll never drop a wad of sticky rice in your lap again.

We use this technique over and over... and over again, because in home décor, as in life, you never know what's around the next corner. Actually, in home décor, it's usually just another corner. Making a perfect 90˚ fold at your corners is one option, and often that works just fine. But this technique gives you nine simple steps to creating a much cleaner, prettier corner. The tutorial shows the steps for a ¼" double fold hem, and it is dandy for exactly that, however, you can use the same steps for wider hems.

Snaps - they're easier to use than buttons and more durable than Velcro. So why don't more people use them? Because they are scared to death of that giant plier thingy you gotta use to attach them. S4H to the rescue! We make it easy to understand, holding your hand every step of the way so you won't be frightened. The first time we ran this tutorial, the comments flooded in, thanking us for finally making this very handy tool understandable. Snap it up!

Today's tip was an instant hit when it posted last summer because it gets a gold star in every important category: 1) makes a tedious task easier, 2) makes a tedious task faster, and 3) does #1 and #2 economically! A simple, inexpensive pair of hemostats (a locking clamp you probably recognize form the TV show, ER) is extremely useful when you need to turn long, narrow tubes right side out. And as an extra bonus, we throw in a companion tip: an easy, fast, cheap way to improve how you iron all those long, narrow tubes.

It's Things2Learn week at Sew4Home! One of the comments we hear over and over again is how much you love to learn new techniques and/or refresh your basic skills. So we went back into our archives and found our top five tips and techniques. First up: our detailed tutorial on bias tape. The official definition of bias is "an oblique or diagonal line." Bias tape is a strip of fabric that's been cut at a 45˚ angle to the weave or grain. This gives it a little bit of stretchiness, making it possible to go around corners without bunching up. Brush up on how to make it and how to attach it.

How can something so lovely come from something so icky?? Ohhhh... I'm going to get emails from the insect lovers on that one. But you have to admit it's pretty amazing how one of the world's most luxurious fabrics gets its start wrapped around a pupating silkworm, which actually isn't a true worm at all, it's the caterpillar of a moth in the Bombicidae family. One cocoon contains approximately 1,000 yards of silk filament. One thread consists of up to 48 individual silk filaments. A very picky eater (similar to my middle child, who I believe subsisted on Goldfish® crackers for nearly a year), the silkworm's diet consists solely of mulberry leaves. Starting Monday of next week, we have a series of beautiful color-blocked pillows made with rich silk dupioni. We thought you'd like to know a little history as well as some tips and tricks for successful sewing with silk.

A few weeks back, we got an interesting email that kind of knocked us for a loop. It was someone needing help figuring out what all those tiny marks are on a standard tape measure. What?!?! We deal in fractions every day and are forever measuring quarters and eighths and sixteenths and whatnot. It's completely second nature to me, but when I stepped back and looked at my trusty tape with the eyes of someone brand new to sewing, I saw she was right... there are a lot of marks with no identification. So, we came up with a handy chart to help decipher those little black lines, and thought it would be a good tip to share with everyone.

Roller Foot. It sounds like it could be a malady common to professional skaters. (It may be for all we know.) But the Roller Foot is a presser foot for your sewing machine that allows you to sew sticky or shifty fabrics with ease. We're talking about materials like vinyl and leather, or chiffon, organza, and especially for the holiday season and our upcoming series of projects: velvet.

I used to watch the TV show, ER and think, "I could do that." Not be an actual, real-life doctor. But I could wear a white coat and stethoscope and yell, "Get me a C-Spine, Chem 7, and a V-Fib!" I have no idea what any of those terms mean. They're just fun to say. Well, now I've discovered one of the medical devices I saw Dr. Greene use every week can be a big help in my sewing room. It's called a hemostat, and it's basically a locking clamp shaped like a long pair of scissors. (Probably what Dr. Greene wanted when he yelled, "Clamp!") A hemostat is extremely useful when you need to turn long, narrow tubes right side out.

Ruffles. Bet you can't use them just once. We've added ruffles to a number of recent projects, and so thought we'd take the time to talk about the accessory that makes our ruffling easier and faster: the Ultimate Ruffler from Janome. This attachment is designed to work with any machine that can accept a snap-on presser foot, which means you don't have to have a Janome. Other machine manufacturers make similar attachments, which work in the same way. It's time to go from flat to frilly.

What is soft, pliable, and waterproof; can withstand fairly high temperatures; and holds up to a lot of use? Like me, your first guess might have been those dang swimming pool noodles you always buy too many of and then never know what to do with once summer is over. But... the real answer is: PUL, polyurethane laminate if you wish to be formal. The broad category refers to any fabric with a polyurethane laminated to a base fabric. Most common is a polyester knit fabric laminated to a thin waterproof, non-breathable polyurethane backing. Originally developed for use in the medical industry, it's very durable and very popular right now for folks making diapers, diaper covers, changing pads, bibs, training pants, and outside the world of babies, it's often used to create reusable sandwich, snack and lunch bags. As with most man-made fabrics, there are some tips and techniques that make sewing with PUL easier.

They're everywhere. Airliners have rivets. The pockets of your Levis® have rivets. Frogs make the sound, "rrriiiiiivvvet." That last example probably isn't applicable, but it kinda makes you wonder, doesn't it? Not only are rivets ubiquitous, they look super professional when used on a sewing project. Rivets also have a very logical purpose: they hold loads of thick layers together at points where it would be impossible to stitch with a sewing machine.