How to Make and Install Inset Zippers
When you want a professional look for your best bag or tote plus the security of a full closure, you can’t go wrong with the recessed inset zipper. Follow our step-by-step tutorial to see how easy it can be.
Liz Johnson.Editor.Sew4Home
Creative Fun with Cheesecloth
Don’t you love it when you discover/re-discover a product that is inexpensive, natural, re-usable, and super versatile? Get classic Halloween Ideas plus Six Everyday Uses for cooking, cleaning, crafting, and more.
Gumdrop Zippered Clutch
Goody, goody gumdrop! This cute zippered clutch combines several of our favorite embellishments: ribbons, beads, and tassels. The extra long zipper-pull with charms is an especially fun and unique accent.
Cushion Style Round Accent Pillow
If you’re happy and you know it… make a pillow. This is what we envision Little Miss Muffet’s tuffet must have looked like. A little bit cushion and a little bit pillow in one! Gathering the top and bottom is easy!
Car Caddy + Waste Bin
Create a caddy for your car that can keep important items within reach yet enough out of the way they don’t interfere with the task at hand: driving! Add a few auto safety products to make it a smart gift idea for any driver.
Tailored Linen and Ribbon Half Apron
A stunning half apron design with a crisp, tailored look. The bold Jacquard ribbon accents remind us of vintage skinny striped ties. The key to our look is to combine a strong ribbon motif with a rich solid fabric.
How to Make Darts
No matter what kind of sewing you do, sooner or later, you will likely have to sew a dart. To get the perfect contour a dart should provide, follow our professional tips for marking, stitching, and pressing. We review 6 styles.
Frightful Faces Halloween Treat Bags
A basic box-bottom bag becomes a top-notch Halloween Treat Bag thanks to three Frightful Faces made from Iron On Patches plus a few bits and pieces from your own scrap stash. Not trick-or-treating? They’re fun as indoor décor too.
Fussy Cut Patchwork Pillow Trio
Fussy. Cut. It means having your way with fabric, manipulating it to best showcase motifs and colors. This pillow trio was originally made in Tula’s De La Luna Halloween-themed fabric, but they’d be smashing in any of your faves.
Jeweled Spider Mask
A little wicked glamour and a wicked little spider come together to make a spellbinding Halloween mini mask. We combine spider web construction with a practical soft fleece backing. Of course there’s a free pattern to download.
Zombie Pincushions
Our zombies are friendly and helpful as they hold your pins. You can tell by their tattered pink hearts they aren’t out to do any harm! Create their unique personalities with just a few bits of floss, felt, and button accents.
Dead Roses Witch Hat
With a scrunched top, wilting flowers, and stowaway spider, this hat is the most hauntingly hideous of haute couture – and our most popular Halloween project ever! We love to bring it back every year. There’s a full, free pattern.
Reversible Cross Bib Apron
This reversible apron features a cool crossover bib, and fussy cutting a large, bold motif creates a dramatic finish. We offer detailed steps as well as links to full S4H tutorials on fussy cutting and pattern matching.
Hexagon Pillow with Wrapped Cording
This set of elegant pillows features wraparound cording for a unique, pretty-from-all-sides look. We selected two coordinated home décor prints within a single colorway to create a trio of pillows in three distinct shapes.
Mini Pouf Patchwork Pincushion
We miniaturized the classic pouf style ottoman as a clever pincushion. Use Layer Cake squares for a wonderful mixture of perfectly coordinating color and pattern or pull out some fave small scraps to mix + match. A great gift idea!
Asymmetrical Crossbody Bag
Asymmetrical means having two sides or halves that are not the same. Throwing in an interesting angle or unique texture can take your project to the next level. This design started with our idea for the cool fold-over closure.
Table Top Sewing Caddy
There are so many fantastic notions and tools to make project construction fast, easy, and fun. SO many… everywhere… all over our work space. Time for a bit of tidying up with this handy caddy; it has lots of pocket options.
Thread Box and Sewing Kit Carry Case
Our adorable carry case is perfectly sized for Aurifil’s 12-spool Designer Thread Box and has a custom fold-up flap with pockets to hold important sewing tools. Fill it with your own favorite supplies any time you’re sewing on-the-go.
Penny Saved Suspender Strap Apron
Unisex in color, tone, and fit; this apron would make a wonderful host/hostess gift wrapped up with some natural wooden spoons. The cool suspender buckles on the neck strap are a perfect match for its retro style.
Round Six Pocket Bath Caddy
Keep bath necessities handy in this cute, round organizer. It’s an excellent counter storage solution that can also be carried when need be. Perfect for shared spaces, tiny homes, and dorm life.
Tufted Patchwork Floor Cushions
The boxed floor cushion is a home déc classic. This Etsy Shop pattern has complete steps for assembling the pretty patchwork, making and attaching piping, creating hand tufting, and putting it all together into a 3D box.
Toby the Terrific Stuffed Turtle
Meet our favorite turtle, Toby. He’s not only as cute as they come with his shy smile (made with darts!), he also has an important job: holding his owner’s PJs in a hidden pocket on his bottom shell. Includes a free pattern download.
How to Turn Corners with a Decorative Stitch
Ah – decorative stitching… as long as you’re going straight, all is well. Then the corner approaches. If making a turn with a decorative stitch has you puzzled, we’re here to help with several ways to make a turn for the better.
Decorative Stitch Sewing Machine Cover
This full-coverage protective cover is one of our most popular sewing room solutions thanks to its striking decorative stitching and button embellishment. We show you how to measure your machine to adjust the fit.
Fabric Bowl Covers
Lighten up on the plastic wrap and foil; go green with these cute fabric bowl covers. They’re great for dining outside. Slip one over an open bowl to keep dirt and buggies from invading. When inside, they can help keep food warm.
Big, Beautiful Diaper Bag
Plenty of room, lots of pockets, PUL lining, adjustable strap… and most importantly for a bag that’s your constant companion for months: it looks GREAT! It might be hard to give up once baby becomes a more compact traveler.
Roomy Canvas Weekender Duffle
This super-roomy duffle fills up to the brim then cinches down into a compact, easy-to-carry box shape. We added both dual handles and an adjustable shoulder strap. The style reminds us of a vintage college sports duffle.
How to Make Adjustable Straps
Making adjustable straps can seem like a magic rope trick with all the threading this way and that. But, it’s really quite easy and makes the strap much more flexible. Lengthen to wear crossbody, shorten for a shoulder strap.
Tri-Fold Fabric Wallet
Showcase your personality with a custom fabric wallet. This one folds up in thirds and is secured with an elastic loop and button. We added an optional monogram and offer our full alphabet + brackets as a free machine embroidery download.
Empire Waist Apron with Double Tier Skirt
This adorable apron has: an empire waist, pretty piping accents, double layer skirt, bouncy poms, and a unique oval pocket. And, Tula Pink’s Monkey Wrench fabric collection is full of colorful motif mischief.
Hot Handle Sleeves
Hot pads and oven mitts are great, but sometimes can be overkill when all you need to do is protect your hand while holding a hot pan or pot handle. Time to downsize with a slip-on hot handle sleeve.
Speedy Button Sewing by Hand
For some reason, button-sewing by hand is stuck in our head as a dreaded, time-consuming task. That need not be true! Read on to learn our favorite, super speedy, five-step process to perfect buttons every time.
Cat + Dog Protective Furniture Throws
Stay off the furniture! But that’s only when you’re watching. Shield your surfaces in style with an easy-to-launder pet throw. Yes, of course you could use an old sheet, but you sew + fabric companies make adorable pet prints.
Adjustable Yoga Mat Strap Wrap
When you don’t need a full bag, this gorgeous strap wrap lets you sling a yoga mat over your shoulder and go. We figured out all the wrapping, turning, and securing challenges for you, so you can put it together in a snap.
Compact Quilted Duffle
This smaller size duffle (8½” x 15″ x 6”) is great for kids or anyone who wants a space-saving, on-the-go option. We created a soft, quilted exterior so the duffle can gently expand and mold to better fit its contents.
Baby Rag Quilt
With a rag quilt, you want your seams to show! After washing and drying, the exposed seams gently fray or ‘rag,’ producing a very soft and cuddly feel – perfect for babies. Our design features unique scalloped outer edges.
Terry Cloth Shower Wraps
Make a full length wrap for women and/or a waist wrap for men. Both are bound with eye-catching quilting cotton to add an extra punch of color. Great for yourself or as a snuggly gift. Drying off just got a lot more stylish.
Monogrammed Oven Mitts
An oven mitt has an excellent surface for embellishment. We chose a Flourish Alphabet Monogram to personalize ours, joking how we could embroider “L” on one hand, “R” on the other — just in case you get confused when baking!
Baby Snakes Catnip Kitty Toys
Too silly to be scary, these baby snakes are filled with catnip as wonderful little toys for your playful puddy tats. Make A Snake – I think that should be a bumper sticker. There’s a free downloadable pattern so you can make lots.