We go over our recommendations for what to have on hand if youโre just getting started in the world of sewing as well as a few favorites to add to your toolbox as you move up in your skill level and expand your projects.
When temperatures rise, a great quick-cooling spot is your neck. Our easy-to-make wraps use water absorbing crystals within the pockets of a long, tie-on tube for fast cooling power. For adults, kids, even pets.
Pre-cut bundles can shorten your cutting time and give you an affordable way to purchase an entire collection of fabric without breaking the bank. Learn the most common sizes and names for these handy little fabric cuts.
When budgets get tight, repairing and re-purposing is the way to go to extend an itemโs life. We explore some innovative ideas for using iron-on patches for scarves, t-shirts, pillows, andโฆ of course, jeans.
The school year is wrapping up. Soon the books will be closed and the desks will be empty, but the impact on studentsโ hearts and minds is forever stamped. Great inventors and leaders are not born. They are motivated and inspired by all the amazing teachers who stand up and stand out every single day.
Whether youโre sewing or just binge-watching a bit too much TV, you need to get up and move around. These ten simple exercises donโt require any special tools; use your own body to stretch and strengthen.
From cooking to organizing to looking good, these five favorites are sure to please. The supplies needed are minimal; you may already have the perfect options in your stash. To make your gift extra special, we have a set of free printable โMom Said!โ gift tags.
Our free gingham fruit embroidery + appliquรฉ designs were custom-digitized forย Aurifil 80wt thread. The stitch work is so delicate + precise, youโll do a double-take when you realize itโs thread, not actual gingham fabric.
Left: Faux Leather Shopper, Right: Trendy Faux Leather Handbag 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 โ excuse
A circle has 360ห โ we all learned that in school, but we didnโt always learn how to use those 30 dozen degrees to create the angles that make up some of our favorite shapes. Our latest Sew4Home Cheat Card is the third installment in our Basics Shapes trio. It focuses on the most common
As we roll into the final days before Christmas, weโre taking a moment to step away from our sewing machines to bring you something a little different โ something we hope might become a new tradition for the holidays. We wrote a little story and designed a pretty book to go along with the adorableย illustrations
Our recent Basic Shapes Cheat Card #1 brought you fun facts about the smooth curves of The Circle. Time to straighten up and fly right with the most common of the angular geometric shapes. Are these all of them? Not at all, but they are the ones you are likely to come across in your
There are lots of straight lines in sewing, but we love the circle. In fact, in my humble opinion, the circle is the Queen of the geometric shapes. Don't get me wrong; I like all those squares, rectangles, triangles, octagons, and whatnot; but the circle is the coolest of the bunch: smooth and pretty and
One of top rules of sewing success: Start each new project with a new needle! When a needle is piercing your fabric at 600 to 1,000 stitches per minute, small things like a dulled point or an eye that's beginning to wear can make a big difference in the quality of your stitches, which means
Prom and wedding season is upon us, which is always a great time to pull out the specialty fabrics for garments as well as home dรฉcor items. However, working with these fabrics does require a little special handling; they aren't always as user-friendly as good ol' cotton. We picked four of the most common categories:
Donโt laugh. This printable in our Cheat Card series is based on one of our most popular articles. Really! If youโve been sewing forever, and work with fractions every day, it may seem crazy to you that someone wouldnโt know how to read a measuring tape. But if you step back for a moment, and
We are very proud to once again be featured in the Handmade for the Home Kitchen column of Where Women Cook! We designed a brand new apron expressly for their readers. Tough canvas on the front with pretty cotton accents on the back, this classic cookโs apron has the style and substance to be at
Iย know I should be able to do math in my head; I also know I should eat more fruits and vegetables and actually use my gym membership. I could continue to pretend all these things are going to happen, orโฆ I could find some little workarounds. Our Cheat Card is a handy reference table that
Here's a fast and fabulous Valentine's gift idea everyone will love, because it includes both adorable fabric and yummy candy. We created a cellophane bag topper from small fabric squares, stitched on a personalized message of love, and sealed it with a secret quick-release basting stitch. When it's finished its job as a bag topper,
Your project instructions call for two yards of 60" wide fabric, but the fabric you want to use is 45" wide. Hmmm... attempting to dredge up that old math lesson in proportions is probably not going to happen on the fly. Instead, print out our handy conversion chart for those times you don't have a
Learn this simple yet elegant napkin fold. Fill the cornucopia with fresh flowers or greens; a small gift; candy, nuts, and fruits; or whatever strikes your fancy. It’s a lovely way to finish your holiday table setting.
If youโre brand new to sewing, youโre probably also brand new to figuring out all the parts of a sewing machine. We review the basics, from unpacking, to setting up, to the names of the most common parts, to threading and testing.
In our quest to continue bringing you the information youโre searching for, weโve been partnering with some of our pals in the sewing community to provide guest features on garment sewing. This is an area we donโt currently focus on at Sew4Home but for which we get a lot of inquiries. Itโs not that we
Garment sewing is not necessarily one of our focuses here at S4H, so we turned to expert, Carla Crim for some pattern-making secrets. We found her techniques fascinating, and it certainly inspired us to give it a try.
Hopefully, you're reading this article for one of two reasons. Either you know a teen who really wants to start sewing, or you know one you'd like to inspire to start sewing. In both cases, you can help them on their way with a little guidance. In this day and age, when young adults seem
Creating beautiful handmade projects is what we all love to do. However, we probably donโt put in quite as much effort thinking about how to keep them looking beautiful. So we spent some time with our clever friends at Dritzย to explore their Clothing Care category, coming away with nine products that help smooth, dry, repair,
Ribbons and bowsโฆ is there anything happier?! Our friends at The Ribbon Retreat put together this fun Guest Tutorial showing you how to make bright and colorful bow tie bows in several styles, layers, and colors.
When you walk into a fabric store, you'll notice most fabric is wrapped around cardboard bolts that stand upright on shelves or racks. 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
Using your sewing machine to join paper and fabric is surprisingly easy. If you’ve never tried it yourself, this is a great first project: not too complicated, yet still a very pretty way to send a special Valentine greeting.
It gives a fabulous softness to a wide variety of projects, from toys to pillows to blankets and more. Although not difficult to sew with, to create the very best results, it helps to have a few tips and tricks under your belt.
Little pieces of fabric sewn together. That's truly quilting at its most basic, but it's just about as crazy as describing cooking as: tasty bits of food mixed together. The creativity (and the love) is in the who, what, when, where, and why of how it all happens. Our Quilting Basics series is designed to
We worked with our friends at Coats to put together a handy overview that can help you understand not only the standard thread choices, but some of the specialty options as well.ย Itโs part science and part art.
How fabric is woven is important; fabric that is off-grain when youโre cutting can cause the completed project to stretch out of shape. Get a better understanding of how to identify fabric grain and tips on how to straighten it.
So many choices! This article helps you sort out the most common interfacing options for bags and totes. You’ll like the printable chart we developed. Post one copy in your sewing room and use another when you shop.
A big part of sewing is knowing your fabric. A big part of knowing fabric is understanding how to care for it. Protect your project and fabric investment. Learn when to preshrink fabrics, what products to use, and more.
We love the quilting art of superstar, Heather Jones. A while back, she was kind enough to give us her favorite tips on straight line quilting. It provides a clean, modern feeling to a design, and is especially cool when densely stitched.
We love embellishing projects with gorgeous ribbons. One reason is that we have such amazing choices from our friends and sponsor, Renaissance Ribbons. Another is because ribbons inject wonderful color and texture. Third, they're very easy to work with. Since we use them often, we're always thinking about new and unique ways to apply them.
Remember how scary it was to raise your hand in school and ask what you feared would be a "stupid" question? Hopefully we've moved beyond that childhood fear. Questions are great because they lead to answers, and answers are meant to be shared.ย Today's quick measuring tip came from a question in a visitor's email. Someone
We worked with Waverly to test their Sun โnโ Shade outdoor fabrics. Our step-by-step fabric care tutorial shows how flexible these outdoor fabrics can really be. And, youโll also get to learn a bit about this interesting company.
Sewing requires some specialized tools, the biggest one being the sewing machine itself. If you're new to sewing, you might be tempted to get a machine as cheaply as possible. However, this is one of those cases where saving a few bucks now can end up causing you hours of frustration later. Purchasing a machine
Want to make a real fashion statement? It's hard to pack more drama into a small space than with a fascinator. If you haven't been keeping up with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, you might be unfamiliar with fascinators. They are basically very small, formal hats that are very big on embellishment. Captivating Kate