What is it? – Fashion, fashion accessories, heirloom sewing, quilting or home decor. At one time or another all of these project genres present us with a blank canvas to which we can apply our own creative brilliance. Or maybe we can just plagiarize someone else’s brilliance just a little. In any case, we’ve found a really cool… Read More Mesh Transfer Canvas
What are they? – The devil is in the details. Isn’t that what they say? How can that possibly apply to us? Just think about what we do when we sew. We spend hours selecting a delicious design or the perfect pattern. The same amount of time is spent finding the most fabulous fabric (and no, it’s not in your stash)… Read More Straight Pins
What is it? – It’s common knowledge that woven fabric is made on a loom with warp (vertical threads) and weft (horizontal threads). In either direction there is pretty much no stretch at all. That’s a good thing but it also makes it pretty hard to form binding fabric around corners or adapt it to curved shapes found… Read More Bias Makers
What is it? – Appliqué . As a noun it’s an amazing and beautiful fiber art form. As a verb, appliqué refers to the addition of subordinate decorative fabric motifs to a larger, supporting piece of fabric. It has applications to quilting, fashion, home décor and crafts. Appliqué can be elegant or simple and it can create real world, geometric or… Read More Wonder Fuse
What is it? – Scarves, shawls and wraps. Sometimes it seems as if you’ve seen one you’ve seen them all. But every now and then you see one that is somehow different. Really different. Seems to be made of endless flowing lace. It’s incredibly beautiful with a lacey, open design. And then we ask ourselves, is it knitting or crochet? Well, the easy… Read More Hairpin Lace Tool
What is it? – Crochet has been around for a long time. Just ask your friends at Wikipedia. Having said that, crochet is still very relevant, even considered cool and growing in popularity as evidenced by trending pieces all the way from grandmother to Dolce & Gabbana. Fashion and fashion accessories, home décor and amazing independent pieces abound. Patterns… Read More Amour Crochet Hooks
What you need: Size Large Yo-Yo Maker, item #8701 Neutral shade of thread, Aurifil 50 wt cotton Black Gold Applique Needles, item #4971 Fabric Cuts: 96, 4.5″ red squares (or any darker color) 25, 4.5″ pink squares (or any lighter color) One, 20×20″ red fabric square for the back of the pillow One, 20×20″… Read More Yo-Yo Pillow Tutorial
What is it? So what is this thing called punch embroidery? It’s actually one of those “mature” artforms that is pretty much old school, something our grandmothers may have loved. While traditional machine embroidery has its obvious applications, lately more and more of us have had our fiber-creative senses re-attuned to the amazing textures created… Read More Embroidery Stitching (Punch) Tool
What is it? Decorative beadwork has a history dating back millennia to a time when shells and bones were used to fashion necklaces and other jewelry. It was used to signify a special sense of importance to the wearer. The same can be said of crochet and knitting. As an art form they’ve been around for… Read More Swift Bead
What is it? What can you make with fabric yo-yo’s? That’s not the real question. The real question should be what can’t you make with fabric yo-yo’s? Those little creative gems are perfect for all kinds of home décor applications like doilies, quilts, bead spreads, pillows, placemats or fashion accessories like dresses, vests, headbands or… Read More Quick Yo-Yo Makers
What is it? Feeling creative? No holds barred creative? Want to make something that exudes light and color and texture? Something that conveys emotion? Flat is good but how about adding form or structure? Something like three dimensional shapes to make gorgeous flowers, cute puppies or elegant birds? Well you’re in for a treat. Let me… Read More Needle Felting Tools
What is it? Triangles and quilts. What do they have to do with each other. Plenty. Using half-square and quarter square triangle blocks in various arrangements of color and size have produced literally thousands of quilt patterns. Solid colors, prints, batiks, fabric styles and block orientations all contribute to an unending array of designs. And triangles… Read More No-Hassle Triangles Gauge