Following along with our posts, you will have noticed that we love taking existing tools and finding unique ways to use them. Most everyone reading this will have heard of bias tape, having purchased it or made it themselves for garment trims and quilt binding. Bias tape maker… surely there had to be other uses… Read More Scandinavian Fabric Stars with Clover’s Bias Tape Maker
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 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
Featured Items Art No. 4071 Purple Desk Needle Threader Art No. 4072 Green Desk Needle Threader Art No. 4073 Pink Desk Needle Threader Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo known as the Shibaguyz, and the creative geniuses behind Shibaguyz Designz Studio.Their award winning crochet & knit designs have… Read More Desk Needle Threader Extra Credit!
What is it? Quilting construction is all about fabric cut in geometric shapes and applied in a specific order to present our preselected pattern. Squares, rectangles, triangles and curves. They are all important and can be applied in any combination to mimic our creative vision. Using these basic shapes we can create an endless array of… Read More Carefree Curves
What is it? Few things are more essential to the sewing process than the hand sewing needle. They were around even before thread and fabric. Think about it. Ancient ancestors used “pointed” objects to perforate animal hides so they could be laced together with cords. It was only a matter of time until some smart cave… Read More Desk Needle Threader
What is it? You know that fuzzy, super comfortable quilt your grandmother gave you? Probably made of chenille. And there’s nothing more reassuring than a hug from a chenille robe. Why? Chenille is your basic comfort fabric. It’s a natural for towels, robes and baby items. But don’t forget home décor, fashion or crafts. You can… Read More Slash Cutter
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
What is it? Okay, who has too much time on their hands? We find it’s a challenge every day for us to figure out what we’re going to do with ourselves. Plenty of time on our hands and nothing to do. Well that’s not much of a showing. How about this, who thinks that quilting… Read More Foot Note on the Ultimate Quilt ‘n Stitch Presser Foot
Roll ‘n Press Point 2 Point Turner … Read More I Sew For Fun Extra Credit
What is it? – If there was such a thing as a machine that could transport us back in time to review our history we’d no doubt see that one of the first sewing tools developed by our sewing ancestors was the hand sewing needle. Granted it was a very crude artifact compared to the precision needles… Read More Flexible Rubber Thimbles
What is it? – Whether we’re into fashion, quilting, heirloom, home decor or all of the above, there is one constant. Specific techniques apply to each. The more adept we are in that technique to more personal satisfaction we realize for our efforts. The more completely we can achieve our creative intent. It’s that simple and that’s… Read More New I Sew For Fun Items!
Create-a-Pincushion Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo known as the Shibaguyz, and the creative geniuses behind Shibaguyz Designz Studio.Their award winning crochet & knit designs have been featured in and on the covers of both US and international publications. Their craft, portrait, and fashion photography has appeared in six books and… Read More Create-a-Pincushion Extra Credit
What is it? – “A pincushion is a small, stuffed cushion, typically 3-5 cm across, which is used in sewing to store pins or needles with their heads protruding to take hold of them easily, collect them, and keep them organized. Pincushions are typically filled tightly with stuffing to hold pins rigidly in place.” Wikipedia. Really, is… Read More Create-a-Pincushion
Extra Credit with the Shibaguyz Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo known as the Shibaguyz, and the creative geniuses behind Shibaguyz Designz Studio.Their award winning crochet & knit designs have been featured in and on the covers of both US and international publications. Their craft, portrait, and fashion photography has appeared in… Read More Thimbles Extra Credit
Extra Credit with the Shibaguyz Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo known as the Shibaguyz, and the creative geniuses behind Shibaguyz Designz Studio.Their award winning crochet & knit designs have been featured in and on the covers of both US and international publications. Their craft, portrait, and fashion photography has appeared in six… Read More Hot Hemmer & Hot Ruler Extra Credit
What is it? – Think about what we do when we construct any sewn project. Most likely we take large pieces of fabric and cut them into small pieces of fabric and then we sew them back together into large pieces of fabric again. And it’s all done with some creative vision in mind. If we measure,… Read More Hot Hemmer & Hot Ruler
Art No. 7807 Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo known as the Shibaguyz, and the creative geniuses behind Shibaguyz Designz Studio.Their award winning crochet & knit designs have been featured in and on the covers of both US and international publications. Their craft, portrait, and fashion photography has appeared… Read More Hold it Precision Stiletto Extra Credit
What is it? So much of what we do in sewing involves detail work. Quilting, fashion, home decor or accessories all are made better when we pay attention to even the most obscure details in the construction process. But this requires more than just paying attention. It means all of those little points, folds, creases… Read More Hold It Precision Stiletto
What is it? Chances are if you’re into sewing it’s because you were introduced to it by someone. Maybe a friend or your mom or dad or even a grandmother or grandfather or other relative. The point remains, however, that most often someone close to you inspired you, encouraged you and taught you. And because… Read More I Sew For Fun
Extra credit with the Shibaguyz Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo known as the Shibaguyz, and the creative geniuses behind Shibaguyz Designz Studio.Their award winning crochet & knit designs have been featured in and on the covers of both US and international publications. Their craft, portrait, and fashion photography has appeared in… Read More Snag Repair Extra Credit
What is it? It’s always your new sweater, coat, blouse or pants. The dreaded snag. An unruly thread pulled free and right there for everyone to see. You can pat it down but you know it’ll come back. Cut it off and you leave a hole in its place. That’s no answer either. How can… Read More Snag Repair Needles
What is it? Sometimes a new sewing notion, a tool designed with one very specific purpose, comes around and we think, “Huh, why hasn’t someone thought of that before?” Case in point, sewing parallel lines of stitches for quilting, home decor or even fashion. Quite a chore, right? Measuring and marking all of those lines… Read More Ultimate Quilt ‘n Stitch Presser Foot
What does it do? Bias binding tape has been called “the duct tape of sewing.” Why? Because, like the actual duct tape, it’s just so handy. We can use it to join raw edges of fabric in any fashion that suits our creative vision. Bold fashion accents, button hole loops, draw strings, bag straps, elastic… Read More Bias Tape Makers
What is it? What do we think of when the topic of straight pins comes to the fore? Usually we think of those sharp little devils that find us when we’re not looking for them. You know, the one that’s hidden in that quilt top that we’re folding (but is now in our finger) or… Read More Straight Pins
Did you miss the hand sewing needles Tool School? Or maybe you just want more! Watch Tool School Extra Credit for some additional tips with Clover’s Hand Sewing Needles by the Shibaguyz. To Watch Tool School an Overview of Hand Sewing Needles click here Shannon and Jason Mullett-Bowlsby are the dynamic DIY duo… Read More Hand Sewing Needles Extra Credit
What is it? -Everything we do in sewing starts with cutting larger pieces of fabric into smaller pieces of fabric before we can reassemble them into larger pieces of fabric fitting our creative design. Fashion, quilting, home decor and a whole host of accessories for all of them. It all starts with the cut. And… Read More Rotary Cutters
What is it? -No tools are more basic to sewing than needles are. They existed even before thread and fabric as our ancient ancestors used pointed objects to perforate hides so they could be laced together with leather cords. Centuries of technology later we have highly advanced, modern hand sewing needles that do basically… Read More Hand Sewing Needles
Extra credit with the Shibaguyz Scissors Both of our mother’s and grandmother’s were sewers. It was never a question of “if” something was handmade, but “what” was being made today? Every afternoon would find Jason’s mom in her sewing room making clothes for the family or dolls and toys to sell. And often… Read More Scissors Extra Credit
What is it? -Because of that they have enjoyed the natural evolution that comes with the application of developing technology. The scissors and shears we use today bear but a faint resemblance to those used by our ancestors. In high-quality scissors the blades are extremely sharp and are positioned to increase the cutting and… Read More Scissors & Shears
What is it? -All right, we’ve decided to do a little fashion sewing. Cool. We’ve visited our local shop and poured over the pattern catalogs or perhaps searched favorite sites on the internet. In either case we’ve found a pattern that’s just what we’re looking for. We’ve reviewed the instructions on the back of the… Read More Curve Ruler
What is it? – What would you do if you wanted to give someone the gift that is sewing? You know, to enable an individual to achieve their creative expression through sewing, whether that be fashion, quilting, home décor or crafting. Or, for that matter, any variation or combination of all of the above. What’s important… Read More I Sew For Fun
What is it? – Welcome to the wonderful world of Wonder Fuse. What is it? It’s appliqué. Well, more accurately, it’s how you do appliqué. Why do we want to do appliqué? Unlimited creative potential. We can take any fabric, plain or with design, and cut it in any shape to represent pieces of… Read More Wonder Fuse
What is it? – These are pressing issues. Shakespeare might even ask, “To press or not to press, that is the question.” Well, no matter who is asking the question, the answer is the same, a resounding yes to press. Some very important things happen when we press each seam as we sew it… Read More Roll & Press
What is it? – For today’s active life styles a handy tote is a required accessory. Satisfying requirements of both form and function they are both fashionable and useful. Totes of one kind or another are available everywhere. So many styles, so many colors, so embellishments. But therein lies the problem. Which one? Choices,… Read More Nancy Zieman Hobo Tote
What is it?– “The devil is in the detail”. It’s a common enough phrase. Perhaps some of us has even used it. But what does it really mean, “the devil in the detail”? How often do we start a project that looks like it’s going to be a snap, only to get bogged down in all… Read More Air Erasable & White Marking Pen
What is it?– Fashion, fashion accessories, heirloom sewing, quilting and home decor. All of these projects are often one time or another blank canvases that are truly enhanced with the addition of the appropriate decorative pattern. Some of these pattern designs are professionally developed while others are original work we’ve created all by ourselves. Beautiful, often… Read More Chacopy Tracing Paper
What is it?– “I’m on pins and needles.” We’ve all heard the phrase and we know what it means. A sense of anxiety or suspense. But how could that possibly apply to sewing? Pins and needles of course. We all use them but they’re all armed with wickedly sharp little points. Hence the anxiety or suspense. … Read More Magnet Pin Caddy and Dome Threaded Needle Case
What is it?– We’ve all been to our favorite purveyor of all things sewing and been amazed by the extraordinary selection of sewing machine needle styles. Lots of names like universal, denim, stretch, jersey, etc. It all sounds impressive but is it necessary? Can we do it all with just a universal sewing machine needle? Yep,… Read More Best Premium Assortments
What is it?– Every Tool School is packed with valuable, useful information. But if you use a sewing machine at any point in your creative process, this one may be one of the most important. So pay attention because there may be a test at the end of class. If I were to ask you… Read More Best Premium Needle Anatomy
What is it? – Sequels. We love them. We couldn’t wait for the next Star Wars, Twilight, Bourne Identity, or Captain America movie to come out. We were captivated by the first one and couldn’t wait to see what was next. As usual Clover has what’s next in the sewing notions category. And… Read More Supersize 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge by Nancy Zieman & Clover
What is it? – You know them. You love them. And they’re everywhere. Few sewing, knitting or crafting tools have ever enjoyed a more widespread and enthusiastic reception. Years after their introduction they are still perhaps the most versatile and useful sewing tool ever devised. Often copied but never equaled, the Wonder Clip… Read More Mini Wonder Clips
What is it? – China, circa 3600 BC. That’s where it all started. A young Chinese empress expressed a desire for a luxurious new fiber and silk was the result. Threads of different types had been around for many years but this was different. In fact, silk was very different. It had a texture and… Read More Silk Threads
What is it? – Scissors. It’s hard to imagine doing anything in sewing, knitting or crafts without them. They are, in fact, one of the most common tools used universally by us humans. They were even carried by Apollo 12 astronauts on the surface of the moon. The earliest known scissors appeared in Mesopotamia 3,000… Read More Scissors
What is it? – Pincushions have been a necessity for about as long as the needle and pin have been used. Picture someone sewing by candlelight in the Middle Ages. She puts her needle down to adjust the fabric or throw another log on the fire and when she reaches for it again . .… Read More Create-a-Pincushion
What is it? – What do you do when you have a hit? That’s a no brainer. You make the sequel. And if you make the sequel well you will have another hit. And that’s exactly what Clover has done. The success of the Hot Hemmer was and is unprecedented. There is nothing like it… Read More Hot Ruler
What is it? – Think how often you need just the basics for a quick repair and you don’t want to, or can’t, sit down at your sewing cabinet to do it. Maybe you don’t have time to go through the drawers and look for the tools you need. Maybe you’re on vacation and the… Read More Compact Sewing Kit