Which Sewing Machine Needle? + Bonus Download Worth $1.95 FREE Ok, so you’ve taken up sewing but you’re still learning the ropes, as they say. When talking about sewing machine needles, people in your sewing circle keep spouting off numbers like 90/14 and 75/11, which makes little to no sense to you…the problem is, you’re just a tad too shy to ask. Well, that’s why we’re here: so you can arrive at that next sew-along date spouting off some useful info of your own, maybe teach the old experts some stuff that even they didn’t know (we won’t tell them if you won’t). Before we get to those blasted numbers though…what about needle types, why the different shapes and when are they appropriate? When it comes to sewing machine needles you’ll have a few needle types from which to choose, namely quilting, topstitch, embroidery, denim, metallic and universal. Topstitch needles are super sharp but have a long eye: this allows you to glide through heavier fabrics with a relatively thick thread…without leaving gaping holes in the fabric.
Quilting in a Straight Line with Walking foot #50 While I’ve been sewing a long time, I’ve only been quilting for a handful of years. Learning how to successfully machine quilt all those layers of pieced fabrics together with batting and backing was quite an experience! I prefer straight line quilting in my quilts as opposed to free-motion quilting, mostly because the straight lines compliment the simple, geometric designs in my quilts. Like the quilting in the Sunrise Baby Quilt (find the free tutorial here), which has straight lines following along the rays out from the center. And the quilting in the Triangle quilt which follows along the leading edges of the shapes. I’ve learned many tips and tricks to help quilt in a straight line, and I’m sharing my top tips with you here today! Meet The BERNINA Walking Foot #50 Hello there little Walking foot #50! There are several methods to use this foot with straight lines, these are the methods I like to use the most. Quilting Half-inch Straight Lines Quilting Randomly Spaced Straight Lines
Demystifying Fabric Weight By Allie Allie is the co-founder of Indiesew and creator of all things pretty on the site. Follow Allie and receive other Indiesew updates by subscribing to the blog. It wasn’t until we opened the Indiesew Fabric Shop, that I started to understand the intricacies of textiles. Today I thought it would be useful to offer a primer on fabric weight. fabric weight defined Fabric weight is generally listed in the US as ounces per square yard and in the UK as grams per square meter (GSM). This is the standardized way of listing fabric weights because fabric can come in a wide range of widths from the manufacturer. The per square yard/meter weight of the fabric only tells us how much the fabric weighs. Why is fabric weight important? In many sewing patterns, designers will list a suitable fabric weight for the garment. Generally, the less a fabric weighs, the more pliable and drapey it will be, and the more it will breathe in hot weather. But these are not hard and fast rules. Happy sewing!
East African Preterm Birth Initiative: Tiny Hats for Tiny Babies | Warm Up America! We were set to roll out the East African Preterm Birth Initiative just when Hurricane Harvey hit. These are two very different but important campaigns and we’re hoping that in-between stitching afghan sections, you’ll have time to complete a preemie cap or two for this life-saving initiative. Unlike WUA! Hurricane Harvey effort, which is more long term, the PBI-EA will run through early-November. Each year across the world, 1 million preterm babies die within their first 28 days. University of California San Francisco’s East Africa Preterm Birth Initiative and the Warm Up America! For more details about this program, visit: pretermbirth.ucsf.edu World Prematurity Day, November 17, 2017, is a global conference which will be held in San Francisco and attended by the East African health ministers. Click the "Learn More Here" link to see a knit and crochet version of cute tiny hats, along with more information about the initiative and a note card which you can attach to your tiny hat. Size:
My Recipe for Portacath Pillows | Abbie and Eveline 2/03/2016 – Update: So this is crazy! I have been getting so many views of this post coming over from Pinterest! With so much traffic to this blog post, I’ve decided to update a couple of things – some thanks to the suggestions of readers. And just so you know – I had a CT scan recently and there was no visible sign of cancer. Enough hair for a little trim! I’ve been neglecting this space again! I usually post family recipes on Friday, but today will be a different kind of recipe. If you are a frequent visitor, you know that I had a stem cell transplant on February 12th – my new birthday. On August 12, my six month new birthday, I celebrated by taking snacks and portacath pillows to the infusion (chemo) room where I received six rounds of chemo from Sept.- Dec. On my first day of chemo I was scared and apprehensive. My answer to her: It is strangely pleasant here. Cancer free! And it was. Now let me tell you about those pillows, as they are the main point of this post…. my pillow
SewThrillingCrafts: Custom Built Purse - Elastic Pocket I wanted a good expandable pocket to store my headphones and ds games in, but I didn't want to have a large opening. The perfect solution was to add an elastic to the opening, which would allow the opening to open fully when I needed it to, but close up to safely keep my things in place. Figure out how the size you would like your pocket to be. Cut a piece of elastic to the width of your pocket, adding in a ½” seam allowance. Stretch the elastic as far as it will go and measure the width when stretched. This will be the width that you cut for your fabric. Cut out your fabric, doubling the height, using the width of the stretched elastic and adding in a ½” seam allowance for both measurements. Fold over the fabric, top to bottom, right sides together, and press the fold. Sew both of the fabric sides together. Now you will need to sew along the top, just below where the elastic ends. Accordion fold the bottom in places to shape the pocket into a square. Elastic Pocket B
crazylittleprojects What’s the Project? This fun DIY notebook cover is a fun sewing project to get yourself organized! You can add pockets for notebooks, phones, pens, business cards, to do lists, anything you need to get you organized! I am so in love with this project. Open it up and you’ll find space for so many things! This could be perfect for taking to conferences or business meetings or for moms who have too much to keep track of to keep it all in one place. But there’s one more thing I love about this that I haven’t told you! Do you know where I got that fabric? This fabric is from Target! Oh ya! Find out if your store carries it here. Supplies Needed: Fabric: I used 4 different fabrics for mine. Sewing Instructions: Here is your cutting guide- From your main fabric cut: Two pieces that are 15 inches wide by 10 inches tallA small piece to hold your phone-my piece is 5.5″ wide by 6″ tall. From accent fabrics cut: (mix and match these as desired with your other fabrics) Turn it all right side out: Pin It:
New Year New Hobby: Our best posts for beginners! - Grainline Studio A new year is upon us and to celebrate I’ve gathered up 5 posts aimed at having a great 2019 sewing year. Whether you’re just picking up the sewing habit (yay!) or you’re a long time sewer, there’s bound to be a new tidbit of info you can use in these posts! One of the most important things you’ll need to learn when starting out sewing is how to correctly choose your pattern size. Read the post here: All of our patterns contain yardage information but occasionally you might like to use a contrast fabric for one or more pattern pieces or alter the pattern in one way or another. Interfacing is a mystery to a lot of people but it needn’t be. Read the posts here: If you’re one of the lucky people who got a new serger this holiday season our post on essential serger tips is a must read. A lot of people struggle with storing PDF patterns so I wrote this post to share what works for me in my personal sewing as well as at work.
5 Ways to Make Wallpaper wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. To create this article, 14 people, some anonymous, worked to edit and improve it over time. Together, they cited 5 references. This article has also been viewed 65,635 times. Categories: Wallpaper In other languages: Español: hacer papel tapiz, Русский: сделать необычные обои, Français: faire un papier peint, Bahasa Indonesia: Membuat Kertas Dinding, Português: Fazer Papel de Parede Alice and LoisDIY Fabric Headband Tutorial - Handmade Gift Series This is a beginner sewing tutorial that I was honored to contribute on the blog Craft Snob, in the Bite Sized Sewing column. This tutorial for a little girls fabric headband takes under 30 minutes to complete. This makes a perfect stocking stuffer this holiday! Read more for the full DIY Fabric Headband tutorial – Handmade Gift Series tutorial. Supplies: scrap fabric (100% cotton works best)fold over elasticsewing machinescissors Directions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. All photos by Sara Albers for alice & lois. Now you have a sweet and simple fabric headband for your little girl. *Check out the tutorial for the same headband for women here! Enjoy your sewing! Check out more simple sewing tutorials on here and here!