DIY Style :: Sewing Tips Sewing Knit Fabrics They're easy to sew and comfy to wear, so why not make your next outfit out of a knit-weave fabric? Read on to increase your knit know-how. Use Ballpoint Sewing Machine Needles instead of regular machine needles. The ballpoint ones work best for stretchy knit fabrics. These needles have a rounded point instead of a super sharp point. Use "pattern weights" instead of straight pins to hold your pattern pieces in place. Tear Easy is a great lightweight stabilizer than can be used for a lot of sewing tricks. One of our favorite tips for knits is to cut strips of Tear Easy, a tear-away stabilizer. Stitch your knit seams with either a serger or with a zig-zag stitch on your sewing machine.
celebrate the boy tutorial: basic boys wallet - StumbleUpon I first want to say thank you to Dana and Rae for hosting such an awesome event. If you haven't been indulging in all the fun already, go check out both of their blogs for lots of great inspiration. There has already been so many great ideas! Today I'm sharing a basic boys wallet tutorial because... every boy needs a place to keep his stuff! So I know, you're probably thinking, 'What? It's a great time of year to make these wallets. Materials: 1/4 yard fall suiting fabric (tweed, plaids, etc., usually made from wool and/or synthetic materials)1/4 yard lining fabric scrap of leather (optional)rivets, grommet (optional)scrap of medium weight fusible interfacing {1/4" seam allowance throughout unless otherwise noted}Cutting the pieces: From the exterior wallet fabric cut one piece 8.5" wide by 4" tall. Also from the lining fabric, cut one piece 8.5" wide by 10.5" tall (this is for the card holder slots) Assembling lining: To create the card holder pockets, take the 10.5" tall lining piece:
How to Make a Pillow: a Bolster in Half an Hour or Less I want to show you how to make a pillow to decorate your house. Bolster pillows are little round pillows that look like candies! Their most common use is to support the neck, but they're also great for decoration. Use them for your bed or for a couch, even for a nice big chair. They can be hard to sew because of the circles on the sides. You only have to sew rectangles! The best part is that they're so easy to make, you can make many to practice and then put them all over your house. Supplies 2 pretty and matching fabrics Pillow filling Matching ribbon 1/4" wide Patterns and Cutting You will need three rectangles to make this bolster pillow. Decide how long and wide your pillow will be. Make the side rectangles using the measurements of the body How to Make the Pillow Finish the edges of all the pieces with a serger or zig zag stitch. Join the small edges of a side rectangle to create a circle (the right side of fabric should be outside) and put it inside the tube. Awesome, you're done!
sharon bs in a minute ago I hope you find this needlework dictionary useful and with it able to improve your hand embroidery skills. To assist those who are new to the craft of hand embroidery I have categorised each stitch as to its degree of difficulty. An icon of a single pair of scissors indicates that the stitch is easy to work and you should not hesitate to try it. If you are new to learning needlework. If you see two scissors, the stitch requires more skill. If you normally have problems following embroidery illustrations the computer can help you. Contents: top Eyelet Stitch Half Chevron stitch Half cross stitch see cross stitch Heavy Braid chain see Heavy chain Heavy chain Herringbone: Herringbone double version 1see Double Herringbone 1 Herringbone double version 2 see Double Herringbone 2 Mirrored buttonhole see Up and Down Buttonhole stitch Mirrored buttonhole feathered see Feathered up and down buttonhole Montenegrin: Mossoul stitch see herringbone stitch Vandyke chain stitch see zigzag chain Handwork
tutorial: how to sew a simple maxi dress & Bored and Crafty The Plan. Fabric. You will be making a maxi dress so buy fabric accordingly. I stand 5′ tall (I know, I know, I am tiny) and I needed 2.5 meters of fabric with a 45-inch width. Preparation and Cutting. Sewing. Don’t forget the banana. Instructions for making the rosettes are HERE. {tutorial: how to sew a zippered pouch} Two years ago I was learning how to sew in a zipper to make a pouch and I was failing! failing! failing! at understanding how to do it. And that number is not an exaggeration. Anyways :] I thought it would be fun {and helpful} to do a tutorial post on installing a zipper, which coincidentally includes how to sew a zipped pouch. Shall we get started? MATERIALS: * front & back outside pieces of fabric {mine are 9″ x 5″} * front & back inside pieces of fabric {9″ x 5″} * two pieces of interfacing or felt {9″ x 5″} * a 10″ zipper * sewing machine * coordinating thread, to match your outside fabric * scissors * optional: embellishment for your zippered pouch INSTRUCTIONS: The first step is to lay flat the front outside piece of fabric {with a pouch, you’ll have front & back outside pieces and front & back inside pieces}. *Yes, it’s OK to sew over your zipper {sew slowly so you don’t break your needle} and to cut your zipper if it needs to be shortened. *See my thumb in photo 2? All done!
XOX SKIRT & Weekend designer Featured: Victoria Secret Peasant Skirt You’ll ♥ this easy-to-sew skirt…XOX. You will need: Approx. 1 ½ to 3 yds. of fashion fabric (depends on fabric weight and width)Coordinating threadHeavy-duty topstitching/upholstery thread Waist – measure around narrowest part of torso (just above navel level) Hips – measure around the fullest part of the seat, about 8” [20cm] below the waistline. Finished Skirt Length – measure vertically from waist to desired hemline. This is a simple block draft. (This also will help you determine how much fabric to purchase.) Designer Tip: If you wish to use a printed fabric, look for a print that has been “railroaded”, that is the print runs along the fabric’s length. XOX Block Draft Measure the hip. O = (hip measurement + 2” [5cm] ) divided by 2. Next, determine the desired length of each tier; divide the finished skirt length by the number of tiers you desire. X = (finished skirt length + 2 ½ ” [6.5 cm] ) divided by 3. O = 20” [51cm] X = 8” [24 cm] Top Panel = 1 block
Tutorial: Scrap Buster Fall Pillow This is my favorite thing to do with my little scraps, and since its Scrap Buster month over at Sew, Mama, Sew, I made a quick tutorial so you can make your own. This pillow cover is 16" square with an envelope back & the design possibilities are endless! I added some pillows I’ve previously made with this same method at the end of this post. Happy Sewing! You’ll Need: 1. 2. 3. 4. Iron your fabric scraps onto your appliqué material according to the directions on the appliqué material. Now with scissors cut out your trunk and leaf shapes. When you get all your leaves cut out, tear the backing appliqué paper off the leaves and trunk. Then you can arrange them how you want on your pillow front. Once your design is how you like it, press with an iron over each spot for a few seconds making sure not to bump anything out of place. Now you can sew either along the inside edges of your leaves, or you can do a zig zag stitch or blanket stitch around the edges if you prefer.
The Upcycled ruffles dress tutorial So this past week was pretty bad blog-wise, my blog and website got attacked with malware. My feed was having issues and subscribers seemed to banish. Happily most of it is fixed now and I am happy to be able to blog again (I didn’t wanted to post anything until I was 100% sure the malware was completely cleaned) And if you saw my site down, that was the reason =] I had this post saved from weeks! A few weeks a go I showed you all how this dress turn out (I previously asked for color advice) and it’s finally time for a tutorial so you can also try it out! Anyways, you will need either one long sleeveless T-shirt or 2 short ones. I love how comfortable this is, I actually wear it for a friend’s wedding, we danced all night and I could have not being more comfortable =] well until Ken made me spin around and I felt like I was showing my shorts, but that was a whole different problem hehe. The whole project took me about 2 hours and I would say 1 and a half were ruffle making.
Pretty Handy Girl | A DIY Blog Empowering You to Complete Your Own Project Living on the Chic: DIY Pin Tucked Duvet Cover A New Year brings new things. For me, it was a duvet cover. I made an impulse buy of a beautiful Paisley Duvet Cover at TJ Maxx just the other day. I brought home my treasure, dropped everything and put it on my comforter. The price for this one was way out of my budget, and this style is no longer available through Anthropologie. I also found that Target carries a line called 'Kissing Pleat" for $70-$80 and Wal-Mart's Better Homes and Gardens line has a pleated comforter in-stores, or at least the one by me, for about $60-$80. So, I went out on the town... First, I went out and bought some PLAIN flat sheets from -GASP- Wal-Mart. I then mapped out a grid for my pin-tucks. After that, I used the method shown on Cayenne's blog, which she borrowed from Martha Stewart Magazine, to tie the pin-tucks. And as per request, here's a little update on the pin-tucking! In this method, I used a sewing machine INSTEAD of doing it by hand. It should come out looking like this. Or this.