Hobby ideas that you can learn at home for free. Collection of tutorials and videos that teach a variety of hobbies such as playing guitar to painting art.

Teaching Kids To Sew, Part 5: Stitch types, sewing on curves, and seam allowances | via makeit-loveit.com

Stick to our New Year's resolution in 2019: taking up a creative, crafty hobby! Try one of our ideas like knitting, sewing, hand lettering, and more.

LOVE knitting, and introducing kids to this fun and relaxing hobby – so what better way to get started than this simple idea – involving drinking straws! Knitting with straws?! Yep!!!! I would never have guessed you could this! What a fun and clever idea. And the finished knitting looks great too! With so much ... Read More about How To Knit with Straws

Learn how to make classic braided yarn dolls. This is a simple, traditional craft which is fun to make and the finished yarn dolls make cute DIY toys

Making a folded hem or edge on a knitted garment is the way to give a project an edge in stockinette stitch that does not roll.

This sewing tutorial will teach you how to sew an understitch on a neckline or armhole, or even an inseam pocket.

Practical tips and tricks to Teaching Kids to Sew. It isn't as hard as it sounds and kids will love to learn to sew with these great teaching kids to sew

Read about why we love a good knitting meme!

Want to add a personal touch to your Christmas decorations? These DIY ornaments are a cinch to make, and they'll get kids excited about trimming the tree.

DIY projects can be so expensive, but not these recycled item DIYs. Show them off to your friends so they see just how resourceful and creative you are!

Kids can weave with this DIY cardboard loom.

Ever been completely bewildered by your sewing machine? So many buttons and knobs and little parts - which parts is which??? We understand. We were once there, too. So, to go along with our Beginner's Guide to Sewing, we've made this little reference guide to elaborate on those parts we went over in the videos- plus a

Thanks to @We Are Knitters for this useful and clearly explained infographic for knitters! :)

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Learn how to sew a handmade heating/cooling pad with fat quarters, beans, and your sewing machine.

On Friday I mentioned that sewing certain seams annoys me. I never wrote about it because I’m too picky but based on a vote (2 for, none opposed, that’s democracy for you), we’ll discus…

Easy DIY sewing project on how to make self-binding cloth napkins for your table setting decor. Make this double-sided mitered napkins by using fat quarter fabric or repurpose materials that perfect for DIY homemade gift.

I’ve had a number of people ask for the details on how I made the kangaroo pocket on my recent Fen mods: tunic and dress variations. Following is how I do it — and since I’m not a sewing professional, there may be people with even better advice in the comments on this. You can […]

Put Several Blocks Together and Make a Matching Table Runner! The ladies at Art Threads have developed a wonderful potholder pattern using the North Star block. We love the rounded corners on these little gems! While they’re meant to be potholders, they are actually tiny mini quilts. We can see several, in various colors, clustered …

If you have a lonely glove, tucked away somewhere in the back of a drawer, then why not dust it off and turn it into this adorable chipmunk softie.

Check out this step by step tutorial that walks you through making your own custom DIY pattern weights out of marble tiles!

Easily Adjust the Size for Smaller Coasters or Larger Table Mats! These charming hot pads are made in a surprising way. Fold and layer hexagons for a quick finish. There’s no piecing involved! Select 7 fabrics that go well together and an eighth one that will be hidden (a great use for that ugly why-did-I-buy-this …

This DIY old fashioned kite is not only a great craft to do with your kids, young and old, it also turns into a memorable activity.

Bonjour, my lovely otters! Earlier this week, we talked through altering a princess seamed bodice, when you've been blessed with, as my younger brother would say, bazoongas. We went from perfectly lovely pattern pieces to darling little monsters that can actually fit over our busts. Hooray! Now, the bad news: there's still work left to be done. The thing about princess seams is that they are much more fitted to your bust than a traditionally darted bodice. That's what makes them flattering, but that's also what makes them hard to fit. In light of that, today I'm going to share some guidelines for fitting and sewing a princess seamed bodice. Like my last post, they're specifically tailored for large busted sewists, because, well, that's what I am. Tip #1: Muslin, That Sucker! For a really long time, I was not a muslin maker. Sewing is something I do in my spare time, so consequently, I like it to be as fun as possible. Making a muslin is about as fun as eating a diet brownie: it feels like making a dress, but there's no "I can wear this!" joy. Nowadays, a great fit is as important to me as pretty fabric, so muslins are necessary evil. With princess seams, they're an imperative one. We now have two pattern pieces that will actually fit over our bosoms. This is a good start! What we now need is for those pattern pieces to actually fit our bosoms. Let's be honest, boobs are a magical mystery. People with the exact same bra size can have radically different bust shapes. As a result, your princess seams won't fit just like mine, nor should they. We've already come so far in fitting that we may as well get a perfectly individual bodice while we're at it. So: make a muslin. That way, you can take all the pattern adjustments you need, before cutting out that pretty floral silk. Tip #2: Pin From The Bottom You know how your side bodice curves all crazy like, but your center bodice is straight as a pin? We're going to put those two together. Such fun! In order to do this, you're going to "ease" the pieces together. All that means is gently pin your straight piece around the curves of your side piece, so that it also curves. So easy! My preferred method to do this is to pin the very top and very bottom together first, then pin from the bottom up. That way, your fabric is guaranteed to line up along the straight bits. Tip #3: Use a 1/2'' Seam! I cannot stress this enough, friends. When you sew up your fabric - whether it's your muslin or your fashion fabric - do not use a 5/8'' seam. Part of the whole problem with sewing princess seams is that they can fold and warp, as you sew around the curve. Sewing with a smaller seam allowance gives much more control over the fabric and prevents this from happening. I can't tell you how many seams I picked apart, before learning this trick! To do this, just trim a 1/8'' off of each seam allowance and sew as usual. If you'd like even more fitting wiggle room in the muslin-making stage, you can also just leave the original seam allowance in, but take this smaller seam size. This what I usually do, as inevitably the curve needs to come out a little bit on my upper bust anyway. It's entirely up to you! Just don't sew with a 5/8'' seam, I beg you. Tip #4: Don't Clip the Seam Allowances, Until After Fitting Invariably, every single princess seam tutorial has a part about clipping the seam allowances, in order to make the seams lay flat. This is fantastic advice, after you've properly fit the bodice. When you adjust the fit, you may need some of that room back, so clipping it away is a bad idea. Instead, press the seams toward the center. They'll be bubbly, but you'll fix that after fitting! So, this is my muslin of the Elisalex bodice we made on Monday! See how gaping and crazy my my lower bust and underbust are? This is why I don't clip seam allowances beforehand. There is some work to be done yet. The bubbly wrinkles on the seams, however, aren't actually a fit issue. That's just what princess seams do, until you clip them and open them. Those'll press out eventually, don't panic! Tip #5: Pin, pin, pin! When you're fitting princess seams, pins are your best friend. For each alteration you're planning on making, pin both sides of your bust line. Personally, I'm taking a 1/2 inch out of my lower bust on both sides, then a whole inch on each side of my under bust and waist. So, I pin where I plan to blend away from the seam allowance (top pin), where I want a full 1/2 inch out (middle pin), then where I want to transition into to taking an inch out (lower pin). Tip #6: Fit a Small Rib Cage! As you can tell from the pictures so far, I'm plagued by a relatively small rib cage. My breasts are generous, as are my hips, but the area between them is relatively small. (My waist is over 12 inches smaller than both of those measurements!) This is a great example of a fitting problem that only "plus sized" or "cross-sized" (fitting both size spectrums - sizes 12-16) women usually encounter. All too often, larger sizes on patterns assume we're large all over. I'm, as is obvious from the muslin, not. So, I've had to learn how to deal with it, when doing pattern adjustments. For traditional bust adjustments, I just make the darts wider over my waist and ribcage. Easy peasy! For princess seams, however, the fix is nontraditional. The side piece of the Elisalex bodice actually fits me really well. It's the center front that's too big - pooling into those unsightly wrinkles you see under my bustline. So...take more out of the center front! When I went back to this muslin, I unpicked all the way up to my lower pin. Then, I trimmed an inch off of each side of the center front bodice. Then, I matched it back up with the side bodice and resewed a 1/2 inch seam. This is my result, when I've done that and taken that extra bit out of the lower bust: So much better, right? As you can see, I've fixed the pooling under my bust and the too large curve around my lower bust. It's still a bit big over my rib cage, which I'll fix on the pattern itself, but not on this muslin. I'm just using this as a lining, in the end, so it doesn't have to be quite so fitted. Tip #7: Battling Bust Wrinkles! First off, we clip! Instead of going through that process, just hop over to the lovely and brilliant Gertie's blog. She gives a fabulous explanation of the best way do this. It's exactly my method, I just do it after I've sewn. Once you've clipped, grab your tailor's ham and a little cup of water. We're going to steam the heck out of these seams. Instead of just using the steam burst on my iron, I like to fully wet the seam. That way, I can really steam these pesky bubbles to death. I open the seams, put it over my tailor's ham, splash some water on them, then press press press! Once you've finished, try it on again! If you still have wrinkles, press again and again and again. If they're not fitting issues caused from a too-tight seam, they'll come out. Take a look at my final product: There are wrinkles caused by me crumpling my center fabric, but check out those bust seams! So much smoother. I still need to iron out some wrinkles on my top left, but they're infinitely better. Woohoo! Bonus Tip: Finding a new Bust Apex! What happens if you've put your new bodice pieces on and they can't be fixed by little tweaks? Your curves may not actually go over your bust center, for example. If that's the case, mark your actual bust apex on the center bust piece of your muslin and return to our original pattern. Is that apex lower or higher than our black side bust dot, when measuring up from the waist? Wherever it is, mark it on the original pattern pieces, then redo your FBA based on that spot, instead of the original apex. You probably won't have to do this, but it's a good trick to know, if you come across a pattern that's wildly out of sync with your body. There we go! Princess seams fully broken down. Would anybody like me to do a tutorial for a darted bodice FBA, as well? It's been fairly well-covered in the blogosphere, but if you want to see what those pattern pieces look like for a large bust, I'd be happy to document my process again.

Explore Alanna Cavanagh's 89 photos on Flickr!

Hello everyone! I’m here today with a fantastic sewing project called the Homestead Life Basket Apron! This vintage project was so much fun to create. Are you wondering what a basket apron is…

Take your sewing projects to the next level using these sewing tips and tricks.

Well, after y’all loved the Coach’s last post, I talked him into doing another one. Enjoy! I tried to explain that this was a one time deal the first time I agreed to post on the blog. It didn’t help when you readers started leaving comments about how funny my post was and now here...Read More

Nalbinding is a Scandinavian fabric-making technique which pre-dates knitting. Learn about nalbinding pattern directions, and how to make York and Oslo stitches.

How to hem a skirt to make sure that you don't end up with an uneven hem. Use these step-by-step directions for straight and curved hems.

A LOT has been happening to this empty nester. I have set up some fun things for the Fall, teaching classes, craft fairs, new sewing projects and then I got asked by Addie's former high school to fill in cooking...

More than 50 possible empty nest hobbies. Empty nest hobbies for adventurers, creatives, learners, inspirers, and those who love physical activity.

Basic Stitches Britannica Online Encyclopedia Dressmaking is a craft of making dresses. It is the basis and the start of the fashion world. When you make dresses, you will be called a dressmaker or historically, modiste. Learning the basics of...

A reference guide on how to sew with knit fabrics. Tips for sewing with knits, along with resources and books about knit fabrics.

How to Sew (using a Sewing Machine): When I turned 13, my stepmom, Cassandra, got me the best birthday present ever (still, to this day, I feel), a sewing machine! I immediately taught myself to sew and over the next 27 years, created everything from tiny little purses to huge Victori…