Essential Hand Sewing Stitches. Running Stitch. Backstitch. Blanket Stitch. Whip Stitch. Cross Stitch. Pickstitch. Catchstitch. Invisible Stitch

I made a pair of shorts to take on holiday with me (check them out here!) – and they have cute single welt pockets on the back. The pattern’s instructions for these pockets were …

Bonjour, Aujourd'hui, je vais vous parler d'une technique que j'ai découvert il y a quelques jours, une technique qui m'a intriguée. De passage à ma mercerie (merci Dominique !), j'ai vu traîner sur le comptoir ce qui deviendra une magnifique écharpe...

Learn how to kill mold on wood using bleach or vinegar. Find out which one is better for removing black mold permanently.

The herringbone stitch is a great way to add an interesting texture to your projects! If you can single crochet you can easily do this stitch. Scroll below for a quick tutorial.The herringbone single crochet stitch is a two row repeat stitch. When working with this stitch, you will repeat rows 1 and 2 to create the beautiful herringbone texture. Please note that each row starts with a regular single crochet stitch ( or reverse single crochet stitch) as the first stitch. Then proceed working in

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This sewing 101 article will help point you in the right direction and get you sewing with ease in no time.

Hey everyone, today we're talking invisible zips! A correctly inserted invisible (or concealed) zip is going to give your garments a beautiful, professional-looking finish, elevating them from 'homemade' to handmade (if you know what I mean...). I love this style of closure for this very reason and it's no surprise the

If you thought the Cricut machines were just for vinyl and paper; guess again! Check out these 35 fun and unique projects made with the Cricut Explore Air. Back before I owned my first Cricut I thought it was just another vinyl cutter that used cartridges that I could make cute stickers and cards with.

Learn understitching in sewing. Knowing how to understitch is an essential technique to master. Brought to you by Stephanie B for Peek-a-Boo.

Learn how to prepare rocks and stones for painting. Yes, there is a step from buying rocks to paint and actually painting them. Check out these 4 easy tips.

How to hand quilt in 3 easy steps! In this blog and video tutorial I'll list out all of the supplies you need and show you how simple hand quilting is!

Friends! I'm so excited to announce that after 23 years of art teacherin' and 2 years of sitting in front of my laptop, biting my nails and spillin' my art teacherin' guts that my book, Art Teacherin' 101, is NOW AVAILABLE FOR PREORDER! What's Art Teacherin' 101? Well, in short, it's everything I wish I would have known as I entered the world of teaching art. But it's also a book that I hope can help you when you hit that wall that is known as burnout (you know, that thing we all go through but so many of us think that no one goes through OR, worse, that we are a bad teacher for experiencing). Look, art teacherin' is hard. And no one seems to get that except those of us who are right there in it. I want this book to help be a warm blanket, a comfort, a lift, a boost to those of us who try our best every day and yet...strive to do even more...for creative selves and our students. Inside Art Teacherin' 101, you'll find information about how to be a student teacher and how to host one; what to do during an art teacherin' job interview (and what not to do!); discovering your WHY as a teacher; art room management from rules and routines to consequences; how to create the best art room environment for you and your students; teaching kindergarten(!); what to do when you hit the burnout wall and SO MUCH MORE! Just to be clear: this is NOT an art lesson book! This is your day-to-day unofficial art teacherin' operator's manual. If you are interested in art lesson books, you can find my Stitch and String Lab for Kids and my Clay Lab for Kids books! HOW THE PRESALE WORKS: I am printing my book independently. This means I'll need to have a good idea of just how many books to print. Your purchase of my book helps me do just that. If I'm optimistic and print too many then everyone in my family will be receiving a copy for their birthday for the next 10 years. And, trust me, they don't want that. Once presale orders are in, I'll be able to print. This means you'll have a copy of my book in your hot little hands by mid-May! Hooray! Thanks for letting me share, y'all! I'm so excited. Here's the link to advance order your copy!

I’m a sucker for a Half-Square Triangle (or HST). I was wasting time on gaining inspiration from Pinterest and came across this fabulous image with soooooo many different HST block combinations. If you’ve seen it before, then feel free to move along… but if you’re like me and haven’t seen it before, ENJOY! Image Source Are you on Pinterest? Do you use it regularly?

I have an easy way to Gather Fabric that will give you even gathers. Even better, you will not have any broken stitches or tangled threads.

Washing painted denim can be scary after you have spent hours perfecting your masterpiece. There are 3 ways that I recommend washing denim in order to protect your painting and keep it looking perfect!

Cool Canteen Cover The uses for paracord are endless. I feel it's very important for everyone to have it available in times of emergenci...

A detailed beginners guide for how to use a miter saw. Get all the basics, tips and tricks you need to know in one place. Including a full video!

Learn how to finish a seam and when to use it with one of these 9 seam finishes. There are different seam finishes for knit and woven fabric.

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Serger tension can be tricky for the beginner sewist. But with a little bit of clarity, you’ll know exactly how to turn those dials or knobs to achieve the perfect tension for all of your sewing projects.

Find 12 EASY knitting stitch patterns for beginners! Make sample knitting swatches using these simple knit stitch patterns.

In portfolio; Plates with imprint: M.P. Verneuil, Del., Schmid, dit. Laurens, dit., and Imp. Lemercier.

FUN End of the Year Art Projects- It's the end of the year-go out having FUN! I know how it goes at the end of the year-your tired, the kids are tired...EVERYONE is ready for summer break! Go out with a bang with these super fun end of the year art projects!

My 8th grade 3D class is currently working on wire & panty hose sculptures. I found the idea on a google search (and quite possibly a pin...

We have all come a long way in our Serging 101 series! In case you missed out on any of the previous serging posts, we have already covered how to set up your serger, how to thread for rolled hems, how to thread for seams, and a few other posts in between. And now today we're going to learn how to serge with knits! One of the things I love about sewing with knits is that they don't fray, so it's not absolutely necessary to serge the edges. However, I have four boys and I'd like their clothes to get a lot of use, so I tend to serge my edges for extra durability. I also sew all of my seams with a sewing machine before serging. It takes just a bit more time and makes them a lot more sturdy. So that two-step method is what I'll show you today! First, the sewing machine. When I sew with knits on my sewing machine, my favorite stitch is the "lightning bolt" stitch, as I like to call it, that you can see circled above. It gives a really strong stitch while still allowing the knit to stretch when it's worn. Please notice that the one I circled is NOT the same thing as a standard zigzag stitch, shown as #10 above. You can use the zigzag on knits too but the finish isn't as nice. My second favorite stitch for knits is the #18 stitch above. It is a straight stretch stitch (at least on my machine) and gives a sturdy stitch but doesn't allow quite as much stretch as the lightning bolt, so it might cause problems with puckering. It is great if the lighting isn't available on your machine though. One thing to note with the lightning bolt stitch is that it does start out strong so it might pull your fabric down with the initial stitches if you're right on the edge of the fabric. I like to start down about 1/8" and that seems to solve the problem. Alright, on to sewing! After sewing the seam with the lighting bolt stitch, your seam will look like the one above! Now you're ready to serge! On my Brother 1034D serger, I set my tension dials all to 4, as you can see in the photo. For your machine you may need to adjust the dials based on the recommendations in your user's manual. For the settings on the side of my machine, I put the first dial at 1.0 if I'm using a low-stretch knit, or up to 2.0 if I'm using a super stretchy knit. The second dial I put at a 4, and the third dial I put just above a 5. I also make sure my knife is engaged. Again, your settings may be a bit different but these work great for my machine. To begin, put the presser foot down and chain off a tail, as shown above. Then line up the edge of your fabric with the appropriate seam allowance. Mine is 3/8" and is marked by the red arrow in my photo. With the presser foot down, begin serging. Be careful not to pull or stretch the fabric as you go because it will cause puckers in knit! Notice that the knife is cutting off the excess fabric where the yellow arrow is pointing. That reminds me of another reason I always sew before serging! Anybody who has accidentally left a pin in the fabric can tell you that when a pin hits the knife blade of the serger it is NOT GOOD! That is a mistake I won't make more than once! I like to have my edges sewn and pins removed before getting anywhere near my serger. As you serge your outfit, if you come to a curve don't panic! Just gently guide the fabric through at a gradual curve. Think about how you drive around a curve in a car - gradually and smoothly, using the line as your guide. When you get to the end of your fabric, simply serge off the edge of it, forming another tail. Cut the threads and you're done! You should now have a neatly serged edge. I aim to have my serger stitching very close to, but not quite on top of, my sewing machine stitches. Now if I stretch out the seam, no threads show through on the outside of the fabric! It is a secure seam that is ready to stand up to a lot of rough-housing from my boys! Aren't these adorable? I love this Space Invader knit I got from Misty over at BWD Fabric and Supplies. This was my first time ordering from her and the quality is fantastic -- not to mention the super adorable prints she has in knits, such as Jack Skellington, Minnie Mouse, and right now she's taking pre-orders for Alice in Wonderland! I have several more of hers that I have in my stash for future blog posts and I can hardly wait! But first I'm going to finish up this super cute outfit I started. Any guesses on what I might be making to coordinate with these little guys? Let's Create! ~ Kristen

True-Blue Recycled Paper From Old Jeans: There is untapped potential in glass jars, old pallets, junk mail—all of it. Finding new uses for the flood of post-consumer leftovers which surrounds us is a puzzle, a delight, and more important than ever. By day, I am a freelance writer covering …