It seems impossible that we’re just over halfway through January already, which means I have completed 18 blocks of my stitch journal. top right, January 2022 I worried that it might be a cho…

Beauty is pain, and spine tattoos are a perfect example of this. If you ever encounter a person with a spine tattoo, bear in mind that that individual is not afraid of anything. But on a serious note, tattoos going down the spine are extremely painful. Think 9/10 on the pain scale. This isn't surprising, considering the spine is a bony area full of nerve endings.

Quite a while ago, Kathy Shaw asked me if I would be interested in seeing her new book, Stunning Stitches for Crazy Quilts, when it was published. And of course, I said yes! For those of you who have been hanging out with me on Needle 'n Thread for a while, you already know I'm a bit of a book f

If you've landed on this page, then maybe you're a total embroidery newbie. (Welcome, new friend!) I'm Sophie of Mindful Mantra Embroidery, and I've been embroidering since 2019. Over all those years, I've come to realise the exact mistakes that newbies make when they first start out. Do you know how I know? Because I made them too! Let's unpack them together in this blog post.

If you’re just joining us here on Needle ‘n Thread, we’ve been exploring five different ways to interpret wheat in hand embroidery. Last Friday, we looked at how to embroider wheat in two quick and simple ways, using daisy stitch and granitos on two different stalks. Before that, in Part 1, I posted the free ...

Today, I thought I'd share a quick overview of a very simple method for embroidering wheat motifs. I've received several questions about the wheat on this autumn design I've been exploring, so I thought I'd share a quick look at how I'm embroidering the wheat on my pumpkin design. Incidentall

free vintage sewing, knitting and crochet patterns

do you remember this? Ana asked me about the pattern for it, so here you go: horn 1 - make a double ring with 5 sc 2 - m2, sc4 3 - sc1, m2, sc4 4 - sc1, m2 x2, sc2, sc2tog 5 - sc2, m2, sc5 6 - sc3, m2 x2, sc3, sc2tog (from now on the decreases will always cross the first stitch of the new/next round, don't worry, just start the new round after the decrease like nothing happend) 7 - sc3, m2, sc6 8 - sc4, m2 x2, sc4, sc2tog 9 - sc4, m2, sc7 10 - sc5, m2 x2, sc5, sc2tog 11 - sc5, m2, sc8 12 - sc6, m2 x2, sc6, sc2tog 13 - sc6, m2, sc9 14 - sc7, m2 x2, sc7, sc2tog 15 - sc7, m2, sc10 16 - sc8, m2 x2, sc8, sc2tog 17 - sc8, m2, sc11 (with a 3,5 mm hook my horn was about 6,5 cm long, there is a rhythm after row 8 that you can easily recognize and that allows you to elongate and enlarge the horn as wide as you like) you might remember this beginning of a seahorse as well. I finally finished it, yay! pictures will follow in the next days. I also started thinking about a new cardigan. I choose the blue silk/wool blend pictured here. I was first thinking about the golden yellow but prefer the blue now. It's a single ply and winding it into a ball I immediately saw it's not a good yarn to frog which means I cannot allow myself alot of trial and error with this cardigan. The issue is I only know that I want 3/4 sleeves and buttons. I want a back motif similar to Sylvie, but of course not Sylvie. And I have no idea about the cleavage - do I want one? a turtle neck? a low neckline? noooo idea! ________ before I forget, it would be cool to see what you make of the horn pattern, as I mentioned before I can imagine it in alot of different purposes like alien feet, bird beeks, tails?

I almost feel like I've been suckered into embroidering these motifs from Elisabetta's wheat field alphabet. They're just too addictive to put down. My Project Wall is feeling rather neglected (I'll tell you about my Project Wall some day...) and my eggs are stagnating. I'm embroidering some egg

Winter is coming, so why not make yourself a snugly DIY neck warmer?The cold continues here in Colorado, and I’ve been wearing my own neck warmer scarf for the…

I've been involved with Stash Builder Box's Heart Builders charity program for awhile as a machine quilter, but by mistake, I was sent some fabric to make a top instead of my usual materials of batting and backing fabric. At first, I wasn't sure what to do, but then I quickly got some ideas. I only had two goals: it needs to be simple, and it needs to be fun. So I came up with a maze quilt. I looked for some maze generators for some ideas and this is one of the randomly generated maze that I then put into Electric Quilt: When I opened the actual fabric pack up, I realized it was not just blues as I thought. In fact, there were a lot of colors in here. I hope the inspiration still comes through though, and it doesn't just look like I put the squares together randomly! This quilt was asking for a design that highlighted the maze nature, so I thought a geometric allover is perfect for this! And this quilt is ready to be shipped! I don't make kid quilts very often, so this was a really fun experiment. I hope whoever gets this quilt will enjoy the maze! *** Linking up with: Confessions of a Fabric Addict, Crazy Mom Quilts, My Quilt Infatuation, and Cooking Up Quilts.

Here's a shot of today's work bench, along with a list of the tasks I hope to complete today.

I have a confession to make: I've never knit a sweater flat. The first sleeveless top that I made was in the round, and ever since I've never seen a compelling reason not to knit all of my sweaters that way. Oh, I certainly knit certain parts flat and sew them together, but with every sweater I've made there's always been an "in the round" component (whether it was written into the pattern or not). I see the benefits of circular construction to be numerous: For one, seeing it in "body form" helps me visualize if it looks the right size, and if I still have doubts, I can try it on. For two, I personally hate knitting flat. It's not that I dislike purling, it's all the turning back and forth. It breaks my rhythm, and I always end up with my yarn and needles a tangled mess. And finally, knitting in the round means I have that much less finishing work to do when I bind off the last stitch.

You’ve figured out what type of fabric and threads to use, you have a pattern, and you are ready to start sewing. What comes next when you are learning how to sew? Learning the different types of stitches, of course! If you want to learn how to sew, you need to know how to stitch. That's what sewing is all about. New sewists might be a bit confused when they use their machine when it comes to which stitch to use for a particular project or hem. That is why we have asked Deby Coles from So Sew Easy to lend her expertise on learning how to stitch and that the difference is between all of those different types of stitches. New sewists are going to love this simple sewing tutorial for beginners. Beginning Sewing: Basic Stitches will show you everything you need to know! Once you have finished reading this helpful article, you will be ready to sew just about anything you want to sew. Learning how to stitch is one of those basic sewing tips and tricks that will come in handy time and time again. When you understand what the different types of stitches are used for and know your stitching basics, you will be on the road to expert sewing!

It has been a busy summer with lots of travel. While I usually don't mind travel, I've done enough at this point that I think I get one vict...

It's been a while since we've had a 'Sewing 201' post! I've been sewing with my rolled hem foot quite a bit lately, so I snapped a few photos. In this blog post I'm going to share some tips and tricks to get this foot working for you. The rolled hem foot sews just that, a narrow rolled hem that's pretty on scarves, blouses, dresses, or even curtains.

Because mistakes happen, hereby a tutorial on how to deal with a wrongly worked purl stitch that should have been a knit stitch.

Over the last few days I’ve been exploring how to create custom brushes for the excellent Procreate on my iPad. To make 3D clothing textures look more realistic we needed some stitch brushes.…

My husband surprised me with a sewing machine a few years ago and I've loved it. It's been so handy having it to hem the kids' pants and take in a waist or two. And then there are the crafts I've made with it. I'm still a beginner but oh boy do I love to sew! But of course, it's only fun if you know what you're doing. Here are 20+ fabulous sewing tips that will help anyone wanting to learn a few new sewing tips and tricks! 20+ Incredibly Helpful Sewing Tips and Tricks 1. Let's start with the

I took a Japanese Boro class last weekend from Jody Alexander, a local book, textile and installation artist. I've been an admirer of her work for many years and have recently begun taking classes with her. Jody is an excellent teacher. I like her classes because she is thorough, brings tons of books and materials to share and paces her classes so that you don't feel rushed. Just so I don't get it wrong, here is the Wikipedia definition of Boro. There has been a lot of discussion lately about whether someone can make new Boro since the very nature of it is something that is old and had to be made that way because of a lack fabric available to make whole cloth garments. I don't think Jody or anyone in the class was trying to say they are making true Boro; just honoring the tradition by creating new pieces that are in the spirit of Boro. I won't go into a long description of Boro here, it is a very complicated subject and one I am not qualified to describe accurately. If your interest is piqued here you will find lots of information about it on the internet. You might start with a site I found here. And, if your interest is piqued, Jody is giving the same class in September (which I am taking!) Here's the info on it. Cabrillo College Extension Fall Textile Classes. You won't be sorry you took it. And act fast, there aren't very many places left. This blog post is photo laden because it's hard to describe what we saw and made without showing you examples. Here is a beautiful example of original Boro that either Jody or another student, Tracy, brought in for us to study. These old pieces are in various states of perfection...and by that I mean that the older, more worn pieces seem to be more perfect to me! Another beautiful old piece. These are old Zokin which means dust cloth. On the left is a dress Jody purchased on her trip to Japan two years ago. It is newly constructed of old Boro pieces and fabrics. Jody was granted a Rydell Visual Arts Fellowship and chose to use her funds to study Japanese textiles in Japan. Her fellowship show Keep Modern Library was mesmerizing and so complete in it's interpretation of Boro. On the right is a dress she created and wore to the opening. The colorful pieces are from old book covers. Detail of the Japanese dress. Here's Jody instructing about one of the several bags she taught. The class was full of really interesting and talented people. The first day of class we studied how to make the various components of Boro by making pages that were sewn into a fabric book. These are books that Jody has made over the last few years. An example of the (pardon my using a culinary term here) groaning table that Jody provides as a visual prompt for the class. She is so generous with sharing materials. New and old, they are so inspiring! Another example...and I can't tell you if it's new or old. I think it's new. There was just so much to take in I'm glad I'm going to the class again! The second day we made a bag using the techniques we learned the first day. This is mine. I used a pair of thrift store white levi's and bits of other fabrics I had on hand. The round/square stamps are ones I just carved last week. Carving stamps is a new one for me and I loved it. I'm sorry this piece is so dark. It is the start of a vest. More on this in another post as I progress. I have promised myself I will take photos along the way. Here's the cover of my little book. And one of the inside pages. A sewing pal, Lynn, came down from Oakland to take the class and stayed with us. Here is her bag. She chose to make it oversized and it's just gorgeous. It's made from a beautiful hemp canvas she got at Stone Mountain and Daughter in Berkeley. I regret that I don't have the name of the person who was making this bag. I got around to see everyone's work and check in with them during the workshop but names always escape me. This is going to be a stunner, wish I could see it finished! Look at this collection of fabrics! Another beautiful piece. I love this fabric and detail. One of my classmates, Tracy, had some gorgeous old Japanese fabrics. And the handle is an old dog collar! More of Tracy's work. Again, I'm sorry I can't tell you the creator's name. Now this one I know because it's my pal, Lisa, who made this from textiles she discharged, eco-dyed and stitched. Another friend, Marilou made a bag using her eco-dyed fabrics, really great. My table mate, Pam, had some great ideas. Another of Pam's ideas. So, you can see we all got a lot out of this class. Can't wait for September!