"Choosing fabrics for your sewing projects"

Choosing fabrics for your sewing projects

If you love sewing but don’t  know so much about choosing the right fabric for your project, you may tend to pay attention to the patterns alone and best case scenario, the drape. Although these are important fabric qualities, they are not all that is important, so try not to ignore the others. Wear, thickness, […]

Choosing fabric for childrens clothes

A guide to choosing childrens clothes fabric in our sewing project fabric guide series. Children’s Clothes So you have decided to make some children clothes, great! You have come to the right place. When choosing the right fabrics for children’s clothes a good place to start is to read the fabric specification and recommendations to […]

Choosing fabric for curtains

A guide to choosing your curtain fabric from our sewing project fabric guide series. If you want to avoid making an expensive and time consuming mistake, take some time to think about the practicalities of your curtain fabric choice before making a purchase. Although colour and pattern are key elements in choosing curtain fabric it’s […]

Fabric for chair and sofa cushions

Scatter Cushions This is part one of our fabric selection articles for interior design, see the other articles here. The basic rule of thumb for interior design is to use 3 colours, too many looks busy and fussy and too few can look bland. There are exceptions to this rule, but it works really well. […]

Free Crochet Cowl Pattern

Free crochet pattern with photo tutorial. Knit-look crocheted infinity scarf.

Crochet car cover

Why not put your crochet skills to good use and make a car cover? You’ll certainly stand out. Perhaps your neighbors will think you are crazy, but why pretend otherwise. It doesn’t seem fair to act sane and then disappoint people later. This find was at a recent car show and a team of crochet […]

Simple Café Curtain project

You can make a basic curtain to shirr on a rod provided you can cut a straight line, mark a straight line, and sew a straight line. You can do all those things? Brilliant! Let’s proceed.

Introduction to the sewing machine

Sewing machine introduction, we explain the Lock stitch, throat plate, pressure foot, feed dogs and stitch adjustment dials explained for the beginner.

10 Sewing machine tips

We provide 10 awesome tips to help you get the best from your sewing machine from professional sewing machine users. Incorporate these tips from professionals who sew for a living and you will sew better and faster, too.

How to knit

Find out how to knit in this simple step by step beginners guide. We demonstrate the basic steps to get you knitting in these how to learn to knit guide articles. Knitting is an enjoyable experience and a portable craft. Learn this relaxing and productive hobby step by step.

Best paper for Decoupage

We look at the best types of properties for Decoupage paper. As the paper is applied to objects with glue there are lots of different requirements and much depends on the project you are doing.

The paper will usually need to be quite thin and strong so it can flow around tight shapes. Some papers exhibit a slight stretch which can be handy to avoid ending up with creases over curved areas.

10 Simple sewing projects

We look at 10 very simple easy projects for the sewing beginner and give ideas on how to expand your skills doing some quick and easy sewing patterns.

A sewing machine is a useful tool that enables anyone to create a variety of household linens, garments, and fashion accessories.

Many projects won’t even require a pattern.

Afghan, Tunisian and Broomstick lace crochet techniques

Crochet Projects: Beyond the Beginner Once you have mastered basic crochet stitches, increasing and decreasing, and changing colors, it is time to tackle more involved projects. Multiple pieces, lace patterns, and color work are all skills that expand your range of possible crochet projects.

Spin Your Own Yarn for Knitting

Before fibers such as wool can be used in knitting or weaving, they must be turned into strong, continuous strands. Spinning is the process that turns a pile of loose fibers into yarn. You can do this at home using either a spinning wheel or a hand spindle and some fiber that has been prepared […]

Choosing Needles and Thread for Sewing Projects

Sewing requires, at minimum, a needle and thread. Your sewing machine is capable of producing quality stitches when you match the needle and thread to your project. A good choice offers smooth sewing with proper tension. A bad choice could mean skipped stitches and damaged fabric. Fortunately, it is easy to make good choices.

Beginner Crochet Projects

Fast and Fun Crochet skills improve with every project you complete. Here is a progression of basic projects from easiest to more demanding. Be amazed as your crochet skills expand with daily practice!

Learn to crochet

How to guide: Crochet Crochet, like most needlework skills, is built upon some basic stitches. Once mastered, those basics can be varied and combined to produce flat and 3-dimensional pieces using only a hook and yarn. From your first dishcloth to a lace tablecloth or sculpted dress, crochet is an adventure!

Yarn Types, compare weight, Stitches per 10cm and WPI.

The thickness of yarn is categorised by the “yarn weight”. These range from Lace 0 to Super Bulky 6. Two ply and Three Ply yarn also refer to the diameter of the yarn and not the number of strands in the yarn as is commonly assumed. There is variation in thickness between manufacturers who all […]

How to Choose Knitting Patterns

The success of a knitting project starts with choosing the right pattern. What Kind of Knitter Are You? Firstly, ask yourself what motivates you to knit. Are you motivated by the finished product or is it the process of knitting that motivates you? If you are motivated by the finished product, then take a good […]

Tips on Buying Yarn

What should you look out for when buying and deciding on a yarn? There is so much choice and options out there it can be hard to decide so we look at the various types and discuss the suitability of each in a variety of different projects.