Bountiful. That’s what we all hope for as a new year begins. An ample supply of goodwill. A generous nature. Plentiful love and encouragement. It’s with this vision that Fat Quarter Shop has announced their 2023 Bountiful Charity Quilt Along + Stitch Along, benefitting the Central & South Texas Make-A-Wish foundation. FQS has partnered with
When you are first learning to sew, everything is flat and straight. Easy peasy. As your skills evolve, you add in curves and corners, layers of different fabric and stabilizer options, and finally – you’re ready to enter another dimension. Don’t be afraid, it’s not the Twilight Zone® - we’re simply Sewing in 3D. Ready
If you’ve been following along on our SIY-Sew It Yourself!™ adventures, you know there’s a lot going on behind the pretty pictures and easy instructions: from the fabric designers’ stories about how their collections come to be – to the careful steps we walk through here with the S4H team. Our goal has always been
It seems we’re always being told to, “Look at the big picture.” Solid advice, but sometimes… it’s the little stuff that’s more fun. As part of our S4H Tiny Trends of ’22, we took a look at some great little products available right now from our friends at Fat Quarter Shop. FQS truly has some
We all love knowing what happens “behind the scenes.” It plays into our innate curiosity, and it’s what drives all those crazy reality TV shows! There are no battling housewives here, but we do have a look at each of the four designer collections we chose for our set of shoulder sling shopping totes –
Being able to clearly see what you’re working on is critical in sewing… truth be told, I think we can agree it’s critical to just about everything! Studies have shown good light is essential to overall well-being. If you or someone you know suffers from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) or clinical light deprivation, you understand
All the memes seem to center on Spring as the optimal time of year for a burst of cleaning and organizing. For me, it’s Fall. Right now, as we roll into the holiday season, is when I want and need to feel the most orderly, efficient, and neat. It’s like getting a jump start on
One of the most fun things about working with quilting cotton is how you can create your project in such a wide variety of fabrics. There are new collections coming out each season, each one almost more wonderful than the next! If you’re a S4H regular, you know we take our fabric selection seriously. And
Our Love That Fabric series has been on a bit of a hiatus, but we’re back… and it’s better than ever because the return of the series features an amazing giveaway of samples from all three featured collections. If you’re a S4H fan, you know we are the ultimate fabric enthusiasts. There are so many
We took at peek at some favorite cross stitch options from the experts at FQS this past Spring. The good news is: patterns are still in stock and many of the Stitch Alongs are available in their YouTube channel archives.
“I know who I was when I got up this morning, but I think I must have changed several times since then.” Alice, from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll. Truer words have rarely been spoken, as we’ve all likely felt a bit bewildered and off-course during these many months of quarantine. So it
A lumpy, bumpy seam screams “amateur” louder than just about anything else. Pressing carefully throughout a project’s construction makes everything better. We love using the Oliso Minis … now available in FOUR cool colors.
There are 100 years of history behind that trusty Janome on your work surface. Learn a bit about all that’s gone into making your Janome such a trusted sewing companion: reliable, intuitive, precise, powerful, and easy to use.
If you’re a lucky owner of a Continental M7, MC15000 or MC9450, there is now a Janome Workbook for all THREE models. Each book explores tips, tricks, plus step-by-step instructions and projects to get the most out of your machine.
Hurry – the BIG savings on this amazing software ends 11/30/20! If you already love machine embroidery, your next step is embroidery software. Seeing your own art come to life with stitches and thread is mesmerizing.
Who loves pillows? We love pillows! Actually, we think it’s safe to say that everyone loves pillows. How could you not? They’re soft and pretty, and their flat…
Don’t you love it when you discover/re-discover a product that is inexpensive, natural, re-usable, and super versatile? Get classic Halloween Ideas plus Six Everyday Uses for cooking, cleaning, crafting, and more.
When you focus on one thing, you get pretty darn good at it. One summer during childhood, my pal, Marilyn and I spent every day going around in…
Hearing about new sewing machines is always exciting, but when you hear about a model that has been specifically designed with the comfort and needs of the power…
Ever wonder what to do with that bag o’ extra feet that came with your machine? Janome has tackled this dilemma with their Presser Foot Workbook series, which gives you a working knowledge of their most popular feet.
Machine sewing is our stock in trade at Sew4Home, but sometimes, stepping back to take handmade at its root meaning is a personal, tactile experience that is both relaxing and rewarding. Our friends at Fat Quarter Shop recently let us know about their new cross-stitch focus that includes a dedicated YouTube channel, special pattern and
Choosing the right thread for a project is an important factor that determines the final look, feel, and oftentimes, longevity of the project. In this Guest Tutorial, our friends at Sulky offer some expert advice about cotton thread.
“Up against the wall.” “We’re stuck on you.” “If these walls could talk.” The introductory lines came fast and furiously for this article about the new designer wallpaper from Hawthorne Supply Co.. But what it finally came down to was: Wow. Just. Wow. We’ve always loved wallpaper – just not putting up wallpaper. In fact,
Microwavable heating pads with organic fillers are a wonderful way to soothe sore muscles or warm up on a cold day. We’ve done several pads here at S4H and also tested 3 favorite fillers. Would you choose: rice, corn or flax, or…?
One of the most satisfying things in the world of DIY is when you get to overcome the mystery of “how the heck do they do that?!” You know what we mean. You’re looking at a home décor item, thinking, “I really need one of those, but it is WAY too expensive for my budget.
Sergers. For some, the word alone can send them screaming into the darkest corners of their sewing rooms. “The threading… not the threading… make it stop!” Well, perhaps that’s a wee bit dramatic, but the fear of threading the loopers on a serger, “Sergiothreadaphobia” as it is known in medical circles, keeps many a sewer
Whether you’re sewing or just binge-watching a bit too much TV, you need to get up and move around. These ten simple exercises don’t require any special tools; use your own body to stretch and strengthen.
There are lots of embellishment ideas out there, but for our money, it just doesn’t get much more fun and versatile than pom poms and tassels. If you’re a regular Sew4Home follower, you know we’re fans of both, and have already done our own step-by-step tutorials on making each. But we’re always up for learning
In our quest to continue bringing you the information you’re searching for, we’ve been partnering with some of our pals in the sewing community to provide guest features on garment sewing. This is an area we don’t currently focus on at Sew4Home but for which we get a lot of inquiries. It’s not that we
Garment sewing is not necessarily one of our focuses here at S4H, so we turned to expert, Carla Crim for some pattern-making secrets. We found her techniques fascinating, and it certainly inspired us to give it a try.
A quilter extraordinaire, our friend Kim Niedzwiecki (aka Go-Go Kim) recently entered the world of garment sewing. She’s alive to tell the tale, and offers up her experiences, pearls of wisdom, and encouragement for you to do the same.
Thermal fabrics are the added layer in projects designed to keep hot stuff hot and cold stuff cold, such as oven mitts, lunch bags, shopping totes, etc. We take a look at options for thermal batting, fabric, and interfacing.
We are thrilled and pretty dang proud to be featured in the Handmade for the Home Kitchen column of the Summer 2016 issue of Where Women Cook! Yes, you read that correctly: Cook. Not necessarily what you’re used to seeing here at the site, right?! But this beautiful magazine is a sister publication from our
Ribbons and bows… is there anything happier?! Our friends at The Ribbon Retreat put together this fun Guest Tutorial showing you how to make bright and colorful bow tie bows in several styles, layers, and colors.
One of things we are asked about on a regular basis is sergers. For many people, even seasoned sewers, they are equal parts tantalizing and terrifying. They can do so many cool things at once: seam, trim, and finish – all at lightning speed. But to make it happen, there are a lot of threads
The Artistic Edge Digital Cutter makes it easy to get creative with your sewing projects in ways that simply weren't possible before. If you look just at what it does in appliqué – one of its many capabilities – you're going to think of dozens... maybe hundreds of ways to use it. That's not an
We love the quilting art of superstar, Heather Jones. A while back, she was kind enough to give us her favorite tips on straight line quilting. It provides a clean, modern feeling to a design, and is especially cool when densely stitched.
Each year, Janome comes out with a special limited edition sewing machine model with your favorite features, tons of great decorative stitches, and in a cool color combo to brighten your sewing space. Last month, at the industry's largest trade show in Las Vegas, Janome America debuted this year's model: the DC2015. A striking red
In the Sew4Home studios, we’re dedicated fans of Janome sewing machines and sergers; in fact, they're our exclusive sewing machine sponsor. So we were delighted when Janome offered us a brand new Skyline S5 to test drive! They call the machine, "Anything but Average," and we could certainly see why. This computerized sewing machine has many
Here at Sew4Home, we've always said a good quality sewing machine is your most important creative tool. No matter what level you're at, you should always buy the best machine you can afford. We recently outlined a list of suggestions about entry-level or mid-range models: Top Top Five Things to Remember About How to Shop
Want to make a real fashion statement? It's hard to pack more drama into a small space than with a fascinator. If you haven't been keeping up with Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, you might be unfamiliar with fascinators. They are basically very small, formal hats that are very big on embellishment. Captivating Kate