Sewing » Sewing Supplies

Cool idea: Easy water refill for your steam iron

anneweaver — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:30:11 +0000

Erin from High Fructose Craft recycles a squeezable soap bottle into a bottle that holds water to refill her iron. This makes refilling the iron a snap! Read more at her blog.

[photo from High Fructose Craft]

[via One Pretty Thing]

[tags]sewing, water, recycle, bottle, squeeze, refill, iron[/tags]

Video: The tools you need to get started sewing

anneweaver — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:27:02 +0000

Chica and Jo continue their Sewing 101 blog series with a video showing the essential notions you’ll need as you sew your first sewing projects. If you’re wanting to learn to sew, this is a great video for you! See the video at Chica and Jo.

[photo from Chica and Jo]

[tags]sewing, getting started, 101, notions, tools[/tags]

Cool idea: Magnetic sewing tool organization

anneweaver — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 22:04:14 +0000

Anna from Noodlehead shows how she organized her sewing tools. She mounted a magnetic strip to the wall to create an handy place to stash her scissors, needles, and other sharp-ended metal sewing tools she wants to keep out of her daughters’ reach. Brilliant! Read more about her cool idea at Noodlehead.

[photo from Noodlehead]

[tags]sewing, tip, organization, tool, magnet, strip[/tags]

Machine embroidery fonts from Apex

anneweaver — Fri, 18 Sep 2009 22:52:27 +0000

If you like to add a little machine embroidery to your sewing projects, then check out Apex Embroidery Fonts & Designs. They have a full selection of fonts for monogramming or personalizing sewn objects, and they’ll be adding a new font each Monday until 2010. If you sell your items at craft fairs and boutiques, you’ll be happy to know that their policy allows you to sell items embroidered with their designs. There’s also a small selection of free designs. Go to Apex Embroidery Fonts & Designs.

[photo from Apex Embroidery Fonts & Designs]

[tags]sewing, machine, embroidery, fonts, monogram[/tags]

“How Much Fabric” reference cards

anneweaver — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:41:18 +0000

Gwen from After the Dress (and now Gwyn Hug) is now offering her popular “How Much Fabric” reference tables printed on plastic wallet cards. If you’ve ever found fabulous fabric while out shopping and then thought, “I’d love to make a shirt from this. I wonder how much I’d need?”, then these cards are what you need.

Her tables show the average amount of fabric needed to make different types of clothing and help take the guesswork out of buying fabric. In order to come up with these averages, she researched the yardage requirements on over 2000 patterns.

There is a separate card showing the average yardage for a different type of garment: skirts, pants, tops, dresses, and jackets. Within each table, the yardage requirements are broken down by:

–Garment size
–Type of cut (minimum, average, and maximum), along with line drawings showing examples of styles that fit these categories.
–Fabric width (45″ and 60″)

There is an additional “safety margin” table on each card showing “for several different amounts of add-on to the average, what percentage of the patterns that were used to build the table can be made with that new amount of fabric.”

The credit card size means that they fit easily in your wallet so you’ll have them with you when you need them.

You can purchase the whole set of “How Much Fabric” reference cards from GwynHug. Just $14.95 buys you the set of 5 cards.

[photo from After the Dress]

[tags]sewing, supplies, review, How Much Fabric, shopping, yardage, estimate[/tags]

Which needle should you use?

anneweaver — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 01:13:23 +0000

Rian from Presser Foot shares her needle chart that shows which type of sewing machine and hand sewing needle to use with different types and weights of fabric. She keeps a copy next to her sewing machine so it’s right where she needs it. Get the needle chart.

[tags]sewing, machine, hand, needle, chart[/tags]

Tutorial: Clean and organize your lace trim stash

anneweaver — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 00:10:29 +0000

If you’ve got a collection of old lace and eyelet trims, there are most likely at least a few of them with stains or yellowing. They may even be stored in a baggie, all balled up together. (This is what tends to happen with my trims.) This is no life for such treasured trims.

With advice from Bunny from La Sewista!, you can clean and organize your lace trims. Your trims will be happy, and they’ll be all ready for your next sewing project. Get the how-to.

[photo from La Sewista!]

[tags]sewing, tutorial, clean, organize, lace, trim, stash

Lookie what she made: Pincushion dolls

anneweaver — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 12:38:38 +0000

Quirky Dolls from Sew Simply Handmade makes these unique pincushion dolls. She gives each one a name and a unique personality, and then accessorizes them accordingly. Want one of your own? You can purchase them from her Etsy shop.

[photo from Quirky Dolls Etsy shop]

[tags]sewing, inspiration, lookie, pincushion, doll[/tags]

Tutorial: Getting started with an older sewing machine

anneweaver — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 13:47:00 +0000

If you want to get into the world of sewing but don’t want to spend several hundred dollars (or more) on a fancy new sewing machine, why not give an older machine a whirl? Frankly, I prefer sewing on my 25-year-old machine to any new machine I’ve tried. Instructables user Marguerita M shares information about cleaning and setting up your older machine. Get the info.

[photo from Instructables]

[via Craftzine]

[tags]sewing, tutorial, machine, older, used, setting up, cleaning[/tags]

Consider your stuffing options

anneweaver — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 15:36:55 +0000

In their article, Understanding Filler Materials, the folks at Sew4Home discuss the many options for stuffing handmade pillows. Go to the article.

[photo from Sew4Home]

[tags]sewing, stuffing, filler, pillows[/tags]

Get the low-down on printable fabric vs. iron on transfer

anneweaver — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 12:59:20 +0000

Bubble Jet set and iron-on transfers are two common ways of printing your own fabric at home. But which one is best? It turns out that it depends on your project. Maitreya from craftlog.org gives a side-by-side comparison of the strengths and weaknesses of each method. Check it out!

[photo from craftlog.org]

[tags]sewing, supplies, bubble jet set, iron-on, transfer, fabric, printing[/tags]

Tutorial: Putting an invisible zipper foot on your machine

anneweaver — Mon, 17 Aug 2009 15:33:15 +0000

If the instructions on the little plastic invisible zipper feet leave you confused or frustrated, then take a look at this tutorial offered by Coats & Clark’s Sewing Secrets blog. They give step-by-step instructions and plenty of photographs to show you how to get the invisible zipper foot on to your machine. Get the how-to.

[photo from Sewing Secrets]

[tags]sewing, tutorial, invisible, zipper, foot[/tags]

Tips: Keep your sewing machine happy and humming

anneweaver — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 15:05:59 +0000

Even though it may seem at times that your sewing machine hates you, Laura from We Wilsons explains how a little TLC for your sewing machine can keep your sewing machine (and your relationship with it) running smoothly. Read her tips at We Wilsons blog.

[photo from We Wilsons]

[tags]sewing, tips, troubleshooting, sewing machine[/tags]

Review: Mighty Mendit and Mighty Gemit

anneweaver — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 02:07:00 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to review the Mighty Mendit permanent bonding agent for fabric, and the Mighty Gemit embellishing adhesive. I had seen the advertisements on television, and was curious to see how well it worked. I cleared my sewing table (no small task) and experimented with the Mighty Mendit and Mighty Gemit.

My experiments:

To test out the Mighty Mendit, I created one complete project and one small experiment. The project was a headscarf for my daughter made from the sleeve of an adult short-sleeved dress shirt. The headscarf project involved the following:

single-turn hem
folding and gluing the corners of the scarf into pleats
attaching ric-rac across the top
attaching sequins using Mighty Gemit
attaching a strip of elastic to the bottom corners

All of this was achieved with the Mighty Mendit or Mighty Gemit.

The small denim experiment involved a single-turn hem, attaching ribbon, and attaching flat-backed gems. I washed the small denim experiment to test Mighty Mendit’s ability to stand up to a trip through the washing machine, but I did not wash the headscarf.

My impressions:

Mighty Mendit does indeed have a fast grab. When I hemmed the linen-cotton fabric on the headscarf, the fabric was adhered almost instantly. On the curved part of the hem it was a little more tricky, but about 1 full second of pressure was enough to keep the bond.

When attaching the elastic, at first it didn’t seem like it was going to hold, but once it started drying I could see that the elastic was adhering.

On the denim scrap, I did have to press the fabric together longer to get it to hold, but this is to be expected with a heavier fabric.

I was glad to find that it did not have a strong odor, nor was it a problem to remove any dried Mighty Mendit from my fingers. It literally just rolled off when I rubbed the tips of my fingers together.

The directions for Mighty Mendit said the fabric item would be safe to wear after 4 hours. After 4 hours, my daughter was able to put the headscarf on without anything coming unstuck. She wore it the next day to the park and in a ride around the neighborhood in our convertible. The hems, the pleats, the ric rac, the sequins, and the elastic all held.

When I tested the denim experiment, the hem, the ribbon, and the flat-backed gems held after 4 hours. I waited a full 24 hours (as the product instructions state) and then washed the denim. The hem and the bit of ribbon held, but the flat-backed gems did not. I only washed the fabric piece one time, so I cannot attest to how well it would stand up to repeated washings.

My overall impression is that Mighty Mendit grabs fast for a quick bond, cleans easily, and does hold for light wear and washing. It made for a quick, successful afternoon project. Mighty Gemit is a good glue for sequins, beads, or flat-backed gems so long as the item will not need to be washed.

Mighty Mendit retails for $19.99 plus $8.95 shipping. This seems expensive, but as with most TV offers they help sweeten the deal with “extras”. And a little does seem to go a long way. Even after completing the headscarf project and the denim scrap experiment, I have enough left in the bottle that it looks almost brand new.

[tags]sewing, review, Mighty Mendit, Mighty Gemit[/tags]

Tutorial: DIY portable ironing station

anneweaver — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 01:16:08 +0000

Feed Dog tells how he created this portable ironing station to hold his iron and all of the associated ironing paraphernalia (starch, water bottles, pressing cloths, etc.). It’s created from items purchased inexpensively at IKEA. Find out how to make one.

[photo from Feed Dog]

[tags]sewing, inspiration, diy, portable, ironing board, iron, cart[/tags]