New collaboration takes a motif from Nikki van Elden's upcoming Charming Cheaters fabric release SOHMO has teamed up with Nikki van Elden of Cotton Craft Designs to create a magnetic needle minder celebrating her upcoming fabric release, Charming Cheaters. The needle minder takes a motif from the collection and turns it into a small enamel piece, designed to keep your needle close and your colours bold. A needle minder that celebrates quilting Nikki designed this needle minder with the projects you pick up and put down in mind, the ones that travel in a bag, sit on the couch arm, and get a few stitches in whenever there's a spare moment. It's made to look good from any angle, so...
If you're just getting into sewing, you'll often hear the words "fat quarter" thrown around. So, what exactly is a fat quarter? It's a term used to describe a specific cut of fabric - a quarter of a yard of fabric, but cut 'fat' so that it's more useful for cutting out pieces for quilting. A fat quarter is a term used in quilting to describe a unit of fabric measuring approximately 18" by 22" (45cm x 56cm). Fat quarters are commonly used because they provide a variety of different fabrics and prints in smaller quantities, making it easier for quilters and fabric artists to experiment with different colour schemes and patterns. The term "fat quarter" comes from the fact...
Your new hobby doesn't need a monthly subscription So you've caught the embroidery bug. Maybe it was a hoop of wildflowers on your feed, a name stitched onto a baby's bib, or a mended jumper that looked better than the original. Whatever it was, welcome. You're in very good company. The best thing about embroidery is you can learn every beginner stitch for free. Back stitch, satin stitch, French knots, lazy daisies, the lot. Some of the best embroidery teachers in the world have put their knowledge online at no cost, and plenty of talented stitchers film tutorials just because they love it. Paid courses and kits can be lovely if they suit you, and there's nothing wrong with treating...
TL;DR: The number tells you how thick the needle is, and the type tells you what shape its point and eye are. Match the thickness to the weight of your fabric, match the type to how your fabric is made, and change it more often than feels necessary. That's it. That's the secret to half the sewing problems people blame on their machine. For the full run-down, read on. Skipped stitches? Puckered seams? Check the needle first. Be honest. When did you last change your sewing machine needle? If the answer involves the words "I think it came with the machine", read on! (no judgement, we've all been there). The needle is the cheapest part of your machine, and it...
There's no delicate way to say this, so let's just say it: if your brand-new left-handed shears aren't cutting properly, you're not doing anything wrong, but you are doing something you've probably done since you were seven years old, and it's time to unlearn it. We say this with love. Also, we recognise it's a little awkward to tell a grown adult they don't quite know how to use scissors. But here we are. The scissors aren't broken, your habit is (sort of). Here's the thing about being a left-handed sewist: most learned to cut using right-handed scissors, because that's what was in every classroom, and every hand-me-down sewing box since the dawn of craft time. Right-handed scissors, held in...
