This is one of my favorite tutorials – I actually wrote it a few years back, but the photos got eaten – ack!  I’ve re-written it and dug up all the photos from my old computer – boy, thank goodness for portable hard drives
Click the image for the complete tutorial:

Fiber fusion is a great way to use up little scraps of yarn, thread trimmings – or even scraps of fabric left over from fussy-cutting motifs.  You can make fiber art, wall hangings – even clothing or jewelry with it!
image: © C Findlay-Harder

Alrighty – before we get started here are the links for part one and part two of this project
Now that the fringe is all tied, we need to trim it so that the ends are nice and even.  I prefer to drape the scarf over a surface like a door and trim the fringe free-hand.  Now if you’d prefer to not do that, you can lay the fringe flat onto a cutting mat and use a rotary cutter & ruler to make sure it’s even.
I have to admit that I don’t get too fussy about the ends being …read more

 Time to start fringing!
I’m showing you the quick ‘n dirty way to create a fringe – I’ll explain a second method at the end of the post
To begin, you need to figure out how long you want your fringe to be.  I’m going with a big, long one, so I’m wrapping my yarn around the long side of a standard shoe box lid.  You could use a book, a piece of sturdy cardboard… Just combine the yarn you want to use and start wrapping away.
How many times you ask?  Well… the short answer is – it depends!
Each full …read more

 I’ve had this piece of fabric for…  well – let’s just say it’s time to use it

 I bought it as a “mixed fiber” bolt end – it’s only about 14 inches wide and 44 inches long.  It feels like a rayon or acetate blend and I love the flowers and burnout detailing.
It’s one of those little pieces of fabric that tends to accumulate in stashes – I bought it because it was pretty, not because I had a plan for it – oops!   It’s too small for a tank top or camisole and too lightweight for a …read more

I love working with hand-dyed embroidery flosses – there’s something about the richness of the colors that I find incredibly inspiring.
I’ve dyed quite a bit of fabric over the years, but I’ve never attempted to dye my own floss. This video from Melanie Testa makes it look quite do-able:

Ah, one more project to add to my list

guest post from Kelly Saunders of Thrifty Mommy 

My name is Kelly Saunders and I write with my best friend, Karen, over at Thrifty Mommy. Our goals are to save you time and money in your everyday lives. Recently, I have begun a quilt. It was the biggest mistake I could have ever done because it is very addictive. I love to sit down and relax with my handwork. But I hated it when my thread would get tangled up and I would get so frustrated.
Then a co-worker told me about Thread Heaven. You …read more

Okay, so do you have everything I asked you for yesterday?
Good – let’s get sewing
To begin, we need to interface the back of the fabric with a heavy-weight interfacing.  I find it’s easiest to cut a square of fabric out with the motif in the center, rather than trying to fussy cut the fabric.

 Interface the backing fabric:

 Now fuse a lightweight fusible webbing (I’m using Heat N Bond Lite for this) onto the wrong side of the backing fabric, according to the webbing package directions.  Fuse the backing fabric and the front fabric motif together.
Let cool and then cut …read more

Keeping my fabric and notions organized seems to take constant effort for me – I usually store everything in large, clear plastic tubs or storage towers with drawers. My thread is stored in drawers on top of my sewing table and I keep things like elastic and trims in another tall set of drawers next to my sewing machine.
Despite my best efforts to keep everything tidied away – I don’t… I’m a very visual person and love to see how fabrics look next to each other, what happens if you put that trim or lace on them. …read more

I’ve had a few requests for the source of the silk floss I used in the igolochkoy Christmas tree ornament.  I finally tracked their website down!  Prepare to drool…

Is that not a luscious photo?  Those are some of the colors that The Silk Tree in British Columbia carries.   You can also buy it at The Silk Weaving Studio if you’re going to be in Granville Island (Vancouver) BC.
They do mail orders in Canada & the USA… I’m sorry – I’m such a bad influence

Sew Thankful is holding an end of the year close-out sale and they’ve got some lovely hand & machine embroidery threads for awesome deals.
There are Finca Perle Cotton in solids & variegated.   El Molino rayon floss & La Paleta machine embroidery rayon thread.