Have you ever fallen in love with a particular piece of fabric, but then couldn’t find zippers or even velcro to match it?
There are specialty notion stores and mail order houses, but what if you want to get sewing right away?

Dylon dye is your answer!
Mix up the dye powder, salt and dye fix according to the package directions.  Dunk your white zipper or velcro into the dye and let it sit for a few minutes.   Rinse it off, let it dry and you’re good to go!
Just remember, use proper precautions when you’re using dye.  Don’t use food containers, make sure …read more

It can be confusing to go into a sewing store and look at those different types of fabric – what exactly will work best for what kind of project?

Sewing patterns are designed to work with particular fabrics – for instance, if a blouse patterns calls for a chiffon or a georgette, you can pretty much guarantee that it won’t work with a drapery-weight sateen!
Do you need  a little help when it comes to figuring out all those fabric and sewing terms?
Fabric.com has an excellent online fabric glossary, arranged from A – Z.
For instance, do you know what “double cloth” is?
“Double …read more

The clever people over at Threads Magazine have come up with an ingenious way to speed up the production of yo-yos.
Now, I personally like the slow & meditative pace of hand-sewing yo-yos, but this method sounds fantastic for those projects that need to get done right now.
Basically, you’re using the embroidery hoop of your sewing machine to stabilize the yo-yo fabric as you sew around it.  Go check out the article for the complete details.