Hot Sewing & Embroidery How-Tos
How To: Sew a cute and chic layered skirt without a pattern
A layered skirt can add either elegance or a bit of funkiness to your wardrobe, depending on your choice of fabric. This video shows you a quick and easy way to sew your own, perfectly fitted layered skirt out of whatever fabric you want.
How To: Transfer an image onto fabric using cross hatching or straight stitching
Want to tranfer a pretty image, logo or design onto some fabric, but can't find the right applique? You can use some wash away foundation paper and a few basic hand stitching techniques instead! Sew any sort of image you want!
How To: Sew your own stylish and elegant pillbox style hat
This is very easy to follow project you can use to sew a cute, stylish pillbox style hat. All you need is some stiff fabric, a few sewing notions and then whatever embellishments (like ribbons, flowers or applique) you want to attach to the sides.
How To: Make cute little handmade dolls out of funky socks
You will need one pair of cute, funky socks for this tutorial, as well as some stuffing for the doll. This is an easy craft to do - turn some socks into something cute and clever! A fun little gift for anyone.
How To: Sew your own pouch for a mobile phone or mp3 player
You can use this tutorial to make a basic drawstring bag, which you can use to carry around your mobile phone, mp3 player or any other small accessories you don't want to lose. Decorate the outside with sequins, gems or appliques!
How To: Make a flapper style feather brooch or hairpin
This hair accessory looks like it comes straight out of the 1920s! Take a few elegant feathers and turn them into a brooch, a hairpin or an embellishment you can add on to any garment or other accessory you want!
How To: Sew your own cute circle skirt without a pattern
You don't need a pattern to make cute clothes! All you need for this tutorial is to take your measurements and then turn that into your own free pattern! Then get a length of fabric, cut, sew and you have a new circle skirt!
How To: Make a stretchable bracelet out of old buttons
This is an adorable accessory, and a great way to use some old buttons. Make sure that your buttons are very basic, and have at least two holes in each one. You'll also want some elastic thread to string them on.
How To: Make a crocheted and felted ruffle for the collar of a cardigan
Dress up a tired old cardigan by adding a ruffle to the collar! A combination of crochet and felting will create this ruffle for you, and this tutorial shows you a quick and easy way to create the emebellishment you want.
How To: Sew a Victorian style pillow out of felt
This is a fun project that doesn't take much in terms of time or resources. You can even make it out of your scrap fabric! Use whatever notions or embellishments you want to create a lovely, Victorian inspired pillow at home.
How To: Make a fabric yo-yo rosette adornment
This fabric "yo-yo" is really not a yo-yo at all, but rather a feminine fabric rosette that does (sort of) resemble the beloved childhood play toy. These fabric rosettes are quite lovely and would look great adorning a card or bag.
How To: Repurpose an old wool sweater into wool mittens
Got an old fugly wool reindeer sweater that's collecting dust in your closet? Don't just toss the warm coat because it's not very stylish. Instead, check out this crafting tutorial to learn how to repurpose an old wool sweater into cute wool mittens.
How To: Craft a whimsical patchwork pincushion owl
Got a friend or family member who's glued to her sewing machine? Then she'll delight over this cute as a button owl pincushion. It can be made to use as a mini stuffed animal, or it can be used to hold all your pins and needles when you're not using them.
How To: Sew a professional quality flat felled seam without frustration
The flat felled seam is a versatile seam, especially good for making a reversible shirt. This tutorial shows you two separate techniques - the first is one commonly used by home sewers, and the second is the one used by professional tailors.
How To: Draft a pattern for a bodice at home for free
Instead of paying for expensive patterns that might not even fit you perfectly, create your own! This tutorial shows you how to take your own measurements and then draft a bodice pattern. It's very easy, and a great way to get lots of free patterns!
How To: Draft a free pattern for a custom sewn shirt
Drafting your own patterns isn't difficult - and it's a great way to get not only a free pattern, but to make sure that your pattern is custom fit to your own measurements. This video shows you how to draft a basic shirt pattern from scratch.
How To: Sew a basic skirt and pencil skirt without a pattern
This tutorial starts off by showing you how to sew a basic skirt by using just your measurements - no pattern needed. Then, once you've mastered that, turn your basic skirt into a classy pencil skirt with just a few modifications.
How To: Draft a basic block pattern for pants
A basic block is the simplest, most fitted style for a garment. This tutorial shows you how to draft a basic block pattern for a pair of pants. Once you get this down, you can start adding flared legs and belt loops and other embellishments.
How To: Figure out how many buttons you need for a hand drafted pattern
So you've drafted a jacket pattern by hand, but now how do you figure out how many buttons you need, and where to put them? This tutorial shows you a few tricks and rules to use when adding your buttons.
How To: Undo the hem on a pre-made skirt
This tutorial focuses on skirts, but you can use this process to undo the hem on any garment. You can sometimes cut off the hem, but if you want to make a much smaller alteration, here's how you can undo the hem entirely.
How To: Alter the hemlines on your skirts
This tutorial shows you how to determine what kind of skirt you have - straight or tapered . Then, depending on the type of skirt you have, you're shown how to alter the hem or shorten the length of your skirt.
How To: Draft your own garment patterns at home
Make your own patterns easily! Drafting a pattern isn't difficult. This tutorial shows you a few fun methods of pattern drafting. Take an article of clothing whose shape you like, and use that as the model for your new pattern.
How To: Make a cheap and easy headband holder at home
Tired of losing track of all your favorite headbands? This tutorial shows you how to make a headband holder! This project could also be used to organize your necklaces, or make a smaller version to use as a bracelet holder.
How To: Recycle your old clothes into a cute teddy bear
This tutorial works best with soft fabrics, like jersey or terry cloth. You can even cut up old flannel to make the stuffing! This is a simple project that won't take longer than an hour or two to put together.
How To: Make an easy tutu without needing a sewing machine
You can make a stylish and fun tutu without needing a sewing machine! All you need is several yards of tulle or a similar fabric. Perfect for ballet lessons, or wear it as a petticoat for your full, bouncy skirts.
How To: Decorate and personalize the cover for your cell phone
This tutorial shows you a few cute ideas to decorate a cell phone cover. iPhones all look the same, but you can take a basic cover and then add beads, faux gems, rhinestones and other embellishments to personalize your cell phone case.
How To: Draft your own darts when making a skirt without a pattern
Darts add shape and a more fitted line to garments that use them. While many patterns come with the darts pre-printed, how do you add darts when you're sewing without a pattern? This tutorial shows you how to add your own darts by hand.
How To: Craft cometa flower wedding favors
These cometa flowers are made from Italian cometa ribbon. Velvety and smooth, they are easy to craft with and can be quickly turned into beautiful blooms that can adorn your wedding favors.
How To: Sew a zipper into your clothes and other projects
A zipper may look intimidating, but it's really not. This tutorial shows you an easy and quick way to sew a zipper. You will need a zipper, straight pins, matching thread, scissors, your sewing project and a special zipper foot for your sewing machine.
How To: Sew with LEDs and connections in your sewing projects
Want to incorporate LEDs into your costumes and sewing? This video is here! Using a basic glove, this tutorial shows you how you can work with LEDs when you want to sew them into a project. Make sure you don't accidentally sew a short circuit.
How To: Hand sew using connective thread, a buzzer and an arduino
You have to be careful not to accidentally sew in a short circuit when you are working with connective thread. This tutorial shows you how to sew in a connection to an arduino, a buzzer and a battery on a glove.
How To: Sew a connection to an arduino on your clothing
Make your clothing really light up! This tutorial shows you how to properly and carefully sew a connection to an arduino to some fabric, so you can incorporate some lightweight electronics into your next fashion project or battery operated costume piece.
How To: Upcycle and embellish an old or out of date cardigan sweater
Get a plain cardigan at a thrift store or vintage store and then use these few tips to jazz it up a bit! Switch out the buttons and add a few floral embellishemtns you can make out of felted wool.
How To: Make a pocket organizer for your coupons and receipts
Increase the storage capabilities of your home! This tutorial shows you how you can create a wall hanging out of fabric that will let you store your coupons, reciepts and other important papers. All you need are some basic sewing tools and a sewing machine.
How To: Start embroidering with some basic stitches
This tutorial is a concise tutorial on the basic embroidery stitches. Learn how to do a French knot, flower, chain stitch, back stitch, outline stitch, satin stitch, and a cross stitch. All you need is some fabric, an embroidery hoop, floss and needle.
How To: Make a button ponytail holder out of basic materials
You will need some half ball covered buttons to make this. You can cover these buttons with any sort of fabric you want. Once you're done, thread an elastic ponytail band through the button hole, add a dab of glue and you have a brand new accessory!
How To: Make your own super cute pincushion
Add a little flair and personalization to your sewing room! You can make this out of the scrap fabric in your stash. This tutorial shows you how to craft your own completely usable, tomato-style pincushion. You will also need some kind of stuffing.
How To: Make a beautiful and easy rose out of craft ribbon
This technique shows you how to make a rose or rosebud out of some leftover ribbon. All you need is a length of ribbon and some needle and thread. Add a few bead or crystal embellishments if you want. This will work with any size ribbon.
How To: Cut tulle or a similar fabric easily
Tulle is often used to make tutus, but the nature of it's composition might make it hard to cut cleanly. This is a very quick video tutorial showing you a few useful tips on the most efficient way to cut tulle fabric.
How To: Upcycle a wool sweater into a felted pillow cover
This is a fun and funky project you can use to recover a boring pillow. All you need is a wool sweater (which you can find easily at a thrift store) and the pillow you want to cover. You'll also need to be able to felt the wool.