Sewing & Embroidery How-Tos
How To: Sew on a zipper to a pair of pants
This how to video is a good general reference for anyone making their own pants, trousers, or jeans; basically any article of clothing with a fly front. The example uses a Suitability pants pattern, and can also be used to substitute a button fly. Watch and learn how to sew on a zipper to a pair of pants or trousers using a sewing machine.
How To: Sew a whip stitch by hand
This how to video sewing tutorial demonstrates how to sew a whip stitch by hand, just in case you don't have a sewing machine. The straight stitch is excellent for simple hems, decorative stitching and gathering fabric.
How To: Sew an urban hammock with cotton fabric
This weekend, take some time to escape from the business and stress of your daily grind. Make a hammock and lay around in it. Fit for a city and you can make it even without much knowledge of sewing machines.
How To: Fix a broken skirt or trouser zipper
Are you in a hurry and just found out that your zipper is broker? This how to video offers a quick fix to almost any broken zipper that will save you lots of money. All you need to fix a zipper is a screwdriver, pliers, and candle wax.
How To: Make a fringed blanket for Project Linus
This video will show you how you can make a blanket out of fleece with no sewing required. All you need for this blanket project is some fleece and scissors.
How To: Make a baby bib from a an old t-shirt
Babies go through bibs almost as quickly as they do diapers, but here's a way to save some money by creating a bib from a t-shirt. Watch this how to video and learn how to create a useful baby bib from old pieces of clothing.
How To: Make a sachet from an old t-shirt
Watch this how to video to learn how to make a sachet with common safe and natural household items. Use an old t-shirt, or any other old piece of garment, and your favorite sent
How To: Make shaded cross stitch motifs
Create fabulously fruity motifs using the traditional art of shaded cross stitch. These shaded strawberries bring the craft bang up-to-date. You can embellish all kinds of handmade projects with shaded cross stitch motifs.
How To: Make needle-felted flowers
Fans of felting will love these funky accessories, needle-felted flowers, made out of vibrant shades of pure wool. Corinne Bradd shows how to use cookie-cutters for modern shapes, ideal for stitching on a handbag or fastening to the front of a special greeting. You can spice up many things with these needle-felted flowers.
How To: Do the Outline Stitch
Here's a couple video tutorials from Needle 'n Thread for a basic hand embroidery stitch - the outline stitch. It's another versatile, easy stitch!
How To: Make your own placemats
Learn how to make your own placemats using a self-made template and fabric. Create a fun mix-matched set or make them all the same.
How To: Make a jean collar sweatshirt
Watch to learn how to revamp an old sweatshirt by adding a collar made of an old pair of blue jeans
How To: Make a bolero shrug wrap
Learn how to make a bolero shrug wrap, inspired by Bad Unkl Sista.
How To: Make an apron out of an old pair of blue jeans
The kitchen is the heart of a home, so this week we are making an apron out of an old pair of jeans. We also accessorize our tabletop with an array of centerpieces and give you a refreshing quick tip to serve your guests.
How To: Make an Eddie Earthworm doll
Make an Eddie Earthworm doll. Yes, you will need cloth and pins. A sewing machine is helpful. Part 1 of 3 - How to Make an Eddie Earthworm doll.
How To: Make a Lilly Lamb doll
In this video, you can learn the first steps to making your own Lilly Lamb doll using the ePattern available in the Etsy store.
How To: Do the Whipped Running Stitch
Another hand embroidery stitch that's great for beginning embroidery - the whipped running stitch. It's a simple, quick stitch to work. This stitch is one of many line stitches that can be used for bold or delicate outlines, depending on your choice of thread. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Back Stitch
Another simple hand-embroidery stitch, the backstitch is useful in many applications. It's commonly seen in counted-thread embroidery, like counted cross stitch, but it's also used often in free-style surface embroidery. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Stem Stitch
The stem stitch is a versatile embroidery stitch. It can be used to outline or to fill an area. Learn how to do it yourself with this video from Needle 'n Thread.
How To: Do the Portuguese Knotted Stem Stitch
Here's a video tutorial from Needle 'n Thread for Portuguese Knotted Stem Stitch. This is a line stitch good for outlining, especially when you want a little heavier line with some texture to it.
How To: Do the Couching Stitch
Couching is another easy embroidery stitch in hand embroidery, and a great way to create decorative line stitches that scroll and twirl about. It's also widely used for filling areas, and historically was used to great effect during the Middle Ages and Renaissance in a technique called Or Nue. Here's a video from Needle 'n Thread that demonstrates couching a single thread for an outline.
How To: Do the Split Stitch
The split stitch is another easy hand embroidery stitch, perfect for beginners and used often by advanced embroiderers. Here's a tutorial from Needle 'n Thread that will teach you two methods of using the split stitch.
How To: Do the Herringbone Stitch
This is a video tutorial from Needle 'n Thread for the herringbone stitch, another versatile and easy embroidery stitch for beginners, and used often by all levels of embroiderers.
How To: Do the Double Herringbone Stitch
Here's a video tutorial from Needle 'n Thread for the double herringbone stitch, which is a variation of the herringbone stitch. Just like the regular herringbone, this stitch can be used as a decorative band or edging.
How To: Do the Cretan Stitch
The cretan stitch is used in hand embroidery to create bands, to fill (any shape - leaves, for example), and it can be worked closed or open, depending on the effect you want. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Chevron Stitch
The Chevron Stitch is used in hand embroidery to work decorative bands and seam embellishments. It's a great stitch for smocking, too. Chevron Stitch is a lot like the herringbone stitch, differing only slightly by the fact that the stitches on the upwards stroke do not cross over the downward stroke stitches. It also sports a little straight stitch cap at the top and base of each triangle shape. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Palestrina Stitch
Here's another video tutorial from Needle 'n Thread for hand embroidery stitches - this one is for the Palestrina stitch. Palestrina stitch is used for outlining or filling and is common in both Jacobean designs as well as in Mountmellick embroidery, the latter because it gives a highly textured line or fill area.
How To: Do the Ladder Stitch
Ladder stitch in hand embroidery can be one of two stitches. There's the surface embroidery technique that creates a decorative band that looks a lot like a ladder, with edges that look like a chain stitch. There's also a drawn thread technique called ladder stitch that produces a ladder-like strip of remaining threads in the design area. The ladder stitch in this video tutorial is the former - the decorative band used in surface embroidery. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how i...
How To: Do the Chain Stitch
Another basic hand embroidery stitch, the chain stitch is used to outline and to fill spaces. It's a fun stitch to work, and always looks great! Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Heavy Chain Stitch
The heavy chain stitch used in hand embroidery is a variation of the regular chain stitch, but it creates a wider, thicker chain stitch band. It's an easy stitch to execute. When you want a bolder line, you can substitute it for the regular chain stitch. This video tutorial will show you the basic concept of creating a heavy chain stitch band. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Double Chain Stitch
Here's a video tutorial from Needle 'n Thread for the double chain stitch used in hand embroidery. This is a quick, easy stitch which creates a wide decorative band. It looks somewhat similar to the closed herringbone stitch, but it's created with the same (few) easy steps used in the chain stitch.
How To: Do the Raised Chain Stitch Band
This is a composite stitch. There are two embroidery stitches here put together to make the raised chain: the simple straight stitch which forms the bars on which you stitch the chain stitch. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do a Checkered or Alternating Chain Stitch
The chain stitch is perhaps one of the most common stitches in hand embroidery. By itself, it's pretty versatile. Add all the variations, and you can do just about anything with the chain stitch! Here's the alternating or checkered chain stitch. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Cable Chain Stitch
There are many variations on the chain stitch used in hand embroidery. Here's one that produces a "realistic-looking" chain, with a small link between each of the loops in the chain stitch. It's called the cable chain stitch. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Rope Stitch
The rope stitch is a nice hand embroidery stitch, perfect for a thick, corded look, and a member (believe it or not) of the chain stitch family. It looks like overcast stitch on a slant, or trailing on a slant. It's a great stitch for curves. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Rosette Chain Stitch
Here's a video tutorial from Needle 'n Thread for another hand embroidery stitch - the rosette chain stitch. The rosette chain stitch is much like the oyster stitch, but it's worked in a line, or around curves. The oyster stitch is more often seen individually.
How To: Do the Wheat Stitch
If you are a beginner at hand embroidery, one of the first stitches you will probably learn is the chain stitch. The chain stitch has many variations, and one of them is the wheat stitch, also known as the wheatear stitch. This stitch is simple to work and produces a line that resembles a shaft of wheat. The stitch can be used in all kinds of applications - it would make great background greenery in flowers and gardens, it can also serve as a seam embellishment in crazy quilting, and it can s...
How To: Do the Horizontal Fly Stitch
The fly stitch is another basic embroidery stitch used for straight and curved lines, seam embellishments in crazy quilting, and general surface embroidery techniques. The fly stitch can be worked horizontally and vertically. In this video, it is worked horizontally. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.
How To: Do the Vertical Fly Stitch
The fly stitch can be worked both horizontally and vertically. In this video tutorial from Needle 'n Thread, you'll see the fly stitch worked vertically.Besides working fly stitches in horizontal rows or vertical columns, the stitch can also be isolated, to create "filled" (loosely filled) background areas, or to create small accent-like stitches across a "canvas." Experiment with it! It's a fun and quick stitch!
How To: Do the Feather Stitch
The feather stitch is an easy stitch for hand embroidery. It's worked vertically, from top to bottom in a kind of back-and-forth, right-and-left motion. You can use the feather stitch in hand embroidery for edges and borders, it's used often in crazy quilting as a seam embellishment, and it also makes a good foundation of foliage or stems in flower designs, in Brazilian embroidery, and more. Watch this video from Needle 'n Thread to see how it's done.