Tadaa Studio — sewing

It always happens that in the midst of a sewing or craft project that neat stack of materials and supplies that I have gathered becomes scattered all over the place: thread in one spot, notions covered by fabrics, pattern packet and instructions separated from each other.  Sometimes I feel like more time is spent searching for the pieces I need than actually sewing.  Here is a simple way to be stylishly organized. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Time: less than an hour Materials: Chunky Picture frame 11” x 14” 4 -2-1/2” finish nails 4 cup hooks 2 clothes pins & 2 1" finish nails...

First Communion is coming up quickly, only two weeks away, and I just finished the dress over the weekend.  Now it is time to make the veil, a fun and quick project that could also be adapted to make a wedding veil for a little girl's dress-up box. Time: 1 hour for the basic veil, a little more time for adding custom details Materials : $5 approx. 1 yard tulle 45" wide-  the finer the tulle the nicer it will drape 1/4" satin ribbon (5 yards) thread fabric padded headband assorted millinery flowers -optional Step 1: Fold in half width-wise...

[caption id="attachment_325" align="alignnone" width="400" caption="The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle"][/caption] With the long winters in Ann Arbor and the inevitable snow days, I’ve had plenty of time to do some kid crafts. This felt board has been a big hit with my son who loves to have me tell him over and over the well-loved The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle and the story of The Three Little Pigs. 1.  We covered an old bulletin board with some batting to make it even and then stapled green felt for the ground and blue felt for the sky to...

I am always perusing the Pottery Barn and Crate and Barrel catalog for design ideas.  I look at the pillows and think, I could make that for way less than the usual $75+ price tag. So after noticing the tone-on-tone and textured pillows were drawing me in, I tackled this ruffled pillow design and I am loving it! I made it up a couple in a variety of colors to spice up my family room, then decided it would make an excellent kit for all my crafty friends out there. With this modern craft kit, all the materials are pre-cut...

Here are some sewing tips that will make working with oilcloth or coated fabric much more enjoyable. Needle - denim or size 16 needle, but we've also used the whatever needle is in the machine #12 without issue Thread- poly-cotton is fine. Set Stitch Length a bit longer 3.5, seems to help to have the feed dogs push the fabric a bit farther along and reduces the likelihood of creating a rip from perforating oilcloth. Masking/Painter's Tape is your friend for keeping pieces aligned - pins will leave holes that won't 'heal', so choose to use pins in the seam...