Spice up your jeans with couching stitch

Do you feel that your jeans are too boring and ubiquitous for your personal style? If yes, then try to jazz up an old pair of jeans by stitching a curved band at the bottom of each leg. See how you can do couching stitch.  

Sun umbrella on a pillow case

The sun umbrella is a fresh stitching design, that will convert a boring pillowcase into an outstanding, embroidered textile. The project is easy, suitable for those starters that want to practice three of the most basic stitches: straight satin stitch, back stitch & blanket stitch. 

Patchwork tote bag with lining

The tote bag is probably the easiest bag to make. You can make a tote bag by sewing almost all kind of fabrics. You can also reuse leftover fabrics or recycle old fabrics.

Instructions: 

1. Cut two 14''x16'' rectangles of outer fabric. In this project, we used dyed and other leftover pieces, joined together, to make the front side of the bag. The measurements are only indicative.

Needle felting project: Make a wool dot cushion

The project uses the method of attaching wool fibers (roving) on fabrics using stencils, cookie cutters or similar objects. At first the foundation fabric is placed on the work surface and then the cookie cutter in placed on the fabric. The interior of the cookie cutter is filled with fiber and the fiber is poked with the felting needle. 

Gypsy style purse with fringes

Learn how to make fringes by fraying pieces of fabric. Then you can use the fringes to make a gypsy style shoulder bag.

To make the front size of the purse you will need.

• Heavy cotton black fabric
• Heavy cotton white fabric (canvas)
• Embroidery threads and needle

Seminole patchwork project

Seminole Indian women in the Florida Everglades developed a unique technique of piecing pieces of fabric together. The technique is simple, yet the final result seams complicated and sometimes puzzling. The origins of seminole patchwork technique go back to the early 1900s.

The basic steps of the seminole method are the following:

1. Strips of fabric are sewn together.
2. The new strip is cut into smaller pieces.
3. The new pieces are rearranged and sewn back together.

Project- part 1

The log Cabin patchwork block

The log-cabin method is an easy type of patchwork, ideal for beginners, made of simple strips of fabric. The following project presents on the one hand the log cabin method and on the other how a finished patchwork can be further modified into an abstract composition.

Start form a boring pattern and make an abstract patchwork

If you think that symmetry is boring and obvious and you opt for more unexpected and abstract designs, then try this projects

Sewing machine stitching / Experimenting with black & white tonal values

Enrich fabric surface by simply sewing straight or curved lines. See how you can play with tonal values and changes from dark to light, using the sewing machine and the simple straight stitch.

Materials: Polyester black thread on white cotton

• Technique 01: Change the distance between the rows. Start by drawing, with a pencil and a ruller, 10 lines with an in-between distance of 1/16'' (or 1mm). Then draw 10 more lines with an in-between distance of 1/8'' (or 2mm). As you move from one side to the other increase gradually the distance between the lines. 

Pile effect with yarn

Create a fuzzy surface with pile using common knitting yarn and the sewing machine. 

Pattern development / Experimenting with tonal values

Tonal values / Hand embroidery 

Tone is how dark or light a color is. There are many ways to achieve tonal values in painting and sketching. But what about embroidery?

There are several methods to create the effect of tonal grading with thread and one of them is the method of pattern development.  

4 strand braid

Braids can be used to make purse handles, belts, frindges, to decorate a garment etc. The 3 strand braid is easy to do, but the 4 strand braid is wider and more impressive. Braids can be made from leather, ribbon, knitting yarn, rope, or even from strips of fabric or old clothing. 

Boho-chic tote bag with frayed edges

Make a large, boho-chic tote bag with frayed edges out of cheap burlap fabric. To make it more unique you can cross stitch the front panel with bird silhouettes on wires. 

How to make a twisted cord

Twisted cords are very easy to make by using strands of yarn, rope, leather, silk, etc and they can be used in bags, cushions, garments, curtains etc. You can use more colors to make multicolored cords or even hand painted cotton yarn. You can also use even or odd number of strands. For unusual cords, try to mix yarns of different types and thicknesses.

Crackle on fabric with flour paste resist

One method to create crackle or marble texture on fabric is by using a resist that crackles when dry. In this project, it will be used the ordinary flour as a resist material. 


Materials:

• Flour
• Fabric paints (I use Pebeo setacolor)
• Cotton fabric

Dip-dyeing fabrics with two colors

Dip-dyeing is probably the easiest method to add color and interest to a piece of fabric. In this tutorial you'll use two contrasting colors to dye pieces of white cotton fabric. 

Materials

• Soda ash (washing soda): In order to make the dye permanent a fixative is needed. A common fixative is made with soda ash and water.
• Cold-water dyes or Procion MX dyes or fiber reactive dyes: They are usually bought in powder form and are dissolved in warm water. A dye solution (without fixative) can be stored in a glass jar for several weeks in a cool place.

Printing leaves on fabric

Design your own patterned fabric with plant materials, found in nature. In this project, you'll trasfer the pattern of assorted leaves onto a piece of fabric.

Negative monoprinting on glass

Monoprinting is a form of printmaking that can only be made once, unlike most printmaking, where there are multiple originals. So, monoprinting or monotyping means that each print is unique. 
Many artists use gelatin for monoprinting but you can also use any flat, sleek and smooth surface like glass, plexiglass, lacquered wood, etc. The process of monoprinting fabrics on glass is a spontaneous process that will result in unexpected and interesting textures.

Rubber banded brayer technique

Use a brayer and  a couple of rubber bands, to create a unique painted pattern onto the fabric. The process, no matter how many times you repeat it, will always give you different results. 

What you need

• A brayer. A brayer is a hand roller used in printmaking techniques to spread ink on a surface. 
• Rubber bands (3 to 5 pieces). The rubber bands can be thick or normal or you can mix various types together. 
• Fabric paints 
• A plexiglass or a glass surface
• A piece of fabric 

An abstract patchwork inspired by Mondrian's art work

Follow the instruction below to make an unexpected, abstract patchwork. No matter how many times you'll repeat the process the result will be always unique.