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Air Erasable & White Marking Pen
What is it?– “The devil is in the detail”. It’s a common enough phrase. Perhaps some of us has even used it. But what does it really mean, “the devil in the detail”? How often do we start a project that looks like it’s going to be a snap, only to get bogged down in all of the details. You know, all the little things that consume so much time, make us a little crazy and eventually affect the quality of our finished project or maybe even determine if it gets…
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Chacopy Tracing Paper
What is it?– Fashion, fashion accessories, heirloom sewing, quilting and home decor. All of these projects are often one time or another blank canvases that are truly enhanced with the addition of the appropriate decorative pattern. Some of these pattern designs are professionally developed while others are original work we’ve created all by ourselves. Beautiful, often meaningful patterns for sewing, quilting and embroidery. But they’re all usually on paper and we are not sewing on paper. How do we move them to our fabric in a manner that allows us to…
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Magnet Pin Caddy and Dome Threaded Needle Case
What is it?– “I’m on pins and needles.” We’ve all heard the phrase and we know what it means. A sense of anxiety or suspense. But how could that possibly apply to sewing? Pins and needles of course. We all use them but they’re all armed with wickedly sharp little points. Hence the anxiety or suspense. We’ve all been stuck more than once while we’ve had to sort through a pile of pins or needles looking for the one we need. But it’s a hodge-podge of shafts and points all aimed…
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Best Premium Assortments
What is it?– We’ve all been to our favorite purveyor of all things sewing and been amazed by the extraordinary selection of sewing machine needle styles. Lots of names like universal, denim, stretch, jersey, etc. It all sounds impressive but is it necessary? Can we do it all with just a universal sewing machine needle? Yep, we can. Do we want to? Nope. Why? Picture this. You’ve engaged a world class gourmet chef to prepare dinner for a very special family gathering. You’ve purchased all of the ingredients she specified and…
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Best Premium Needle Anatomy
What is it?– Every Tool School is packed with valuable, useful information. But if you use a sewing machine at any point in your creative process, this one may be one of the most important. So pay attention because there may be a test at the end of class. If I were to ask you what you thought was the most important physical element of your sewing machine what would your answer be? The sewing machine itself? How about a quality thread? Perhaps even the needle? Well, they all work…
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Supersize 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge by Nancy Zieman & Clover
What is it? – Sequels. We love them. We couldn’t wait for the next Star Wars, Twilight, Bourne Identity, or Captain America movie to come out. We were captivated by the first one and couldn’t wait to see what was next. As usual Clover has what’s next in the sewing notions category. And it’s an award winner. You know the original. You loved the original. The original 5-in-1 Sliding Gauge became the “go to” tool for virtually any measuring application we needed to do, whether quilting, fashion, home…
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Mini Wonder Clips
What is it? – You know them. You love them. And they’re everywhere. Few sewing, knitting or crafting tools have ever enjoyed a more widespread and enthusiastic reception. Years after their introduction they are still perhaps the most versatile and useful sewing tool ever devised. Often copied but never equaled, the Wonder Clip designed and manufactured by Clover not only exhibits the highest, most exacting manufacturing standards but is the only true Wonder Clip that continues to evolve to meet the developing needs of sewing, knitting and crafting…
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Silk Threads
What is it? – China, circa 3600 BC. That’s where it all started. A young Chinese empress expressed a desire for a luxurious new fiber and silk was the result. Threads of different types had been around for many years but this was different. In fact, silk was very different. It had a texture and luster that set it way apart from anything else. It rapidly became the luxury fiber distributed only among the powerful and wealthy. But the appeal was too great to keep under wraps and its use…
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Scissors
What is it? – Scissors. It’s hard to imagine doing anything in sewing, knitting or crafts without them. They are, in fact, one of the most common tools used universally by us humans. They were even carried by Apollo 12 astronauts on the surface of the moon. The earliest known scissors appeared in Mesopotamia 3,000 to 4,000 years ago and were a “spring style” scissor similar to the nippers we use today. The more familiar style scissors where the blades are pivoted at a point between the tips and handles…
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Fusibles
What is it? – Interfacing is used in many sewing and craft projects to provide extra support, body, reinforcement or shape. Basically it enhances our creative potential by allowing us to do things beyond the capability of the fabric alone. A fusible interfacing is a specific type of interfacing that has a heat activated adhesive applied to it. This “fusible” type interfacing allows us to simply iron it into place. Clover and Nancy Zieman have taken this convenience a step further in the development of four really cool fusible…