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Hand Sewing Needles
What is it? -No tools are more basic to sewing than needles are. They existed even before thread and fabric as our ancient ancestors used pointed objects to perforate hides so they could be laced together with leather cords. Centuries of technology later we have highly advanced, modern hand sewing needles that do basically the same thing. But they do it so much better now. Few tools are more useful. This primordial sewing tool has evolved into virtually every genre of sewing specialty including general sewing, appliqué, embroidery, ribbon…
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Scissors & Shears
What is it? -Because of that they have enjoyed the natural evolution that comes with the application of developing technology. The scissors and shears we use today bear but a faint resemblance to those used by our ancestors. In high-quality scissors the blades are extremely sharp and are positioned to increase the cutting and shearing tension at the exact point where the blades meet and the fabric is cleanly cut. A true performance test of any scissor or shear necessarily focuses on how cleanly they cut both multiple layers…
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Curve Ruler
What is it? -All right, we’ve decided to do a little fashion sewing. Cool. We’ve visited our local shop and poured over the pattern catalogs or perhaps searched favorite sites on the internet. In either case we’ve found a pattern that’s just what we’re looking for. We’ve reviewed the instructions on the back of the pattern envelope and acquired all of the required notions as well as the correct yardage of that killer fabric that will really make our project pop. Keep in mind we’ll also want to make it…
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Macramé Plant Hanger Gauge
What is it? -When I ask anyone about macramé, no one ever mentions that it dates from the 13th century when it was an emerging art form produced by combining cords and knots to form intricate designs. Nor does anyone ever mention that its popularity peaked in 19th Century Victorian England when it was the “to die for” art form for all of the ladies of the age. You never hear any of that. But when anyone sees actual macramé up close they immediately start talking about the 70’s. Yea…
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Bobbin Tatting Shuttles & Accessories
What is it? -To assist you in your pursuit of all things tatting, Clover has developed an actual system of tatting products. Improving on the traditional tatting shuttle, Clover’s new Bobbin Tatting Shuttle allows you to wind your thread on a separate bobbin and then just insert it into the shuttle when needed. No longer do we need to wind our thread onto the shuttle itself. We can pre-wind as many bobbins as necessary in as many colors as necessary and all well in advance of beginning our project. And…
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Tool School: I Sew For Fun by Nancy Zieman
By Steve Butler What is it? What would you do if you wanted to give someone the gift that is sewing? You know, to enable an individual to achieve their creative expression through sewing, whether that be fashion, quilting, home décor or crafting.
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I Sew For Fun
What is it? – What would you do if you wanted to give someone the gift that is sewing? You know, to enable an individual to achieve their creative expression through sewing, whether that be fashion, quilting, home décor or crafting. Or, for that matter, any variation or combination of all of the above. What’s important to have? What’s necessary? First of all for any project in any genre related to the use of fabric in sewing or crafts, the requirement for making accurate measurements is absolute. Being able to precisely…
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Knitting Bobbin Set
What is it? – Knitting and crochet. If you look at all of the fibers, textures, sizes and colors of yarns available to accomplish either we find that the potential for creative expression is virtually unlimited. But wait, if it’s possible to go beyond unlimited we can certainly do so simply by adding multiple colors to the same project. Adding schmancy to fancy if you will. Think of basic color work techniques like Faire Isle, Scandinavian, intarsia, C2C graphghans or others. Using these methods we can manipulate various colors…
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Marking Pins
https://youtu.be/FNI11PTK5hc What is it? – Whether we’re into knitting or crochet we’re always making something, something made of individual pieces. And that something usually means putting those component pieces together. We all know there are several techniques for joining our knitted or crocheted pieces and that those techniques vary depending on our creative inspiration. Do we want the seams to be invisible or not? Perhaps we want them to be very visible and part of our decorative design as in, really standout. Regardless there is one constant. At some…
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Circular Stitch Holder
What is it? – Knitting is a method by which we manipulate a strand of yarn to create a textile or fabric of some sort. This is done by forming loops of yarn, our stitches, on a knitting needle. By transferring these active stitches between two or more knitting needles we form our fabric. By manipulating these stitches we can form shapes or dimensions within that fabric. Cool, but at this point Hamlet probably would have said, “ay, there lies the rub.” Yes, exactly. This is where the problem…