Active Arts & Crafts Posts
How To: Sew with LEDs and connections in your sewing projects
Want to incorporate LEDs into your costumes and sewing? This video is here! Using a basic glove, this tutorial shows you how you can work with LEDs when you want to sew them into a project. Make sure you don't accidentally sew a short circuit.
How To: Hand sew using connective thread, a buzzer and an arduino
You have to be careful not to accidentally sew in a short circuit when you are working with connective thread. This tutorial shows you how to sew in a connection to an arduino, a buzzer and a battery on a glove.
How To: Sew a connection to an arduino on your clothing
Make your clothing really light up! This tutorial shows you how to properly and carefully sew a connection to an arduino to some fabric, so you can incorporate some lightweight electronics into your next fashion project or battery operated costume piece.
How To: Upcycle and embellish an old or out of date cardigan sweater
Get a plain cardigan at a thrift store or vintage store and then use these few tips to jazz it up a bit! Switch out the buttons and add a few floral embellishemtns you can make out of felted wool.
How To: Repurpose and recyle your old costume jewelry
Is your jewelry box cluttered up with pieces that are old, out of date or just plain ugly nowadays? This video to the rescue! Learn a few good ideas when it comes to giving some old costume jewelry a new life!
How To: Make a pocket organizer for your coupons and receipts
Increase the storage capabilities of your home! This tutorial shows you how you can create a wall hanging out of fabric that will let you store your coupons, reciepts and other important papers. All you need are some basic sewing tools and a sewing machine.
How To: Start embroidering with some basic stitches
This tutorial is a concise tutorial on the basic embroidery stitches. Learn how to do a French knot, flower, chain stitch, back stitch, outline stitch, satin stitch, and a cross stitch. All you need is some fabric, an embroidery hoop, floss and needle.
How To: Make a button ponytail holder out of basic materials
You will need some half ball covered buttons to make this. You can cover these buttons with any sort of fabric you want. Once you're done, thread an elastic ponytail band through the button hole, add a dab of glue and you have a brand new accessory!
How To: Make your own super cute pincushion
Add a little flair and personalization to your sewing room! You can make this out of the scrap fabric in your stash. This tutorial shows you how to craft your own completely usable, tomato-style pincushion. You will also need some kind of stuffing.
How To: Cut tulle or a similar fabric easily
Tulle is often used to make tutus, but the nature of it's composition might make it hard to cut cleanly. This is a very quick video tutorial showing you a few useful tips on the most efficient way to cut tulle fabric.
How To: Crochet a cute pair of ruffled wrist warmers
This is perfect for someone who wants to keep their hands warm but still work with their hands (such as typing, sewing or crafting). Start with medium weight worsted yarn and a size I crochet hook to make these fun wrist warmers.
How To: Upcycle a wool sweater into a felted pillow cover
This is a fun and funky project you can use to recover a boring pillow. All you need is a wool sweater (which you can find easily at a thrift store) and the pillow you want to cover. You'll also need to be able to felt the wool.
How To: Make a flower out of ric rac or decorative ribbon
This is a great way to get rid of some old ric rac you might have in your trim collection. The tutorial could also work for other ribbon, but is best when used with ric rac. Attach to a hairclip, headband or use as an embellishment.
How To: Make post earrings out of cute vintage buttons
Make your own earrings out of buttons! Use some vintage buttons, or cover some regular buttons with pretty fabric. All you will need are the buttons, some hot glue and a few basic jewelry making supplies (earring posts and backings).
How To: Make your own little coffee corset or cup holder
Corsets on a coffee cup? Sure! Rather than having to use more paper to insulate your hot coffee cup, you can make your own at home. You can crochet your own little coffee corset out of yarn and a crochet hook. The perfect gift for the eco-conscious coffee lover.
How To: Upcycle a tired old sofa, loveseat or overstuffed chair
Rescue a piece of roadside furniture, or give your own loveseat or couch a new look. This tutorial shows you how you can upcycle and add some new upholstery. Make sure you are careful to clean any furniture you find on the side of the road.
How To: Recycle an old cardboard box into sheets of handmade paper
You can recycle your own cardboard boxes and get sheets of beautiful, handmade paper. It's quite easy. You'll need a paper mold, but those are very easy to make (you can use a cake pan or baking dish in a pinch!)
How To: Design and make your own designer style circular rug
You can make a classy, desginer style rug out of some scrap pieces of carpet. If you plan to create a dyed rug, make sure the carpet will take the dye before you start this project. Use any design you want!
How To: Make a stencil with Adobe Illustrator
Stencils can be made in lots of ways, but using Adobe Illustrator gives a more professional finish. Acetate sheets and an X-acto knife are also required to cut our the image. Learn how to make a stencil by watching this tagging how-to video.
How To: Sew an easy organizer bag for your crafting supplies
Crafting and sewing is lots of fun, but it calls for many accessories and notions that can clutter your craft area. This tutorial shows you how to create your own craft supply organizer out of some upcycled or recycled materials.
How To: Make an easy fabric rosettes out of a recycled T-shirt
These rosettes can be used as embellishments however you like - turn them into hair accessories, attach them to a sweater or use them to upcycle another T-shirt. Dress them up with beads or ribbon. All you need are some scissors and a hot glue gun.
How To: Sew a bound buttonhole using a sewing machine
You don't have to sew a bound buttonhole by hand, you can replicate this fashion technique using a sewing machine. Make sure you sew slowly and carefully to get the clean finished lines of a perfectly done bound button hole.
How To: Use couture techniques to attach buttons and buttonholes
This tutorial shows you a variety of couture techniques you can use when home sewing to attach buttons and create buttonholes. Use bound buttonholes, space your buttons and make sure that your buttons and buttonholes line up to each other.
How To: Sew an easy and quick bound buttonhole
A bound buttonhole doesn't have to be difficult. This video shows you several different techniques taught in various sewing books, and then shows you a synthesis of both methods. Don't worry about having to hand sew your buttons, you can do it all by machine.
How To: Hand sew a bound buttonhole for couture garments
While you can usually make a buttonhole with a machine, doing a bound buttonhole by hand is a couture technique that gives a professional, elegant finish to your buttonholes. This video shows you how to hand sew a bound butthole for your garment.
How To: Sew your own corset style top at home
This is not a tutorial on how to sew a real corset, rather, how to sew a corset style top. You will need some fashion fabric, eyelets, an eyelet attachment tool, ribbon, scissors, pins, measuring tape, tailor's chalk and of course, a sewing machine.
How To: Make a pattern to sew your own custom made corset
You can buy a pre made corset pattern from a manufacturer, or, if you really want to start from scratch, you can draft your own pattern. This tutorial shows you how to take your measurements and translate that into a custom fit corset pattern.
How To: Properly attach grommets and eyelets to your handmade corset
Grommets and eyelets are the metal rings that reinforce the holes in your corset, through which you thread the cording. This tutorial gives you some good advice on choosing, placing and attaching grommets and eyelets to your own hand sewn corsets.
How To: Make sure your hand sewn corset is as professional and sturdy as possible
A corset is not necessarily a difficult thing to sew, but it does require a lot of precision. Here are a few good tips you'll want to learn and follow when you're trying to teach yourself sewing and corset making at home.
How To: Pin your panels together accurately when making a corset by hand
Precision is important when you're making a garment as closely form fitting as a corset, and pinning your garment together is no different. Make sure that the panels for your corset are snugly, securely and accurately pinned together before you start sewing.
How To: Make your own bias tape with a bias tape maker
The bias cut is when you cut a piece of fabric at a forty five degree angle from the direction it was woven on a loom. Bias tape, a strip of fabric cut on the bias, can be used to give any garment a professional looking finish, and here is how you can make your own.
How To: Break in or season your corset without damaging it
When you first buy a corset from a retailer, you will need to give the thread and fabric the chance to shape itself according to your own personal shape. Here is the best way to break in or season a new corset to make it last longer.
How To: Sew a corset boning channel with a pressing bar
This tutorial shows you two different techniques for creating a boning channel when you're making a corset. You will need the corset boning and a pressing bar, along with some bias tape (or the ability to make your own) and a few other sewing notions.
How To: Sew your own corset tank top at home
This is a great and attractive shirt - a corset tank top. You don't need a pattern to make this, just some fabric, lining and ribbon. You'll also need some basic sewing notions and access to a sewing machine to sew this very basic item.
How To: Make a reversible waist cincher for your Renaissance Faire outfit
This is an easy tutorial that will go well with any Renaissance Faire outfit or similar costume. By using two different types of fabric, you can even make it reversible and increase the number of costumes you can wear it with.
How To: Make a ruffled and gathered Lolita skirt
Lolita, hime or Little Bo Beep - this skirt will serve all those costume functions! Sew an easy ruffled skirt and then use elastic to gather the waistband and create the outer ruffle. You don't need a pattern, just your measurements and a sewing machine!
How To: Sew a dirndl style Austrian or German skirt
The dirndl skirt is cut straight and gathered at the waist, and is a traditional style of German or Austrian skirts. Due to the cut and the flare, it's an ideal skirt for Lolita style costumes, and this tutorail shows you how to sew a dirndl without a pattern.
How To: Sew a peasant blouse for a Renaissance costume
A great and simple way to add a little to your Renaissance Faire costume or costume closet - sew a peasant style top. All you need are a few yards of loose white fabric, your measurements and some basic sewing tools.
How To: Sew a blouse to match an Indian sari
The sari is a beautiful dress, traditionally worn by East Indian women, involving a length of fabric draped over an under blouse. This tutorial shows you how to draft your own pattern for a sari blouse and then sew it together yourself. Always iron your fabric before you start working with it!
How To: Sew your own retro chic circle skirt
Circle skirts are easy, and look good on nearly any figure. You can sew your own without needing a pattern at all - just pick your under fabric and over fabric, then follow along with this tutorial for a retro chic addition to your wardrobe.