Craft Blogs

Discover the best independent blogs about craft on BlogRolly.

• An Italian Cotton for an American Summer — Light, filmy Italian cotton finally became a summer dress after years in my cottons basket. I recount choosing a simple
• A Fussy-to-Make, Fuchsia-Pink Silk Dress — A fussy fuchsia silk jacquard became my challenge and reward. Here I show how I turned four yards from Britex Fabrics in
• A Long Silence — After a long silence, I catch up with a year in sewing and the small, treasured makes that kept me busy. Highlights: my
• In Pursuit of My Very Own Classic Cardigan (aka Chanel) Jacket — Hunting for my perfect classic cardigan jacket sent me through vintage Vogue Pattern Book pages, a thread traced muslin
• Fashion and Fabrics: More from My Couture Trip to Paris — Paris couture magic and fabric hunting on my tour with Susan Khalje. Visits included Yves Saint Laurent Foundation, Muse
• Going Around in Circles — Could two yards of expensive jacquard become a wearable dress? Follow my process turning a 60 inch sateen jacquard with
• Thinking in Color — Guessing Pantone's Color of the Year became a little obsession this December. I voted for the Red family and was way off
• Pink Stripes — Bold bubblegum stripes made me change course. I mix horizontal and vertical panels to fix stripe fabric alignment, swapp
• A Lovely Solution — What to do with leftover fabric? I started making padded hangers to match dresses and use up scraps. This post shows my
• Is sashiko difficult? — Wondering if sashiko is difficult? I show why sashiko for beginners is easy and fun. I cover common problems like how to
• Do you use a hoop for sashiko? — Surprising fact, a hoop actually slows sashiko. I explain why using a hoop for sashiko is unnecessary, how unshin rhythm
• How to treat new fabric for sashiko — Want your sashiko to lie flat or keep soft waves? I guide you through how to treat new fabric for sashiko, with clear pr
• How to keep your sashiko stitches straight — Struggling to keep sashiko stitches straight? My post shows easy sashiko tips for straighter embroidery, from drawing th
• 7 common questions about sashiko answered — Curious about sashiko? I answer seven common questions in one friendly post: where did sashiko originate from, what does
• The difference between sashiko thread and kogin thread — Wondering about the difference between sashiko thread and kogin thread? In this post I show how thickness, ply count and
• How to make a palm thimble — How to make a palm thimble in 15 minutes using scrap leather and my free A6 palm thimble template. This DIY palm thimble
• The best thread for mending your denim jeans — Love your favorite jeans? This guide on the best thread for mending your denim jeans explains why sashiko thread is idea
• Digital Numbers — Found in my favorite sashiko book SASHIKO Modern Style 31 by Ayufish, the digital numbers sashiko pattern is a playful h
• Sashiko Pattern Tulips — Want an easy hitomezashi tulip sashiko pattern to stitch? This post walks you through 12 clear sashiko sewing directions
• The magic behind semamori stitching — Curious about semamori, the traditional Japanese back protection stitches? Read on for the meaning, Meiji era origins wi
• Sashiko Pattern Tsuzukiyamagata — Want a quick sashiko win? I walk through the tsuzukiyamagata sashiko pattern, explain tsuzukiyamagata sashiko pattern me
• Sashiko Pattern Bishamonkikkō — Curious about the sashiko pattern bishamonkikkō and how to stitch it? I trace its origin to Tōji, explain the Bishamonte
• Sashiko Pattern Hoshi to Mitsubishi — Curious about the sashiko pattern hoshi to mitsubishi? In this post I explain sashiko pattern hoshi to mitsubishi meanin
• Sashiko Pattern Asanoha — Want to stitch the Asanoha sashiko pattern like a pro? You'll find Asanoha sashiko pattern meaning and history, why it w
• First Sculpt Completed — Ever finished a first sculpt and felt both proud and baffled? My first piece, Uncle Frank, is done. I posted final image
• Sculpture Roundup — Behind on documentation but not progress. Three sculptures are in this roundup: Travis Bickell: Taxi Driver, a Gas Mask
• The Biomechanical and Blast Face Zombie Sculpts — Four months, endless nooks and a Giger homage. Here I document two new Shapeshifter Sculpting pieces: a four month biome
• Sculpting The Tooth Fairy — A twisted Tooth Fairy took four months to sculpt. This post walks through the character backstory, my Tooth Fairy sculpt
• Battle On, Xena! — Want to sew an authentic Xena costume for Halloween or cosplay? I dug up the 1998 official Butterick sewing patterns 572
• We Can Be Heroes — Remember the thrill of dressing as Wonder Woman or Batman for Halloween? I trace licensed superhero costume patterns fro
• Outlander Costumes — Want to sew an 18th century Outlander costume? For Burns Night I put together a friendly guide to Outlander patterns, fr
• Game of Thrones Costume Patterns — Love sewing Game of Thrones costumes? I take you through official Game of Thrones sewing patterns from McCall's and Simp
• Barbers and (the lack of!) Polite Advertising — I’ve been digging into eighteenth-century trade cards and in this post I ask why barbershops resisted polite advertising
• Sunset at Sea — A hidden coded message sits at the center of Sunset at Sea, my JOIDES Resolution Expedition 390 quilt. Final quilt #19 i
• Three Legacy Ships — Three ships, one ocean story. My quilt honors CUSS 1, Glomar Challenger and JOIDES Resolution and traces ocean drilling
• If It Was Only This Easy – a post-Election Day quilt — What happens when policy changes meet a sewing machine? My post-Election Day quilt If It Was Only This Easy joins my Ele
• DataViz quilt – Versus — Meet Versus, my data visualization quilt mapping all 18 Penn State vs Nebraska football matchups from 1920 to 2020. Buil
• Coastal Stories, brought to you by the letters… — What happens when coastal science meets quilting? I had students create coastal stories and draw fabric squares to build
• I HeART Earth Science — Answered Lifeology's science communication challenge with my I HeART Earth Science quilt. My 19.5 x 19.5 inch quilt uses
• Location, Location, Location — Map making meets quilting in my SciQuilt documenting the South Atlantic Transect from JOIDES Resolution Expedition 390.
• Work-Life Balance — Onboard JOIDES Resolution my Expedition 390 quilt documents shipboard work-life balance. Half-triangles show HELLO name
• A quilt on erasing female scientists from the internet — A stitch of protest became my HTTP 404 quilt after Election Day 2024. I stitched Women In Science letters with a red del
• Drawing Down Towards Climate Solutions — Quilting became my way to teach climate solutions. I stitched ten mini quilts inspired by Project Drawdown and turned my
• Learn why NOAA is critical to all of us — Can a quilt spark civic action about NOAA budget cuts? I hung a 24 by 24 inch NOAA mini quilt made from a NOAA Teacher a
• American Sublime — October was a mix of shop time, music, and whatever else rattled around in my head. Posts about making things, fixing th
• Woodblock and Denim — Spring brought a run of small obsessions: gear, habits, and the satisfaction of figuring something out the hard way. The
• Paper snowflakes — A small, cozy moment of cutting paper snowflakes and reflecting on how simple crafts bring a bit of winter magic indoors
• Dodecahedron — A creative exploration of making and gifting, focused on form, care, and the joy found in small handmade objects.
• Arancello — A sensory-rich reflection on making arancello, blending craft, patience, and seasonal rhythm into a meditation on slowin
• Hitting Up The Gym Again — Gym return post-hiatus: rusty lifts, mirror shock, small wins. Discipline rebuilds body and battered self-image simultan