when I get on a mission to tidy up my apartment, i usually end up becoming promptly frustrated by my woeful lack of storage space. so i’m always looking for ways to lose that feeling of clutter, even when i don’t really have any real space to stash my stuff—and thus, this kitchen cozy was…
Here’s a great way to snazz up simple textiles with an easy embellishment technique – machine appliqué! This technique allows you to apply cut-out shapes of fabric to the surface of another fabric, achieving colorful and interesting effects that would otherwise be complicated to sew. In this post I’m appliquéing a tablecloth, but you can…
Okay, it may not be the sexiest topic in the sewing world, but piping is a darn handy tool to have in your stitchy arsenal. It adds a super-professional touch to pillows and cushions, as well as accessories like pot holders, placemats—just about anything that needs a little trimming action. You can buy piping in…
I love roller blinds for their functionality (privacy and light blockage are there when you want it, gone when you don’t), but they’re not always the most exciting thing to look at. (Plain sheet of white vinyl? Snore.) But here’s a simple way to snazz up the situation — sew your own, using a hacked…
i’ve been thinking about public spaces a lot recently for numerous reasons, but mostly because the issue of public space always pops into mind in nicer weather. after months of abnormally cold temperatures, my neighborhood is finally getting warm sun and i want to enjoy it! i know a lot of urban dwellers have no…
Who says laundry has to be a dull chore? Snazz up your laundry life by sewing a cute custom bag to fit a folding hamper frame. The beauty of making this sack yourself is that you can customize your hamper to almost any size (just open the frame as far as you like to adjust…
Add a burst of color to your room with this crafty pouf! At 17” wide and 10” deep, it’s large enough to serve as floor seating or a foot stool. (And if you have pets, I have a feeling they may want to make this their new favorite spot!) This project is a little challenging…
Looking for a quick and easy hostess gift, or just want to add a bit of craftiness to your kitchen? This little bottle cozy is just the thing. It’s super simple to make, so even complete sewing newbies shouldn’t be afraid to give it a try. (And if you don’t have a sewing machine, this…
[i'm thrilled to welcome brett bara back to d*s as a regular contributor! brett will be joining us every other week with one of her great sewing 101 how-to's. click here to check out her previous posts. so glad to have you as part of the team, brett!] Is it weird that I have a…
I don’t know about you, but I never cease to be shocked at the price of bedding. And nothing sets off my “I could make that myself so much cheaper and better” instincts like duvet covers. It’s just a big flat case of fabric, yet even the simplest options easily soar into the three digits—but…
If you’ve got a boring old ottoman hanging around, or if, like me, if you happen to find one of those plain cubes on sale, it’s easy to recover with a custom slip cover. This is another fantastic way to bring some fun textiles into a room with a project that you can sew in…
Next up in our learn-to-sew series: throw pillows! Throw pillows are another fantastic way to incorporate cute textiles and DIY flair into your home without a great investment of time or money. If you’ve ever gone into a fabric store and wanted to buy everything because it’s just all so gorgeous, then pillows are a…
today’s second diy project comes from the incredible pool of entries we received this year in the d*s diy contest. based in the netherlands, jane schouten is a phenomenal graphic designer and artist who has a seriously impressive portfolio full of incredible textile-based projects (really, it’s a must, must see). jane’s beautiful doily-bowl was a…
as you might have guessed, our apartment is quickly becoming somewhat of a diy wednesday showroom. it’s been so fun filling our home with our little crafty projects, but one room that we’ve unintentionally neglected has been the kitchen. so we were really excited when we stumbled upon some vintage fabric in the craft bin…
over the next few months, in addition to our regular diy wednesday column, i’ll be posting the full instructions for all of our 2008 diy contest finalists (as well as a few dozen that weren’t finalists but definitely deserved to be celebrated). i’m going to go down the line in order of votes- and our…
We love totes, so we were thrilled when the powers-that-be recently outlawed plastic bags in our fine city. It gave us all the more reason to liven up our trips to the farmer’ts market with a fun hand-sewn carryall. We remembered seeing a bag like this in an old craft book, so we scooted on…
They say a new year means new beginnings, which for us means it’s time to purge. Looking through our “get rid of” pile we started feeling a bit sentimental, so we arrived at a compromise: Take a stack of Derek’s old shirts, one of our ho-hum duvet covers, cut them up and refashion them into…
we’re big fans of typography. whether it’s on signs, in art, or in design, we can’t get enough of it. since we just got a new sofa, we thought we’d spruce it up with a little typographic pillow treatment. we love that every font has a distinct personality, so we chose a playful circus font…
