This is my Hello Kitty plushie. Got her at my local Target, she's very cute, but also simple.

And I had this scrap piece of white lace in my bedroom. And I had the idea come to me to customize my little Kitty and give her a lace trim on her bow.

So yesterday afternoon whilst watching TV in my living room, I attempted to do just that. I was very determined even. Even though I had no idea what I was doing and this is only the second time I've ever properly worked with lace.

After 3½ hours, 50 dozen tries and restarts, and approximately 200 needle pricks later, I ended up with something I am proud of.

It is not perfect by any means, but it's also not too terrible either.... Just don't look too closely.

But yay! I now have my own personal plushie that is unique to me! Hated the process but love the end results

One of my fall decor elements for this season. Twigs and leaves from the forest, painted with acrylic paint. It looks simple at first glance, but the branches often slipped even at the knots.😅

Friends. I hope someone can advise me. When I learned to hand sew many years ago, my grandmother used the silver Susan B Anthony needle threaders. I have gotten myself a package but - I hate to say it - they are terrible. I have broken six so far today I think, although to be fair my current project is embroidery and floss is always more demanding than thread.

Please help. Where are the GOOD needle threaders?

I love Ann Wood handmade blog and I would love to find other blogs to read. Thanks friends!

Hi everyone! I’m a beginner hand-sewer making soft toys, and I’m having trouble sewing curved shapes.
I made a doll recently (first hand sewing project), and the face/head didn’t come out as rounded as I wanted. Instead of smooth curves, I ended up with some pointy/sharp areas, especially around the curves.
As you can see in the photo, one cheek is relatively rounded, while the other one isn’t. I only noticed the difference after I stuffed the doll.
Also, the flap of the brown bag has the same issue one side is nicely rounded, while the other side isn’t.

I’d really appreciate any help or tips on how to get smoother curves when hand sewing soft toys. I’m still a beginner, so any advice or techniques that could help me avoid these pointy areas would be really helpful.
Thank you!❤️

Just as I’ve got my fabric cut out, I’ve discovered my machine is on the fritz. So I’m gonna hand sew it!

It’s cotton knit fabric, and I would normally use a zigzag stitch on my machine. Do I use the herringbone stitch on it? Or is a backstitch stretchy enough? If you do a herringbone, how big and wide should each stitch be?

I'd like to make some denim trousers but am intimidated by the weight. Should I wait until I have access to a machine or is it more do-able than I'm anticipating? I used to sew a lot of denim for work with a machine and it was a frickin headache. A lot replacing needles and re-sewing seams.

Weird question but is it possible to hand sew a stay stitch? I fear that I would already stretch the fabric too much while handling it.

Is there a special technique to it?

I have an antique doll bed that needs a new canopy and bed cover.

I am a sloppy hand sewer. I think it's a straight seam (doing repairs, mostly taking in blouses and waistlines lately) but it's all over the place.

If you have any pointers or what has helped you in the past, please post. And thank you!!!

Edit to add Thank you so much for your generosity - so much help and encouragement. I feel like it's possible to un-slop my stitches with patience, practice and your advice.

In order to regulate my stitch length when doing running stitch with speed I have to be able to feel the needle point with my finger tips. Im not stabbing myself, I kinda bounce it off? No big for most things, and didn't pay attention till i went to squeeze lemon in my guacamole. Hours of quilting have my poor babies looking a bit rough. Tried finger pads, hated them. just a dry layer of glue but I couldn't really feel the underside. Something to live with on those rare occasions I quilt or there are better options?

2nd pic is the offending project. Shes not done. I cant decide on the binding.

Sewing me some pants and watching me some variant sudoku

the shirt’s shoulder seams are hanging off my shoulders too much.

I’ve seen some videos about shoulder alterations, where they cut the sleeve from the rest of the fabric and create a new armhole, but this seems too complicated for my hand-sewing skills.
Instead I found another video, where they adjusted the shoulders size by adding dart tuck, this method for me is much easier.

But I’m not sure how to Hand sew or how to start or what stitch to use?

also If you know any other methods or have any advice, I’d really appreciate it!

Hey all

I'll keep this brief, just want thoughts. If I was to attach a bag strap to a bag, is there any functional difference between backstitching it to the face of the bag and fell stitching the sides down onto the face of the bag? Would one be stronger than the other? I've never heard of fell stitching being used for anything besides hemming, so not sure about how sturdy it is as a load bearing stitch. Any thoughts are appreciated. Thank you.

Hi everyone, quick wax question. I'm a vegan, and am starting to do more hand sewing, specifically with linen and cotton fabrics for historical and historical inspired clothing. I'm realizing I need to wax my thread in some way... but beeswax isn't an option for me.

So... Should I use Thread Magic? Which I'm not keen on as it's chemical synthetic, or try a soy wax of some kind? Which I am nervous may go bad after a while, and I have no idea how long the wax on the thread hangs around.

Any ideas?

2nd attempt tbh since i messed up on sizing a belt bag 😁

I have recently found some super cool blankets, I'm excited to continue improving and making hats.

I have two questions:

1. Is keeping the thread length short a hard and fast rule or is there something else I'm doing incorrectly?

I tend to thread my needles longer than the suggested amount, which I've seen numerous sources say should be hand to elbow. I always took that lightly and will end up cutting more thread because it takes so much time to reload another needle. However, I'm always getting tangles/knots, whether it's at the stitch itself or the thread keeps twisting around itself causing tangles.

1. When using a single thread, how do you grab the needle at the eye so that you don't have to readjust twice when pushing the needle through the fabric *so that the thread tail doesn't fall out?

I've tried knotting at the eye of the thread after watching a tutorial but the knot is extremely hard and annoying to remove, so I don't want to do that anymore. However, every time I use a single thread I have to adjust after every stitch; I'm pushing my needle through but then I have to re-grab it and it's just so tedious.

Any sources and/or videos that showcase how to properly hand sew with a single thread would be greatly appreciated. I often reference SewnCompany on youtube but as far as I've seen she doesn't have a video about single thread technique and I have several sewing books that I reference but none of them talk about this issue.

Notions: I am using pure beeswax that I've melted and poured into a mold and 100% cotton thread when sewing.

*edit: added an important detail to second question