The French knot is one of the most popular and widely-used embroidery stitches. But sometimes you only need one, as for the eye of this little dove. Here is a technique for anchoring a single French knot. It’s especially useful when the knot is isolated and not conveniently near any other of your stitches. In … Continue reading
I’ve really been inspired by people who’ve put themselves on the line for the sake of building a better world. I’ve been looking for ways to contribute, if only small ways. This is one of those small ways. It’s a pattern for a hand embroidered atarah, a neckpiece for a tallit prayer shawl. The design … Continue reading
![How to Sew the Slip Stitch [Video Tutorial]](https://sewjewish.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/slip-stitch-matzah-cover-video-thumbnail.png?w=290&h=290&crop=1 "How to Sew the Slip Stitch [Video Tutorial]")
The slip stitch is a great hand sewing stitch for closing an opening in a seam from the right side of the fabric, or outside of the project. Even though you’re sewing on the outer surface of the project, the stitches are virtually invisible. I use the slip stitch often in finishing projects, including the … Continue reading
When I do machine applique, like the almond blossom in the image above, I typically secure the applique to the background fabric with iron-on adhesive web and then finish the edges of the applique with zigzag stitches. Several sewists have asked me if I’ve ever tried a fabric adhesive stick instead of iron-on adhesive web. … Continue reading
Reasons to make a reusable coffee sleeve: It saves resources over disposable cardboard sleeves. You can personalize it. You can make a gift of it for someone to let them know you care. Reasons to make this reusable coffee sleeve: It’s reversible. Unlike most coffee cozy patterns, you don’t need to add a button or … Continue reading
Use this technique to add a lining to your challah cover and give it a clean, finished look without needing binding or trim. To illustrate, I’m the using the Cut and Sew Shalom Challah Cover fabric panel available through Spoonflower. That’s the Hebrew word “Shalom” in the center with clusters of pomegranates, figs, and quinces. … Continue reading
Here’s a quick way to make a whole field of embroidered flowers: the lazy daisy stitch. It’s another variation on that versatile chain stitch. Instead of the loops forming a line, they radiate out in a circle from a center point like flower petals. Five or six loops make a full flower, depending on how … Continue reading
The chain stitch is one of the most widely-used embroidery stitches in folk needle crafts, especially Jewish folk needle crafts. It’s also one of the most versatile. Most of the time the chain stitch is used to make a continuous line of linked loops, like the outlines of the fish and the letters in the … Continue reading
To embroider curved lines, the stem stitch makes a fabulous choice. It turns along curved lines beautifully, and you can vary the thickness of your embroidered line by varying the angle of the needle as you make the stitch. These stitch diagrams illustrate the how-to, and I’ve posted a little hamsa for you to practice … Continue reading
This Sukkot I got the chance to lead a workshop for the Beacon Sukkah Project, a Sukkot-long program of arts and lectures organized by the Beacon Hebrew Alliance and Beacon Arts in Beacon, New York. To fit this year’s theme, “Open to the Sky,” I led an introduction to drawn thread embroidery, and thought I’d … Continue reading
For tips on how to begin and end your stitching and other embroidery basics take a look at Hand Embroidery Basics. The backstitch is a simple stitch for embroidering lines, and with just a little practice you’ll master a stitch that will take you far. Overall, we move along the line from right to left. … Continue reading
If you’re like me, it’s easier to take time away from your cell phone if it’s out of sight. Hence, the cell phone sleeping bag, especially useful for tucking your phone away for Shabbat and Jewish festivals. As far as my internet research can tell, the idea of a sleeping bag for your cell phone … Continue reading
Will you be joining the Pomegranate Guild of Judaic Needlework Convention later this month in Atlanta? I won’t be able to make it, but this little pomegranate will be representing me. It’s made by hand applique using silk dupioni. This one pomegranate is a small part of a banner put together by the members of … Continue reading
Here’s a nifty way to add stripes to a zippered tallit bag. I recently created this tallit bag of heavy gabardine for a client, and added stripes of blue Dupioni silk to match the corner pieces that were on the tallit (I wish I had a photo of the tallit to show you, but alas, … Continue reading
https://youtu.be/RFRHPGc49Qs In this video, I show you how to get beautiful results when finishing sharp corners with machine applique. The video covers the classic method as well as a technique I developed (stumbled onto) out of necessity while appliqueing lots of Stars of David with lots of sharp corners. It’s slightly faster than the classic … Continue reading
You’ll find a new video tutorial for finishing machine appliques on the Sew Jewish YouTube channel. It’s a sewing topic I’ve covered in earlier project videos, but I figured that if I made a video dedicated to the topic, I could refer to it in future project videos — and making shorter project videos is … Continue reading
Sewists who are used to using fusible interfacing or iron-on adhesive web for quilting fabrics and other cotton fabrics are often surprised to find that the same interfacing or adhesive web can make silk and silk-like fabrics stiff (I know I was surprised the first time it happened to me, and I’ve heard from several … Continue reading
If you’re looking for a quick way to add decorative elements to your sewing and craft projects, iron-on appliques are a great option. This video demonstrates how to make appliques using adhesive web, also known as fusible web. You can watch the video above or on YouTube. This is the first video tutorial made especially … Continue reading
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