Last year, my Husband and I attended the first annual Maker Faire in North Carolina. My husband, Angus, had already attended numerous Maker Faire events around the country, but this was to be my first time and it was amazing! I had never seen so many crafters, makers, machines or tech type stuff under...
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I’ve been encouraged to post a little more about the sewing machine, so here is an update on progress. I’ve modified the Arduino code to accept direct input from a computer, so it is possible to run custom patterns of arbitrary length. I’ve written a quick python script that can take an image and...
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We're all working on some pretty cool projects over here at the moment, but this Arduino powered sewing machine is my personal favourite. I took an old zigzag sewing machine and kitted it out with servos to control the needle position and fabric feed.
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If you own a printer that uses pigment inks (rather than the cheaper dye based inks) you can follow these instructions and print your own fabrics.
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When I bought my new bike the shop threw in a set of panniers as part of the deal. They were fine for a year or so, useful for work when cycling to the station, but I began to get a bit fed up with them. I couldn't find a pattern anywhere so I...
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You can use hand or machine embroidery to enhance your letterhead, business cards, and invitations, and give a unique look to your missives.
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My trusty Toyota overlocker started to make a horrible clunking noise recently, and was missing stitches. It almost seemed like the tension settings were wrong (but I knew they weren’t) and the nasty clunking and clicking told me that all was not well with the machine. I decided to see if I could find...
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If you are having trouble getting a needle to penetrate thorough a particularly heavy material, rub a little beeswax (or candle wax) along the thread. The wax works as a lubricant, and the whole stitching process will be less stressful on the fingers and wrists. You can also use beeswax to stop the end...
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