Who Visits Sew4Home: The Top Ten

With the Internet and online translators, distance and language are not the barriers they once were. The top ten countries with the most visits to Sew4Home in the last year are:

1. United States
2. Germany
3. Canada
4. Brazil
5. United Kingdom
6. Australia
7. Russia
8. Italy
9. France
10. Spain

We have had visitors from 219 countries and every continent but Antarctica. It's been a crash course in geography. Where is the Republic of Kiribati? They found Sew4Home, so we found Kiribati. It's an island in the central tropical Pacific Ocean. Now we know, and thanks for visiting Sew4Home!

We receive email messages and comments in every imaginable language and have had success translating almost every one we've received, including successfully answering questions back and forth in languages neither of us speak.

Frequently Asked Questions

While we get all kinds of questions, there are a few that pop up over and over when it comes to International operations:

How Can I Buy the Fabrics Used in Sew4Home Tutorials Outside of the USA?

We get so many requests asking where to buy the fabric shown in our tutorials. We understand when you see a print or a collection you love, but you can't find it in fabric shops in your country, it can become a quest. Fortunately, many of our Shopping Directory fabric shops regularly ship internationally. The shipping cost is about double what you would expect to pay within the USA, but shops usually charge what it actually costs, not an inflated rate. More and more fabric collections that originate in the USA are being distributed internationally. On our end, we often wonder what we would find if we walked into a fabric shop in Brazil or Lithuania or Oman. We're certain there would be treasures we would love to have access to here.

Can You Translate a Tutorial into Another Language?

The next most asked question is about translating the step-by-step instructions into another language. We wish we could do that, but simply don't have the means to do that now. However, it is possible to easily translate a web page yourself using (among others) Google Translate or Yahoo! Babel Fish. You can translate a block of text or a entire web page. There is a long list of languages to pick from, although you won't find them all. Usually, the translation is good enough that you could complete a project without difficulty.

Because Sew4Home is copyrighted, users are free to translate the page for their own use, but may not republish content. It's fine to use a Sew4Home photo on your blog and link to back to the Sew4Home site for instructions, or to provide a link to the translated page.

Why Aren't Great Giveaways Open to All Countries?

Unfortunately, we have to limit our giveaways to USA postal addresses. We know this is a disappointment to some of our loyal visitors outside of the USA. However, to open our giveaways internationally, we would have to understand complex contest laws for every country in the world. The legal fees to do that are far beyond our means. So instead, we focus on providing the best free sewing tutorials, tips and inspiration we can.

May I Sell Things I Make Using Sew4Home Tutorials and Patterns?

The simple answer is yes. You can make small quantities for sale if you make the items yourself. They cannot be manufactured by others or sold through a third party. We only ask that on the tag and/or somewhere within the display or packaging and/or within the sales description online, credit is given for the item being created from a copyrighted design/pattern/tutorial from Sew4Home.com.

We appreciate this kind of outreach!

It's a Small World

In a decade, the Internet has changed the world. It's changed how we learn, shop and interact. Most of us can remember when the answer to questions were at the library, or were so difficult to find they went unanswered. Worldwide, people who sew are exceptionally generous about sharing ideas, how-tos and techniques. With sewing, the similarities between countries are more striking than the differences. We sew for our homes, for our families and friends. We sew to help others. We sew for our pets. We sew as a creative outlet, to relax, and to sell.

Thanks to all of our Sew4Home visitors everywhere for spending time with us, for your kind words, and for adding your own ideas and tips in comments.

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