About a month ago, we ran a survey to find out what you'd like to see on Sew4Home. We were curious what you would like to make. Which projects are the ones that not only inspire you to turn on your machine, but also make you want to share that project with your friends and family? Are there techniques you've always wondered about? Is there a tool or notion you wish you knew how to use? We wanted to make sure we continued to bring our fans and followers the type of inspiration and information you're looking for. This is the first in our series of answers to your requests. One of the top comments was really a multi-part wish: many folks asked about basic sewing techniques: zippers, buttonholes, hand stitches, gathering, fussy cutting, etc. Lo and behold... we had answered the majority of these questions already, but realized the various articles were spread out over several categories and might be hard to find, so we decided to collect them in one handy article you can refer to any time.

We use this technique over and over... and over again, because in home décor, as in life, you never know what's around the next corner. Actually, in home décor, it's usually just another corner. Making a perfect 90˚ fold at your corners is one option, and often that works just fine. But this technique gives you nine simple steps to creating a much cleaner, prettier corner. The tutorial shows the steps for a ¼" double fold hem, and it is dandy for exactly that, however, you can use the same steps for wider hems.

Today's tip was an instant hit when it posted last summer because it gets a gold star in every important category: 1) makes a tedious task easier, 2) makes a tedious task faster, and 3) does #1 and #2 economically! A simple, inexpensive pair of hemostats (a locking clamp you probably recognize form the TV show, ER) is extremely useful when you need to turn long, narrow tubes right side out. And as an extra bonus, we throw in a companion tip: an easy, fast, cheap way to improve how you iron all those long, narrow tubes.

How can something so lovely come from something so icky?? Ohhhh... I'm going to get emails from the insect lovers on that one. But you have to admit it's pretty amazing how one of the world's most luxurious fabrics gets its start wrapped around a pupating silkworm, which actually isn't a true worm at all, it's the caterpillar of a moth in the Bombicidae family. One cocoon contains approximately 1,000 yards of silk filament. One thread consists of up to 48 individual silk filaments. A very picky eater (similar to my middle child, who I believe subsisted on Goldfish® crackers for nearly a year), the silkworm's diet consists solely of mulberry leaves. Starting Monday of next week, we have a series of beautiful color-blocked pillows made with rich silk dupioni. We thought you'd like to know a little history as well as some tips and tricks for successful sewing with silk.