We get quite a few compliments on our samples and photography, which makes us blush and makes our day! Some of the most common notes are about how "smooth," "straight" or "perfect" things look, along with a request to know, "What are your secrets?". We're firm believers in surrounding yourself with the top tools to get the job done. Having the right tools on hand makes all the difference in how easy a project is to complete, as well as how good it looks when finished! We've found that spending a little bit more up-front can more than pay for itself in the long run. You save both time and money when the project turns out right the first time, plus there's no hair-pulling, no swearing, no hurling things out the window (all reactions we've been guilty of when a tool has failed us). Because we have three pretty pillows this week as part of our 10 Designers & 10 Collections series for FreeSpirit and Rowan Fabrics, we collected our fave tools for pillow making. Read up - gather 'em up - and make a prettier pillow. 

We've made it to the finish of our seam finishes! In this final installment of the series, we venture into the world of the Hong Kong Finish and the Bound Seam finish. If you're not a 'finishing aficionado' (don't feel bad... few people claim that title), you may have been under the impression these techniques are one in the same. Both involve wrapping the raw edges of a seam allowance with a bias cut strip of lightweight fabric. When finished, they can look almost the same. However, the two options differ slightly, and today's tutorial will show you how. 

We are not yet finished with our series of finishes! If you've been following along, you know we are working through the ways to make the inside of your projects look as great as the outside. Today, we're moving into a couple more unique options: the mock (or false) French seam and the French wrapped seam. The mock French seam uses a standard straight stitch, the French wrapped seam the straight stitch in combination with a zig zag stitch. These are basic stitches you'll find on any sewing machine, which means there’s no reason not to incorporate them into your seam finishes toolbox. 

2013 here we come... we're ready for another great year! 2012 was very successful for Sew4home. Visitor traffic pushed interest high, and sponsor support kept it the posts coming each weekday free of charge! Before we step into our brand new world, we stopped to see what your favorite projects were last year. The Top 12 Project Tutorials from 2012 are listed below. Did you see them all... make them all?