Fascinating Fasteners

Fasteners are generally not the most glamorous notions on your list, but they are very hard workers and necessary to many projects. Sometimes you just need a functional closure; other times you want a cool way to attach one thing to another, like a fancy buckle on a pillow front, or an innovative tie-back for your curtains. We've compiled a list of commonly found fasteners to introduce you to the potential of these all-around accents.

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French Desk Set: Fabric Matted Frame

After covering this plain mat with a scrap of the stunning French General Rounneries Oiseaux Bird Roche fabric used in our French Desk Set, we gave it a vintage feel with a few bits of trim and one cute flea market button. Including repainting the frame, this project took 30 minutes.

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Pendleton Wool: An Iconic Brand in Our Own Backyard

It's only taken the Pendleton Company 100 years to become an overnight success. Recently ELLE Decor magazine chose Pendleton blankets as a 'What's Hot' item. Designer Humberto Leon from the cutting-edge brand, Opening Ceremony re-imagined the vintage plaids and Native American motifs as trendy miniskirts, jackets and tailored shirts. The company is a true American original.

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Turquoise 2010: The Color of the Year

Turquoise was selected as the trendsetting color of 2010 by Pantone, the worldwide authority on color for the design industries. It is the 'it' color for fashion and home décor this year. For our Turquoise 2010 series, we have a dozen projects planned using fabric so lovely you'll feel like you're on a mini vacation while you sew. Don't even ask how much turquoise fabric I bought for my personal stash while researching this article.

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Invisible Zippers Are Your Friends

When I started sewing, zippers scared the bejeezus out of me. I went to great lengths to avoid them. Even tried to bribe a friend of mine to put in my zippers (she refused). I finally faced my fears, and just like tall bridges and spotted dogs (don't ask), they turned out not to be scary at all. My next therapy session: concealed or invisible zippers. Sure enough .... they're actually even easier than a regular zipper. I wonder if there's hope for conquering spiders, snakes and giant zucchinis?

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An Interview with Fabric Designer, Patty Young

If you're a regular visitor to sew4home, you may have noticed we have quite a number of projects that feature fabrics from designer, Patty Young. To borrow a line from Chris Farley, it's because 'She's AWESOME!' Patty's also been a great supporter of Sew4Home from the very beginning and is always a joy to work with. She took a few minutes out of her very busy days to share with us, and you, a few of her thoughts about home décor sewing in general, and her design style and inspiration in particular.

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How To Use Snap-on Grommets

You've seen grommets many times: on apparel, bags, athletic gear, etc. They're those metal circles with some type of rope or cording woven through at a closure point. Well...things are beginning to change in the world of grommets (bet you didn't know there was a world of grommets ... did ya?!). Dritz® Home has a great product available for home décor enthusiasts, snap-on Curtain Grommets. Fast, fashionable and functional.

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Rotary Cutting Large Panels in One Fell Swoop

We have several projects coming up that require cutting large panels of fabrics for curtains. When you're short on space, this can be a bit of a challenge. So here's a little folding-and-cutting trick to make it easier, faster, more compact ... and actually, more precise. Remember making paper snowflakes as a kid? You fold, fold, fold, and then cut, cut, cut. Same basic concept, but without the swiss cheese effect. Grab your rotary cutter and mat and let's slice!

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February is National Embroidery Month - Celebrate with Stitches

National Embroidery Month is a time to celebrate all the wonderful things you can do with an embroidery machine. Plus, it gives us another great excuse for trumpeting the creative freedom these machines can unleash! A home embroidery machine is something of an investment for most households. So the first question people often ask is, 'Will I actually use this thing?' That answer is, 'Yes!' As a matter of fact, we're willing to bet an embroidery machine will even save you money in the long run.

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CHA Show New Product Find: Fusi-Boo & Shape-Flex

One of the places I spent a bit of time during the CHA Craft Super Show was Hancock Fabrics' big booth. They always seemed have a fun tutorial in-progress, and there were lots of new products on display. While there, I met and talked with M'Liss Rae Hawley, one of quilting's most popular designers and writers. She's recently begun a partnership with Hancock Fabrics and is coming out with some beautiful fabric collections ... that you just might see here at Sew4Home in the future. M'Liss introduced me to a couple new products I thought were interesting: Fusi-Boo and Shape-Flex.

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Sew4Home

Fascinating Fasteners

French Desk Set: Fabric Matted Frame

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Pendleton Wool: An Iconic Brand in Our Own Backyard

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Turquoise 2010: The Color of the Year

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Invisible Zippers Are Your Friends

An Interview with Fabric Designer, Patty Young

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How To Use Snap-on Grommets

Rotary Cutting Large Panels in One Fell Swoop

February is National Embroidery Month - Celebrate with Stitches

CHA Show New Product Find: Fusi-Boo & Shape-Flex

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