General Sewing & Fabric Guides

Keeping your shoes looking fresh is no easy task. Weather, spills and general wear and tear can make your shoes lose their shine after only a few wears. Rust-oleum Never Wet for boots and shoes and Max Pro Heavy Duty Water and Stain Repellent fight that by creating an invisible but powerful protective barrier around your shoes. Here's how to use these products so you can protect your own shoes!

Winter is coming and so is the final season of Game of Thrones! Here's how to make a GOT inspired blanket that will keep you warm through the long night and your premiere party! UPDATE: This blanket is absolutely perfect for cuddling up and crying yourself to sleep over the death and destruction of your favorite television show.

Traditional shower towels are really abrasive on your hair. That's because the piles on the towels act almost like little hooks that pull on the fibers of your hair and make them split and bunch up. Here's a super easy to make a towel wrap that will do less damage to your hair and will stay in place.

Looking to cut down on waste? These baking dish and bowl covers are great for storing food in the fridge and they're washable so they can be reused. Also, if you use 100% cotton thread and cloth materials (instead of vinyl) these dish covers can be microwavable.

Remember how I said I love these stinking sustainability projects? Well I have another one for you. Single use plastic bags are the most frustrating form of waste to me. I never know what to do once I get handed a bag. Like "thank you, let me just bring this home and throw it away.

Ready for another sustainability project? ! Get rid of plastic wrap and cut down on waste. Here's a great way to make beeswax wraps for your leftovers. Beeswax wraps can be used for about a year if taken care of properly, just wash with cool water and hang to dry.

Making curtains or a backdrop? Here's a guide to the many fabric choices that would work well for your home or event décor project. If you are looking for a fabric with a design, our selection of home décor drapery fabric includes thousands of options in many colors and styles. They are specifically made for curtains, swags, and other window treatments, though drapery fabric can be used for many other projects! You can find our drapery fabric here.

Want a space efficient way to store your shoes? This organizer is going to make your tidying up dreams come true. Here's how to make a hanging organizer for the inside of your closet or the back of a door. It is super customizable, just use any decor fabric as a base and clear vinyl for the pockets. It can also be modified to different sizes to hold other things like jewelry or toiletries.

I really love sustainability projects. I think they are really important and that more people should start adopting clean practices in lieu of what is "easy" and disposable. A saying that I really love is "The world does not need one person doing zero waste perfectly, but 7 billion doing it imperfectly" So I have set a goal for myself to share with you as many sustainability projects as I can while still bringing you our classic OFS Content. Today, I am making a sustainable alternative to paper towels (The UN paper towel) with a little bit of cotton print fabric and terry cloth.

Dog toys can be expensive and if you're fur baby is like Winnie, those new toys rarely last more than a day or two. Even those branded as "indestructible" are no match to her very patient, very calculated, gnawing and nibbling. Then, when she finally reaches the stuffing on the inside she will remove it (ALL of it) with the full amount of care a dog can have. Winnie has met her match with this one though. Today I'm going to show you how to make a heavy-duty toy that your dog will love and won't cost you an arm and a leg.

Making popcorn over the stove is delicious but can take a long time and is super annoying. Skip the hassle with this reusable microwave popcorn bag. This bag makes a great gift for all those popcorn lovers in your life and is a great sustainable alternative to regular microwave popcorn. Wash it as needed and enjoy for years to come. We used a lightweight cotton print fabric but many other 100% cotton fabrics will work like cotton broadcloth or muslin.

Log carriers can be heavy and awkward to carry so I decided I wanted to make one for my grandma that would help lighten her load and last her a long time. I came up with the idea of a firewood tote that has both backpack straps and handles for a new take on a traditional look. So far, its been a life saver. So much so that I am really surprised no one has ever though to put backpack straps on these bulky bags. We used PVC-coated polyester because it's a very durable fabric that can hold up to lots of wear and tear.

Webbing is a lightweight yet strong piece of fabric that can withstand heavy use for many years when sealed or finished correctly. I am testing six types of webbing: Cotton webbing Jute webbing Rubber webbing Nylon webbing Polypropylene webbing Polyester webbing Each material can be sealed with a variety of methods and I will show you what methods work best for each material. Note that I tried using boiling water and shellac on each material but was not successful using either of these methods for the materials I was working with. See our Webbing Product Guide for more information on these different types of webbing and what they're used for. Scroll to the end of the article to see the video displaying the methods we used.

During these chilly winter months newborn calves aren't big enough to create the body heat necessary to keep them warm. So, if you've been looking for a cheap way to keep your newborns warm let us help by showing you how to make a calf blanket. This design is super easy to put on your calf and even easier to adjust as they grow. Nylon fabric is durable and water resistant so it can withstand the weather and not get soggy. We used a medium weight nylon pack cloth, for the outer fabric and lightweight nylon ripstop for the lining.

Have a car restoration project coming up? Whether you have a vintage car or a truck that's seen better days, you'll need fabric and supplies to restore it to its former glory! We have a variety of automotive fabrics and supplies for restoring your car or truck. Use this guide to figure out what will work best for your project. We've got what you need to fix up the headlining, carpet, and trunk lining and reupholster the bucket or bench seating.

Have your trees, bushes, hedges, shrubs, or saplings been taking a beating from all the salt being dropped on the roads? Wrap them in burlap so they are protected from the elements and salt. The best time to wrap trees is in the late fall just before the first frost but this year we noticed the trees that line the road near our office were getting particularly beat up so we decided to make a wrap for them to keep them from becoming more damaged. Burlap wraps like this will protect your trees from sunscald, salt, wind, and will keep them from becoming deformed or splitting under the weight of the snow. The bushes I covered are large so I used burlap squares.

Weighted bags have many practical uses around the home and outdoors. Weather it be weighing down the bed of a truck or keeping a floating dock from drifting away, making your own weighted bag can be a cheap alternative to buying one in the store. There are many different types of bags that one can use, each uniquely suited for the project they are being used for. The Bulk Bag (FIBC) is a great option for someone looking for a seriously heavy weighted bag. This bag is rated to hold up to 2,750 pounds of weight.

Sitting through an entire game on a hard seat or bleacher can get uncomfortable, especially if your team is losing. This stadium cushion has a handle and Velcro closure so the cover can be washed. Whether you're at a high school football game or a professional baseball game, get comfortable with a stadium cushion. It's a winning gift for sports fans.

The people who make and use these kitchen scrubbers swear they are better than anything you can buy. Our nylon netting is super popular for these scrubbies. You can also use tulle but the texture of the nylon netting works particularly well. They last a surprisingly long time and can be washed on the top rack of your dishwasher. There are many other ways to crochet scrubbies with different combinations of stitches.

When it comes to decorations for special events, it's the details that make it memorable. We have a great selection of decorative sheets, chair sashes, table runners, overlays, and more. These products are great for weddings or other parties that need that memorable decorative touch. Go for a rustic look with jute or linen, or choose lace for a more formal approach. All of our event décor is great for many special events.

Foam and padding are essential for upholstering cushions and chair seats. Foam can be formulated for indoor or outdoor use, comes in both high and medium density, a multitude of sizes, and various grades ranging from automotive and marine to acoustic foam for soundproofing. Shop our full selection of foam and padding here. Read on for more detailed information about the types of foam we offer.

If you're a frequent sewer, you probably have a whole bunch of fabric scraps. Throwing them out isn't an option, and they're not big enough for a major project, what can be done? Here's a collection of 12 projects that don't require big pieces of fabric, perfect for using up those remnants.

Are you looking for… Upholstery vinyl? Utility vinyl? Clear vinyl? Leather hides? We've got all that and more!

Sewing pins are used to hold layers of fabric or other materials together so they don't slip while sewing. Pins are a necessity for sewers of all levels. Like many types of sewing supplies, there are a lot of kinds to choose from. The pieces of a pin are pretty simple. The "head" is the top, the "shaft" is the metal piece, and the "point" is the sharp end of the shaft.

Thread is one of the cornerstones of every sewing project. Choosing the right kind is important. Cotton thread, silk thread, polyester thread, elastic thread, how can there be so many kinds of thread? Here are a few things to consider when choosing thread for your project.

Open end, closed end, coil, vislon, #3, #5, what does it all mean? How are there this many options for zippers? When choosing the right zipper for your project there's a lot to consider, and there are some terms you may want to familiarize yourself with before making a decision.

Hi, I'm Cathy. I was trying to figure out a way to let my cats enjoy some nip without making a mess, and thought 'What would happen if I sandwiched some of that good stuff between fabric? '… Well, it turned out to be pretty simple to do, and they loved it. So if you're someone like me who doesn't know a whole lot about sewing, but you still want to make something that's pretty quick and easy for your fur babies, this is the tutorial for you, so let's get started.

Technology is amazing. Goods and services can be delivered to our doorstep with the click of a button, and we carry this power with us wherever we go in our pockets. Everything is online these days. This is a blessing in many ways, but it can also be tricky. People want to see and feel the products and experience them in person before making a decision.

While shopping for certain types of clothing or fabric, you've likely come across the term "denier" or seen a number like "30d" on the label. So what the heck does it mean? The term "Denier" originates from the Latin word "Denarius", which is an ancient Roman currency. Essentially, denier refers to the thickness of the individual fibers which make up the threads of a fabric. How does that affect the fabric?

There's something special about handmade gifts. They're one-of-a-kind and much more personal than anything generic you buy in a store. But the holiday season is busy, so if you don't have a lot of time, we've got some fabrics and ideas for quick gifts.