Dummies.com - Making Everything Easier
Crafts & Hobbies
View:
Sorted by:
Knitting Cables
The simple technique of cabling (crossing one group of stitches over another) lends itself to many interpretations in knitting. It's easy to do, you can make all kinds of interesting and imaginative cable [more…]
Doing a Double Crochet
The double crochet (abbreviated dc) is one of the most common crochet stitches and is about twice as tall as a single crochet. A fabric made of all double crochet stitches is fairly solid but not stiff [more…]
Machine Quilting Tips and Tricks
If you have chosen to machine quilt your project, you need to prepare your machine for the chore at hand. Each machine quilting technique requires a different type of presser foot and machine setting, [more…]
Tending to Mortise-and-Tenon Joints
Mortise-and-tenon joints are among the strongest joints in woodworking, and are used for projects that have frame construction and need to be strong. Chairs and tables use them as does most Arts and Crafts [more…]
Crocheting in Circles
To begin a design that you work in rounds, you first have to create a center ring. The center ring is the foundation for all crocheted designs that are worked in rounds — just like the foundation chain [more…]
Types of Wood for Woodworking
Solid wood — that is, wood cut into boards from the trunk of the tree — makes up most of the wood in a piece of furniture. The type of wood you choose determines the beauty and strength of the piece. Many [more…]
Reading Stitch Patterns for Knitting
Once you know how to knit and purl, you can combine these stitches in a seemingly endless variety of textured stitch patterns, not to be confused with garment or project patterns. [more…]
Sewing a Quick Duvet Cover
A duvet is a fluffy comforter that's slipped into a duvet cover. You can make this quick duvet cover out of bedsheets, so your duvet will be as easy to care for as the sheets on your bed. [more…]
Reading a Sewing Pattern
Even though a sewing pattern might be labeled "easy" or "quick," the pattern instruction writers sometimes assume that you have a certain amount of general sewing knowledge. Nothing can be more intimidating [more…]
Making Machine Stitches Work for You
Chances are that your sewing machine has a few tricks up its sleeve — stitches that you almost never think to use. Whether you're getting to know your machine for the first time or you're starting to take [more…]
Framing Your Quilt with a Beautiful Border
A border is a strip (or strips) of fabric that frame the edges of the quilt. Your entire quilt top is usually bordered, but you can also have borders surrounding your quilt blocks or as part of the quilt [more…]
Mending Holes and Rips
Commercial fishermen know the value of mending. Talk about holes! Fishermen (and fisherwomen) often have so many holes in shirt sleeves that they may opt to cut the sleeves off long-sleeved shirts to avoid [more…]
Deciphering Knitting Lingo
In order to save space, patterns are written in a condensed form with many abbreviations and a lot of shorthand. As you work with patterns, you'll become familiar with the most common abbreviations — for [more…]
Table Saw Specifications
Of all the modern tools in a wood shop, the table saw is the most used. Countless table saw designs are available, from a basic tabletop version to a contractor's version to a full-blown cabinet saw. As [more…]
Getting Ready to Scrapbook
You're going to love scrapbooking. So much so that you'll be glad you're investing time and energy into finding out all you can — before you begin your first album. In this chapter, we give you some advice [more…]
General Tips for Reconstructing Clothes
Let these quick tips for starting to reconstruct your clothes help you avoid the downhill spiral of frustration while still allowing you creative license to do it your own way. [more…]
Creating Paper Bag Luminarias for Holiday Decorating
Traditionally, luminarias are made of votive candles set in paper bags weighted with sand and placed in rows along walkways, driveways, and even rooftops. You can use them in new ways, however, to light [more…]
The Five Signs of a Valuable Antique
You're going to spend some money on furniture and accessories, so you may as well buy something that can hold its value after you use it. Antiques often have a greater chance of retaining value than new [more…]
Getting Hooked on Crocheting
Your crochet hook is the single most important tool you use when crocheting. To understand how it works, you need to know a bit about how it's made. This article explains, in detail, everything you need [more…]
Preparing to Crochet
Before you even attempt your first stitch, you need to master some basic skills. First, you need to know how to hold the hook and yarn, and second, you need to know how to get the yarn on the hook. [more…]
Discovering Your Scrapbooking Style
Scrapbooking styles aren't yet definable in a truly formal sense. Instead, they're as individual as the scrapbookers themselves, and scrappers are constantly experimenting with new looks and techniques [more…]
Turning Your Old Jeans into a Hip Bag
Jeans are so durable, it only makes sense that they would make a great day-bag to throw your stuff in and head off on an adventure. This bag takes your every-day jeans and turns them upside down to make [more…]
Choosing Yarn for Your Knitting Project
Yarns, garment shapes, and stitch patterns must work together for your knitting project to be successful. If you plan to knit a scarf or a blanket, go ahead and let the yarn you fall in love with dictate [more…]
Reconstructing Clothes: What to Avoid Trying to Fix
If you usually shop at regular stores, you may not be accustomed to checking for some flaws typically found in reused clothing. Don't buy second-hand clothes with the following issues, no matter how inexpensive [more…]
Common Woodworking Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
You'd be hard-pressed to find a woodworker who hasn't had some unexpected thing ruin his project (or at least something that forced him to do a ton of work to fix it). Prepare to meet ten of the most common [more…]
Inside Dummies.com
INTRODUCING WINDOWS 7
|
Dummies.com Sweepstakes
|
