~Emily Thompson, Brother Sews Ambassador My daughter lives in her leggings, and I’m always working on ways to make them last longer. No matter what fabric I use, she wears through the knees after a few months. I don’t mind sewing more leggings, as they are a super quick sew, but I recently wondered … Read More
I love taking patterns I already own and recreating them with a new twist. It’s a quick and easy way to enhance my wardrobe. I’ve created several neckline hacks for this sweatshirt pattern, and today I have a button neckline hack you can use with any drop shoulder pattern. Maybe you have a pattern already … Read More
As we approach the heart of the winter season, I wanted to make some cozy beanies for the family. We spend a lot of time outdoors regardless of the weather, so these hats will be useful for all of us. The beanie pattern is a rectangle with 4 even peaks along the top. You may … Read More
Cold hands, warm heart: you’ve probably heard that saying countless times. This project is designed to be a cure for those cold hands. Use your Brother sewing and embroidery machine and the Brother free design of the month to make monogrammed hand warmers from soft, no-fray fleece. It’s easy to make a hand warmer pattern … Read More
You’ve seen their projects. You’ve read their posts. You’ve studied their monthly tips. And now, you can get the inside scoop on your favorite Brother Ambassadors. Read on to find out what makes our Ambassadors tick (or sew, or craft!). Brother: What is your favorite sewing season and why? Emily: This is so … Read More
Cozy is the theme this winter! With that in mind, let’s sew a heat resistant oven mitt in the craft room so we can make comforting homemade meals in the kitchen. SUPPLIES: BROTHER Sewing and Embroidery machine Bias tape Paper scissors Fabric scissors Craft paper Marking pencil Straight pins FABRICS: 1/2 yard thick cotton for … Read More
Few things make a home feel as cozy as the aroma of homemade bread coming from the kitchen. With the popularity of breadmaking machines and the huge demand for bread flour and yeast, it seems that there is a lot of baking happening! We may be prevented from sharing a meal with our neighbors and … Read More
I don’t know about you, but where I live it’s getting cold! That means cozy nights by the fire and lap blankets for my toes. I recently sewed this flannel and sherpa blanket and it’s now the most highly sought after blanket in the house; I should have made four! Today I’m going to show … Read More
It’s the time of year when thoughts turn to gift making and gift giving! What could be better than a personalized gift that includes a message made with stitches? Adding personalization to gifts is quick and easy when you use the beautiful built-in characters in your Brother machine. You’ll find these character stitches on many … Read More
Now and then I always love to make a fun project for my dog, Blue! We love dressing him up in different costumes throughout the year (even if he hates it!). I thought that this DIY holly-themed collar would be a fun minimal dog costume that he wouldn’t hate us as much! Not to mention … Read More
Learn how to use built-in Candlewicking stitches, and see how you can create a custom Candlewicking stitch with the Brother My Custom Stitch feature. The Brother Candlewicking foot, SA193 was designed to coordinate with unique candlewicking stitches included with select Brother machine models. These prominent stitches are best sewn with a special foot. The … Read More
Satin is a lovely fabric that I use to shy away from. After lots of practice, I’m finally getting the hang of this lux material. It’s a holiday favorite that can be used for everything from evening dresses, tops and skirts, to pillow cases and accessories. It’s a versatile fabric but can be tricky to … Read More
I love refashioning clothes that I already own into something else. Usually it involves turning adult clothes into outfits for my kids. Today I’m going to share a fun refashioning tutorial to turn a flannel shirt into a sweet skirt. The larger the shirt, the larger the skirt you can create. This tutorial will turn … Read More
As you start decorating your Christmas tree this holiday season, think about finishing it off with a heartwarming DIY tree skirt made from old flannel shirts. The process is simple, and the finished product is adorable. SUPPLIES: Brother Sewing & Embroidery Machine 3 flannel shirts; mix and match patterns and colors. 1.5 yds of coordinating … Read More
Pretty snowflakes and a charming heart make up the Brother Free design this month. I used this design to embellish place cards for a holiday dinner table. These cards are meant to give your guests a warm welcome into your home!. Since the design had a rustic look, I chose to add a bit of … Read More
Embroidered Dickey The temperature is dropping, which means it’s time to layer up. Layering my wardrobe is one of my favorite things about Fall fashion. When it comes to layering buttons-ups under sweaters, however at times it can look kind of strange because of the bulky fabric underneath. If you think dickeys are out style, … Read More
There are many different ways to achieve perfect placement for embroidery projects. One of my favorite tried and true methods involves using templates printed from PE-DESIGN software with the special Snowman embroidery positioning marker added to the center point of the design. Since a template represents the actual life-size image of a design, I can … Read More
Create special greeting cards this holiday season with your Brother embroidery machine. Select from a variety of techniques and an assortment of delightful embroidery designs from iBroidery.com, or create your own! Insert these designs into windowed tri-fold cards and stitch them onto felt and applique them onto card stock. Next, you’ll embroider the designs onto … Read More
Neckties may have been the go-to gift for the men in your life for years, but as fashion gets more casual these days odds are that there are a ton of ties piled up in a ton of closets. Why not UpCraft them into something new? With their great colors, patterns, and textures you can … Read More
Festive fabric DIY gift bags are fun to make! They can make small presents extra special. I used sheer organza and snippets of fabric, sparkling gold ribbon, and strands of embroidery thread to make this little confetti bag. Follow along as I show you this confetti technique. Once you see how easy it is, you’ll … Read More
One of my favorite things about machine embroidery is the ability to customize gifts and projects. It’s a fun way to add color and personal design to garments like a jean jacket. Denim is an ideal fabric to embroider on, because the medium to heavy weight woven material does well with dense designs. With embroidered … Read More