Resurrecting the art of appliqué—a technique in which pieces of fabric are sewn onto clothing, bags, quilts, and other creations—this enlightening resource provides today’s generation of “sewists” with a technique that can be combined with embroidery, beadwork, buttons, ribbons, and more to imbue works with a creative and personal style. Ideal for those with some sewing experience looking to break away from the restrictions of traditional patterns, this guide offers the details for both hand and machine appliqué techniques, as well as a history of appliqué and how it was rediscovered in the fiber arts. 

 


Whether you just bought your first sewing machine or have been sewing for years, Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts will open your eyes to an irresistible range of ideas. A comprehensive visual reference, the book covers everything a home sewer craves: the basics of sewing by hand or machine, along with five other time-honored crafts techniques, and step-by-step instructions for more than 150 projects that reflect not only Martha Stewart’s depth of experience and crafting expertise, but also her singular sense of style

 


“Haute homespun out of the Deep South.” That’s how Vogue magazine has described the fashion of Natalie Chanin. Alabama Stitch Book brings us a collection of projects and stories from her clothing and lifestyle company, Alabama Chanin, known for the cutting-edge twist it puts on tried-and-true sewing, quilting, and embroidery techniques, applied mostly by hand to recycled cotton jersey. 

 


The CS6000i from Brother is a 60 stitch computerized free arm sewing machine with multiple stitch functions. The machine features an LCD display for computerized stitch selection. The built in stitches include utility stithces for mending and garment construction, decorative stitches, heirloom stitches and quilting stitches. This machine has a one step automatic buttonholer with 7 styles of auto-size buttonholes built-in. The machine also has built-in super-wide 7mm zigzag and decorative stitches. The CS6000i is easy to thread with the automatic needle threader and our one-step quick set drop-in bobbin. Included with this machine are accessories for zipper insertion, darning, twin needle stitching, quilting, as well as an oversized accessory table to increase your sewing area for large projects and quilting. 

 


Brother’s new XL2600i is a 25 stitch free arm sewing machine with multiple stitch functions. Easy to use, the XL2600i features an automatic needle threader, built in thread cutter and drop-in bobbin system. This sewing machine also has a built in one-step automatic buttonholer with a stitch balance control for perfect buttonholes every time. The stitches include built-in stretch, blind hem and decorative stitches as well as basic stitches for garment construction, quilting and embellishment. The XL2600i also has adjustable width and length as well as a dial thread tension control to give you more sewing flexibility.