Category: Informative

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How to Earn Money by Making and Selling Arts & Crafts

 

How to Earn Money by Making and Selling Arts & Crafts

In this era of mass production, the allure of handmade, unique, and personal items has grown stronger. This resurgence of interest in arts and crafts has created a golden opportunity for artists and craft-makers to turn their passion into a profitable business. Whether you are interested in sewing, embroidery, pottery, painting, or paper crafts, there’s a market out there eager to purchase your creations.

Why Consider Arts & Crafts as a Business Opportunity?

In addition to giving an outlet for your creative energy, an arts & crafts business can provide a fulfilling and flexible career option. It offers the opportunity to work at your own pace from the comfort of your home while generating a substantial income. Moreover, being your own boss, you can direct your business in a way that aligns with your personal interests and values.

The Rising Demand for Handmade Crafts

The charm of handmade crafts lies in their uniqueness and the skill and dedication involved in their creation. In a world where everything is becoming increasingly digitised and impersonal, handmade crafts offer a personal touch that consumers appreciate. Furthermore, with sustainability becoming a pressing concern, many consumers are turning to handmade crafts as an eco-friendly alternative to mass-produced items.

Identifying Your Art & Craft Niche

Aiming to please everyone often results in pleasing no one. The same principle applies in the crafts business. By focusing on a specific niche, you can develop products that meet a targeted audience’s specific needs and tastes, giving you a competitive edge.

A well-defined niche in a crowded marketplace can help your business stand out. It enables you to concentrate your marketing efforts on a specific market segment, making it easier to reach your potential customers. Moreover, focusing on a niche can help you build a loyal customer base who appreciate and seek out your particular style or product.

The world of arts & crafts is diverse, ranging from textile crafts like sewing, knitting, and embroidery to paper crafts, pottery, jewellery making, painting, and so much more. You could focus on one type of craft or combine a few related ones to create unique products. The key is choosing something you enjoy and can see yourself doing for a long time.

Creating Your Crafts: Sourcing Materials and Tools

The quality of your crafts significantly depends on the materials and tools you use. High-quality materials and the right tools can make the crafting process more enjoyable and the final product more appealing.

Sourcing high-quality and sustainable materials can enhance the appeal of your crafts. Many consumers today are willing to pay a premium for products made with sustainable materials due to their lower environmental impact. Moreover, using high-quality materials can improve the look and durability of your crafts, making them more attractive to customers.

Developing Your Crafting Skills

Crafting is a skill that requires practice and dedication. Creating crafts regularly will help you become more confident in your crafting abilities and allow you to refine and enhance your techniques.

You can improve your crafting skills by attending craft classes and workshops or watching online tutorials. These can provide you with new ideas, techniques, and inspiration. They can also offer the opportunity to receive feedback on your work and learn from other experienced craft-makers.

While attending classes and watching tutorials can teach you new techniques, it is through consistent practice that you can truly hone your skills. Through practice, you can also develop your unique style, which can become your signature in the market.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Determining Your Craft Pricing

Pricing your crafts can be one of the most challenging aspects of running a crafts business. You need to price your crafts in a way that covers your costs, provides you with a fair profit, and is still attractive to customers. Here are some factors to consider:

  1. Cost of Materials and Labour

The price of your crafts should at least cover the cost of materials and labour. Remember to value your time and skills and include a fair wage for yourself in the cost of labour.

  1. Market Value of Similar Crafts

Research what similar crafts are selling for in the market to get an idea of what customers are willing to pay. However, avoid underpricing your crafts to compete on price. Instead, provide value through unique designs, high-quality materials, and excellent craftsmanship.

  1. Perceived Value and Price Psychology

The perceived value of your crafts can influence what customers are willing to pay. This is where branding, storytelling, and presentation can play a significant role. The better you are at showcasing the value of your crafts, the more customers may be willing to pay.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marketing Your Crafts: Branding & Storytelling

In the crafts business, you’re not just selling a product but a story, an experience, and a piece of yourself. Branding and storytelling are essential for conveying the value of your crafts to customers.

A strong brand can set your crafts apart in a crowded market—it’s the visual and emotional image that comes to mind when people think of your business. It can influence customers’ perceptions of your crafts, their decision to buy, and their loyalty.

Social media is a powerful tool for showcasing your work, connecting with customers, and promoting your crafts business. Platforms like Instagram, Pinterest, and Facebook are particularly effective for visual products like crafts. Regularly posting images of your crafts, sharing behind-the-scenes glimpses of your crafting process, and engaging with your followers can help build a community around your brand.

Selling Your Crafts Online

The internet has opened up a global market for craft makers. You can sell your crafts to customers around the world from the comfort of your home.

Online marketplaces like Amazon, Etsy, and eBay are popular platforms for selling crafts. They offer a ready-made audience of millions of users looking for unique, handmade products. However, they also have their own rules, fees, and competition. Understanding how these platforms work is important to make the most of them.

Selling Your Crafts Offline

While online sales can reach a global audience, selling your crafts offline allows customers to see, touch, and feel your crafts before buying.

Craft fairs and markets are excellent venues for showcasing your crafts, meeting potential customers face-to-face, and getting immediate feedback. Research local events, understand their audience and requirements, and prepare an attractive display of your crafts.

Consigning or wholesaling your products to local stores can increase sales and visibility. However, it’s important to choose stores that cater to your target market and to understand the terms of consignment or wholesale agreements.

The Fulfilment of Running an Arts & Crafts Business

Running an arts & crafts business can be a rewarding endeavour. It not only provides the satisfaction of earning from doing what you love but also allows you to bring beauty and joy into people’s lives. You can turn your love for crafts into a successful business with passion, skill, and the right approach.

About Marent Crafts

Marent Crafts is a leading supplier of crafts and haberdashery, offering a wide selection of quality materials and tools. Whether you’re a hobbyist or a craft business owner, Marent Crafts is committed to supporting your creative journey. With a focus on sustainability and quality, Marent Crafts helps you create crafts you can be proud of.

Ready to turn your passion for crafts into a profitable venture? Start your journey with Marent Crafts today! Explore our extensive range of crafting supplies and embark on a fulfilling and creative adventure.

If you would like to find out more about our products or simply have any questions, please get in contact with us VIA email: info@marentcrafts.com

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Earth Day 2023 – Sustainability Everyday

 

At Marent Crafts, we don’t just think about sustainability once a year. For us, we think about this every day!

Here at Marent Craft our absolute top priority is sustainability for the betterment of this beautiful planet that we share. We would go so far as to say that we value sustainability over profit. Way above.

Lets explain…

Whilst other companies in the industry may go to farther and stranger shores to find bargains for their ware, we stay as close to home as possible, and only buy directly from the source. We won’t just buy any old thing either. We only supply the best quality products, and only if that product is the most sustainable version.

The brands we carry Must share our ethos, otherwise we simply cannot promote that brand.

Thankfully, all our suppliers, manufacturers, and brand owners are most definitely in line with us.

Whether it be recycled fibres for the wadding and interfacing from Freudenberg, the elimination of cellophane from Coats and Gutermann, the 100% eco friendly detergent from Soak, the bamboo range from Prym, or all the other eco friendly products, we won’t sacrifice our message in the name of profit.

We hope that you share our passion for Planet Earth, and we hope that, like us, you’re willing to spend a little bit more on not only a superior product, but on a product that is designed with sustainability in mind.

Our Partners

Here’s what some of the brands we work with do for Earth!

The brands that we work with really do have sustainability at the core of what they do and we align ourselves with brands that have values as we do.

Freudenberg Performance Materials recycles around 7 million PET bottles per day and around 2.5 billion PET bottles per year in its European plants. The length of these bottles taken together would reach 15 times around the earth.

Soak’s bottles, caps and labels have always been recyclable and printed with water-based inks. And as of 2013, all our bottles have been made from post-consumer resin, which means they’ve already been recycled once.

From bamboo knitting needles to buttons, our growing range of Prym sustainable quality products are affordable and provide you peace of mind that you’re helping the environment. No matter the type of knitting, crocheting, or materials you’re working with, Prym 1530 is the choice for you.

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Learn more about sewing with an Easy Informative Guide To Sewing Products [2021 Edition]

An Informative Guide To Sewing Products

Sewing is a very popular pastime, but it is quite technical and can be a bit daunting for beginners. It’s a very therapeutic activity though and is well worth spending some time finding your way around all the different items you might need when completing a sewing project. We don’t have time to do a full A-Z here. But let’s demystify some of the sewing products that are commonly used.

What is wadding?

Wadding, also known as batting in the US, is often made from polyester fibres and is used as a layer of insulation between fabrics. Polyester wadding is often used in quilt making and helps you to produce a quilt that is soft, comfortable and warm. Quilt wadding may also be made from natural fibres such as bamboo, silk or cotton. These tend to flatten more than made-made fibres such as polyester. Natural fibres are more breathable whereas man-made tend to wash better. Bamboo wadding is becoming more popular as an eco-friendly alternative for quilting.

Wadding

Wadding is sold in different weights, commonly 2oz, 4oz and 6oz and can usually be purchased by the metre or half-metre. It may come scrim-coated which means there is a light net-like covering which holds the fibres together. As well as prevents the wadding from being pulled apart. Wadding without scrim-coating is softer, but not as durable. Marent crafts also offers a Fire-Retardant wadding in 5 different weights.

What is interfacing and interlining?

The terms interlining and interfacing are often used interchangeably in sewing. The primary function of interfacing is to provide strength, shape and stability around different parts of a garment such as collars, cuffs and buttonholes. Interlining comes in a variety of weights and may be sew-on or fusible (that is they stick to the outer fabric by heating). As these products are non-woven fabric, they will not fray so you can trim them after sewing. This includes bonding if necessary. The trade name in the UK is Vilene/Vliesilene. The weight you require depends on exactly where you are using the interlining in your garment. Bondaweb is another fusible interfacing which is suitable for fancy appliques and repairs.

9 Steps to Becoming a Sewing Master

We’ve even been kind enough to create a video which showcase 9 top sewing skills you need to be a master so be sure to check it out below!

What is bias binding tape?

Bias binding tape, or sometimes known as bias tape or simply bias binding, is used for binding seams, creating piping. For example on the edges of cushions or for finishing raw edges and detail on garments. Such as across pocket tops or around armholes or the neckline. It comes in a variety of colours and is may also be used to create button loops or drawstrings for bags. Bias binding is a highly versatile product and Marent Crafts offers a choice of 10 colours in a 12.5mm width. 

Bias Binding

What is Texacro?

You’ve most likely heard of Velcro which is an adhesive product that uses a repositionable hook and loop system to enable you to stick two pieces of fabric together. It’s also used to fasten and undo the Velcro many times over the lifetime of the product. Texacro is also made by Velcro, but is a lower quality, less expensive version which lasts for around 1,000 cycles of put together-pull apart. Compared to the premium Velcro product which lasts up to 10,000 cycles on average.

Velcro and Texacro are made from nylon and polyester. They come either black or white and in a range of widths to suit a variety of projects. Velcro is often used instead of zips, buttons or laces. It was made famous by NASA in the 1960s when it was used to fasten down pens and other items during Apollo missions. Here at Marent we offer both Velcro and its less expensive cousin Texacro.

So, there are you have it, a quick tour around some commonly used sewing products. We recommend Stitchless TV, a YouTube channel which takes you right from the basics of learning how to sew.

Next time, we’ll take a look at the wonderful world of sewing machines and how to create fancy stitches.

Make sure to follow us on Social Media for all our latest updates!

Here is one of our client reviews.

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The Different Types of Wadding

Are you a crafter that likes to get creative? Or perhaps you are a retailer that requires wadding in bulk to meet the demands of your customers. Whether it’s your next sewing and quilting venture or if you’re simply meeting the demand, we have a wide range of wadding that you can choose from. There are numerous different types of wadding that we will explore in this post.

What is wadding?

Wadding is used as a layer of insulation between fabrics – typically used in quilt making. Essentially what it does is fill the quilts enabling them to keep you warm.

Different types of wadding include cotton, polyester, wool, cotton/poly blends and even fusible batting.

Different-types-of-wadding

How should I choose a wadding?

It’s important to choose wadding based on:

  • Loft – the weight and thickness of the wadding. If you want your wadding to have a flat finish, it’s best to choose a low loft. For a quilt, it’s best to choose wadding with a higher loft.
  • Warmth – if the wadding is designed for a quilt, it would be best to choose a wadding with good thermal properties.
  • Colour – if your project is dark in colour, it would make sense to select a black wadding, so it is not highly visible through the fabric once it is made.
  • Time – if time is an issue for you, we recommend selecting a wadding that is not overly time-consuming.

Now, let’s dive into the benefits of each one!

100% Cotton Wadding

Cotton is the most traditional choice for quilting due to its natural form. It is preferred for its soft, breathable texture and overall comfort. Cotton remains ideal for machine quilting and is also a natural fibre, meaning it is more flame resistant than synthetic products. Remember to wash and thoroughly dry a cotton wadding first, as it will shrink slightly after washing!

100%-Cotton-Wadding

Polyester Wadding

Polyester is a more cost effective alternative and has brilliant washable properties. It holds its shape and provides a thicker finish but without any added weight. It is easier to be sewn by hand, and therefore ideal for hand-quilting.

Polyester-wadding

Wool Wadding

Wool is typically known for its amazing insulation properties. Due to its warmth, it best lends itself to bed covers and lap quilts but also remains ideal for hand, machine and tied quilting.

wool-wadding-marent-crafts

Cotton/Poly Blend Wadding

There are a wide variety of blends available that are designed to combine the best properties of the different fibres, for example, a cotton/poly blend allows the durability of the polyester, but also provides the loft and ease of the cotton.

Cotton-poly-blend-wadding

Fusible Wadding

Fusible wadding is double-sided and iron-on which means it is perfect for craft projects or children’s quilts where frequent washing is required. When making bags, we recommend using fusible wadding as it adds stability to the bag structure and keeps the layers together because it effectively eliminates the need for pin or spray-basting and is a huge time-saver.

Fusible-wadding-marent-crafts-wholesale

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Need more advice or recommendations? Give us a call 0204 513 2222 or follow up on socials for our latest tips!

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How to Make a Child’s Quilt in 15 easy steps

Marent - crafts - child's quilt

If you are new to quilting, then you’ll want to tackle a small project for your first one. What better than making a child’s quilt for a toddler bed? You can create a design using pre-cut squares of fabric, especially for quilting or you could even use old clothes or fabric found in a charity shop to keep the costs down.

Materials you will need:

Wadding - child's quilt

Your chosen fabric – this design uses fat quarters

Backing fabric

Bias binding

Wadding

Equipment you will need

Sewing machine

Scissors or rotary cutter

Patchwork Quilt Ruler

Coordinating Moon Coats thread

Cutting mat/board

Quilting Pins

How to make the child’s quilt

  1. Lay out the fabric squares in your desired pattern
  2. Cut out some simple shapes from any spare fabric to applique to the quilt
  3. Sew the shapes onto the fabric squares
  4. Sew the squares together in rows on the right side, using a ½ inch seam allowance
  5. Press the seams flat
  6. Sew the rows of squares together on the right side, again using a ½ inch seam allowance
  7. Press all the seams flat again
  8. Lay out the backing fabric and the wadding on a flat surface
  9. Lay the quilt squares on top of the backing and wadding
  10. Pin all three layers together
  11. Sew the layers together including stitching along the seams where the squares are joined to create the quilted look
  12. Cut the bias binding long enough to go around all sides of the quilt
  13. Unfold the bias binding and pin it to the back of the quilt
  14. Sew the binding onto the back of the quilt as close to edge as possible
  15. Fold the bias binding over the edge of the quilt and sew to the front, tucking the raw edge under to create the perfect finished product.
Safety

Ensure that you use only fire retardant wadding which comes in a range of weights from  2oz to 14oz. For a child’s quilt, use lightweight wadding at 2oz to create a low tog rating. It is not recommended by the Lullaby Trust to use quilts for children under the age of one.

20 other things you can do with wadding

  1. Fabric coasters
  2. Christmas tree decorations
  3. Quilted hearts for a loved one
  4. A Quilted purse
  5. Quilted makeup bag
  6. Padded photo album cover
  7. Pin cushion
  8. Stuffed toys
  9. Wrapping up delicate items to post
  10. Padded camera case
  11. Padded spectacles case
  12. Quilted mobile phone case
  13. Padded keyring
  14. Small padded bags for storing jewellery
  15. Padded rice bag for easing aches and pains
  16. Padded table protector for hot pots/teapot etc
  17. A Padded table runner
  18. Make a Padded tablet cover
  19. Quilted cushion cover
  20. Quilted pillowcase

Get in contact for information about which wadding/batting to use for your project. As ever, if you have any pictures of your projects that have used wadding, we would love to see them.

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How to use Elastic For Sewing Projects – Which One Should I Use?

Elastics For Sewing Projects

There are a few different common types of elastic for sewing projects, but do you know which one you should use when? If you are a beginner sewer, the range of products in a haberdashery can be quite overwhelming. It’s hard to know where to start.

So, in this blog, we’ll look at the 3 most common types of elastic for sewing use and give you some handy hints on when to use each one.

First, there is Flat Elastic or Flat Elastic Cord, which is also known as braided elastic. Flat or braided elastic has parallel ridges that run along the length of the elastic. The ridges provide extra grip. But one downside is that flat elastic has a tendency to become narrower as it is stretched.

Flat Elastic

You should also be aware that braided elastic also tends to roll more easily than woven or knitted elastics. If you sew through braided elastic, it can also lose its stretchiness. For these reasons braided elastic works best in sewing projects where the elastic is contained within a casing or hem rather than being sewn directly onto the fabric. Be careful of using braided elastic in waistbands though because of its tendency to roll up. It can work well on smaller areas such as cuffs where the rolling is less of an issue. You can purchase braided elastic in a variety of colours, although white or black elastic are most popular and naturally, it is available in a range of widths to suit your project. At Marent, we offer white and black flat elastic cord in 3 different widths.

Woven Elastic

If you are sewing a waistband for skirts or trousers, a woven elastic, also referred to as non-roll elastic is your best choice, especially if you are using heavy weight fabrics. This elastic does not lose width when stretched and is generally firmer, giving more structure to your garment. It can be sewn directly onto fabric or used in casings.

Woven elastic, like braided elastic, may fray if you cut it lengthwise, so it’s always best to buy the correct width of elastic for your sewing project. Our woven elastic is available in white and black and 6 widths between 19mm (3/4 in) to 75mm (3 in).

Knitted Elastic

Knitted elastic is a lighter, softer elastic than braided or woven elastic. It rolls more than woven elastic but less than braided and therefore does not work so well on heavy weight fabrics.  Like woven elastic, the knitted version does not lose its width when stretched. It works well for lingerie and pyjama sewing projects.

There are some other different types of elastic for sewing which you could use for different types of projects such as buttonhole elastic for adjustable waistbands, lace elastic for lingerie, round clear elastic for swimwear and stockings and you can even get plush backed elastic which is softer against the skin if you are making a garment for someone who has sensitive skin.

Whatever your project, whether large or small, a garment, a bag or perhaps a facemask, you can be certain that at Marent Crafts we will have an elastic to suit most needs.

We’d love to see example of projects you’ve made that use our elastic, so please do send us your pictures.

Checkout our video on Elastics for some more information:

Flat vs Woven Elastic

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How To Use Polyester Wadding – 5 Simple Christmas Projects

How To Use Polyester Wadding

Polyester wadding is a product which might not be at the forefront of your mind when you think about sewing. We tend to focus on the beautiful fabrics, trims and buttons – the elements that are on display. However, without the polyester wadding, sometimes also known as batting, there are quite a few projects which could not be completed. Here are just 4 simple projects that use this unsung product.

Coaster or Placemats

You can protect your surfaces from marking from hot cups or dishes by making coasters or pot rests which contain a layer of heat resistant polyester wadding. Why not get some festive fabric and create a whole set of coasters as a Christmas gift? We found a simple DIY pattern to make 4 coasters using just a few materials or make a larger oblong to create padded table placemats to brighten up your festive table. 

Padded Table Runner

Nothing sets a dinner table off better than a beautiful table runner – your Christmas Dinner table wouldn’t look the same without one. As you may be resting warm dishes on the runner, it’s a good idea to use a layer of wadding inside the runner. If you have a spare afternoon, you can create a bold and bright runner or something a little more subdued depending on your festive theme. Polyester wadding, as long as it is heat resistant would be a good option as it’s less expensive than cotton wadding. 

Padded Christmas Tree Decorations

Wadding can also be used to create padded Christmas tree decorations using felt squares or fat quarters which come in a wide range of designs. This upcycling design uses old jeans material, festive fabric and batting to create a different look for your tree.

Children’s quilt for Christmas Eve

If a child in your life is reluctant to go to bed on Christmas Eve, perhaps this sweet little project will encourage them. How exciting to have a quilt that only goes on the bed once a year! We go into more detail on our other blog on how to make a child’s quilt – you can choose some Christmassy fabric or even have the child choose their favourite festive fabric.

Padded Christmas Stocking

No blog on Christmas sewing projects using wadding would be complete without a padded Christmas stocking to hang on the mantlepiece in anticipation of a visit from Santa. Check out this simple Christmas stocking pattern which you can complete in a morning. If you have time, why not make one for every member of the family?

Whatever your project, whether large or small, you can be certain that at Marent Crafts we will have wadding to suit most needs.
We’d love to see example of projects you’ve made that use our wadding, so please do send us your pictures. If you are into your Christmas sewing projects, why not also have a read of our other blog which gives you 14 more fun, yet straightforward suggestions.

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Learn more about 14 Christmas Sewing Projects Using A Sewing Machine

14 Christmas Sewing Projects

Check out our curated blog of some easy and not-so-easy Christmas sewing projects using a sewing machine. With all sewing projects we recommend that you use high quality thread which won’t snap, warp or degrade. There’s nothing worse than putting your heart and time into a project for it to quickly fall apart at the seams due to poor quality materials.

1. Cuffed Christmas Stockings

These cute Santa stockings make great mantlepiece decorations or are perfectly sized for classis small Christmas gifts such as satsumas or wrapped chocolates. The sewing is relatively straightforward and should take no more than an afternoon to complete.

https://www.positivelysplendid.com/christmas-stocking-pattern/

2. Advent Calendar Bunting

Gorgeous festive bunting can be re-used year after year – fill it with wrapped chocolates or small toys to make your kids happy in the run up to the big day.

https://www.thesewingdirectory.co.uk/downloads/articles/Advent_Calender_Bunting.pdf

3. Christmas Tree Ornaments

These super little tree ornaments are straightforward for beginners or you can embellish them if you are a more advanced sewer. Using only 3 items – Christmassy fabric, batting and some ribbon, these trees are quick, simple but utterly delightful.

Easy Fabric Christmas Tree Ornaments to Sew

4. Reusable Gift Bags

Why send more rubbish to landfill, when you can create reusable gift bags which are a gift in themselves. Anyone who is eco-minded would love to receive their Christmas gift in one of these pretty bags.

https://www.positivelysplendid.com/make-reusable-gift-bags/

5. Felt Elf Hat

Using a simple design, these felt elf hats make great festive party favours. They are also great for costume parties. These hats are very straightforward, taking around 20 minutes to make. A good project to share with your child.

Easy DIY Felt Elf Hat Pattern

6. Christmas cushion

An extremely easy project taking only around 15-20 minutes– making a cushion from two Christmas placemats and some wadding – what could be easier?

DIY 15 MINUTE PILLOW FROM PLACEMATS

7. Santa Tote Bag

This is a fun red bag that looks just like part of a Santa suit. Again, this is a relatively quick project and uses only 5 different materials. Don’t forget to use your coordinating threads on each area of the project to give it a professional finish.

Cute Bag to Make for Christmas-Santa’s Belt

8. Quilted Christmas Table Runner

This lovely quilted Christmas Table Runner is a little more complicated than some of the other Christmas sewing projects, uses more materials and will probably need a few hours of sewing time, but you’ll be impressed with the finished result. Marent crafts recommends our Fire Retardant Wadding for this project.

Merry & Cheer Quilted Christmas Table Runner Pattern

9. Santa Sack

This pattern is a very clear step-by-step guide to sewing your own Santa Sack for the big day. It uses appliqué to attach the star, but you could use the initial letters of your children’s names so there’s no question over whose sack is whose.

https://www.gathered.how/sewing-and-quilting/sewing/how-to-make-a-christmas-gift-sack/

10. Fabric ‘paper’ chains

Making Christmas paper chains used to be a common childhood activity. This fabric ‘paper’ chain project that would be good for showing your child how to use a sewing machine. A short chain for the mantlepiece or a long one that goes all the way around the house – you choose.

https://www.gathered.how/sewing-and-quilting/sewing/how-to-make-fabric-paper-chains

11. Fabric Cutlery Holder

Jazz up your Christmas lunch table with this lovely fabric cutlery holders. Using contrasting fabrics and interfacing these are straightforward and make your table look very elegant.

https://theseamanmom.com/diy-cutlery-holder/

12. Infinity Scarf

This scarf is very easy to sew but looks wonderful – anyone receiving one of these scarfs as a gift will be delighted. Don’t forget to use only the best quality fabric and thread.

Infinity Scarf Tutorial – plaid & lace!

13. Christmas Place Mat

Another easy Christmas sewing project which could be completed in an hour or two. This project also uses interfacing to give the place mat a bit of weight. You could use different fabrics on each side – one for Christmas, one for summer, perhaps?

Easy Placemat Sewing Tutorial

14. Christmas Tree Advent Calendar

This fun Christmas tree design comes with detachable velcro shapes so children can decorate it and redecorate it to their hearts’ content. It has 24 miniature pockets for the countdown to Christmas and is quick to sew so you’ve still got time to whip up your own version before December.

https://www.gathered.how/sewing-and-quilting/sewing/easy-sew-christmas-tree-advent-calendar/

For materials such as wadding, interlining, cord and thread our thread comes in a range of colours and we supply coats moon thread, overlocking thread., visit our shop and get started on your sewing projects today!

We’d love to see any pictures of your Christmas sewing projects, so why not visit our Facebook page and post one there for us.

Here is a review on our threads.

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What are 5 Simple Stitches For Perfect Sewing Right Now [Using Coats Moon Thread]?

Coats Moon Thread Blog

When learning how to sew, it’s important to get high quality sewing thread which won’t snap too easily. Coats Moon 120 Spun Polyester Sewing thread has a reputation for running smoothly in sewing machines, being of good durability and strength at a reasonable price. It is also great for hand-sewn projects and does not easily become tangled.

Coats Moon thread is available in 48 different colours from Marent Crafts. Enabling you to find the perfect matching or contrasting thread for your project. You can buy individual spools or if you are a more prolific sewer, you’ll love our Coats Moon Thread colours box because this box contains 24 spools of thread in different colours – choose from light or bright (standard).

Coats Moon Thread Set Of 24

Before you embark on any sewing, it’s a great idea to have a practise of the most commonly used basic hand stitches. There are 5 simple hand-sewn stitches for the beginner sewer to master. Let’s take a look at them:

Running stitch

Running stitch is the simplest sewing stitch because it’s created by moving the needle in and out of the fabric at regular intervals. This is done so that each top stitch is the same length. Running stitch is often used to sew basic seams or hems and it is also used in quilting to hold the wadding in place.

Back Stitch

The purpose of back stitch is to create a strong bond between two layers of fabric and is achieved by doubling back with the needle to ensure no gap between the stitches. Great for hems and repairs an it is popular in embroidery projects to for outlining shapes and creating letters.

Basting Stitch

A long form of running stitch, this technique is used to temporarily hold two pieces of fabric together. Often done in a contrasting colour to the fabric, so that it is easy to spot when it comes to removing the stitches.

Whip Stitch

Whip stitch is used to join two pieces of fabric together and consists of bringing the needle up through both pieces of fabric from the bottom to the top with the thread wrapping around the edge of the fabric. It is commonly used for hemming.

Ladder Stitch (or slip stitch)

This stitch is used to join folded two edges together where the seam needs to be hidden. It is often used to sew stuffed toys, cushions, pillows or lined hems. The knot is hidden in the seam allowance and make a stitch on one side of the fabric, and then go across the seam and make a stitch on the other side of the fabric parallel to the edge. Keep moving across from one side to the other and the stitches will look like a ladder. Pull the thread tight to hide the stitches inside the seam.

Sewing machine threads

If you are progressing onto sewing machine projects, you may have a much larger range of stitches available to you. Depending on what your sewing machine offers. It is vital to ensure you use a high-quality sewing thread so the inferior thread can break easily. Because it can cause frustration and damage to your project or even your machine. Coats Moon thread will work just as well for your sewing machine projects as your hand-sewn ones. The thread comes in 1000 yard spools which is enough to make a queen size quilt.

Overlocking thread

We should not finish this basic sewing blog without a quick mention of overlocking. Overlocking sewing machines require a different type of sewing thread. Overlockers create a neat tidy edge which helps prevent the fabric from fraying. Overlocking thread tends to be rougher in feel and weaker than regular sewing thread. It may jam up your sewing machine, so we don’t recommend you use overlocking thread in a regular sewing machine. Available in 38 colours, you can get your overlocking thread from Marents Crafts in boxes of  10 cones or 100 cones, or of course, individually.

Overlocking Thread

Get in touch and tell us what you are making

We’d love to hear about your latest projects, so please send us a picture of you using your Coats Moon Thread and we’ll give one lucky customer a £10 voucher for the best project. Send us your picture on Facebook Messenger and follow us on Facebook for all our best offers.