Friday, October 29, 2021

Friday Fun Fact: the tomato pin cushion

Ever wonder about that little strawberry on your pincushion?

It's not just for decoration! The strawberry is filled with emery - a ground-up rock that's also used in nail files. The abrasive powder cleans, smooths, and sharpens your pins and needles!

If your pin feels like it's dragging slowly through your fabric, run it through the strawberry a few times to smooth the surface. If you notice a pin snagging, look for burrs, file them off if needed, and finish with a nice emery polish! 



Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Tuesday, October 26, 2021

Treadlette Tuesday: a new baby quilt!

It's been all kid stuff for Treadlette Elizabeth lately! She made this baby quilt for her new nephew. (Remember last week's cottage? That was for this little guy's big sister!) 


Elizabeth sewed this simple design mostly from her stash, but found the perfect woodland backing at Treadle! She free-motion quilted it in a wood-grain pattern. 


One more detail Elizabeth loves to add is an inscription block with the new baby's name and birthdate. The Tee Juice fabric markers from our friends at Wet Paint are perfect for this!

Friday, October 22, 2021

Friday Fun Fact: Satin weave

What's a satin weave?



A satin fabric, like the silk charmeuse above, gets its glossy sheen from the way it is woven.

To create the smooth, lustrous surface of a satin, the threads are woven unevenly, allowing the shiny warp threads to float over the weft threads in groups.


The unbroken mass of smooth warp threads gives satin its shine! 

Glorious Silk Charmeuse

Treat yourself to an elegant blouse, a decadent coat lining, or a dreamy pillowcase with this drapey silk satin charmeuse!








Thursday, October 21, 2021

Fruit and Berry Prints

Sweet fruits and berries on cotton broadcloth - they coordinate perfectly with our berry canvas!






Tuesday, October 19, 2021

Treadlette Tuesday: A Little Felt Cottage

Treadlette Elizabeth made this sweet felt cottage and play mat for her her 3-year-old niece.


She started with a solid cotton ground, then added our wool felt, embroidery floss, and some scraps from her stash to make the scenery and garden.


The house has little felt details everywhere and is stiffened with a layer of Peltex interfacing to make it stand up. The roof comes off to make it easier to play inside!


Done playing? Pull up the drawstrings to tidy it all away!


With wool felt, the possibilities are endless! We have 86 colors to create whatever you can dream of!

Monday, October 18, 2021

Berries!

Just added to our web shop! These sweet fruit and berry prints and their blendy coordinates. 

They're all a delightful linen/cotton blend canvas, a perfect weight for pants, light jackets, home decor, and more!

Shop them here!




Friday, October 15, 2021

Heathered Cotton Jersey

These soft heathered knits combine several shades of color for a depth of color and texture. Soft, stretchy jersey, perfect for tees, leggings, dresses, and more!





New Knit Prints!

So many new knit prints in the store! Shop them all here!













Friday Fun Fact: How to choose a needle

Wonder how to choose the right sewing machine needles?

First choose your needle TYPE based on your fabric type; woven, knit, silk, denim, leather, etc. Universal needles work for most fabrics. Stretch needles help prevent skipped stitches on knits. Denim needles easily pierce multiple thick layers. Quilting needles are made to sew through layers of fabric and batting.

Next, choose your needle SIZE based on your fabric weight; a smaller number for finer fabrics and a larger number for heavier fabrics. Don't worry about the two numbers - they're just two different systems that mean the same thing. Here are some common fabric types with the recommended needle size:

70/10 lawn, batiste, rayon challis
80/12 broadcloth, muslin, light linen
90/14 linen, wool, suitings, light twill
100/16 heavy twill, denim


The standard size shank on our Schmetz needles will fit into nearly every machine. You shouldn't need to worry about the make or model of your machine when selecting needles. 

Tuesday, October 12, 2021

Treadlette Tuesday: Laura's Pietra Pants

Laura's new Pietra pants are so cute! Made from our linen/rayon blend for a great drape and subtle texture. The Pietra pant pattern has a roomy fit with a nice, high rise, but alters easily if you prefer a lower rise or a closer fit.

Shop our linen here!



Buy the pattern here!

Friday, October 8, 2021

Friday Fun Fact: Choose the right thread

Which thread is right for your project?

At Treadle, we carry two varieties of high-quality Metrosene thread: 100% Polyester and 100% Cotton. They're both great, all-purpose threads, but which one is right for which fabric?

Cotton is a beautiful thread that's a bit plumper and shows up well for topstitching. Choose cotton when sewing wovens like cotton broadcloth, linen, rayon, wool, and silk. It's particularly good for delicates! Hand sewing is also much easier when you use cotton thread.

Polyester is ideal for sewing knits; its extra strength and slight stretch help you sew successful stretchy seams. It's also a great choice any time you need a little extra strength, such as tote bags, home decor, and garments with heavy wear.

Avoid polyester for silk and delicates; this tough thread can actually cut into the fibers of your fabric! Poly is also not ideal for hand sewing as it tends to tangle and shred. You can tell Metrosene Poly and Cotton threads apart by the spool color! 

Purple spool: Cotton

Red spool: Polyester


Ordering fabric online? Count on us to match thread perfectly when you add it to your fabric order.