How To Make A Pencil Roll

This neat little pencil roll is just great for the start of a new school year, for keeping together favourite pencils or even brushes and little tubes of make-up. You can add initials, name tags or button decorations if you wish, too. You can use different materials, make a patchwork design or appliquè.

Hot Water Bottle Cover

Everyone loves a hot water bottle. The calendars and thermometers are not nearly accurate at announcing the arrival of cold weather as the calls for hot water bottles at bedtime. To make a beautiful and unique hot water bottle cover you can knit your own piece, but if you are seriously unaccomplished knitter, you can borrow somebody else's knitting to achieve the same effect.

There is always some old knitted scarf that is slightly out of fashion, or your child jumper that is over-grown. Or maybe you can search for the old knitted or crocheted blanket. The fleece is very cosy and any such garment is more than welcome.

Four Rules on How to Choose Right Vintage Furniture

Whether you are after original period furniture or second-hand bargains to create your vintage look, there is always something out there that's right for you. Just follow simple rules about planning, searching and selection, and you can find fantastic pieces of furniture for your home. And if they need a bit of TLC, check out some of the techniques for restoring and looking after furniture so it will last and last and give a wonderful vintage look to your home. Furniture is the staple of every room, and here are the four simple rules on what to buy you should stick to.

How to tie-dye the cotton fabric?

Source: Golden Fingers

While the cotton is the traditional fibre for tie-dyeing in Africa and India, you can use almost any fibre for this process providing that it is receptive for the dye and not too bulky to withstand tying. For best results, select a smooth, fine cloth such as cotton lawn. In general, man-made fibres are not as suitable as natural ones because they don't absorb the dyes as readily.

Always make sure that you wash the cloth prior to dyeing to remove manufacturers' finishes and grease, since these may impair the results. It is important that you wash the cloth in the hottest temperature it will withstand (refer to the manufacturer's instructions for advice). Afterward, make sure that you rinse and dry the fabric and iron it flat before you start folding or dyeing.
As the example here featured reveal, everyone has their own technique of tie-dyeing. While some people favour stitch-resist technique, others produce existing results by binding objects like peanuts into the cloth. As you will see, the results are often diverse, especially if you create your own dye colour. The example shown in this step-by-step guide has been stitched in order to resist the dye, but you can employ a wide variety of techniques - from tying and binding to knotting, folding, plaiting and hand stitching.