Free Republic

TAPACHULA, Mexico (Reuters) -A dozen undocumented migrants on Mexico's southern border sewed their mouths shut on Tuesday in a bid to convince the country's immigration authority to grant them passage toward the U.S. border. The migrants, mostly Central and South Americans, helped each other seal their lips using needles and plastic threads, leaving a small space to consume liquids and using alcohol to wipe away drops of blood from the stitches, Reuters images show. “The migrants are sewing their lips together as a sign of protest," said Irineo Mujica, an activist at the demonstration. "We hope that the National Migration...

A simple strand of thread connects an honorable past to a bright future. Connie Swartz, of Kansas City, Missouri, recently founded Celebrate Fatigues to turn unused military uniforms – hidden in basements and closets – into usable products to pay tribute to the nation's veterans and active service members. "My idea was, 'Let's resurrect these and make things out of them that people can enjoy and also feel that they're showing honor in remembering to the people who wore them,'" Swartz said. From sleeves and pants come purses and backpacks, dog scarfs and scrunchies – even face masks and luggage...

You’re going to find this very strange, but I’m more of an anti-mask person,” Laura Howard told me last week, recounting the success of her business selling “Trump 2020” masks on an Etsy store called “isewformygrandkids.” The 63-year-old grandmother of eight, a retired Walmart assistant manager from Stanton, Michigan, grumbles about Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s strict stay-at-home guidelines. She invited her kids and grandkids over on Mother's Day, telling them masks and social distancing were optional. But most retail stores around her require customers to wear masks. And so, since the start of the crisis, Howard had been sewing masks...

ike sewing? Well you’ll love this news: the Vintage Patterns Wiki has released more than 83,500 patterns of pre 1992, out of print patterns for all to use. The browsable collection runs the gamut from Dynasty-inspired pussy bow power suits to Betty Draper-esque frocks featuring models in white gloves to an 1895 boys’ Reefer Suit with fly-free short trousers. Visitors can narrow their search to focus on a particular garment, designer or decade. If you click these links, you can see patterns from the following decades: 1920s, 1930s, 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. The movie star collection is particularly...

I was folding away some laundry the other day when I noticed a hole in my J. Crew sweatshirt. It’s about the size of my pinky nail, but threatens to get bigger, and it’s located in the very inconvenient place of my sweatshirt’s collar band. “I should mend that,” I thought, until I realized I don’t know how to mend anything at all. The idea of mending today feels more like a promise than a reality. Alden Wicker touched on this last month in her Vox article about how the spare button represents all the ways we fail to be...

Nancy Zieman, who founded Nancy’s Notions in Beaver Dam and became a nationally known figure in the sewing community, has died from cancer. Zieman, 64, was an educator, author, pattern maker, television producer, entrepreneur and innovator who is probably best known for her public television show “Sewing With Nancy.” She hosted the program since 1982 and announced earlier this year that she would no longer be producing the show due to her ongoing illness. Tacony Corp. purchased Nancy’s Notions in 2003, but Zieman remained involved as a spokeswoman and educator.

Nancy Zieman Productions, LLC. is saddened by the death of our friend and colleague, Nancy Zieman, longtime host of the Sewing With Nancy TV show on Public Television. Thank you, Nancy, for a life filled with inspiration, education, and grace. We extend our condolences to Nancy’s family, friends, colleagues, viewers and readers. We all miss her so much. After a long battle with cancer, Nancy passed away at home, surrounded by family, on November 14, 2017. A private funeral service is planned with family and close friends.

Welcome everyone to the bi-weekly Thread Thread, a once every other week post of all things sewing. Join us to discuss, ask questions and learn everything you've ever wanted to talk about, ask or discover about sewing. We include anything you can make with fabric, needle and thread. Share with us some or you designs and ideas on how to become more self-sufficient by making your own clothing, home decor or anything else.

Welcome everyone to the bi-weekly Thread Thread, a once every other week post of all things sewing. Join us to discuss, ask questions and learn everything you've ever wanted to talk about, ask or discover about sewing. We include anything you can make with fabric, needle and thread. Share with us some or you designs and ideas on how to become more self-sufficient by making your own clothing, home decor or anything else.

Welcome everyone to the bi-weekly Thread Thread, a once every other week post of all things sewing. Join us to discuss, ask questions and learn everything you've ever wanted to talk about, ask or discover about sewing. We include anything you can make with fabric, needle and thread. Share with us some or you designs and ideas on how to become more self-sufficient by making your own clothing, home decor or anything else

Welcome everyone to the bi-weekly Thread Thread, a once every other week post of all things sewing. Join us to discuss, ask questions and learn everything you've ever wanted to talk about, ask or discover about sewing. We include anything you can make with fabric, needle and thread. Share with us some or you designs and ideas on how to become more self-sufficient by making your own clothing, home decor or anything else.

Welcome everyone to the weekly Thread Thread, a once weekly post of all things sewing. Join us to discuss, ask questions and learn everything you've ever wanted to talk about, ask or discover about sewing. We include anything you can make with fabric, needle and thread. Share with us some or you designs and ideas on how to become more self-sufficient by making your own clothing, home decor or anything else

Welcome to the FR weekly Thread Thread. With a thank you to meowmeow for the suggestion on the catchy name. As I mentioned to some, I'm really a pre-novice seamstress. I'm even hesitant to use the word seamstress. But, with the little guy growing out of clothes SO quickly I figured I'd put some effort into making some of his play clothes. And with 2 years of being a stay at home mom, after 15 years as a professional civil engineer, my brain is in need of some exercise. So I thought I'd start out by posting a couple of...

I've been dabbling in sewing off and on (mostly off) for a number of years. Mostly what I would call simple things like panel curtains, dog beds, etc. With a 2 year old outgrowing clothes so quickly I thought I might try my hand at making some simple items for him. We have weekly gardening threads and semi-weekly recipe threads. I was wondering if anyone might be interested in a weekly (or semi-weekly) sewing thread?

Does anyone (or anyone's Mrs.) use cross-stitching software that allows you to upload an image and it produces a pattern for you? I was thinking of getting it for my mother, but don't want to give one that doesn't work well. There's a free service online, but apparently it doesn't work as well as desired. Have any Freepers tried any of them? Are there any that can be bought in a store, or are they all online downloads? Thanks as always.

Please bring back thread views.

On stage Friday at the Sewing & Stitchery Expo, sewing guru Linda MacPhee presented a fashion show of eclectic jackets. As a model twirled at the end of the catwalk, audience member LeeAnne Ulrich stood up from her folding chair, her jacket nearly identical to the model’s. “Oh, look!” MacPhee said into her microphone. “That’s so good – it sends shivers. You must not be able to go anywhere without people wanting to touch you and feel you. Come up here!” After some coaxing, the 54-year-old Ulrich walked up on stage and showed off her creation – a flannel-backed satin...

Sewing is making a huge comeback lately. The reason? What else? The economy! It's cheaper to make your own repairs and alterations than paying someone else to do it. Women of all backgrounds and ages are learning how to sew in order to help stretch their dollar. In a full class of eager women, each is learning the long lost art of sewing. "I am a workaholic," first time sewer Tina Noel said. "I don't cook. I don't clean. I just work." *snip* Noel says altering every season gets expensive. Pant hems cost on average $12, a skirt hem about...

California, always seeking to be a trendsetter on environmental policy, is weighing a proposal to charge 25 cents for every paper or plastic bag distributed at grocery stores, pharmacies and convenience stores. The money raised would go into a state fund used to clean up trash and prevent litter related to what the bill calls “single-use” bags. The bill’s sponsor, Assemblywoman Julia Brownley, says 25 cents a bag is high enough to have a real impact on consumer behavior. The fee would be waived for some low-income Californians.

Looking for person from a hobby-sort of web site. Don't know her name here. Don't scream at me, I AM posting this in chat.