I have found that humor sells items faster then sentiment. Take for example the craft fair I attended last week. While waiting for customers, I embroidered two words on a baby bib and that baby bib sold right after I got the threads trimmed. Those two words were "cereal killer." It was a touch of humor.

Using humor on your business cards will also make you more memorable. Just a humorous tag line under your business name will fetch a smile and often a sale. Try funny sayings on t-shirts or qui...
Continue reading...

Are there any secrets for stitching out beautiful embroideries? I’m referring to those embroideries which do not have any puckers, where the top thread and the bobbin thread remain within their own parameters and where we are not testing the stitchouts time and again to achieve that sought after perfection.

The answer is YES, definitely YES. A design is nothing more than stitches. Our embroidery machine is the means to achieving that embroidery and that is where we need to be prepared before...
Continue reading...

Stuck with a hoard of unsold stock?  Selling things online is a great way to clear your desk of unsold articles.

Selling things on the Internet is not very difficult, and pretty safe if you play the game right. Many people have been selling things online for many years, and have experienced great success. Here’s the basic process for unloading your things online, boiled down to a few simple bullets:

   1. Decide how much money you want for your item (include postage and insurance)
   2. Put yo...
Continue reading...

Properly threading the sewing machine is the first step to having a machine that will sew correctly.

Whenever you are threading a sewing machine, one basic rule to every sewing machine is to thread the machine with the presser foot up.

When the presser foot is raised, the tension disks are disengaged. Being disengaged allows the thread to go in to the tension disks and seat properly.

If you try to thread the machine with the presser foot down, the tension disks are engaged or tight and will not ...
Continue reading...

Is your embroidery machine too tense, a little high-strung, always going off at the smallest thing? Or is it too laid back, lackadaisical and lazy about its job? Or is it on a nice even, steady-as-she-sews path?

If the top thread tension is off on your machine, your embroidery will never be right, no matter how diligent you are about changing needles, choosing thread, hooping and selecting only quality digitized designs. Your work will not be up to par if the top thread tension is out.

Here's h...
Continue reading...