Indulge Your Inner Hippie and Learn to Tie Dye

Even if you're not a child of the 60s, you've probably had the pleasure of owning and wearing tie dye clothing. If you've ever been to an event with a craft fair, chances are that you've noticed those eye-catching booths full of colorful tie-dye clothing and home decor. You may even have marveled at how they manage to incorporate those intricate, vibrant designs onto a plain cotton T-shirt.

While intricate tie dying is truly an art, you and your family can have loads of fun at home making your own tie dye (or tye dye) creations. Hands down, the best way to learn how to tie-dye is through instructions demonstrated on a video or DVD. Seeing how it's done, as opposed to reading about it, makes all the difference in the world. Still, tie dye is a process of trial and error, so why not give it a whirl (or a swirl)?

It's All About the Fabric

When it comes to tie dye, the right fabric is critical. Natural fibers - like cotton or linen, pick up the dye well. If you stick with 100 percent cotton, you can't go wrong. To start with, why not pick up some inexpensive T-shirts at your local mass merchandiser? Get one for each family member, and make it a party! Remember, though, that you need to wash and dry the new garments before you start your tie dying party. Unwashed new fabric won't pick up the dye very well.

The Secret of Dyes

Actually, the dyes you use to tie-dye aren't a big secret. For cotton, you need to use a dye that will react well to the fabric, namely Procion MX, dissolved in a urea solution. You can make virtually every color imaginable with just three colors: yellow, turquoise, and fuchsia. But, before you start dying, you need to soak your fabric in soda ash. Tie dye artisans use a few other chemicals as well, which you can learn about on an instructional DVD or video.

The Beauty Of Stained Glass

Creating or purchasing a unique piece of stained glass can be the perfect addition to any part of your home. A great stained glass piece will add texture, color, and give all of your guests something to admire.

Stained glass is just what you would expect. Basically, stained glass is made of pieces of glass infused with shades of almost any color you can imagine. The pieces of glass are fused together to create stained glass pieces of many sizes and varieties. Sometimes small pieces of glass will come together and represent a scene of something recognizable like a tree, flower, or animal. Other finished works of stained glass will be a collage of colors that do not create anything we recognize.

If you are interested in learning more about stained glass and perhaps even in creating a finished piece or two of your own, the chances are high that you can find a class or a seminar in a town near you. While creating glass does take hard work and patience, you will be happy to learn that almost anyone can learn the skills necessary for making a beautiful work of stained glass. Check in your local newspaper or at a local art shop to see where you might find a stained glass class offered to the public. In a class you will be taught by an expert and able to play around with stained glass until you find a color scheme and pattern that is attractive to your eye. Consider a spot in your home that could used a little decoration and create stained glass that will match that area of your home.

How to master knitting instructions the easy way

I wanted to set out some basic knitting instructions as a refresher so here it is. All knitting instructions use basically two stitches, the knit stitch and the purl stitch. Once you know these two knitting essentials you will be able to follow most knitting instructions which are just combinations or variations of these two stitches.

Knitting Instructions for the Knit Stitch

Once you have cast on, hold the knitting needle with the cast on stitches in your left hand. Push the point of the right knitting needle in between the front of the first and second stitches, pointing the knitting needle to the right to feed the point through the first stitch keeping it under the left needle. The knitting yarn should be at the back of the work. Loop the knitting yarn around the right knitting needle from back to front, letting the knitting yarn rest between the needles. Catch the knitting yarn on the end on the right knitting needle and pull it through the first stitch to the front of the work. Slip the old stitch off the left needle. The new stitch is now on the right needle. Now you are getting the hang of the knitting instructions. It is a good idea to keep the knitting yarn draped over the right forefinger, this keeps it to the back of the work too. Repeat this process until all stitches are on the right knitting needle. Now count the stitches, if they are all there, turn the right knitting needle around and put it in the left hand. This is the first row from your knitting instructions. The knitting yarn will look like it is at the front and you will now take it to the back and start the second row of transferring stitches to the empty right needle.<