Congratulations to Lola of “handmade by lola” and Fabiola C.!  You won last week’s giveaway of Martha Stewart’s Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts. Please e-mail your addresses to thecraftsdept@marthastewart.com and we will send some books your way.  Thanks!…

This month’s issue of Living features new easter egg dyeing projects in the story Design by the Dozen, which I worked on with Nick and Jeffrey Kurtz, an Art Director here at the magazine. ( in fact, the eggs featured above in this month’s blog header were made for this story.) Our idea was to …

If you’ve been following thecraftsdept.com, you’ve read about our new Fabric Crafts Encyclopedia which launches this Thursday.  You may even be attending Stitchfest, or following our live Twitter feed.   It’s all so exciting, we’re giving away the Singer Futura Embroidery and Sewing Machine!! This is a serious machine, for a serious crafter. We don’t even …

Can’t make it to NYC for Stitch Fest? You can still join in the fun by following our live Twitter feed direct from the event on Thursday, April 1! MSLO Crafts director Hannah Milman and other attendees will be live-tweeting and posting photos throughout the event from @CraftsDept. We’ll provide exclusive updates from behind the …

Our big Stitch Fest and book launch is just a few days away!  I’ve been flipping through our new Encyclopedia of Fabric and Sewing Crafts, and wanted to share one of my favorite techniques from it. Last November, getting ready for the Holiday Craft Sale season, I completely fell for fading and overdyeing fabrics.  The …

Passover starts tonight at sundown!  I host Seder for at least 20 guests each year, so I’m always looking for new ways to add some special touches.  Here are a couple of my favorite Passover crafts.  Click here for more information about these crafts, and other great Passover ideas and recipes.  Do you have any …

My favorite part of our Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Craft Book is the embroidery section. Embroidery has the ability of transforming a simple piece of fabric into something incredibly special. The tools and materials you need to get started are quite minimal and inexpensive. It is also a craft that can be done almost anywhere. …

I always get excited to decorate eggs at this time of year, but I can never decide what technique to use!  What techniques do you use?  Dyeing? Decoupage?  Embellishment?  Check out our Easter egg photo gallery for some fun ideas.  Last year I tried the origami eggs that were in Living several years ago.  My …