Handicraft

Old soft toys can be given a new lease of life by turning them into bookends for children’s rooms. Open a seam, fill with pebbles or sand to add the weight, then re-stitch.

Wear an oven mitt to stroke air out of adhesive paper when covering school books. It makes a tricky job much easier.

Occupy children on a rainy day by having them cut out large coloured letters from headings in magazines. When new schoolbooks need covering, glue the letters onto plain covers to form their name, grade and subject in an individual and easily recognised way.

Keep children’s paintings in a large, two-ring binder when you run out of space on the fridge. Name and on them as they get older.

Children's jeans and pants that are too long can be turned up to the correct length and the hems held in place with press-studs. These can easily be undone when washing the garment and removed when...

To ensure your thread glides through the fabric when working quilting stitches, first run the needle and thread through a piece of beeswax. The beeswax will lightly coat the thread to ensure that...

Household items such as empty milk and drink cartons and left over pieces of plumbing pipe make excellent candle moulds. Make sure one end is securely closed so that no molten wax escapes when it is...

Beeswax sheets stick to themselves so, when making rolled beeswax candles, use cookie cutters to make decorative shapes, then press them to the surface of your...

Stitch old shoulder pads to both ends of fabric-covered coat-hangers to help your jackets and dresses hang beautifully and keep in good...

Make use of the wonderful range of fancy stitches featured on many sewing machines by stitching onto paper and envelope flaps to create your own personalised...