Howcast
The best source for fun, free, and useful how-to videos and guides.
Aspiring animator? Learn a few fun animation techniques with these videos.
All you need are a few apples and some basic arts and crafts tools to tackle the fun and easy projects in this apple crafts video series from Howcast.
Learn circular knitting — also known as knitting in the round — from expert Jessica Kaufman in these Howcast videos.
Kids driving you crazy? Settle them down with the fun and easy art projects in this craft ideas for kids video series from Howcast.
Already know how to knit? Learn how to crochet with the crocheting lessons in this Howcast video series.
Learn how to use a digital camera and pick up some digital photography tips and techniques with these Howcast videos.
Take a crash course in digital photography from commercial photographer Dan Bracaglia with these Howcast videos.
Got a roll of duct tape? Then you’ve got hours of arts and crafts fun ahead of you with the duct tape crafts in this Howcast video series.
Get ready to celebrate Easter with this Howcast video series on how to decorate Easter eggs, make bunny ears, and pull together other Easter crafts.
All you need is a needle, thread, some fabric, and these step by step instructions to start sewing.
Increase your flower power with the easy flower crafts in this Howcast video series.
Learn about glassblowing from pros Todd Hansen and Ed Donovan in these Howcast videos.
Into arts and crafts? Check out the great craft ideas in this Howcast video series.
Makeup artist Kenneth Llambelis helps you create classic Halloween characters with the step-by-step instructions in these Howcast makeup tutorials.
Make sure Dad has a very happy Father’s Day with the ideas in this Howcast video series.
Make floral arrangements that rival those of a professional florist with help from this Howcast video series on flower arranging.
Pick up tips about how to become a professional artist in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to crochet with these Howcast tutorials featuring Andrea Lemire of Lion Brand Yarn Studio.
Learn how to paint a picture or design on someone’s face with the step-by-step instructions in these Howcast videos.
Pick up some great graffiti tips, tricks, and techniques from master tagger Paes 164 in these Howcast videos.
Check out the no-sew ways to make a blanket, scarf, tutu and more from crafty Jennifer Wiese in these Howcast videos.
Master the ancient art of Japanese paper folding with the step-by-step instructions in these tutorials.
Learn how to make fake cuts, blood, and other gore from special effects makeup artist Ciara Rose Griffin in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to do stop motion animation courtesy of Joe Vena of NYC’s Children’s Museum of the Arts in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to draw dogs, cats, leaves, flowers, fruit, grass, people, water, and much more from artist Rebecca Schweiger in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to sketch and illustrate with these video tutorials, which will have you drawing celebrities like Katy Perry and Justin Bieber in no time.
From figures and croquis to specs and clothing, learn to draw fashion sketches from fashion designer Garo Sparo in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to draw with the drawing lessons in this Howcast video series.
Budding graffiti artists and experienced taggers alike can learn something about how to tag from master tagger Paes 164 in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to draw manga with the step-by-step instructions from artist Chris Hart in these Howcast art tutorials.
Learn how to do all kinds of knitting stitches with the step-by-step instructions in these knitting tutorials from Howcast.
Learn how to make balloon animals from magician Jonas Cain in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to make friendship bracelets from The Lanyard Ladies in these Howcast videos.
Put together a great Halloween costume with the ideas in this Howcast video series.
Whether you want to scare trick-or-treaters or entertain them, there’s an idea for you in this frightfully good video series.
Learn how to make jewelry from custom jeweler and sculptor Courtney Gray in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to make children’s musical instruments out of stuff you have around the house from the founders of Music Moves Me in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to make origami with these tutorials, which show you how to make an easy origami rose, star, heart, bird, frog, butterfly, and much more.
Learn how to make homemade pop-up cards and crafts with the step-by-step instructions in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to make Rainbow Loom bracelets from The Lanyard Ladies in these Howcast videos.
Making your own soap is inexpensive, easy-to-do, and can be the perfect DIY gift for friends and family.
Let acrylic painting teacher Linda Rhea show you how to paint foliage, landscapes, seascapes, and much more in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to scrapbook with the ideas and techniques demonstrated by expert Carla Sylvester in these scrapbooking tutorials from Howcast.
Learn how to sew from expert seamstress Cynthia Mann in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to take better pictures with these Howcast photography tutorials featuring professional photographer Luke Ballard.
Learn how to take great portraits from professional photographer Joe Sinnott in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to tie dye with the tips, tricks, and techniques demonstrated in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to tie knots with the classic knot tying techniques demonstrated in these Howcast videos.
Do you like velvet Elvis paintings and don’t get abstract art? Then you need this Howcast video series on art appreciation.
Learn how to sew using a sewing machine from designer Jennifer Wiese in these Howcast videos.
Learn how to gift wrap a present like a pro with the tutorials in this Howcast video series.
Grab your needles and yarn and get ready to knit baby gifts, blankets, hats, scarves, and more.
Bring out your inner artist with these painting tips and techniques.
Learn how to make your own jewelry with the jewelry-making techniques demonstrated in these Howcast videos.
For film aficionados and cinema enthusiasts alike.
Transform boring sheets of paper into simple and fun craft projects.
Capture your subject in the best light with these photography tips that cover everything from nature and still-life photography to fashion photography.
Once you get the hang of quilting with these videos, you’ll never buy another blanket again.
Scrapbooking is a fun hobby anyone can get into, even if you don’t consider yourself particularly crafty. So grab some photos and card stock and prepare to scrap!
Learn how to thread a needle more easily and other neat tricks with these Howcast videos.
Learn studio photography tips and tricks from professional photographer Chris Ryan in these Howcast videos.
Transcript So now I will show you how to bind off in the round. I am gonna be starting just from this kind of arbitrary point because I am not really knitting a parent here that has start and stop. This just a lining to the hat I am making so lets say this is, …
Transcript So I’m going to show you a great ribbing that’s easy to knit in the round. It’s Two by Two, so that’s knit two, pearl two. Here’s an example of knit two, pearl two. It’s at the top and the bottom of this really simple headband pattern that is available on my website. It’s …
Transcript So I’m going to show you how to do One By One Ribbing in the Round. That means knit one, pearl one, knit one, pearl one. Here’s an example of what one by one ribbing looks like. This is the bottom of my Arrowmont mitten pattern which is for sale on my website. And …
Transcript So you may know that in order to get stockinette in the round, you just knit and knit and knit and that’s what comes out. So in order to get reverse stockinette what you would have to do is pearl every round. Now, there’s nothing wrong with the pearl stitch. It’s not inherently harder …
Transcript So when you knit on straight needles, if you want to get a nice, smooth stockinette fabric, you have to knit on the front side and then pearl on the wrong side of the fabric in order to get stockinette. But in circular needles, you only have to knit around and around and around. …
Transcript All right. I’m going to explain to you how to knit garter stitch in the round. So this is one area where circular needles are… require a little bit more thinking from you than do straight needles. You know that most of the time working on circular needles is much easier because if you …
Transcript So there’s this really cool method of knitting in the round, where you use two different circular needles. I love this method. It’s how I first learned to knit socks, and I’m very fond of it. Some people think it’s simpler than Magic Lube. Some people don’t. But it’s great for knitting any diameter. …
Transcript So now I get to show you how to knit with a long circular needle which is called popularly the Magic Loop method. This is my magic loop here. These are my long, these are 40 inch long circulars, and I’m going to show you on a sock which means they’re going to be …
Transcript So, I’m going to show you how to work with a circular needle using the traditional method. Of course traditional means different things depending on what part of the world you are from. For example in some parts of the British Isles traditional circular knitting was done on really long double points, I’m not …
Transcript All right. I’m going to show you how to cast on for circular knitting. What you need is the yarn you’re going to use for your project and the circular needle that you’ve chosen to work with your project. So, I’m going to be doing the long tail cast on. You can feel free …
Transcript In this video I’m going to show you what you need to know to be able to knit in the round on double pointed needles. Now a lot of people feel really intimidated by projects on double pointed needles because there is a lot going on here. There’s all these points. There’s all these …
Transcript So I’m going to show you how to join a new ball of yarn while you’re knitting in the round. There’s a couple different methods for doing this. Everyone’s got their own ways that they prefer, but I’ll show you the way that I always use that yields me great results. So I’m going …
Transcript So, it is so easy to knit on circular needles. You’ll wonder why you haven’t been doing it yet. It’s actually, I think, much easier than knitting flat on straight needles where you have to think about a right side and a wrong side, and if you want stockinette you have to knit on …
Transcript So how do you know what kind of circular needle to use for your project? Well, there’s two main ways to think about this, and one is to think about the size of the project that you’re knitting, and the size of the yarn that you’re using. So your yarn is a great place …
Transcript So I’m going to explain to you the difference between knitting in the round on circular needles and knitting in the round on double pointed needles. This is a point of some debate between knitters because there’s a lot of preferences and opinions out there so I’ll just give you an overview of some …
Transcript Hi, I’m Jessica, and I’m going to show you a little bit about circular knitting. First of all, the difference between circular knitting and flat knitting is that in circular knitting, you’re knitting around and around and around, and you’re never stopping to turn and go back and work the wrong side like you …
Transcript Hi, I’m Joe. I teach at the School of Visual Arts in New York. I’ve been teaching here in the photography department for 22 years. I’m also the staff photographer for a public media company here in New York. I’ve got the greatest job in the world. I take beautiful pictures for money. I …
Transcript Hi, I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. I want to talk a little bit about how you control exposure. You control exposure in your camera three ways, f-stop, shutter speed, and ISO. F-stop is how big is my hole. Shutter speed is how long is my …
Transcript Hi, I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. I’m going to talk a little bit about choosing a camera for taking portraits. I have a point and shoot camera. I like it lot. It’s a ton of fun. It’s not a great choice for shooting portraits because …
Transcript Hi, I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. I’m going to talk to you a little bit about choosing a good portrait lens. The normal lens for your camera, whatever is the normal focal length, the focal length that shows things in a size perspective that’s approximate …
Transcript Hi, I’m Joe. I teach photography at the Visual School of Photography in New York. We’re going to talk about shooting portraits at night. The way I usually do this is to use a flash and whatever the ambient light is, whatever is there when you show up. The street lights, whatever they happen …
Transcript Hi, I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. Today, we’re going to talk about photographing somebody against the sunset. The problem with photographing somebody against the setting sun is that all of the very, very bright light is coming from behind them which makes this side of …
Transcript Hi, I’m Joe. I teach photography at the school of visual arts in New York. Today, we’re going to talk about how to deal with a back lit subject. The problem with a back lit subject is that all of your light is coming from behind which makes this side of your subject a …
Transcript Hi, I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. If you’re going to shoot a selfie, don’t use a big camera like this. You’re asking to use it as a gravity checker if you try to hold it up in the air with one hand like that. Even …
Transcript Speaker 1: I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. We’re going to try to pose a family picture with a pet. The trick to photographing with a pet. Try and get them in the morning. Keep a grip on the animal so that the animal doesn’t go …
Transcript Hi, I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts. Today we’re going to do an indoor family portrait. I set up very, very simple lighting here. I used relatively inexpensive battery powered flash units bouncing off of umbrellas to keep the lights soft and very diffuse. Although you could use very …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts. We’re going to talk about photographing groups and families. Have everybody dress nice. Lose the tee-shirts with the writing and the logos on them. Tee-shirts that have a lot of writing on them, people are going to read the writing instead of looking …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. I’m going to talk about dramatic portrait lighting techniques. The first one you’ll look at right here is called loop lighting and it’s known for the sort of loop shaped shadow that it creates underneath the nose. It’s a relatively …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. I’m going to show you how to use an umbrella to shoot a portrait. As you can see, I’m using this strong tungsten light over here. Inexpensive. Very, very easy to get. It makes a very, very harsh light, and …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. This is a cheap, do it yourself, studio lighting set up. The lights are simple clamp reflector lights. You can find these online. You can find them in pet stores. I like the ones with the ceramic bases because you’re …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at School of Visual Arts in New York. This is basic lighting for portraits. This is a very simple thing that pretty much anybody can do if you’ve got any kind of an off-camera flash at all. You want one that’s got that action going on. You’ve probably seen …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. These are some window light portrait tips. A window is probably the best and easiest light source you can use in your home. Don’t use the window when the sun is shining right into it. Make sure the sun is …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. These are a few environmental portrait ideas. You can actually make a good environmental portrait almost anywhere. Don’t make the mistake of looking for an interesting background. An interesting background doesn’t help you, your subject is what’s interesting. Let the …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach at the School of Visual Arts in New York. This is some tips for helping people look better in pictures. Have them show up groomed. Have them show up wearing nice clothes. People look better when they’re dressed up a little bit. They don’t have to wear an evening gown …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. These are a few good portrait photography tips. One. Cameras like this, they kind of want to force your hands into holding them horizontally. People aren’t horizontal, they’re vertical. Don’t be afraid to turn the camera sideways and take vertical …
Transcript My name is Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. We’re going to talk about some couple photography tips. Don’t try and pose your couples side by side. It makes the frame really wide and makes them look kind of disconnected. Put one person a little bit in …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach at the School of Visual Arts in New York City. These are a few tips for posing outdoor portraits. I usually try to keep people in the shade. Nice soft, even, diffuse light is much more flattering than direct sunlight. I usually try to have people standing as much as …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. These are a few outdoor location ideas. Almost anything works as an outdoor location if you let the background go out of focus. Use an F-stop of 5, 6-ish or so, so that you have enough depth of field for …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. I’m going to talk about lighting for outdoor portraits. Keep your subjects out of direct sunlight. Direct sunlight on people’s faces creates big, deep shadows and makes everything that could possibly be wrong with them show up ten times worse. …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. We’re going to talk about a couple of great portrait tips. Shade is better than direct sunlight. Direct sunlight is harsh. It makes people squint. It creates deep shadows in their eyes and big shadows across their face from their …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach at the School of Visual Arts in New York. We’re going to talk about portrait photography ideas. First, things not to do. Show up wearing something nice. You don’t have to show up in a tuxedo and an evening gown but it’s better to stay away from your ripped clothes …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach photography at the School of Visual Arts in New York. We’re going to talk about posing techniques for women. First the things that you shouldn’t do. Show up with your hair nice and not puffed up all over the place. If you can get out on a cool day with …
Transcript I’m Joe. I teach at the School of Visual Arts in New York. I want to talk about posing techniques for men. Start by talking about posing techniques that are bad for men. Folding your arms. Especially folding your arms with a tilt. Roll your left shoulder back just a tiny bit. Turn your …
Transcript Hi, I’m Colleen from The Lanyard Ladies, and in order to make a friendship bracelet, the first knot you need to know how to do is the forward knot. So the first thing we need to do is to take our string, we put a knot in the to of the string, and then …
Transcript Heidi Cohen: Hi, I’m Heidi. Colleen Demas: And I’m Colleen. And we are the Lanyard Ladies. We do friendship bracelet and lanyard birthday parties, and all special events. Heidi: We’ve taken an old craft, and we’ve re-invented it. We teach children how to make friendship bracelets and lanyard bracelets. We teach all different patterns …
Transcript I’m going to show you how to read the pattern for this diamond friendship bracelet. It uses 12 strings, folded over at the top, and separated out according to the color pattern that they show you on the actual pattern. So it’s a white, it’s a pink, it’s a green and a red, and …
Transcript Hi, I’m Colleen form the Lanyard Ladies, and I’m going to share with you today the top six supplies that you need to make a friendship bracelet. The first would be the embroidery floss. This is the main ingredient. First you have to open up the skein, and you have to find the end. …
Transcript Hi, I’m Colleen from the Lanyard Ladies, and today I’m going to show you how to make a lanyard person. The lanyard person is made in steps. The first step is going to be to make the arms. The arms, you will need two sets, four pieces of lanyard about 15 inches long, and …
Transcript Hi, I’m Heidi from the Lanyard Ladies, and today I’m going to show you how to make a triple single rainbow loom bracelet. And this is what it looks like when it’s done. So let’s get started. You’re going to need your rubber bands and your hook and your rainbow loom. You’re going to …
Transcript Hi, I’m Heidi from The Lanyard Ladies, and today I’m going to show you how to make a single rainbow loom bracelet. What you’ll need is your rainbow loom, and different variety of colors of rubber bands, and you’ll need your hook. You start off, make sure that the red arrow is facing away …
Transcript Hi, I’m Colleen from The Lanyard Ladies, and today I’m going to show you how to do the zipper stitch with lanyard. You will need three pieces of lanyard, and we could tie a knot at the top. The color that you’re zipping with, you probably should cut a little bit longer because you …
Transcript Hi. I’m Colleen from the Lanyard Ladies, and today I’m going to show you how to make a spiral stitch with lanyard. I find this to be one of the most difficult stitches. So you’re going to need two pieces of lanyard, probably 20 inches in length. You’re going to take one of the …
Transcript Hi, I’m Colleen from The Lanyard Ladies, and today I’m going to show you how to do the multibox pattern. You’ll need four pieces of lanyard, about 40 inches, and you’re going to fold them in half and find the centers. One of the strings you want to turn sideways and place it underneath …
Transcript Hi, I’m Colleen from The Lanyard Ladies and today I’m going to show you how to do the barrel stitch. I’ve done a few stitches already so it’s easier for me to show you how to do it. So we’re going to be looping with the blue and you’re going to take your blue. …
Transcript Hi. I’m Colleen from The Lanyard Ladies and I’m going to show you today how to make a box pattern with lanyard. I’ve already done some so it’s easier for me to teach you how to do it, so I can hold on to something. So you’re going to start with your yellow or …
Transcript Hi, I’m Heidi from The Lanyard Ladies, and today I’ll be showing you how to make a king cobra out of lanyard. So in order to make your king cobra, you would have to start off by making your cobra stitch. You need to make it approximately two or three inches down, so you …
Transcript Hi, I’m Heide from The Lanyard Ladies. Today I’m going to show you how to make a twisted cobra lanyard. You’re going to need two pieces of plastic lacing of your lanyard, and about 60 inches in length. Take your lanyard, and you’re going to fold it in half evenly at the ends. Take …
Transcript Hi, I’m Heidi from The Lanyard Ladies, and today I’ll be showing you how to make a cobra stitch out of Lanyard. You’re going to need two pieces of lanyard, approximately 60 inches in length. You’re going to take your lanyard, and you’re going to fold it over. You’re going to take a key …
Transcript Hi, I’m Heidi from The Lanyard Ladies and today I’ll be showing you how to make the butterfly stitch out of lanyard. You’re going to need two pieces of lanyard, two different colors that are about 30 inches in length. You’re going to take the two pieces and you’re going to start off by …
Transcript Hi. I’m Heidi from the Lanyard Ladies, and today I’m going to show you how to make a tunnel out of lanyard. You’re going to need three colors and one clear. The clear is going to go on the outside. The clear needs to be 60 inches long, and your colored lanyard needs to …
Transcript Hi, I’m Heide form The Lanyard Ladies, and today I’m going to show you how to make Chinese Staircase out of lanyard. So the materials that you’ll need today, you can use a clipboard to help you, if it will make things easier, or you can hold it in your hand to make it. …
Transcript Hi, I’m Heidi from the Lanyard Ladies and I’ll be showing you how to add beads to a friendship bracelet. This is what your bracelet will look like when you’re done. We’re doing to need some beads, some rattail cord, and some embroidery floss. Two different colors of embroidery floss. We’re going to need …
Transcript Hi, I’m Colleen from the Ladies and I’m going to teach you how to make a Cobra friendship bracelet. First thing we need is a 30 inch piece of rat tail cord folded in half. Rat tail cord can be purchased at any local craft store. Then we’ll need two pieces of embroidery floss. …
Transcript Hi, I’m Heidi from The Lanyard Ladies and today I’m going to be showing you how to make a double snake friendship bracelet. A double snake friendship bracelet is similar to a regular snake we’re just going to double it in size, which makes it look even cooler. The materials you’re going to need …
