Gifts for (Aspiring) Sewists - The Machine

I was planning on waiting until after Thanksgiving to start our Gifts for Sewists posts, but I've had a lot of inquiries about machines in the past week, so we're bumping this one up!

The links below are Amazon Affiliate Links, but every item I recommend is because I wholeheartedly believe it's worth your money. I won't ever recommend something that I haven't personally tried out or own. I'm not compensated in any way by the makers of these products, just a sewing nerd that wants everyone to have good stuff!

So first up... THE MACHINE.

Machines are pretty personal and experienced sewists have major brand loyalty. I've always sewn on a Singer and think they are fantastic machines. At our classes and parties I exclusively use the Singer Heavy Duty and I recommend it for any beginner sewist.

Why I love it:

• It's durable. We schlep these ladies from class to party to my house and back to classes all the time. They stand up beautifully. You may not be moving yours around that much, but it's good to have a machine that won't get all finicky on you as you learn.
• It's basic. There aren't a lot of bells and whistles to this machine. It's mechanical so there's no computer to break which means the repair costs, if and when you need them, will be significantly less.
•  It's has all the necessary stitches: straight stitch, stretch stitches (good for sewing garments), decorative stitches and a 4 step buttonholer. 
• It's heavy duty. This kind of goes along with durable, but it also means that when you're testing it's limits and shoving multiple layers of canvas through it-- it will hold up. I want new sewists to be adventurous and creative and not worry too much about what their machine can handle. This machine can handle it. (I tried sewing a couple of layers of leather... THAT it didn't like, but that's the extent of it). 
• It's great for all ages. We have kids and adults sew on these machines. It's tempting to by ones that are marketed to kids, but they aren't always a high quality and this is a machine they will have for years. 

 Now.. HOW TO USE IT!

Once you get the machine, you need to learn how to use it-- Big surprise! We can help with that too!

Starting in the New Year we're going to have monthly Machine 101 classes for both Adults (13+) and Kids (8+). This 2-2.5 hour class will give you everything you need to get your machine up and running.

Here's an overview of what we'll cover:

• The anatomy of a machine and what each part does.
• How to select a needle, thread, and fabric.
• How to wind a bobbin and thread your machine.
• How to adjust tension, stitch selection, stitch length and stitch width.
• Basic troubleshooting.
• How to change a needle and presser foot.
• Finish up by practicing your new skills with a starter project. For kids it will be the pillows below and for adults, the drawstring bags shown in the machine photo above!

 Taking our Machine 101 class also allows you to take our other class offerings (and we're going to have a lot in the New Year!). Of course you can take them without the 101 class, but you'll need to have equivalent experience.

So... WHERE DO I GET ALL THIS GOOD STUFF?

By the first week of December we're aiming to have a brand new website open with DIRECT REGISTRATION! It's going to be so easy for you to see all of our classes and easily register for the one you want. If you're not already on our mailing list, please consider signing up HERE and you'll be notified as soon as registration is open (and about other fun happenings).


For the machine, please consider purchasing using the link below (again, the Affiliate thing). If you plan on transporting your machine anywhere (say, to a Machine 101 class) then I also suggest you purchase a carrying case. They're basic, but again very sturdy, and the ones we use for the class machines.

 
   

And... WHAT ABOUT EVERYTHING ELSE?

Of course you need some more than a machine! There are some seriously great tools and books out there and I'll be covering all of them in upcoming posts.  

If you have any questions at all about these or our classes, please send me an email at hartfordstitch {at}gmail {dot}com and I'd be happy to help!

Happy Stitching!
Laura 

November's Simple Sewing: Thanksgiving Napkins

Sometimes you just need a really simple project with big impact. A project that doesn't require a ton of measurements or fiddly seams or checking directions 100 times. These napkins are it for this month. I'm not going to say they're quick because I made a dozen and that took awhile, but they are simple-- and 4 wouldn't take long to make at all!

So why did I need this simple project? I get to host Friendsgiving this year!! See my happy dance?? For the past few years Sara has hosted a Thanksgiving feast for our friends-- and when I say host, I mean HOST. She cooks the entire meal and I sneak in a cheesecake at the end. Due to scheduling issues this year I get to take over and I'm psyched and obviously needed new napkins.

12 napkins required a yard of 6 different fabrics. These are about 16" square. I went to my favorite discount fabric store, Affordable Fabrics in Rocky Hill (only $2.99 a yard!), to stock up. They still had some of these great shot cottons in stocks and a nice selection of looser weave plaids so I picked up 3 colors of the plaid and 3 colors of the shot. Plaids aren't usually  my thing but they kind of screamed "Thanksgiving" so they had to come home with me.

I won't provide a tutorial, because Purl Soho, per usual, has created a wonderful one with their Running Stitch Napkins. The only thing I did differently was to serge the two sides together. The loose weave of both of these fabrics means a lot of fraying in the wash so this should help a little.

 

My original plan was to do a running stitch with gold embroidery thread, but time is running out so I settled with a copper metallic thread in my machine. It's not the same impact, but makes the napkin a little fancy.

 

Now to start defrosting that 20lb turkey... (the salted caramel cheesecake with smoked almond crust is already done!)

 

A Little Halloween Sewing

(Warning: Blogspot is getting antsy over any attempt I have at formatting today-- so I apologize in advance for screwiness!)

Woo hoo! Halloween is over! Am I the only one who feels that way? I don't know why, but Halloween just isn't my favorite holiday. I love how excited the kids get. I love sewing their costumes. I loved the little parade at my son's preschool, but that's the extent of it. Halloween decorations aren't my jam and there's only so much candy I can stuff myself with these days. 

But like I said, I do LOVE sewing the costumes. Usually I start in August so there's no mad rush in October-- especially since I should be well on to Christmas sewing by now. But at 3.5 years old, my son has adopted the spirit of Halloween and realized all the costume options out there so nailing one down was rough.

We spent a good month arguing whether or not he could be Batman. I wanted just one more year where the costume wasn't a "Character". So we struck a deal that next year he could be any character he wanted if this year he chose something else. He chose a scarecrow for him and a crow his little sister (win one for Mom).

I have a tendency to go bigger than necessary, so I thought I'd give myself a break this year and buy the shirt and overalls from a consignment store. My 3.5 year old wears 5T and apparently it's impossible to find overalls in that size. I had some canvas duck left over from a different project and a pajama pant pattern in his size so I ended up making some simple overalls. 

I planned on buying a straw hat, but he was very specific that a scarecrow has a pointy hat that's falling over. So there you go. 

And the hay. My original attempt didn't give him nearly enough hay to his liking, so back to the sewing machine to add more felt. 

The crow was a little more straightforward. I had some black jersey in my stash so I whipped up a pair of a leggings and found a black long sleeve shirt at a consignment store. The feathers are felt sewn on to a felt backing and attached at the sleeves and back of the neck (later removed so the shirt could still be worn). The feather tutu wasn't a big hit and I didn't even bother with a headpiece since I knew it wouldn't stay on.

She got the feel of things towards the end and would "fly" around by request.

This was the first year that my son really got into Trick-or-treating and the idea of candy. I thought it only fitting to whip up some trick or treat bags.

When my son was an infant I printed this fabric to make a play mat and then got distracted and it's been up in my studio ever since. This seemed like a perfect application for the pattern. I cut out basic 10" x 13" rectangles and the kids helped with all the sewing.

As no good deed goes unpunished, they spent most of the time fighting over who's turn it was to sit on my lap in the chair, but they really did an excellent job! Obviously all the sewing was hand over hand, but they have mastered the presser foot lever, reverse button and hand wheel! My son calls it his "sewing classes" and told me he's ready to join me teaching my other classes.

How was your Halloween? Any handmade costumes out there? We'd love to see them!