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Adventures in Sewing

1/13/2013

9 Comments

 
So I finally buckled down and took those two sewing classes I've been eyeing for the last several months.  While I'm certainly no seamstress guru, I'm not terrified of sewing my fingers together anymore.

The first class I took was back in October.  Me and another woman learned how to sew a pillowcase.  I still have no clue what basting means, but I was able to figure out where things needed to be placed in order to look "right" when the seams were finally stitched.  Good thing, too.  Our teacher was so busy working the front desk that the other woman and I were left to our own devices.  Ah well.  At least she taught us how to thread the machine!  I feel like that's half the battle right there!

Anyway, after the class I purchased extra fabric as "homework" for myself.  I wanted to make a matching pillowcase at a later date just to refresh me on how the machine works.  

Picture
My machine, fabrics and tools. I'm gonna make me a pillow case!
Unfortunately, I ended up neglecting to touch my sewing machine until December when I took the 2nd class with my friend, Faith.  Lucky for me I hadn't forgotten everything and was able to set my machine up out of the box again (woo hoo!).  

For our second class, we were instructed to make pajama bottoms.  These were a lot trickier than the basic pillowcase.  These things had patterns and everything.  Talk about intimidating!  In order to cancel out the intimidation factor, I chose the most ridiculous pattern I could get my hands on.  

I was glad to also have Faith there to keep things entertaining.  Neither one of us really had a clue, so we sorta winged it as the teacher - again - flitted back and forth between us and the front desk.  

It's okay, though.  Considering how condescending she was to Faith, myself and the other two women taking the class, I was happy to have her attention focused elsewhere.  We were able to manage well enough on our own, and she was there if our thread tangled, something wasn't working, or the directions didn't make sense.  

But boy oh boy.  It took us almost FOUR HOURS to make those gosh darn pants!   All of you wonderful women out there who know how to sew - GOD BLESS YOU!  I'm envious of your natural skill set. 

Picture
Picture
Oh yeah - those are puzzle pieces.  Thousands of multi-colored puzzle pieces.  Oddly enough, the pants didn't come out nearly as horrific as I thought they would.  Plus, now I can wear any color shirt I want (or any of John's that I can get my hands on) and they'll match!  

BOOM

But yeah, aside from style, these things sport an elastic waistband and zig-zag hems courtesy of my lack of finishing skills. Even though the teacher 'tsked' me, I say these were a success. 
I'm happy to report, however, that I did practice this weekend since it's been about a month since that December class.  I was able to successfully make a matching pillowcase with the fabric I purchased in November.  Even more exciting, I was able to fix one of my veils that had ripped last summer.  But the best part?  I figured out my machine.  I had been taught to incorrectly thread the bottom bobbin and it took several messed up attempts to finally figure out the problem.  

I had run into the same problem repeatedly at the sewing shop, but each time I was met with the same "solution."  I knew it was wrong (because my machine kept angrily spitting out thread), but I couldn't figure out why it was wrong.

So I spent a good fifteen minutes taking apart the bottom workings of my machine and tinkering around until I realized my thread was getting caught because I was loading it improperly.  Once I worked that out, it was smooth sailing.  I was so proud of myself!

That's one item slowly being marked off my "things I'm going to learn someday" list.  I've wanted to learn sewing for a long time now.  It took me about 3 years, but I feel like I'm finally on my way towards learning a skill that I can really utilize for myself and my family. Torn toys, here I come!
Picture
The finished pillow case.
9 Comments
Michelle @ Liturgical Time link
1/13/2013 05:26:19 pm

Yay!
The puzzle piece pattern is an autism awareness symbol. :)
The pants look great!

Reply
Gina
1/14/2013 01:34:28 am

I thought the same thing when I first saw the pattern, Michelle! :)

Reply
Nicole P.
1/14/2013 01:47:32 am

Hooray! I've been sewing steadily for a couple years now, and you've already done something I've been scared to take on- making clothes for myself! Sewing is definitely something that takes a lot of practice to get the hang of and even then, you'll still have moments where you feel like a beginner again. Let me know what you're interested in sewing, I have a number of blogs I follow that have great tutorials :)

Reply
Gina
1/14/2013 04:08:45 pm

Feel free to send those my way. Considering the stellar educational value I was getting from Teacher-of-the-Year, I'd appreciate reading from folks who actually care to share their knowledge of the craft.

<3

What sorts of stuff do you sew, Nicole?

Reply
Nicole P.
1/15/2013 02:01:01 pm

I stick with sewing for Eli or the house. For Christmas I sewed pj pants for Eli and her cousins and sewed up a baby blanket for my baby goddaughter. I also just made a tshirt quilt for Eli's toddler bed from my old tshirts and some old onesies for hers.

A couple of my favorite blogs are Shwin & Shwin- http://shwinandshwin.blogspot.com/?m=1 , Lil Blue Boo- http://www.lilblueboo.com/ , and Made- http://www.danamadeit.com/tutorials . Shwin & Shwin and Made have tutorials for boys and girls clothes, and Lil Blue Boo has tutorials for clothes and crafts. And for inspiration, I love to check out Project Run and Play. Bloggers go through a "Project Runway" competition, and the clothes they come up with are so cool- http://projectrunandplay.blogspot.com/?m=1

Elizbeth Korf link
1/14/2013 04:31:54 am

I think I'd have found a new teacher after the 1st class. Have you tried learning from Craftsy? http://www.craftsy.com They maybe aren't as great as having a teacher right there, but I have learned a lot from taking a few. They even have some free classes. That's a nice thing if you don't want to spend any money. The free classes are nice for beginners. The classes can help you to see if you even like taking online sewing classes and if you do Craftsy offers more complicated classes. Craftsy also offers classes in other things such as cake decorating, jewelry making and what not. I enjoy taking the classes. I love that you can go back and watch classes again, or stop the class to try the technique out yourself.

Reply
Gina
1/14/2013 04:10:39 pm

Thank you so much for the tip! I'd never heard of Craftsy, but I must've spent about a half hour cruising through their site this afternoon upon reading your suggestion. THANK YOU!

I'm so excited to try some of these things now. What a great idea! I like the fact that in their info sections, you're told flat out the particular skill sets you need before tackling the project. Plus, their patterns are really creative! Really - thank you so much!

Reply
Kathryn H.
1/16/2013 06:16:51 am

It's wonderful how much fun and satisfaction you get from learning something new you can do yourself, especially something you've been putting off. Please do write updates as you learn! :-)

Reply
TB
1/18/2013 06:20:10 am

This means you can now fix all of my hems that have come out:-)

Reply



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