Sewing

Posts of category "Sewing"

All things sewing related.

Arctic Fleece – Fabric Tips

Arctic fleece is a knit fabric that stretches on the crossgrain. It sheds water, holds body heat, but allows for perspiration to escape. Fleece is comfortable and warm and survives years of abuse. It is suitable for sweatshirts, pull-on pants, short cropped jackets, and vests.

Fabric Tip: On high-loft (General term for a fiber structure containing more air than fiber. In general, higher loft retains more warmth) fabrics such as polyfleece, fake fur, and mohair, pattern weights are far more effective than pins in securing the pattern to the fabric.

03
May

I Can’t Find My Sewing Scissors Part III

by Janice Damm

Categories: Sewing

The little saga of the sewing room clean-up continues…….

I finished the job! Good news: I found my sewing scissors and even my embroidery scissors that I use for applique.

Sewing and Embroidery Scissors

I found them on the cutting table under all of the pieces of fabric, trim, and unfinished applique squares that I am eventually going to use in a pretty patchwork shower curtain.

The Unvarnished Reality

The problem with my sewing area is that not only do I sew there, I use the tables for shipping and photography so they tend, over time, to collect odds and ends. Are you like me and tend to clutter stuff? De-cluttering your work area is also a great way to free your mind of clutter, too. It also relieve some stress, believe it or not.

Here are pictures of how the room looks now.

De-cluttered Sewing Area

Cutting Table Clear

So, now I can think……. Think of what to do next. Do I finish the little projects I have started or do I want to begin anew? I think I will just toss my experiments (otherwise known as started projects) and start again. Of course, this doesn’t work with a major project you might have been working on and off for years. I have a quilt that I have been trying to complete for many years…..I will keep that and continue it but the others will go.

Now that you can think of a new project, here’s a place for ideas and kits – this one is a good one for step by step: Tara Rebman- Quilt-As-You-Go: Patchwork Bags. Craftsy is a great place to find a lot of ideas.

Now I have one less “worry” and can enjoy the beautiful prairie that I see when I look out the window.

25
Apr

I Lost My Sewing Scissors – Part II

by Janice Damm

Categories: Sewing

Tags: cleaning, organizing, sewing

I haven’t made in back to my little project as soon as I wanted. I have been busy with the website: got it all secure and ready to take credit cards. Getting a merchant account is a frustrating process that we might tackle later in a blog. I have run into a lot of integration and coding problems but it’s under control for now. A website is kinda like a child – it needs to be tended all of the time. A sick puppy doesn’t help, either.

We learned last time that I am a person that needs to fight continually against clutter. I allowed my sewing area to become cluttered and so, even though I want to sew, it is so cluttered that I can’t face it. Last time in Part I, I de-cluttered the area around my machines.

In Part II I made it to the cabinet. Progress! I picked this cabinet up at an auction for a song. It’s a nice functional cabinet with 4 good size drawers and the sewing table can be slid under the left side for a nice tidy look. But, the top hasn’t really been seen for awhile!

After

Before

Now, I am really beginning to believe I CAN get back to sewing. I wish I had the time, space, and money for this:

Dream Sewing Area

Can’t do it – the space I use right now will eventually be re-purposed into an apartment so I don’t want to put in anything permanent – even nails in the walls. That is why the thread organizers are sitting on top of the cabinet instead of hung on the walls. I think a peg board would be nice there, too, for various tools and such. But I have to use what I have.

Next on the list is the other little sewing area that is used by my mom when we get together and work on a project. Right now it looks like this:

The Awful Truth

I have got to find a place for that steamer that is always in my way just in case I need it, which I rarely do. Also – it needs a little light over there. But it’s already got the machines. There is a nice Pfaff embroidery machine and serger but you can’t use them now because of the clutter under the sewing desk and that ugly steamer!

So, the goal for this week is to clean and organize this area. That will be Part III. I am having better luck doing a little at a time rather than one overwhelming project. If you can’t face your sewing room/area, this trick might work for you, too!

I still haven’t found my sewing scissors! I am getting closer and closer…….

11
Apr

I Lost My Sewing Scissors – Part 1

by Janice Damm

Categories: Sewing

Are you a person that enjoys sewing? Do you ever wonder why you can’t find the time to sew even though you enjoy sewing: it relaxes and de-stresses, there is a sense of accomplishment, and it’s even practical (you might save a few dollars). It might be that you have the same problem I do. I struggle to find the time to sew with my busy life – I am in the process of building a website from scratch myself, I sell on eBay and Etsy, I have a husband and family, not to mention gardening, yard work and practicing the piano.

So far this year I am losing the struggle. I say to myself “alright, I will sew on Friday morning”. Then Friday rolls around, I look at my machines, and decide that something else has to get done. So, I don’t sew. And even if I tried at this moment, I wouldn’t be able to find my sewing scissors. Why do I put it off when I like it so much? Eureka! One of the reasons came to me this morning: my sewing area is a mess and I have unfinished projects that I feel like I should finish before I start on something new.

So, I guess I had better do something about it. This will be a series blogs about how I slowly, but surely, getting my space back into some kind of order. Today it’s just my sewing counter. I am not an obsessively organized person and I don’t have money to spend on all of the gadgets, shelving systems, etc. The cabinet I picked up cheap at an auction. Here is the way my area looks now. Bleh and yuck. Who wants to work here? Not me.

Messy Sewing Space

Hey! There’s a big 2 liter Coke bottle there. For a reason: it has distilled water in it for the steamer I hardly ever use that you can barely see on the left side of the picture, why is it in my way? I am not even showing the fabric table or the cutting table – yet. But I will as we progress……………

One of the things that was really bugging me is that little light-colored board on the sewing counter. The cabinet came without the built-in sewing machine so my husband made a cover to fit the hole. Another thing is all of the cords that get in my way while I am sewing. I have been meaning to do something about them for a very long time and now that time has arrived.

Cords Hanging in My way

Today I decided that I would do at least a little something toward getting my area back into a place I will want to go. I brought the little annoying board from the counter home and drilled a hole in it so the cords won’t hang down in front.

Drilling the Hole

Stained it with Watco (easy & quick) and now the table looks like this. Much better.

Sewing Table with no Cords in Front

Now I straightened the rest of this area. Not the shelves, not the tables, or anything else. The goal for the day was just to get this a little neaten-up, dusted, and slightly organized. We are talking a space about 6′ x 6′.

Back of Area

Side of Area

Sewing Area Front

So maybe this will motivate you to at least get started. Little by little so it doesn’t get overwhelming and put off for later. It took me about 20 minutes and now I can do the next step: Top of the cabinet.

But, I still can’t find my sewing scissors. Next time, maybe.