Posted on 2 Comments

Sewing Adventure

In June I purchased my first sewing machine! I did my homework and found a good machine on amazon.com.  The machine I purchased is  the Brother LB-6800.  It was a combo pack that came with a tote to store it!  I made sure to get a machine that has embroidery capabilities.  I figured embroidered items would be a great addition to my Etsy shop!  Both of my wonderful grandmas can sew and my great grandma was an amazing seamstress as well.  I wish that I would have taken it up more when I was younger, but I got frustrated easily and never really learned how to sew without the help of someone over my shoulder.  That being said, I have the “craft” gene and I should be able to catch on pretty easy.

When I graduated college, my Grandma Bloesser gave me an old machine of hers so I could make some curtains.  I got it home and couldn’t figure out how to thread the damn thing, broke a few bobbins and handed it off to a cousin because I had no idea what I was doing!  I wish I could go back to that day now, because with YouTube and Pinterest, there are so many great tutorials out there that would have helped me.  Keep in mind, I was not even on Facebook yet back then!  It is amazing how much technology has changed since then!  (I still have college papers on those old “floppy” disks!)

I found a Sewing 101 class at Joann’s and have officially completed my first class as of Tuesday this week!  I was surprised to get there and be the youngest one there.  I figured older ladies already knew how to sew!  Our instructor, Jeanette was a sweet lady that was very impressed that a woman my age was interested in learning to sew!  I felt bad though, because she had to stay an extra half hour after class to help me because I managed to break 2 needles and have a few other issues with my machine.  She was so patient and helpful!  I even signed up for her next class making a pair of Lazy Pants next month.

We talked about different terminology, parts of the machines, picking out fabric, using patterns, etc.  I made sure to ask questions when I had one.  We made a travel pillowcase with a jelly roll and a french seem.  I have to admit, I had a hard time understanding what a jelly roll was and why we were doing it, but once the project started going it was easier to get a visual.  My pillowcase was not perfect, but I learned so much in the class!

My travel sized pillow case.
My travel sized pillow case.

I wanted to write this post and share with you my sewing journey, as I plan on mastering it and sewing up some beautiful creations!  I found an amazing website on Pinterest that I wanted to share.  It has different worksheets to practice sewing a straight line, corners, turns, and curves.  I am working on my second set of worksheets today as I found them very helpful!  Check out the following link at Sew So Easy to print off your practice sheets today!

These worksheets helped me get started!
These worksheets helped me get started!
There are so many different stitches to work with.  They are a bit intimidating.  The worksheets encouraged me to play with the settings a bit.  It is a great way to get a visual of the different stitches.
There are so many different stitches to work with. They are a bit intimidating. The worksheets encouraged me to play with the settings a bit. It is a great way to get a visual of the different stitches.
Here is a close up of worksheet #3.  It practices corners and turns!
Here is a close up of worksheet #3. It practices corners and turns!

Screen Shot 2014-08-21 at 12.33.49 PM

 

2 thoughts on “Sewing Adventure

  1. So happy that you found my practice sheets useful. Your pillow case looks great. Thanks for linking back to So Sew Easy.

  2. Thank you for posting them! They were very helpful!

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.