have a sewing machine

[aprilconnett]

During my recent visit to my mother in PA, I returned with a sewing machine!! A couple of years ago, we helped her move from an 1800s farm house (two-story, basement and attic) into a one-bedroom apartment. She was telling me that she wanted to clean out her craft closet and send some of it home with me. I half-jokingly asked if she was going to let me have her sewing machine this time. She answered just like I expected. "Uh, no!!!" and we both laughed. The next morning I got up and she said she had thought about it all night and was going to send her sewing machine home with me. Her $400 sewing machine that she used to make motorcycle seats for her ex-husband! I just had to bring back all of her sewing material with me, too. What a hardship. ;) Now I have to re-learn how to sew. I was quite the seamstress in high school, but that was 14 years ago. Just wanted to share.

[Shamrock1121]

Lucky you!!! I bet you will really enjoy your new "toy". ;D

I once made most of my clothes and the kids clothes, but now the price of a spool of thread is more than the price of clothes at the thrift stores :o, not to mention the price of patterns and material. I keep my old sewing machine well-oiled for patching, altering, and home decorating now, and hit the thrift stores and garage sales for clothes.

-Karen

[aprilconnett]

I really want to make quilts. I also want to be able to alter my clothes if they are too long or when I lose weight. I can't afford to buy new clothes, and at my size it is usually difficult to find clothes that fit me in the thrift stores.

[GoodDaughter]

April, do you save your worn out clothes to use as patterns for making clothes? I have started doing this, and it is more work but so far I have done ok with it. I have an odd figure (wide shoulders and large bust, small, tapering waist and average size but full, curvy hips and rear, and long legs. Size 14 'upper' garments and size 12 'lower' garments, makes it hard to shop. My torso/waist is also somewhat short. If I can find clothes that fit across the shoulder and around the bust, they always have waistlines that fall too low and the ends of long sleeved garments hang down past the ends of my fingers or the shoulder seams are halfway down to my elbows, and I end up looking like a frump.

What I did was when I would find garments that were cut so that they fit me, when they would wear out beyond use I would take a seam ripper and carefully rip out all the seams and take the garment apart. Then iron flat and use it for a pattern for making new garments in the same kind of material (if the original garment is med. weight cotton like chambray, try to use the same weight/fiber material). It's a good way to spend a winter evening watching Christmas programs--get a few worn out garments and a seam ripper and start ripping.

[Shamrock1121]

I've taken classes at our County Extension Office where we learned how to alter a pants pattern for our body type. That made all the difference in well-fitting slacks and pants for me. You might check and see if they have any classes that you'd benefit from. They are usually free or very low cost.

I used to teach quilting classes, but it was all hand quilting and piecing - no machines. I took another class at the Extension Office where we made a Christmas Banner using a machine quilting technique that was quick and easy.

I've also done the rip-out-ready-made method. My only suggestion would to be keep the style simple.

I don't know if it's still available, but at one time you could go to Kansas State University and get a computer-generated muslin pattern made for your body-type. I had an elderly friend who did this because of osteoporosis and how difficult it was to alter things. She got patterns for a dress, pants, skirt, jacket, vest and blouse. She was a former high school Home Ec. teacher and she said it was worth every dime to have this done for her.

Back in the 80's there was a pattern and instructions for remaking men's suits into a lady's jacket and the pants were made into a skirt (if there were 2 pair of pants with the suit, you could also make a vest) in one of the lady's magazines (Woman's Day?) . This was a great way to get free suits, although it was a lot of work. Even if you purchased the suits from a thrift store you were still money ahead because of the better quality cloth in men's suits.

I worked for McCall's Pattern Co. when hubby was in college. From the price difference in patterns from then to now, I'd guess they are making more than $2.05 an hour ;).

-Karen

[Red_Diamond_Ranch]

Good for you. :)

There are some good bargains to be had on e-bay for sewing. Excellent place for needles (have over 1000 now) and parts. We have 16 sewing machines, most didn't work when we got them, they all work great now. Six granddaughters have theirs picked out. LOL If you have a favorite article of clothing, take it apart and use it for a pattern. Check the thrift stores for old sewing books, Singer 40's - 60's. :)

[aprilconnett]

I never thought of taking apart my favorite worn out clothes for a pattern. I don't know why. I buy cards and other items that I want to look at for a pattern to make a "craft."

I don't plan to make any difficult patterned quilts. Just plain old squares for me. I tried one with a friend, but it was too frustrating for me. I'm a simple gal.

I have always been a bad one to save old clothes for fabric. I use all kinds of fabric in my assorted "crafts." I even bought stuff at Goodwill on $1 day just to cut it up for the satin-like fabric and lace.

[GoodDaughter]

I am not good at quilting elaborate pieced quilts. I usually make patch quilts, 4 or 9 patch. Simple squares to cut out and piece ;) I try to pick really pretty fabrics and sometimes embroider the seams with fancy stitches when I am finished to make up for the simplicity in just using squares. And then there is the easiest, laziest quilt ever--the 'raggedy quilt'. They are really pretty, too.

[mungsurfers]

aprilconnett says: I don't plan to make any difficult patterned quilts. Just plain old squares for me. I tried one with a friend, but it was too frustrating for me. I'm a simple gal.

Quilting squares is very easy. I teach kids to sew and we are going to do a lap quilt for senior citizens this winter.
What you do is make a square pattern the size you want, cut however many peices of material you need.
*Sew them in strips, one square after another after another to however long you want it, just like ladder rungs. Sew about 1/4 to 1/2 in seam allowance and make sure they are as straight as possible.
*When you have the strips done, say 10 or so, then you sew those strips together lengthwise, again use the same seam allowance you used to do the strips to begin with and keep them straight.
*Then you sew together those strips you sewed together into larger strips. Staight on down the line. So eventually you will have double strips, quad strips, eight strips, until the blanket is done, all at the same seam allowance.
* I also iron the backside of all the edges flat, espicially when I sew the larger bands together, this helps the fabric to lay flat before you add batting.
* Then you cut your backing & batting the same size as your quilted top. You can quilt these together diagonally from corner to corner, or you can tie them.
*Then you can do two of either things, buy the quilting edging and sew that to dam up the raw edges, or you can sew your quilt inside out and pull it through and sew up your little hole you pulled it through, then tie it(of course with this method you can't quilt the top of the quilt with your sewing machine, you would need to tie it).

It's a pretty simple thing, I wish I could show pictures, maybe I will try to get some up so you can see it....

Mungsurfers<><