Sew Fun

Ask Sewfie... advice for the sewing obsessed, because you know you need help. E-mail "Ask Sewfie" today!

Dear Sewfie,

I just found out from my mom that my sister is expecting her first baby. I’m so excited I could just squeak. Mom wasn’t supposed to tell anyone but obviously she is really bad at keeping secrets. My sister doesn’t want to announce her pregnancy until her first trimester is over but I can’t wait until then! I’m itching to get started sewing for my little niece or nephew. Would it be bad luck to start a quilt for the baby before any formal announcements are made?

- Eager Auntie-to-Be

Dear Auntie,

Sewing a quilt for someone is an act of love: you think of them as you chose the fabrics, arrange the blocks and stitch all the pieces together. Emitting such positive energy into your sister’s world could never be bad luck! However, for the sake of covering for Grandma Leaky-Bucket, you should probably avoid asking your sister if she prefers pink or blue!

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Ask Sewfie... advice for the sewing obsessed, because you know you need help. E-mail "Ask Sewfie" today!

Hi,

I have been away from sewing for awhile. All of my thread has been hanging on my walls on the thread holders.
Does thread get old? It has been there for several years…Will it harm my machine? Also what is the best thread to use for sewing baby knit’s? I am a new grandma to twin boy’s, sewing lots of outfits for them.

Thanks much,
Jill

Dear Jill,

I’m delighted to hear you will be dusting off those spools and returning to sewing!

Old thread will not harm your machine, but age may make it too brittle to be useful for your sewing projects. To test if the thread is still viable, unroll about 12” from the spool, grasp the ends firmly and give it a quick tug. If it breaks easily, it’s too old. If you are not sure “how easy is easily”, then compare to some recently bought thread. In general, thread does last a long time – as in years. If it’s more than a decade old, it’s probably getting too old. But if it’s just 5 years or so, I’m sure it’s still good. It also depend on the type of thread. Cotton will deteriorate faster than polyester. I’m pretty sure I still have polyester thread in my sewing basket from high school, oh magenta…. how I loved thee.

As for the best thread to use for sewing baby knits, you’ll most certainly want to use polyester or nylon threads and avoid cottons. Cotton doesn’t have the stretchiness that the synthetic fibers have. Additionally, if you are sewing on a conventional machine – as opposed to an overlock or serger which is specially designed for sewing knits – you can increase the stretchiness of your seams by dialing up a slight zig-zag stitch. This will give the seam a bit more stretch for those wiggly, growing little boys.

For best results in sewing knits on a conventional machine, be sure not to stretch the fabric while sewing, or else you end up with a scalloped looking seam. You can also lighten up on the pressure foot tension to get less stretching and puckering of the seams. Finally, I have found a walking foot (often used in quilting), to be helpful when sewing knits, especially in sewing across the grain. The “hopping” motion of the foot helps to eliminate stretching.

Enjoy sewing for those little ones and be sure to get started right away… they grow so fast!

Friends, do you have any other suggestions for sewing with knits? Please leave a comment below!

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Ask Sewfie... advice for the sewing obsessed, because you know you need help. E-mail "Ask Sewfie" today!

Dear Sewfie,

I’m thinking of putting my sewing machine back into storage. Although I really love sewing, I live in an small apartment and with two young children, I have no time or space for it. What do you think?

-Xina

Dear Xina,

No! Storage is no place for a sewing machine! Contrary to popular belief, you don’t need alot of time or space to enjoy sewing as a hobby. Instead of thinking you need a block of 5 hours to execute a sewing project (which, as a busy mom, you will never have… but you already knew that) all you really need is a small corner to set up your machine and little blocks of time here and there. I call it “micro-sewing”. Here’s how it works:

Set up your machine in a corner of your home that is near where all the action is. You’ll want an area that the kids are usually in or nearby, this way you can keep an eye on them while you work. You know that little wierd section of countertop by the fridge where the mail collects? That is perfect. Or a small writing desk in the corner of the family room will do just fine. Put all your sharp baby-hurting things in a storage container with a snap top. Keep that up on a shelf or in a closet nearby. Cover your machine with a hard case or a soft quilted cover. If the kids can’t see it, they’ll be less likely to get into it. Keep it unplugged – just in case.

Now you have a ready-to go sewing station! When the opportunity to sew presents its self, you will be ready! Simply whip out that storage container and plug in your machine – you are good to go! But how to find the time… read on.

Take advantage of little windows of opportunity to make incremental progress on a favorite sewing project. For example, got spagetti cooking? That’s 9 minutes, you could have a quick sit and sew the side seams on some toddler pants. The little guy is not a good napper? Even a short 20 minute nap is enough time to slip over to your sewing station and stitch up the handles on that adorable purse you’ve been dying to make. Husband watching the game? Jackpot! Set the baby up with some toys and give Dad some snacks. Now you’ve got 3 hours… you could make a whole baby quilt top!

They key is having your sewing “stuff” easily acessible so you don’t have to spend 20 minutes finding it and getting it all set up. That’s enough of an obstacle to discourage you from even starting.

There are many windows of sewing opportunity through the day if you just look for them. You need only get Zen with the fact that its going to take a bit of time to finish. Set realistic goals of accomplishing one or two small steps per day. By the end of the week, you’ve have a completed project. How good will you feel then?!

Friends, leave a comment and tell us what’s your favorite sewing opportunity!

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Ask Sewfie... advice for the sewing obsessed, because you know you need help. E-mail "Ask Sewfie" today!

Dear Sewfie,

For this most recent Christmas season, I made beautiful handmade bags as gifts for all of my sister-in-laws. I started back in July, I spent quite a bit of money not to mention time and I made a concerted effort to choose fabric and patterns which I thought would suit each woman’s individual style. You can imagine how surprised and disappointed I was when I received a check from one of them with a note saying “here is some cash so you can buy real gifts next time”. I’m still steaming over it. How should I respond?

Don't be a handmade Grinch

The first thing you should do is fill in the memo field of the check (in really big letters) with the words “for fabric”, cash it and then go fabric shopping with your dear SIL’s money. Next, I would permanently scratch her off the handmade gifts list. Save your creative efforts for those who appreciate why handmade is better. Finally, for all future holidays, I would stuff her stocking with a re-gifted fruitcake.

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Ask Sewfie... advice for the sewing obsessed, because you know you need help. E-mail "Ask Sewfie" today!

Dear Sewfie,

I can’t bring myself to throw any any scrap of fabric, no matter how small. I’ve even gone through the trash after my kids clean up from a sewing project (shocking but true… they sometimes do clean up), re-claiming even the tiniest swatch that may be “still good for something”. As a result, every work surface in my sewing room is drowning in a sea of scraps… my sewing machine table, my cutting table, the book cases, even my knick-knack shelves… all covered in piles of scraps. What can I do with all of this without throwing them away?

- Scrappy

Dear Scrappy,

This easy, fun project will justify your obsessive frugality AND will make a whole stack of fun little gifts and craft fair fodder!

Table Scraps Coasters

Supplies (to make 4 coasters):

• random fabric scraps from your cutting table, totaling about 12″ square
• 12″ square fabric for backing (or 4 different 6″ squares)
• 9″ square of heavy weight interfacing such as Timtex or Pelon Peltex
• masking tape

Tools:

• 6″ wide acrylic quilting ruler
• rotary cutter
• cutting mat
• sewing machine
• iron

Instructions

Collect your scraps

Pick different colors and prints. Don’t be afraid of combinations you may think “don’t go together”.

Trim scraps

Using rotary cutter, trim the edges of your scraps. You don’t have to make perfect squares: try uneven strips for that “scrappy” look.

Sew Together

Stitch scraps together until you have an assembly at least 4.25″ x 4.25″ or larger. Press.

Line up template

Make a 4.25″ x 4.25″ template by marking your quilting ruler with masking tape.

Cut to size

Using your taped “window” as a guide, position your template over your fabric. Experiment with different angles. Cut your fabric to a 4.25″ x 4.25″ block by cutting one side, then rotating template 90 degrees. Repeat to cut all four sides. This is your coaster top.

Stitch to interfacing

Cut the heavy weight interfacing into four 4.25″ x 4.25″ blocks. Using a long basting stitch, machine sew coaster top to one square of interfacing using a scant 1/4″ seam.

Self-binding

Cut backing fabric into 5.75″ x 5.75″ squares. Place backing fabric right side down. Position coaster top right side up in the center of one backing square. Pin. Finish by self-binding with mitered corners. Click here for complete illustrated instructions on Self-Binding and How to Make Mitered Corners.

Enjoy!

This Table Scrap Coaster is working hard at a U.S. Army Nanotechnology lab, keeping its owner’s desk dry and looking stylish to boot!

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