It's a Big, Big Board

 It seems I'm always trying out something new. Sometimes with great failure but also sometimes there is great success. There are too many failures to even start to list them all (and how depressing would that be for me but it might be a bit fun for you!) and let's not start to brag about success when it can implode at any time. Today's success story came about when I read a blog post about creating your own larger than normal ironing board surface. Having been known to place ironing boards side by side to create such a surface, I thought I could give this a try. You can make a large padded surface that slides on and off your regular ironing board but I was given a wood top ironing board when a neighbor moved (okay, it was in the pile of stuff they would not take with them but I did ask first) and figured I could simply screw it down for an ironing board that was dedicated to quilting. See that phrase "simply screw it down"? Of course, nothing is simple and this little project took most of one day but I am more than please with it so deem it is "worthy" of a blog post.

First I had to clean up the donated ironing board that had old iron legs, multiple layers of padding and covers. After a good cleaning and scrub down, it sat waiting for us to go buy the plywood. My husband was willing but we went to a home improvement store that did not cut boards down to size. That meant we drove home with a 24 inch by 8 foot sized board hanging out the back of our Jeep. Even when you live relatively close it is a bit harrowing to drive with your hatch tied down but we made it home. Then the board sat in the garage for a month while I was finishing up working and transitioning to retirement. Finally my husband said the magic words "what is this board here for?" and I reminded him of the upcoming project. The circular saw was dragged out of hiding, cut at 60", and the scrap cut into boards needed for a project he was working on. You see that innocent question wasn't just to get the garage in order but came about when he wanted to use that fine piece of wood for his own purposes but it worked for me, too.

With the board cut we needed to screw it down but didn't have the proper screws, or so he thought, so a trip to the hardware store was in order. After purchasing what was recommended, I thought we probably could have used something we already had, but it was easy to start with new. Holes were drilled, screws were countersunk, and we had a BIG piece of plywood on top of an old wood ironing board:

Plywood top screwed down with 5 screws

From this side you can see the original board lined up with the plywood.

My husband was sure we needed to smooth off the corners at least but I assured him they would be padded before this project was over. Next up was to cover with foil and tape in place:

Overkill with Gorilla tape but it shouldn't dry out and fall off!

Foil to reflect heat and keep board from absorbing heat

We bought the heavy duty 18" wide variety and it went on nicely, no rips. Next up was two layers of cotton batting but that also left a section of the same width so I made mine three layers thick. This might be a mistake as it seemed a bit too padded but I think if I pull it tighter and re-staple one side it should help. It now got stapled into place and moved into the house so it could be laid down on a clean surface. What? My garage isn't clean enough? It is clean now because in the process of moving the board inside we lost a tack, just a temporary measure to hold things in place before I could use the staple gun. Looking, using a broom, and finally the vacuum cleaner didn't turn up the tack but now my garage is wonderfully clean!

Table inside with batting stapled down

Once inside and with the three layers of cotton batting stapled in place, we set the board upright only to find the tack pushed into the area rug. Well, at least we found it and the garage is cleaner, too. Next up, an old sheet was stretched and stapled over the other layers:

Now you can see the original wood top with screws through plywood

I had to press the top cloth before the final assembly because it was very wrinkled while stored in the garage as a future drop-cloth. It's actually a very pale green but so smooth and a bit thicker so maybe it has a higher thread count? For the top layer I made a removable ironing board cover out of a plain white sheet, compliments of Aunt Marcella. The corners are fitted and there is a casing with elastic all the way around so it's a very nice fit. I even have another length of this sheet that is set aside so I can make another cover when this one no longer will clean up. I chose white because when quilting I really need to see what I'm doing and not get confused by a pattern showing through from the board cover.

Tada! My finished Big Ironing Board

Time will tell how much I use and enjoy it but, for now, I'm glad I spent the time to make it and do it right. While I was working on this project I was also refinishing the cabinet from a Singer 201, but that's going to have to be my next post so I can give you a bit more detail. For now, how about making your own Big Board?

Crafting for Christmas

With Christmas approaching, I've been avoiding so many tasks in favor of sewing and crafting. I finally made myself decorate the tree and spend time setting out a few of the many nativity sets while I was putting away fall decorations and dusting around. Christmas cards are still waiting to be sent but I have been sewing as a way to escape tasks I should be doing. So what have I been making? First up is repairs.

A lovely ski sweater was in the by-the-pound bin at Goodwill Outlet and I just couldn't resist such a quality sweater. Although it washed up nice it was still several sizes too big with sleeves that hung down past my hands. Examination of the construction showed that I might be able to make those drop shoulders less of a drop to pull the sleeves closer to my size. The photo above shows my work on just one side but you can see there is a difference of three inches! It was more than just the shoulders but also the sides being taken in about four inches total. I thought I needed to leave the hem width intact but even the bottom edge needs to be taken in.  For this I used my Bernina 1100 serger as well as on trimming the excess from the shoulder. The actual set-in sleeve seam was sewn with a Bernina 217 and steamed with a wet pressing cloth (an old dinner napkin). I think it turned out pretty well so now will tackle the other side in hopes of wearing it in the cold weather to come. Yes, it's coming.

Left side original, right side shortened 3"

For crafts, I've been making trees and pine cones with tiny folded pieces of fabric. The trees came about when I discovered three foam cones that just begged to be covered.  Karen, from First Quilters in Cambridge, MN, showed us her idea of covering cones with folded fabric. Over Thanksgiving weekend we got to enjoy two granddaughters and I asked them if they wanted to make Christmas trees with fabric, no sewing, and they were game. It took way, way too long to get to the top of each tree but with a bit of help they finished before dinner and were happy to take them home:

Sarina and Alexandra showing off their trees

Sample tree

 I couldn't wait to try making pine cones with the same technique, using an egg shaped form and smaller squares of fabric. Although we didn't count the number of three inch squares needed for the trees, I did count how many were used on the pine cone: 65. That's a lot of cutting but rotary cutters make that part less laborious. I love the look of using all one fabric but have seen them with ribbon and folded paper. As you can imagine, I have more fabric than ribbon or paper:

Pine cone in process: folded 2" squares pinned with tiny pins

Although a bit tedious, I liked the end result:

pine cone with less fabric

Finished pine cone in a different fabric using 65 squares

I guess the granddaughters weren't the only ones who thought it was a long time to get to the end of this project.  Up next are the cobbler aprons in sizes XXL to XS. Only the buttons are left so today is the day! Oh, maybe I'll have to finish those Christmas cards first...naugh, sewing comes first!

Measuring Up

Occasionally I get inspired by clever projects and attempt to make them myself and today's post is about a cute coin purse I saw at a museum shop. A friend and I were at an art museum and when in the shop she pointed out a tiny coin purse that had measuring tapes woven lattice fashion on one side. She suggested I could even do that myself so I started collecting measuring tapes. I had a few that came with other sewing supplies but quickly found out there were subtle differences in printing and width that kept them for being a cohesive grouping. I finally had four sixty inch tapes and figured I could cut them into six inch segments, use ten strips per purse, for a total of four coin purses. It was harder than it looked with the tapes trying to curl back up and not wanting to stay woven but a light iron and interfacing between sheets of copy paper did the trick:

Measuring tapes woven together

They needed to be anchored in some way and I settled on sewing down one edge on each strip. The pattern was from a posting about making an earbud case. Pretty simple, but with all projects there was a learning curve. I cut out two circles and folded in half for the sides of the zipper:

Top of coin purse with zipper

Next up was cutting the same size circle in the measuring tape fabric with a white fabric liner on top. Stitching around all those layers, being careful to have the zipper open into the purse so the excess can just be snipped off, it was ready for bias tape trim. This was where the problems arose: joining the ends took several tries to get them looking smooth and only number 4 came out really acceptable. Here are the end results:

Coin purse tops

Coin purse with measuring tape : left are tops, on right back side

I used an end from the measuring tape as a hold tab which was also hard to keep from coming out crooked but that's all in the learning process. It was fun to put together the fabric combinations and figuring out what was going to work for bias tape and how to make it look good. I brought the one with the yellow edge to Patty later in the day when we met up for an exchange. I ended up the big winner when she gave me a Singer 15-91, complete with accessories, plus two more buttonhole attachments, when she bought a machine for the cabinet. She kept the cabinet and thought of me for the machine and I'm grateful she did! It was frozen up but she gave it a kerosene bath and it moved right along. Wiring will take a bit of work but that's something I can easily do and she didn't want to fuss with it, especially since she loves the Singer 201's as I do and wasn't interested in a 15-91. My little coin purse was just a token of my appreciation for her effort but I did get some good lessons along the way.

I thought you might like to see what happened to Mary Sue's typewriter she brought at the beginning of the week:

Emma typing while Grant spells out the words for her

We went over to my daughter's house on Friday after Thanksgiving and brought the manual typewriter and my three grandkids could hardly keep their hands off of it. What a big hit! From the eleven year old down to the five year old, each one wanted to try it out and figure out how it worked. So thank you again, Mary Sue, for the old typewriter that has been given new life.

As for those coin purses (or earbud cases, if you like) I decided to make a few more and found out I could get a dozen tape measures in six different colors so it looks like I'll be making a dozen more of those babies. I've already thought of people I just wanted to give them to so they might not end up for sale anywhere but this is the season for giving. What are you giving this year from your creative efforts? I'd love to hear!

Willing To Learn

Some of my blog posts aren't about sewing machines and this is one of them so if you want to read about vintage sewing machines...take a pass on this post. It is about learning and that whole "lifelong learner" stuff we read about and sometimes roll our eyes when we hear about it but it is true: we need to keep learning to be relevant, interesting, and interested in the world around us. My foray into new learning was "Power Tools for Women", a class I have wanted to take for a long time but always worked on the evenings it was offered. A change in schedule last spring has opened up my schedule to now be able to take this community ed. offer and was it ever fun! Here's how it looked on the first night of class:

Squaring up the frames with the help of our instructor

With only two classes of 2.5 hours we needed to get right into it so our instructor showed us the power tools we were going to use, basic instructions, and we were off and running! Well, no running in the middle school industrial tool shop, but working hard and helping each other. There were ten of us in a broad spectrum of ages with different purposes in mind, but we all wanted to learn how to use these powerful and scary machines with safety and purpose.

Busy in the wood shop on the first night of class

 The first night we made a picture frame out of an eight foot board of clear pine. I learned how to use a miter saw, router, pocket hole jig, impact drill, and cordless drill. Since I had previously used drills, the last three on the list were no problem but it was the power saws that terrified me. They were all table models so that provided stability and along with instruction and encouragement from the teacher and other women I learned to conquer my fear. Everyone pitched in to clean up and we were ready to leave ahead of the class ending time. Here's what I made:

My first frame: 16 by 16 in pine, before routed outside edge

If we wanted to put a routed edge on the frame, just bring it back to the second class session and we would add that nice feature. I brought mine back, as did everyone else, for the nice scoop edge. We spent this second class session on making a small step stool using power table saws, drills, jigsaws, and a few different sanders.

Instructions on making the step stool: we are all attentive!

 It was even more fun and everyone showed confidence in using the tools. We talked with each other about why we wanted to learn to use power tools and most said they already had tools but no one to teach them. One woman wanted to replace her deck next summer so needed to know how to use the tools of the trade. I thought that was ambitious but I think she can do it! Here we are with our finished projects:

Fall 2017 Power Tools for Women Class

There is a second class, Power Tools for Women Advanced, where they make a 24" tall side table in oak that many of the women signed up for but I have a conflict so will not be taking it this fall. It is possible I will not be taking it at all because the instructor is going to open his own shop in the spring and thought he would have open Saturday's. That would mean for a small fee we could work in his shop where he would be in attendance and we could make anything we had the skills to accomplish. Can we spell s-e-w-i-n-g  m-a-c-h-i-n-e  b-o-x-e-s? YES! I learned a new skill(s) and can put them to use relatively soon so this is a win-win for me and I think everyone in the class. Here's a look at the basic step stool I made, the current pride of my heart:

Ain't she sweet? My very own step stool!

You never know if you can do it until you try so go out there and try something new, something you have been toying with in your mind. It's time to put your hopes into action!

Industrial Strength

Since the sewing machine garage sale I've been in touch with Tess who has been trying her best to fill orders for her hand made dog collars. Business is booming but her sewing machines have been giving her problems. The lovely little Kenmore 148-273 in a compact desk went home with her but, even though she loves it, there were problems with the heavy materials she was working with:

Kenmore 148-273

The belt kept slipping, stitches weren't quite what she had hoped for, and there were many emails back and forth while we tried to make this work. Finally I loaned her my Singer 201-2 since she needed something more heavy duty. I did advise her to seek out an industrial sewing machine since she needed piercing power for the nylon webbing and even sent a few links to local models for sale. I was trying to take a look at one, the Consew CP-206R but couldn't get the seller to answer back. Now I know why: Tess got there before me and bought it. Way to go Tess! There were still problems and I didn't know anything about this machine so I wasn't much help until I saw another ad for the same model. What? Was Tess trying to sell hers? Nope, another one came up for sale and I got it:

Consew CP 206R

It came in a portable case, something of a rarity for an industrial sewing machine, just perfect for the occasional user. I shied away from industrial's since they usually came with big, heavy tables with large motors than are mounted underneath. But I keep getting inquiries from people who would like to buy one so now I'm ready to start exploring at least this portable model.

Walking foot mechanism on back of the presser foot

The Consew CP 206R is a straight stitch with reverse walking foot sewing machine that does only one thing but does it so well. I downloaded a free manual but was scared to start stitching. There were warnings about throwing off the timing if you don't start the stitches right so I was very careful...but still got knots and loops of thread underneath. I stopped and got back in touch with Tess. She already had her's serviced and the man showed her how to use it. Well, I wasn't going to do that since I had the receipt for recent service on mine, I just needed to know how to get it started. Online videos were suggested so I watched portions of a very long one that gave me some good tips:

1. Start with threads pulled out the back and hold them there.
2. Put needle into fabric then lower presser foot.
3. Move handwheel to make the first couple of stitches.
4. With take up lever high up but in the decending position (going down) put foot on the foot control and give it some gas.
5. Let the machine start and sew without me moving the handwheel: do not touch it!

That's what worked for me; apparently, if you get your hand in there to assist the handwheel you can mess it up. Now it stitched! It's pretty loud and feels stiff but I got it to stitch with the very heavy thread that came with it. Now I just needed a project to work on.

Back of Consew with black bars of the walking foot mechanism

I remembered a set of heavy fabric placemats that I had started on so I got them out of my UFO (UnFinished Objects) storage and gave them a try. I didn't like the look of the heavy black thread so I tried some khaki colored thread that matched the thread I used on the one I had already quilted. It worked! On the first one I had used a quilting bar that measured the correct distance but there was no place to insert the bar with the walking foot on the Consew.  I ended up drawing stitch lines with marking chalk/soap and it went much faster. I couldn't tell the first one made on a regular sewing machine and those made with the industrial sewing machine. I added the bias binding and then hand-stitched it on the reverse side:

Yup, even camouflage on the table

Did they turn out better? Nope: they all look exactly the same. Was it easier? Maybe just a touch but what I noticed was when I came to the intersection of stitches it sailed right over them, no puckering or hesitation. Maybe this wasn't that heavy of a project but the camouflage fabric is canvas-like so with the batting and heavy backing fabric it was heavy enough to cause my regular sewing machines to labor. I'm very happy to put these placemats in my Etsy shop and I notified the person who requested them (sorry it took me ten months to get them done!) and now maybe I won't have to shy away from using heavy fabrics and projects like this. I'll keep it for awhile and when someone wants to buy one of my sewing machines for their heavy projects I can ask "Would you like to see the portable industrial sewing machine I have for sale?" I can speak more knowledgeably than just you-need-an-industrial-sewing-machine response. Honestly, I had about six people in the past year who might have bought this machine...but maybe I'll keep it.

Crafteroon

It's fun to share our talents with others, sometimes learning a new skill or taking the time for someone else. My husband and I spent a Sunday afternoon learning a new craft, a crafteroon, when my daughter Kelly opened her home to those who wanted to make jewelry. There is no charge for the event and she even has supplies for all you would need. How does she do that? No charge? But then you get to her house and see all of the beads, pendants, metal works, and findings she has and you get the picture: she would love to have some of it gone and if it leaves via someone else's efforts, that's just great. My husband insisted on buying two small packages of silver hearts to make each of his daughters a pair of earrings and some of the older granddaughters necklaces but I assured him Kelly probably already had a stockpile of hearts. I brought along a couple dresses that I was trying to find jewelry for and we managed to match up some of the beads and a pendant stone.

We arrived to find two tables in the dining room that had boxes of jewelry findings down the center. They are in compartmentalized boxes by the type of metal: shiny silver, silver, antique silver, gold antique gold, bronze,black, etc. On a side table were beads by colors. Into the living room were more boxes of beads by color on the coffee table and even more on a low set of bookshelves. It was overwhelming!

Liz was already there and a friend of hers from work came a bit later but even though we each had ideas of what we wanted to make it was still a lot to take in. With Kelly's direction, things took shape as we found pendants and other pieces, starting to put form to those ideas. Ready for style and color consultation, Kelly gets you started and gives assistance in the techniques for putting things together.

Here's the layout in the dining room: see more on the table in the background?

Do I know how to tie a clasp into a necklace? No, but Kelly does and shows you on one end and then helps you try it other end with her guidance. Along the way there is much conversation between all of us as we admire and give judgement calls on what looks nice together. Hot beverages were DIY but we were almost too busy to stop and take a sip. There was going to be a prize for anyone who used up a whole container of beads, thus freeing up some space but when I knocked a container of tiny beads onto the floor (losing about a third of my already strung necklace beads in the process) I was declared the winner even though it wasn't exactly what she was aiming for. I think we could come over every week for a year and hardly make a dent into her supplies. Why so much? She was the recipient of someones jewelry making supplies when they could no longer do this and it almost doubled her count. We are grateful she shares this mountain of wealth with us.

Here's what some of us made in the two to three hours we were there:

Liz's earring up in the corner but her friend made the rest: WOW!

Earrings are for Jim's 4 daughters and necklaces for granddaughters: I think they have HIS heart.

My contribution with purple necklace, earrings in another shade of purple/blue

I picked up the sewing machine charms at the last craft fair and Kelly had the right charms to add to them. Since this is a sewing machine blog, this is my tie-in:

It was a productive and fun afternoon in December that gave us all a good time. Sorry we couldn't lighten Kelly's load by much but I understand she's going to have another one soon. Wouldn't you like to come?

Craft Fair #1

The Saturday craft fair at Salem Covenant Church was a very big success for my daughter Kelly and I with our top dollar amount in sales ever. Business was steady with not just lookers but buyers, too. Even though I had some new items, such as the hanger covers and aprons, the big sellers continue to be the hot mitts. I made up about twenty new ones for this sale and I sold so many that now I will need to make up almost twice as many for the next sale on November 21. Success! Now I will need to get sewing. I thought you might like to see the process and the use of my limited space:

That's right: it's just 2 ironing boards

Sewing them up on the Singer 201 with a walking foot

The best part of being in show like this is talking with the customers and other vendors to see what they like or would like to see. Various color schemes and themes were suggested: blue kitchens, sport themes, no white edges (there aren't any but even light colors are rejected), larger tea cozies, mother/daughter aprons, and solid color ironing board covers. There were a few items in the boxes we were not going to put out but thought "why not?" and they sold: at least two rag dolls sold, although the baby back-zip sweaters did not. None of the toaster covers sold even though everyone liked the one with Bible verses:

So what is my response to this? On the way home I stopped to buy more cotton batting by the yard and Insul-Bright heat reflecting/absorbing lining for the hot mitts. The men's shirt aprons got a lot of attention so I looked through my stash of shirts and decided I needed to buy a red shirt to combine with a couple green shirts for some Christmasy half aprons. Okay, that was Kelly's idea, not mine, but it's a good one! I also found one that was very pheasant- hunting-season and I'm thinking about what I could add to it for a great look. I have sold more of the hunting and fishing themed items to women for women rather than men so it stands to reason those same women might want an apron.

Here's the pile of hot mitts I'm working on tonight:

From fish to herbs to denim, to printed piecework, something for everyone!

Although most is done by machine, the final stitching of the bias tape is best done by hand so there's my stack by my chair, waiting for me to get back to my movie. I better hurry: the good part has just begun!

Getting Ready

The first craft fair of the season is quickly approaching and I've been very busy sewing up new items and freshening up my stock.

Ironing board covers in plastic bags with hot mitts and towels

That comes up to five new ironing board covers, new aprons, twenty additional hot mitts, a few matching towels, couple dozen hanger covers, and some miscellaneous items I hope to get done before Saturday morning. Besides just the process of sewing, I've been using a variety of my sewing machines to put them through their paces. Using a Singer 15-91 with a walking foot, I quilted the hot mitts and added the bias binding. From there I took off the walking foot and made the casings for the ironing board covers on a few but then switched to a Kenmore 158-1980 to hem the last of them. I discovered this model did not seem to have the needle centered and the electronic foot control drove me crazy: even the slightest touch made it hum so I needed to remember to remove my foot completely each and every time. Didn't I always? Apparently not but it might have been due to its rather large size and the need to pick up my foot. This does not make the Kenmore 1980 a winner for me.

Kenmore 158-1980

The real big news is both cars are back in the garage! Two more cabinet sewing machines were sold over the weekend and that only left three to come inside. My ever generous husband agreed on their placement and we were good to go until I got a call about someone wanting to return a sewing machine. In a cabinet.

Kenmore 158-1690

Since I guarantee all sales, I was obligated to take it back but I wasn't too happy since it was a rather longer in length desk and a so-so model. I actually got talked into selling it when the man called about a sewing machine that had sold earlier in the week. He printed off the information while the listing was still active but didn't check to see if it was still available and it was not. He asked about other machines that would be similar and I suggested the Kenmore 158-1690 but he pushed for a much lower price. Since I hadn't listed it yet I figured that was worth something to me so I let it go for only $5 more than what I had paid. When picking it up he explained his circumstances and kept asking if it could be returned and I should have heeded his inquiry. Sure enough, a week later I get a call from his son asking if it could be returned because his mother wanted something more computerized. Well, not at that price point! It came home last night and is sitting where the garbage cans will end up when it snows but needs to be moved. It needs to be moved out of my garage into someone else's house.

I'm very carefully not buying any more cabinet models. Unless...they are those cute built in chair desks. Or a highly desired model. Yea, I picked up a Viking 19 last night but it's a portable...

Viking Husqvarna 19

and in pristine condition. Very excited but that's not the end of the story because this was a two-for.

Stay tuned to see which model came home with the Viking Husqvarna 19 (and, no, it's not in a cabinet!).

Bernina Weekend

Bernina Records book-ended my weekend and I couldn't be happier. The fantastic Bernina 530 in an excellent cabinet finally found a good home on Saturday morning:

Bernina 530 in her stellar cabinet

The new owner could have brought it home a week earlier but she got cold feet and had to ask more questions and negotiate a better price before she was ready to pick it up. That's okay because it's a fairly large purchase in price and size and I want everyone to be happy with their new machine. My surprise came when she said she had never sewn on a Bernina before: usually buyers know they want this type of sewing machine because they have one in their past. She is in for a treat!

On Sunday afternoon I had a very pretty drive around the lakes to pick up a Bernina Record 830:

Bernina Record 830

The seller did not have the power cord/foot control so wasn't sure it even worked but I had one from my Bernina Minimatic 807 that would fit. She not only worked, she purred: this is one nice sewing machine! Only equipped with a handful of bobbins, two feet and an adapter, she's not ready yet. But she did come with the red carrying case and the styrofoam packing to keep her safe and the extension table was on the inside cover. Condition? Not a nick or scratch on her, excellent cosmetic condition. There was quite a bit of packed in lint inside and the usual cleaning but no cracked gears.

Here's the selection of stitches she has at her disposal:

Twenty stitches plus straight and zig zag

The 530 I just sold had 13 stitches but, really, isn't that enough? Here's how the stitches look:

I ran through selected stitches and they are of superb quality. The bobbin tension was way off but that was an easy fix. Did someone else try this sewing machine and said "It doesn't work right" when all it took was a tiny bit of know how? When you pulled on the bobbin thread you could tell it was way too lose so a tiny screw driver and successive turns got it working again. Their loss, my gain. Happy, happy, happy!

I continued to work on the hangers covers, remembering I had lace collars I could use:

Hanger covers with a little Downton Abbey flair

I keep learning new ways of assembly to make it quicker and better, using a serger and sewing machine, but I still think there is room for improvement. My daughter Kelly thought I could make more of the white model as possible bridal shower gifts so two more are ready for the decorative edge stitching. I think that's a nice alternative to lace and I'm using my Viking 1100 for the ones above and the Brother ES-2000 for the next two white ones. Since someone at the garage sale gave me a Brother ES-2000 with a loud complaint of "It doesn't work!" I'm going to need to actually sew on it to see if it does have a glitch or if it was user error. So far, so good!

Yup, a Bernina weekend with some satisfying projects wedged in-between. All is well in sewing machine land.

Getting Crafty

One of my crafty daughters (they are both crafty!) hosts a monthly craft group in her home where she picks a craft to teach and you can come to try it out and maybe take home a finished product. We have made jewelry together, painted glass, and this month we stenciled words on t-shirts. What does this have to do with sewing machines? In my case, I stenciled on fabric and went home to finish making my shirt on a serger but it's just a fun craft that I thought you might like to read about.

After dropping off a hand crank sewing machine to a happy quilter, I made my way over to Kelly's house to find out there were only going to be two of us that afternoon. Liz was already there and had prior experience so the focus all of their attention was on my project. I decided I would like to have my company name on a shirt that I would wear at craft fairs. I brought a stack of flat knit fabrics and they chose a great bright pink and we thought black paint would show up nice. I could accent the shirt in black and wear black pants. I cut out the front of the shirt with a t-shirt pattern I had previously used and that's going to be where I would apply my stencil. We used the same font that I used to machine embroider the name "In Stitches" on a Gridwall backdrop, sized and printed out the words. Next, I traced it onto freezer paper and then went back over it with a razor blade knife to create the stencil. Now here's the fun part: it was ironed onto the knit fabric because apparently freezer paper has one side that is adhesive.

Stencil cut out of the freezer paper and ironed on

 Using a round foam brush, I sponged the black paint onto the stencil, going back over it as it absorbed and revealed spots not fully covered.

Black paint sponged on

Drying time: stencils are not reusable!

While it was drying I cut out the back and long sleeves of the shirt so I would be ready to sew it together when I got home. I was working on mine and Liz was making her stencil on a ready-made shirt:

Liz's shirt with stencil ironed on

Due to the two coats of paint she didn't get to the last part because she had to wait for it to dry but you get the idea of how it was going to turn out.

Looks weird with centers of letters still in place

Yup, Liz is a runner

When dry, I put mine on the ironing board, placed 2 layers of paper towels over the design and pressed with a hot dry iron. I love the way it turned out!

Modeling the to-be-shirt

 Once I got home, I sewed the pieces together using my Huskylock 1000L serger but I had all kinds of problems when I thought it would look better with black ribbing around the neckline instead of pink. It was a combination of factors: ribbing that was too heavy and not using enough stretch. I used my Viking 1100 sewing machine to do a zigzag stretch stitch only to find it looked terrible. I was resigned to pick it out one stitch at a time because I wanted to preserve that nice front piece with the "In Stitches" words; have you ever taken stretch stitches out? It took three hours but it's done and over, a new black neckband with different fabric sewn in to look like this:

I still have to go back and restitch the neckline with the serger (I only put it on with a basting stitch this time) and finish the side seams plus hems but I like it. It's bright, looks professional, and will be warm enough for the craft fairs this fall where I display and sell my sewing and other crafts. Will I try this kind of fabric stenciling again? I'm sure of it and even have some thoughts about a shirt for my husband. Now should it say "I'm along for the ride" as a nod to my sewing machine business or should it be something about hunting deer or with a springer spaniel, his favorite dog? We shall see!