WELCOME to Sewing Class! We hope you come!!! I am just bursting with excitement over the endless variety of things that there are to sew! This may seem like a long blog post this week, but this is all your info to get up and running, and anyone who jumps in later in the year will be sent here to get started. The other posts will be shorter! 😉
One note I want everyone to know: We want to help you assemble a snazzy outfit for our end-of-the-year Oscars night where we will be premiering your movies! We are thinking this will be a chance to go classic elegance, comically over-the-top glamour, avant-garde fashion . . . we could have some fun with this, lol!! We will spend a couple weeks in February and March in-class working on these but beforehand we need to assemble raw materials! Please be on the lookout for things that could help our quest when you are at thrift stores throughout the year. We will talk more about this in class this week!
In order to come to class this week, do these five things:
- Watch THIS video (22 min) about sewing machine basics. This guy has some free patterns and tutorials for things like hats, tees, hoodies, etc. as well.
- Watch THIS video (19 min) about different fabrics. It’s so important to choose a fabric that is suitable for your project in order to have success!
- Sew two pieces of square or rectangular woven fabric together. This could be a square cut out of a pair of pants in your family’s DI box if you don’t have fabric lying around–ask your mom what you can use), using a straight stitch of about 2.5 length, pivoting at the corners (THIS will help if you don’t know what I am talking about–either corner technique is fine at this point, just practice the needle down, foot up, pivot technique) and using backstitching at the beginning and end of your seam. You can make this into a bean bag or rice bag or a little tote bag or a bookmark or whatever you can think of if you want to. BRING YOUR LOVELY SQUARISH THING TO CLASS. It’s okay if it’s just practice, not a finished project. If you are absolutely unable to do this for some reason, come to class anyway and you can do it in class.
- Choose a sewing project (see guidance below) and report what you chose HERE. If you just can’t decide yet, that’s okay! Put your top few ideas in the doc and come anyway. Or just pick one and don’t sweat it! If one thing you want to do is mend something, please note that in the document. Mending is a great project!
- IF you’ve already sewn in the past, bring something you’ve made to class to show us! We would love to see! If you haven’t sewn in the past or you made one thing and you can’t find it, ignore this task. 😉
If you are interested in sewing this year, please, please, PLEASE come to this week’s class! We will be learning tons of things in class that will help set you up to become a sewist of any level, whether your sewing goals for the year are grand or modest! Complex and simple sewing projects alike can be extremely satisfying! It’s a life-changing moment to realize you don’t have to depend on what’s already made for you at the store . . . WELCOME! (Did we already say that?) Text Melissa if needed about anything here! 385-230-1145
-Melissa, Annabelle, and Tasha
P.S. Also, if you (moms and/or kids!) want more in-person sewing time or help, on Tuesdays during Imaginative Arts weeks we will have an optional open workshop time at Melissa’s house in Salem from 1-3 where you can come to work on your project with others and/or get help if you would like to. It’s not mandatory, of course, since we know it can be hard to fit extra things in. BUT, if you are able to and want to come, we will be here. The first one will be next Tuesday, October 1. We could talk plans for projects, sew some squares, or perhaps even hit the thrift or fabric stores if people want to look for supplies. Text Melissa/tell your mom to text Melissa if you are planning on coming!
Choose a Project
We have thrown a bunch of project ideas in here roughly in order from easiest to hardest! Hooray! DO NOT watch or read all of these tutorials!! That’s a lot of time. You’re just trying to find one thing (not the most perfect thing of ever and ever) you are excited about making right now, and then report to us in THIS DOC (same link as above in the assignments) what you picked.
If you don’t see anything here that floats your boat, find something that does and put a link to it in the doc (either a pattern or an inspiration image/item or a tutorial, etc. If you google your idea, “DIY dinosaur themed upside down drink holder for my car” or “DIY tiered spring dress pattern tutorial”, you will likely find something!) and/or describe what you want to do. We might add more here as we go if needed! Some people may make one simple project that spans the entire year, some people may make one larger project that spans the year, and some people may make multiple projects if they really catch the bug and have a lot of time to spend. Sewing takes TIME so be realistic about if you want to spend a lot of your extra hobby time on this or not. It’s okay either way, we just want to support you in making progress!
In class this week we will talk about places for sourcing fabric and more about what fabric to use for different types of projects, so you don’t need to rush out and get supplies yet, but if you are anxious to get going, I recommend the Making Space craft thrift store in Springville for low prices, DI, upcycled fabric from your family’s give away pile, and if you go to Joann or Hobby Lobby, get a coupon!! Run it by your mom (and/or us if you are unsure) before you make a large purchase of supplies. Don’t start with any fabric that is stretchy, slippery, or flimsy if you are a beginner, as we want you to have a fun and satisfying first experience!
Tutorial for DIY handwarmers–This would be nice for yourself or make a great Christmas gift!
Have fun!
