Anyone who has children will know how testing rainy weekends can be! The videos have all been watched, the board games done with, and don’t even mention baking a cake!
For a change of pace, why not try sewing fun stuff that together, will help educate your kids to learn something new, as well as giving them something that they can be proud enough of to take to show and tell at school the following week. There are a number of easy – but fun – projects that anyone of any age can learn – and who knows, Mom or Dad may have a great time too!
Teaching The Basics
Before you get into sewing the fun stuff, make sure you teach each child the importance of safety using the pins and needles, and how to do a basic stitch, practicing on a piece of material.
If you can afford to, give each child their own little sewing kit, as this may give them a sense of importance and an encouragement to sew more often. However between projects, it may pay to store these kits in a safe place out of reach – random pins and needles on the floor aren’t a lot of fun for anyone!
Pin Cushions – Great Place To Start
Pin cushions can be a great starter project as these are simple, quick and easy to make. As well as this, when the project is finished, it can be added to the child’s sewing kit for future use.
All that this project requires is a scrap of fabric, some stuffing, and a needle and thread. Sew a shape of the material together like a pillow (a square is easiest however you can also sew a circle, triangle or otherwise), leaving a small section open for the filling. Stuff the shape, sew up the hole, and you’re done.
Decorate Shirts And Bags
Decorating shirts and bags is another was of making sewing stuff fun, as it can get your children’s creative juices flowing and creates an end result that they can wear. Rather than sew the whole shirt or bag, buy a plain t-shirt or bag from a second hand store or department store, and decorate with fun sewing stuff like patches, buttons, felt or fabric paint.
Fabric paint is an excellent option for younger children, as there is no sewing required whatsoever – which means no pins, needles, or chance of needless accidents.
Quilts – Easier Than You Think
If your kids find sewing stuff fun, and they get the basic stitches down pat, an easy project to take on is the humble patch work quilt. All you need is an old quilt or blanket, needle and thread, and a bag of rags. Sift through the rag bag, sorting out the patches and materials that you like, then starting from one corner of the blanket, stitch the patches on, over-lapping each one as you go. These long-term projects will not only keen them occupied, but it will help teach your kids commitment, and give them a sense of satisfaction when they finish.
Filed under Sewing, Sewing Accessories, Sewing Alterations, Sewing Basics, Sewing Courses, Sewing Crafts, Sewing Equipment, Sewing Essentials, Sewing Fabric, Sewing For Beginners, Sewing Guide, Sewing Hints, Sewing Information, Sewing Instructions, Sewing Machines, Sewing Projects, Sewing Techniques, Sewing Tips, Sewing Tools, Sewing Tutorials by on Nov 26th, 2007. 1 Comment. 
Hint – Unlike other cabinets, Koala cabinets were constructed with the sewer in mind. Every aspect of these cabinets is geared towards making sewing more efficient and easier, while also being efficient and minimizing wasted space.
Embroidered items make great gifts. Not only do they have that handmade feel to them, but you can personalize almost anything with some simple embroidery and make it special. Here are a few ideas for gifts you can make if you love to embroider.
Baby Blanket
Embroidered baby blankets make a wonderful, personalized gift that will be treasured for years to come. You can either go with a general embroidered motive like a duck, alphabet blocks or a rattle, personalize it for a boy or girl, or even embroider the baby’s initials in the blanket.
Napkins
Embroidered napkins make a wonderful gift for both a wedding and a housewarming. You can give them by themselves or with a coordinating tablecloth. Embroidery designs can range from flowers to symbols and of course initials. You can buy pre-made napkins and just add the embroidery, or you can sew your own out of cotton, linen or even silk.
Hint – Household Embroidery Designs: Though these designs are for house-hold apparels, they are ordinarily created by professionals because of size, and intricate designs and colors demanded by household items such as carpets, bed-sheets, mats etc.
Robe
A thick robe is one of the simple luxuries of life. An embroidered monogram makes it even more special and is a great gift for just about anyone. Choose a masculine style of lettering and a darker color robe for a man’s gift, or go with a white robe and some feminine letters to make a special gift for a girl or woman in your life. A robe makes a great birthday or Christmas present for just about any family member or friend.
Towels
Towels are one of the more common gifts given at events like weddings, house warmings or a young adult going off to college or moving into his or her first apartment. Make this traditional gift special by adding some simple embroidery borders to the towels. You can opt for a pair of matching decorative towels, or even make a whole stack of personalized towels from hand to bath towel size.
Hint – Digitizing is ordinarily mentioned as a one time charge for converting your design into a format usable with embroidery machines. Most shops charge a fee once per design for this conversion.
Shirts & Blouses
Dress shirts and blouses and even t-shirts also make a great canvas to showcase your embroidery abilities. You can embellish shirt collars and pockets with a small design or monogram. For a classic look, choose a thread in a similar color as the shirt or blouse.
For a child, you can do an all out colorful design on a t-shirt. What little girl wouldn’t love a princess or butterfly shirt and the little boy in your family would love to show off his new superman shirt.
I feel sure once you start working on a few of these embroidered gifts, you will come up with quite a few ideas of your own and create wonderful, personal gifts for friends and family.
For more great tips on sewing machines as well as sewing and embroidery tips visit http://www.sewingandembroidery.info
Filed under Sewing Guide by on Jul 17th, 2008. Comment.
Hint – In addition to purchasing from the wide variety available in the market sewing enthusiasts can also get buttons tailor-made to suit their specific requirements. They can be custom-made to match the design and pattern of the clothes to be sewn.
Types of Embroidery Machines:
When shopping for embroidery machines, remember that there are different types of equipments that can be classified under embroidery machines, based on function, size and use. The most common types are those that need manual operation to create designs on fabrics and other materials, and are mainly used for fiber art and quilting projects. These are:
1. Embroidery only Machine: This unit is meant only for embroidery and can be a great accompaniment for sewing machines, and for creating simple embellishments of existing items. Portable, so best for homeowners who love to embroider.
2. Combination Embroidery Machine: This equipment combines sewing and embroidery features into one unit. Great for tailors or sewers who want to embroider too.
3. Commercial Embroidery Machine: Has multiple needles. Several colors can be threaded before starting work on the design so a lot of time is saved. Units can be large, so best for commercial and heavy use.
Computerized Embroidery Machines:
Computerized Embroidery Machines, though a little more expensive than conventional embroidery machines, are most convenient for hobbyists and professionals alike. These units are capable of automatically creating designs from pre-made patterns that are fed into them through CDs, floppy disks, or flash cards. They can also be connected to a computer to create custom designs.
The average Computerized Embroidery Machine costs around 500-600 dollars, along with the digitizing software program. Additional embroidery patterns can be bought from manufacturers, and other companies dealing with these kinds of embroidery accessories. However, many people prefer to create their own patterns by attaching the machine to a computer loaded with digitizing programs capable of resizing, editing and creating patterns.
Hint – In addition, if the pattern has large pieces, odds are you will have to do some custom work in that the leather pieces will probably not be as large as the pattern. For example, if you were sewing leather pants, you would have to piece two hides of leather to create one pant leg.
Embroidery machine software programs can be divided into Commercial software- for custom designs, Machine-specific software – That can be downloaded for personal use, Independent-vendor software – An add-on for converting formats, Independent-designers software – which requires brand-specific hardware and software.
Important Features to Look for:
After you’ve made a decision to buy an embroidery machine that you like, don’t forget to double check if the equipment incorporates any of these important features:
1. Mirror-image capability – enables symmetry and balance in the pattern-creating process.
2. Cutaway Backing – enables cutting the excess with a pair of scissors.
3. Tearaway Backing – enables the excess to be torn away after fabric is embroidered.
4. Automatic needle threaders.
5. Bobbin: The spool that holds the thread. The stitches on the underside of the garment are formed by the Bobbin thread.
6. Presser foot – a tool that is used to hold the fabric steady and provides support and stability to the garment being embroidered.
Hint – Of course the best way to experience the art of sewing is to actually do it. Having an experienced teacher is also a big advantage as there is not a book out there that can top experiencing hands on training.
7. Hoop – another embroidery tool to hold the fabric steady.
8. Embroidery Scanner – can scan custom designs and convert them into stitches.
Popular Embroidery Machines:
Some of the more popular Embroidery Machines that you might want to consider before buying one include those manufactured by Tajima and Melco such as Bernina, Pfaff, Babylock and Brother; and other brands like White and Simplicity.
Embroidery HQ http://embroideryhq.com/ offers articles, tips and tricks about embroidery.
Filed under Sewing Guide by on Jul 11th, 2008. 2 Comments.