Welcome to Let’s Begin Sewing Series

This week we will be looking at getting you acquainted with your sewing machine

In case you missed it last week  i covered what sewing supplies you needed to get started

To begin with i would like to introduce you to my Best Friend Forever my sewing machine

I have a Janome 6260 Quilter’s companion it was gift from my wonderful mother which makes it extra special For more info about it read this post i did for Sew Mama Sew’s sewing machine meme

If you are not too sure what machine to buy the best thing would be to go and have a talk with the sales rep at the store and explain to them that you are a beginner and you want a basic reliable sewing machine. I am sure they will steer you in the right direction! Its very hard to recommend a sewing machine cause in Oman we have very limited choices.

I remember when i first decided that i wanted to learn how to sew i was very intimated by using a sewing machine.  I think when you are faced with the unknown you kind of fear it because you are not sure of the outcome. However i wanted to sew so bad that i simply sat down one evening and decided today i am going to make something!

My mother bless her heart explained the basics of the sewing machine parts their functionality and showed me a couple of things i needed to know to get me started.

Here are some advice to help you get started

• Read the manual – Yes like any electronic device spend some time reading about the machine to familiarize yourself with it – if you dont have the manual google your machine model and you might be able to find a manual online.
• If you know someone who sews ask them if they could spend a few mins with you to show you how it works – if you dont its ok you can learn as you go You CAN DO IT!
• Get to know your machine i recommend you read through Sewing Machine Parts by Simply Modern Mom
• You will need to wind your bobbin found a great tutorial  on  Ruffles And Stuff  winding and threading your bobbin
• Next is to threading the machine this tutorial is also provided by Ruffles And Stuff
• Don’t be afraid or intimated by the machine just take it NICE & S L O W
• If your machine gets stuck – dont force it just STOP and look what is wrong
• Remember the machine is there to help you create things
• Dont give up after your first attempt give yourself time to learn

I must admit that at first we didnt get along very well she was very hard to understand but gradually we got to an understanding and when i relaxed and took the time to get to know her she started giving me the results i need.

Here is a fun question for you..to those who sew did you give your sewing machine a name? let me a comment letting me know what it is

I havent named mine yet and want to give her a name after all she is my best friend

Hope this was helpful see you all next Monday for the next Let’s Begin to Sew series

Happy Birthday to ME!

In celebration of my birthday i am going to start hosting my own link party called

Sew Crafty Saturday

I am so excited about having my own link party, i love link parties because you realize that there are some creative minds and bloggers out there that are just waiting to get to meet you. I personally got featured a couple of times which gave me a great sense of accomplishment and got to make new crafty friends.

Sew Crafty Saturday and will be hosted every Saturday and will end on Monday.

Here is how this party works

• If you’ve sewed it, painted it, baked it, made it, re purposed it then you can link it
• Please link to a specific blog post not your main blog
• Make sure to visit at least 2 entries & leave them a comment
• Grab the Sew Crafty Button and pop it on your blog




<a href=”http://sewchicandunique.com/” mce_href=”http://sewchicandunique.com/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://sewchicandunique.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Sew-Crafty-.jpg” mce_src=”http://sewchicandunique.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Sew-Crafty-.jpg” border=”0″ alt=”Sew Crafty Saturday”></a><br />

Just thought i do a quick post and let you know that i am around but extremely busy and havent been able to spend time  in my sewing room *sigh*. Good news is that both girls start school on the 18th of September!!

We are on our last week of Ramadhan its so sad to see ramadhan end its just flew by.

My girls and i are all prepared for Eid which is great because it means for once there aren’t any last minute shopping to be done.

This month is full of surprises which i wont reveal just yet however all i can say is come back tomorrow to find out what the first one is!

A couple of things on my to sew list this month is

- a breastfeeding cover for a family member who just had her 5th baby ma sha Allah

- a handmade gift for my Hadeel who turns 5 next week – let me know if you have any ideas for what i could make for her

- a plastic bag holder

-  Remember the hair scrunchies i made i plan on posting the tutorial for it

Yeah so as you can see i have a lot to do and soon will have the time to do it

I shall end this post with pictures of my girls taken in Malaysia when we were there last July

This picture was taken at the Butterfly farm which was very funny because my girls were afraid of the beautiful butterflies!

Take this next picture for example look at how far Dania is from the butterfly this was as close or should i say as far as she would get LOL

Thank you all for your wonderful comments and emails on ending Sew It

Dont forget to come back tomorrow for the SURPRISE!

I recently posted my sewing room which is where i lose myself and enjoying every minute i have with my sewing machine.

However i thought it would be fun to join Where do you Blog link party over at Centsational Girl

In my sewing room i dedicated a space where i connect to the world

Here is a closer look

When the girls are around which is like most of the time if they are are not upstairs with me in my sewing room then i usually blog in the sitting room so i can be close to them and believe me you DONT want to see that LOL

Thanks for stopping by

Welcome to the first post of

Let’s Begin Sewing series

Sewing is one of those things i wish i had learned when i was young(er) lol but i was too busy wanting to be hip and cool. I remember my mother telling me “Come Mayya  let me teach you how to use a sewing machine. You know i wont always be there to fix your clothes!” So i did and we went as far as stitching straight lines and that was it! Who knew many years down the line sewing would become my passion.

Before we actually get down to the nity grity of actually sewing we need the proper supplies to ensure we get a beautiful finished item and yes it all starts at the beginning.

Your number one item on the list is a sewing machine

My advice is because you are just starting out dont go and buy yourself a machine just yet. Instead borrow one from a friend, a relative. Try it out first and see if you actually enjoy it. However if you cant find anyone who owns a machine then try and get a second hand one.

When i first started i was lucky that my mum owned a machine and i borrowed it from her and i named her Miss JD LOL i actually still have her and use her as backup when my sewing machine has gone in for some R&R

For those in Oman you can buy your  machines from Salman Stores who are the suppliers for Janome. They are located in Qurum next to CCC.

Once you’ve got your self a machine you will need some sewing supplies

1 Rotary Cutter I dont know how i used to cut fabric without it, this is just a life saver when cutting straight edges and a must for every sewist. I have the 45 mm however in order to use one you MUST have a self healing cutting mat and a rotary ruler.

2 Pins & Pincushion – straight pins are essential to hold your fabrics together think of them as extra fingers. A pincushion is a must to hold your pins in place and having several is a good idea i have one at my cutting table and the other by my sewing machine.

3 Needle & Thread - (forgot to take pics of the needle) Thread will not only be used on your machine but there are some things you might need to stitch by hand.

4 Thimble – these arent used that often these days but i find that when i hand stitch i like to know that my thimble is there to protect my finger tip as i push the needle through. Each time i use one it reminds me of my grandmother she used to always have one on while stitching

5 Sewing Gauge – i love this tool,  it is actually a small metal ruler with a sliding marker ideal for measuring seam allowances. When i need to press in a 1/4 inch or 1/2 inch i just slide the blue slide to the desired measurements and place it on the fabric to check that i got the correct width and iron.

Maree Pigdon shares the benefits of using a sewing gauge

6 Seam ripper – made a mistake? not to worry, just grab your seam ripper and remove the unwanted stitches. Dont know how to use one? I found this tutorial on Purl Bee

7 Fabric scissors -Invest in a good pair of fabric scissors buy them from a craft store because these type of scissors are made with very sharp blade specifically to cut fabric. In order for them to last longer you must only use them to cut fabrics NOTHING else. Make sure you label it and get other scissors for your other cutting projects.

8 Tape Measure – you will need one for taking measurements, plus it makes you look the part when it hangs around your neck LOL

Rotary Ruler – These rulers are to be used with a rotary cutter, DO NOT attempt to use a regular ruler trust me on this one!

Self Heating Mat - This mat will protect your surface when using the rotary cutter.

9 Fabric makers - the orange one is fabric chalk and the pencils are fabric pencils (i bought them in Lulu)

10 Bobbins – these will be used in your machine you will also need empty bobbins on hand because eventually you will need one for every thread colour you have.

11 Zippers – not a must as you start sewing but its good to have a couple with you so that when you decide to tackle the zippers then you have them

12 Pinking Shears – again not a must item but a handy tool to have never the less. Notice that these are not your regular scissors they give a zig zag sort of finishing and that helps when you dont have a serger as the fabric doesnt fray.

13 Safety pins – i use mine when i want to turn a tube/strap inside out, or when i am using elastics to hold them on one end while i pull the elastic through the other end.

14 Mini scissors – this is one of my favorite tools these are perfect for clipping the threads that hang after you’ve done sewing. I always keep mine by my sewing machine.

Last but not least you will need an iron

An iron is essential to any sewing project because this is the secret to achieving nice crisp finish that we all love.

So that concludes my list of sewing essentials i do hope that you found that useful.

For more essential sewing tools you have to check out

Getting starting supplies by Ruffles & Stuff

Sewing 101: Basic sewing tools and supplies by Simply Modern Mom

Sewing 101 with Anna, Supply Must Haves by Pickup Some Creativity

Have a question? something was not clear do let me know in the comments and i will reply back via comments so that everyone can benefit.

Come back next Monday

to be introduced to your soon to be Best Friend Forever (BFF)

your sewing machine

Want to learn how to sew….

BUT

Not quite sure where and how to begin?

Cant get your machine to do what you WANT it to do?

Not too sure what tools you need to begin sewing?

Want super simple easy projects to start off with?

Then stick around because all your sewing questions will be answered  with

Let’s Begin Sewing on Sew Chic and Unique

After getting lots of emails asking for help in sewing i decided to do a mini series of basic sewing information to help you get started and sewing in no time

In addition to sharing my personal tips i will link up to other crafty women’s tips

Just to give you an idea of what i plan on covering

Becoming best friends with your sewing machine

All about fabrics

Super Simple Project to get your started

and much more..

This series will be on every Monday starting tomorrow

Monday the 30th September 2010

and ends

Monday the 25th of October 2010

Come back tomorrow to  see what you will need to get you started

I remember when i first started Sew It on the 3rd of June 2009 with the aim of inspiring others to sew and try new tutorials & techniques.

Little did i know that a year and 2 months later it would come to an end but as much as it saddens me to do this but i think i have to face reality and move on.

I have come to this decision because i find that as much as we would like to with the busy lives we lead it is sometimes hard to finish a particular project.

I spent most of last night thinking if this was the right decision to do or not and i think it is. I am however going to join the list of great link parties and host my own with a new name and you can link up anything that you’ve made and want to show off. I will continue to share tutorials and of course sew my heart away but Sew It was great while it lasted.

I enjoyed hosting it and sewing with you, however all good things come to an end some day and today is the day to say goodbye to Sew It. You will still be able to access the tutorials all the tutorials from the Sew It tab on the left.

So thank you very much for your continued support and i do hope that you will link up to my new party *to be announced soon* when you can.

Goodbye to Sew it

Thanks for the great tutorials & inspiration

Thank you for allowing me to spend time with my sewing machine

Thanks for introducing to great crafty friends

You will be missed but not forgotten

I am so glad we are making this pillow for Sew It because it turned out beautiful if i may say so myself

What you dont believe me?

Look for yourself

See told you…

What makes it so pretty is this fabric by  Patty Young from her flora and fauna collection and this particular fabric is called Red Blossoms, click here for a list of shops that stocks them.

I found the pink cotton which i had in my stash and thought it was a perfect match to the pink flower buds.

The tutorial was well explained but it did not mention the width of the ruffles so i did 4 inches for the small flower , 6 inches for the middle one and 8 inches for the biggest flower.

Instead of cutting to strips for each flower i simply cut one long strip and folded it in half so my 4 inch strip when folded became 2 inches.

I loved the technique used to ruffle the strips although i broke a couple of needles i loved the effect it gave.

This pillow would have been done earlier today however it took me ages to secure the flowers cause of the fabric layers, and sewing it to the pillow also took about 10 mins cause i played around with them until i was happy with the placement.

One thing as well that i noticed the tutorial didnt mention what method she used to close the open end of the pillow.

I used a slip stitch to close it and this is how it turned out

I am really happy with this pillow and plan on giving it to a person who i owe my life to

♥ My Mother ♥

I hope she likes it

So tell me do you love it or hate it?

I am linking this to My PARTY i hope you will join in the fun only 5 days left!

Will also be linking up to these parties

Yesterday as i was doing my hair i looked at my hair scrunchy and thought it had seen better days.

So made a mental note to get new ones but hang on a minute i sew and i could easily make my own

And off i went to my sewing room with my girls in tow LOL

Fast forward to an hour later i had 2 hair scrunchies

What do you think?

Not bad huh?

You cant not believe how simple they are to make

Leave me a comment  if you would be interested in making one and i might just write a tutorial for you

oh and check out what i am working on

Yes you guessed it these beautiful flowers are for the FQ pillow for Sew It i hope to have finish it off today so come back tomorrow to see my FQ pillow i predict lots of cuteness

Warm Stitches

I cant begin to tell you how busy i am
Busy trying new dishes for breaking our fast
Busy occupying the girls so i dont hear “Mommy i am bored what can we do now?”
Busy driving to and from destinations
Busy doing everything except sewing *sigh*
Honestly my fabrics for the laptop cover have been cut and partially made..just need an hour to finish it up..hopefully i will get my hour soon.

Anyway this is just a quick update to let you know which tutorial one the most votes
is the Fat Quarter pillow by House of Smiths

RULES TO SEW IT

• Only entries made with Sew IT are accepted. In this case the Fat Quarter Pillow!
  
• Once finished add a link below to a specific blog post not your main blog address
• Grab the Sew IT button (found on the side bar) and pop it up on your blog for all your visitors to see
• Please do NOT link up giveaways, Etsy shops or websites.
• Comments make me and i’m sure not the only one. Visit at least 2 blogs and make someone smile by commenting on their blog post.
• You have 10 days to join this party ends on the 30th!

If you are looking for some great link up to submit your other crafty project join these great parties here