Oh You Crafty Gal

Do Homemade Face Masks Work? Here Are What Studies Say

2020-04-04T14:18:00.006-07:00

Free face mask pattern at SarahMaker

When this pandemic started to hit here in America, and we started to hear that personal protection equipment was low. Along with many Americans I wondered if home made masks would help. Now the
Centers for Disease Control has recommended that healthy and sick people wear non medical masks in public, because we know that some people with coronavirus show no symptoms and are spreading the virus.

Beginning Sewing Links

2018-07-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

Image from Alexander Henry fabric

If you want to learn how to sew or are a beginner here are some great resources for you. Be sure to also check out our free sewing class , sewing ideals on our pinterest page, our collection of free sewing patterns and tutorials, and our sewing videos page.

Tips, Tricks & Very Useful Things to Know

Great advice still! Via Mollie Motts

Sewing Terms Basic sewing terms to get ya started!

How to sew with stripes

How to get stripes and plaids to match Sewing How-Tos and Tips:Useful things to know including about altering garments.

15 Things a Home Sewer Can Learn From Industrial Sewing : Great productivity tips, and you can never save too much time sewing!

General Overview: Brief sewing instructions for different clothing areas.

Interfacing

Image via Make it Love it

Interfacing is a fabric like material used to add stiffness and structure to fabric. It is often used in clothing in specific areas that need extra shape like collars, cuffs, and waistbands, or projects like bags. It can be ironed on or sewing in, I prefer iron on because it becomes one with your fabric. Be sure to use a press cloth (a piece of fabric, thin towel, etc made of 100% cotton used to go between fabric being ironed and the iron) if using iron on Interfacing!

Different Types of Interfacing: A guide for which type to choose.

Cut-Out Embellishment: How to add a pretty cut-out effect to clothes by ironing on interfacing and cutting out shapes.

Fabric

Wall art from Sew Different

Fabric Grain Explained

Fiber types

Choosing Fabric

Choosing fabric (guide to a beginner sewer fabric shopping)
Knits vs Wovens How and Why They are different from Craftsy. Please note sewing with knits is more advanced so start sewing with wovens to begin with.

Patterns

My How to Read a Pattern Lesson
Burda's How to Read a Pattern Tutorial

Patterns Demystified: All you need to know about the info and markings found on patterns.
How to Read Pattern Markings a great page that explains most markings on patterns

Cutting Fabric and Laying out Patterns

Source unknown found via isewfree.com

Pattern Cutting Basics: Straightforward steps to cut out your pieces.

Using Freezer Paper: To cut out patterns in an easier, non-destructive way.

Sewing Machine Basics and Troubleshooting

Image found via stitch nerd

My Lesson on Dealing with Sewing Machine Issues
My Lesson: Learning about Your Machine
Sewing Machine Troubleshooting
Checklist of Common Machine Troubles from New Mexico State University (pdf)
I highly recommend downloading this pdf to your phone and or printing it and storing it with your machine for handy reference when you have machine problems. Notice I said when not if 😉!

I hope these links will help fuel your learning journey. Be sure to check out our free beginning sewing class, and to follow us on facebook , RSS, and pinterest.
http://ohyoucraftygal.blogspot.com ©Oh You Crafty Gal! All rights reserved.

Attic Reno Dream Craft and Sewing Room the Final Results!

2017-02-22T12:25:00.000-08:00

Our attic Sewing/ craft room is finally done! : Let the decorating begin

Ta da! Our attic renovations are finally done.....with the exception of a few tiny details (I still have some painting and staining to do). This has been a labor of love for the last 2 years, hence the lack of new posts here. I've been acting as my own general contractor and designer for this project as well as doing a few DIY projects.

View walking into the attic

Our attic has come along way! It was unfinished when we moved in 9 years ago. We threw down some fiberglass insulation on the floor and basically never went up there ever. So this truly is new extra square footage for us.

Our attic before: notice we originally had a pony wall around the stairs that we had to build up to meet code

Our attic before after we took out the insulation, check out the beautiful sub floor, wish I could have used it as our floor alone but it was too cut up from the renovations

I'm so excited to finally have a space to sew and store my craft materials. I have not had a space to use my 5 threaded industrial serger (pictured below) for about a decade (it's been in storage at my parents patio for a yr and our basement for 9 yrs), and I have craft stuff all over the house (my husband is just glad he doesn't need to look at it anymore).

Cleaning out my serger after being in storage for 10 years It was pretty nasty

For almost 10 years I've been sewing on our dining room table (pictured above) and often will leave projects out on the table to save time putting away and setting up and to remind myself I still have a project to finish. The problem is it's not very cute to look at and doesn't really encourage us to eat at the table.

Our (almost) finished Attic remodel

Design Plan: Maximize Knee Wall Storage
I wanted to use every nook and cranny I could for storage, cause you can never can have too much storage in a craft room! To utilize our knee walls as much as possible, we put 9 custom built dressers on one side with 3 cubbie areas with doors that I placed plastic drawer units on wheels in.

Cubbies

Far right cubbie: our biggest cubbie space, since there are no ducts here!

We framed and sheet rocked three cubbies where we didn't have dressers and added louved doors. One on the far left, middle, and far right. This was the idea of the contractor that did our framing, sheet rock, dressers, and mill work (moldings, etc). He suggested this as a way to cut down on price (custom dressers are expensive), and to have some air flow to the back of this side of the attic. The middle cubbie could not have been a dresser anyway because this is where our HVAC trunk from our furnace was.

Middle cubbie: Finding some space still around our HVAC truck and ducts. I purposely placed some fleece I have on top of our HVAC trunk so my cat can't get back in here, the floor is a bit open around the ducts and Mr Cat is kind of crazy

In the far back space in the cubbies I'm using for long term storage for personal items like photos behind the plastic drawer units. We chose the side that had HVAC ducts since some of the space isn't usable anyways.

Far Left Cubbie: long term storage items in the far back of and plastic drawer units in front for fabric and yarn storage

On the other side of the knee walls we put in hanging storage with custom built sliding drawers. I can't hang anything tall or long of course, but your average size top fits just fine as well as knee length skirts and shorts. Just like on the cubbie spaces, I can use the far back area of the hanging closet for personal long term storage like out of season shoes or coats and sweaters in vacuum sealed bags.

Built in Dressers

Some of our custom built dressers waiting to be installed: Not the slant in the back on top

We had 9 dressers custom built to fit in our knee walls. I seriously considered buying Rast dressers from Ikea to put into the knee walls, but concluded they were just to small (only 11 3/4" deep and 24 3/8" wide). But I was in love with the price $35 and the fact that it's solid real wood (almost impossible to find these days let alone at that price) that is unfinished so you can paint or stain it however you want. I did buy a Rast dresser for my bedroom. I have left it unfinished so far as I'm not sure how I want to finish it.

Our deep drawers make for great storage for fabric and yarn

The drawers except for the top are 15" deep. They work great for fabric storage and yarn storage. I'm also using it to house inventory for my Etsy shop Ornute. I bought drawer dividers at Target to help keep smaller items still organized in these deep drawers rather than having smaller drawers being built which would have cost more.

Knee Wall Hanging Closet

Our short hanging closet with the doors opened I still need to paint the hanging rod

I plan to use this short hanging closet for hanging closet for my out of season clothes. Our house was built in the 40's so we have the tiniest of closets, and well I have ALOT of clothes, so every season I have to put away and swap out my clothes at least now I can have everything stored on hangers in conditioned space (I've been storing my seasonal clothes in our unconditioned basement). After we finish our basement remodel and create our master bedroom with our huge walk in dream closet I plan to use the attic closet for projects and inventory for my Etsy shop Ornute. I can use it also for hanging shorter pattern pieces and to put fabric on hangers so it doesn't get wrinkled.

Our short hanging closet with double track louved custom sliding doors, I still need to paint the hanging rod

The contractor created custom wood brackets to attach a round handrail with a flat back for the clothes rail. I still need to paint the clothes rail white. They used standard closet doors to create custom doors that fit by cutting them down and attaching two together. They are sliding on a two track system. I can fit an average top (not long) with 3/4 sleeves or shorter. I've had to cuff up any long sleeves so they don't drag on the floor. I can also fit shorts, and knee length or shorter skirts.

Crawl Space: Cat Play Space/ Extra Storage

Door to the Right: Cat Play Room and Extra Storage Space

We have a huge room that you need to crawl to get in and has too low of a ceiling height to stand. For now we plan to make it our cat's play room and extra storage space. I was really hoping that we could let our cat have access to the attic whenever he wanted and to move his litter box to his room in the attic, but unfortunately our cat is way to adventurous and the ledge on the pony wall around the stairs is way to tempting. We decided to add a board and a handrail to the top of the ledge to help keep him off of it (pictured below).

Cat Cave Before: figuring out how to frame it

Crawl Space: Cat Cave and extra storage space, the box is the first of many to come for Mr Cat to play in

Eventually I plan to turn this spot into a cat play land with scratching post "art work" and shelves for climbing, and large boxes forming a tunnel maze. So far we just have one large box with a hole cut out for him. He loves that he can jump in from the top or crawl in from the front and hide behind the box. I'm having fun thinking of hilarious ways to decorate Mr Cats cave. I might even hang up posters from the Kitten Covers like the pics below.

The RaMEOWnes by The Kitten Covers

Beastie Kittens by The Kitten Covers

How to Keep a Cat Off a Ledge?

Pony wall caped off with 2 boards (one wider than the other) and a hand rail, to deter our cat from hanging out on top of our stairs. I still need to paint it white. And yes Mr Cat has jumped up on the ledge.

As soon as we had our sub floor patched we let our cat come into the attic for the first time ever. I was so excited to see his reaction to finally getting to go up to the attic. Of course he loved it he pranced around meowing and eventually became very interested in jumping on our pony wall around the stairs. "Oh crap. This is going to be a problem," I thought.

I decided to find a way to finish off the pony wall to make it less dangerous for Mr Cat. This was quite tricky, because I didn't want it to look ugly or weird or cost a ton. We settled on our contractor doing the wood work's suggestion of adding a handrail to the wood edge and another smaller board between. The idea is while he will still jump up there (and he does), he at least won't be a comfy place to hangout and sleep up there. My fear is that not only would that make him jump up there more frequently, but he also could fall over the ledge while sleeping or grooming himself (it would not be his first time doing that).

So did it work? The verdict is still out since Mr Cat is still feeling out the space. He has jumped up there a few times and even shakily walked the inside ledge once. Our idea does make it less safe for him when he actually does jump up there, but less likely to jump up there and especially less likely to hang out and or sleep on the ledge. I do think it will be safer for kids (we don't have any kids but do plan to adopt kids in the foster system) because they are less likely to try to stand or sit on the ledge, and it's higher than code so it's harder to fall over the stairs.

I plan to set up a lot of chill spots for Mr Cat and he will have the crawl space aka cat cave for his play zone (as mentioned above). Hopefully he will lose interest eventually in the ledge and focus on safer areas. I've concluded it's best to just lock him out of the attic unless we can watch him.

Our Construction Plan:

We ended up hiring a contractor to frame, create the built in storage (both build the dressers and to create the custom hanging closet), sheet rock, mud and tape, priming with vapor barrier paint, patch sub floor put in a thin sub floor above our existing to create a even surface for flooring install, build stair walls to code, railing to code, and trim and moldings.
I provided the plans for the city and obtained the permit and have been scheduling inspections.
I hired out Electrical, HVAC, and Spray Foam.
The DIY projects we did

Painted our existing windows that are bare wood white to match out trim and reglazed them
Painted the walls I wanted the over all room to be white, but wanted the walls to just have a hint of color to make the white moldings pop out more and to create some interest when the light hits it in different ways. I didn't want it to be too different than the white ceiling since the walls are the ceiling, just a subtle difference.

paint used Glidden diamond in drifting snow (white with just a hint of grey) the in egg shell, and Glidden Diamond in ultra pure white in eggshell. I love it it's just what I wanted.

Installed the vinyl plank flooring.We picked vinyl plank flooring because it's easy to do yourself. Cutting is simply snap and score with a utility knife. With laminate you need a special blade and a circular saw, so we would have had to hire that out. Our contractor quoted just over $3700 to install the vinyl planks we bought. So we saved some serious cash doing it our self!

Vinyl Plank Flooring Used: Shaw Citadel floating vinyl plank flooring in Palmero Oak bought on sale at Menards for about $1,000

We Installed our Shaw vinyl plank floating flooring

I'm so excited to finally move in and decorate. Finally the fun part! It's been a lot of work but I am soooo glad I managed the project and designed it myself, not only did we save a lot of money (I'm guessing it would have cost double if I had not acted as designer and contractor) but I must say I have a lot more pride about this project than I would have otherwise. I'll keep posting as I start to move in and decorate so check back soon for clever craft and sewing storage ideas.

Pervious Posts in this Series:

Attic Renovation Dream Craft and Sewing Room Part 1: Design and Planning

Attic Renovation Dream Craft and Sewing Room Part 2: Updates Spray Foam and Drywall

Check out my Attic Remodel board on Pinterest to see my inspiration and my Dream Craft room board.

Attic Reno Dream Craft Room Updates Spray Foam and Drywall

2016-10-12T11:10:00.000-07:00

Our attic after open cell spray foam

As I said in my last post, I've been busy working on our attic renovations lately. When we bought our house 9 yrs ago it came with an unfinished attic that was perfect to finish off. While most people would want to turn it into a master, I wanted to turn it into my dream craft/ sewing place. We are actually going to turn almost our entire basement into our dream master retreat. That's the next big project after this one.

After spray foam (open cell) my future sewing space

I have been working with a construction company to do everything with the project except drawing plans and filling the permit, electrical, HVAC, spray foam, installing the floors, and painting. I have been acting as general contractor and designer for the project. I started by drawing plans and filing a permit with the city. I was really nervous about this but it was so easy that I feel dumb for even worrying about it. Because I filed the permit I have been scheduling inspections with the inspector. Also super easy. I hired out for elecrical, HVAC, and spray foam.

My future sewing space After first day of sheet rock

What We Have Done So Far
We're finally at the over 1/2 way done part. We now have heat and air (HVAC), electrical rough ins (still need to do the electrical finishing after we paint), spray foam, and drywall. My attic design plan centers around keeping as much space as possible. We are having built in storage in the knee walls instead of just blocking them off, and having a cathedral ceiling instead of just putting sheet rock to the roof rafters. Apparently this makes sheet rocking and mudding and tapping into a super difficult long job, because instead of having a box you have all kind of angles and small spaces to get into. Apparently our drywaller did not realize how difficult the job would be (our contractor hired him) and almost walked out the second day. Our contractor's project manager (the guy in charge on the job site) had to come over and talk him into staying to finish.

Our attic view as you walk into the space after first day of dry wall

Right now as I type our attic is being mud and tapped, apparently this should take about a week to finish. Next up is priming. Our contractor will be doing the priming with Sherwin Willams vapor barrier paint in order to meet code for a vapor barrier (only necessary if you use open cell spray foam). Finally I can start thinking about fun stuff like decorating and it's starting to look like a living space.

Our attic after first day of dry wall

The DIY Projects we will be doing on this project are painting (which should be quite fun with the stairs and cathedral ceiling), install the vinyl plank floors, and paint and glaze or original wood windows (I'm currently working on this now).

Update we are done! See our final results in Part 3: Final Results! Tons of Built in Storage

Check out my Attic Remodel board on Pinterest to see my inspiration and my Dream Craft room board, and if you missed Part 1 of this series (the before and our design plan) check it out here.

Attic Reno Dream Craft Room Design and Planning

2016-10-05T22:01:00.000-07:00

Here is how our attic has looked for 8 yrs

When my husband and I bought our home 9 yrs ago we saw the unfinished attic and thought it would be perfect as my craft/ sewing studio and office space. We put some fiberglass bats on the floor and basically never went up there again. Last year we were planning on finishing the space, but a combination of family crisis's and the project being much bigger than I anticipated pushed it back until this summer.

Our attic after I took all the fiberglass bats out spring/summer 2016

We started our journey spring of 2015 when we asked a local remodeling company Castle to give us a bid to finish off our attic. They had a good reputation and I liked that they gave itemized bids. I did not however like their price tag. They wanted $65-$70,00 to simply put in new windows, HVAC, electrical, frame, add built in storage to knee walls, spray foam, sheet rock, mud and tape, prime and paint, add sub floor and hardwood floors, moldings, and a hand rail to code. Well let's just say for what we were doing and what houses go for in our neighborhood that's kind of crazy. We would never get our money back. So I realized I would need to be our own general contractor/ designer if I wanted to keep the budget in check. So it's taken a long time to realize what order things need to be done, research and find the best people for each job, learn how the trades work together, how to file for a permit, and coordinate inspections and the trades along with a few DIY projects I am doing.

Attic after first day of construction (framing) We had them frame horizontally where possible to break the thermal bridge

The Plan For Our Attic

Design Plan:

The space will be my sewing/ craft/ office space.
Over all design look: Bright loft where scandanavian style meets glamour
It will have a cathedral ceiling with exposed white sheet rock beams that have white led dimmable track lights at the top of the beam to create more head room
Built in dressers in the knee walls on the side with HVAC to make the most of the space (since vents take up alot of space in the back)
Access to the whole space of knee walls on the other side with rolling louved doors and a hanging rod
Cat cave (yes our cat is spoiled)/ storage space in our big space that you ave to bend down to walk into (pictured below).

It will house his litter box. I can't wait to get it out of the kitchen which is the only place we can out it because we have carpeting everywhere.
I think I will make a cat tunnel house out of big boxes I've kept for him along with a comfy cat bed.

Our cat's soon to be cat cave (yeah he's spoiled) It will have a louved bifold door

Construction Plan:
We ended up hiring a contractor to frame, create the built in storage, sheet rock, mud and tape, priming with vapor barrier paint, patch sub floor put in a thin sub floor above our existing to create a even surface for flooring install, build stair walls to code, railing to code, and trim and moldings. I provided the plans for the city and obtained the permit and have been scheduling inspections. I hired out Electrical, HVAC, and Spray Foam. The DIY projects we plan to do is painting our existing windows that are bare wood white to match out trim and reglazing them (I am currently working on that), painting, and installing vinyl plank flooring.

So if you've been wondering why there have been no new posts, it's because I've been pretty busy planning this and working on my Etsy shop Ornute. So hopefully this spring I can start to post more regularly. :)

Next Posts in this Series:

Attic Renovation Dream Craft and Sewing Room Part 2: Updates Spray Foam and Drywall

Attic Renovation Dream Craft and Sewing Room Part 3: Final Results! Tons of Built In Storage

Check out my Attic Remodel board on Pinterest to see my inspiration and my Dream Craft room board.

DIY Detachable Removable Peter Pan Collars

2016-10-05T18:06:00.002-07:00


Collar made by Grow Creative from Free crochet collar pattern by LuLu Loves

I'm currently teaching my sewing classes and one of my students really loves unique collars. This reminded me that I always wanted to make a detachable collar. I love the idea of it being like jewelry in the sense you can add it to any outfit. The possibilities are endless! Here are my favorite tutorials I have found.

You could crochet one like above and below from Grow Creative. This is probably the first one I will try because I have been more into learning how to crochet and knit since I'm pretty advanced with sewing. I love a challenge. Knitting or crocheting one would take more time, but so worth it I think look at how cute this collar is? Get the Free crochet collar pattern from LuLu Loves.

Collar made by Grow Creative from Free crochet collar pattern by LuLu Loves

Free crochet collar pattern from LuLu Loves

Another option that would take little time and only require a tiny bit of hand sewing is to make one out of felt (like the tutorial below from Honestly WTF), pleather, or leather (from SequinBlog). No sewing machine needed. Since the edges won't fray you don't need to make any seams. You can also punch through holes in the fabric since it won't fray. The tutorials below uses a hole punch for each scallop, but I'm sure there are many other cool ways you could add cut out designs to your collar. I'd imagine scrap booking would have some nifty cut out like this 3 in 1 lace corner punch cut out tool, or this floral vine edger punch from Martha Stewart Crafts. I doubt this would work on leather or pleather, but might work on felt. Try at your own risk as I have not tested this idea yet and they are made for paper, but if you scrap book any ways I would try it.

Felt Scalloped detachable Peter Pan Collar Free pattern and tutorial from Honestly WTF (hand sewing only)

This tutorial comes from Sequin Blog, which no longer exists so the pic above is all the directions available but making it in leather should be very similar to the collar made by Honestly WTF

You could also make one sewing on a sewing machine with fabric with a fun print like quilting cotton fabric like this one by My Sparkles (pictured below), or a bright color to color block with outfits.

Get the free pattern for this peter pan collar from My Sparkles

I also like the idea of a collar in a neutral color with embellishments such as lace, crystals, studs, glitter, beads, sequins, and rhinestones. Megan Nielsen's collar below is a great example.

Free pattern from Megan Nielsen for a beaded detachable peter pan collar with a scalloped edge

13 Awesome Free Nursery Art Prints

2016-04-11T06:58:00.000-07:00

Free personalized Birth Announcement Templates for Microsoft Publisher (I used it in Libre Office it worked but I had to adjust text size and placement )from Full of Great Ideas for a boy or girl

I've been in a crafty baby place in my mind lately with the arrival of a new niece and nephew. Last Oct my nephew Dominic came into this world and now in August I will have a new niece. I just learned the sex of the baby yesterday at the baby sex reveal party. Of course now I''m thinking of crafty shower gifts, so look for more crafty baby ideas to come!

I started thinking that a nursery print would be a great extra gift, cause it can be personalized, and really only costs as much as the frame you buy. There are a lot of inspirational quote print outs, but since a baby can't read........well let's just say in my opinion those are better suited toward kids instead of babies. I thought I'd share my favorite nursery free printables.

Free personalized Birth Announcement Templates for Microsoft Publisher (I used it in Libre Office it worked but I had to adjust text size and placement )from Full of Great Ideas for a boy or girl

Get this free nursery art print in pink, turquoise, orange, and yellow from Willow White

This Free Alphabet Nursery Print from The diary of a Real Housewife is available in pink, blue, and yellow

Burlap and Blue have free initial girl nursery prints available in every letter

Free Woodland Prints by Mish Mash by Ash

How cute are these?

Free Fox Nursery Prints by MissMandee

SohoSonnet for View From the Fridge

I especially love the Sleep, Eat, Poop, repeat, and You are Getting Sleepy ones.

Fabric 101: Beginner’s Guide to Shopping for Fabric

2016-03-25T11:22:00.001-07:00

Previous Lessons:
lesson 1: Welcome and intro first,
lesson 2: Guide to Buying a Sewing Machine
lesson 3: Sewing Machine Supplies
lesson 4: Getting to Know Your Machine

lesson 5: How to Thread Your Machine

lesson 6: How to Sew a Straight, curved, and corner line

lesson 7: How to Sew a Basic Seam
Lesson 8: Trouble Shooting Your Sewing Machine
Lesson 9: Basic Sewing Terms

Lesson 10: How to Fix Tension on Your Sewing Machine

Lesson 11: How to Read a Sewing Pattern Envelope

7 Free One Skein Chunky Knitting Patterns

2015-12-13T11:03:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been so long since I've posted! I've been busy working on turning my attic into my craft studio/ office (more to come on that in the Summer we are in the planning stages right now), and working on creating things for my Etsy shop Ornute. So I've basically been sewing and knitting up a storm lately.

I have decided not to make any Christmas gifts this year even though I've had some great ideas for my niece and nephew (all involved sewing and making a pattern), because it's far to late to start any big projects. Instead I will start them in the fall next year. I have a tendency to underestimate how long gifts will take and then I'm stressed at the last minute. My goal is a stress free holiday season! This got me thinking that if I wanted to knit a gift for someone as long as it was one skein pretty basic and used large needles it really wouldn't be too late to make a gift for someone. One skein chunky knit patterns are perfect, because they knit up fast since they use large needles. So instead of hitting up the mall, get comfy on the couch with a good long movie, your knitting needles, and some yarn and make a gift for you or a loved one.

Of course I had to share with you some of my favorite easy quick knit patterns I've found online. Most of these patterns are pretty basic so they are great for beginners and for mindless knitting (knitting while talking or watching TV) as I like to call it. Hope you enjoy these patterns and have a stress free Holidays!

Oh You Crafty Gal's One Skein Seed Cowl

Our one skein one night chunky Chelsea Cowl free knitting pattern

This was my very first knitting project and the first pattern I ever made, so you know it's easy and great for a beginner. I still wear this all the time! I keep it folded on a shelf cause it loses it's shape if I hang it on the hooks by my entry way. This keeps me warm here in MN, this knit seed stitch cowl fits perfect under coats and is big enough to cover your mouth (which is really important in cold weather like we get here in MN!) I used One skein of Patons Classic Wool Roving, (120 yards in dark grey) and size 13 needles. You could sub a chunky yarn (make sure you have 120 yards or more) and go up to a size 15 needle and this pattern would be a little wider and longer. Check out my free knitting pattern here!

Dropped Stitch Cowl by Abi Gregorio

Free Knitting Pattern: Dropped Stitch Cowl by Abi Gregorio

This free knitting pattern by Abi Gregorio of Spiderwomen Knits knits up fast since it's a dropped stitch. Just grab some super bulky yarn ((5-6 wpi) 110 yards (101 m) and size 15 needles circular needles.

Chunky Fingerless Gloves by Gina Michele

Free pattern from Gina Michele: Chunky finger less gloves

I love these arm warmers by Gina Michele to make for gifts or for yourself. This Free Knit Pattern is stitched in garter and do not require any shaping for the thumb hole so they are great for beginners. They also only use one skein of Lion Brand Wool Ease Thick and Quick (or you could use any chunky weight 6 yarn), and size 13 needles and are worked flat then seamed leaving a hole for the thumb. Gina has lot of other great quick knit beginner projects too so be sure to check out her other free knitting and crochet patterns many of them are one skein too.

Anthro-tastic Headband by Vera Sanon

Anthro-tastic Headband

by Vera Sanon

Here is a pic Knitgene took of their creation of this pattern

Vera Sanon made this pattern for a headband/ear‐warmer that is modeled after one at Anthropology that retailed at almost $100, since of course she would rather make one herself. And now so can you with her free pattern. You can find this free pattern on Ravelry and check out how this pattern has worked for others with pics and notes.

Size: 4.5”/11.5 cm wide and 17 (19, 21)”/43 (48.5, 53.5) cm long, to fit 18 (20, 22)”/46 (51, 56) cm head circumference.

Materials:
Loops & Thread Cozy Wool (50% Wool/50% Acrylic) – 90 yds/80m per 4.5 oz/127g skein – Super Bulky Yarn 1 skein (the larges sizes uses approx. 52 yds/48 m)
1 set of US # 13 (9 mm) needles
Spare DPN or large cable needle or spare circular needle
Tapestry Needle

Brandy Melville Inspired Chunky Beanie

Brandy Melville Inspired Chunky Beanie by BitchinKnitting

Hats make a great gift cause you can never have to many! Since this free knitting pattern from BitchinKnitting uses a seed stitch it creates a more unique textured fabric. Uses some unique chunky yarn to make it even more unique!

Supplies used:

1 skein Deborah Norville Serenity chunky tweed yarn (other bulky weight yarns will work just as well)
US 11 (8.0 mm) 16 inch circular needles
US 8 (5.0 mm) DPNs (4 or 5 DPNs depending on your preference)
Place marker (not necessary but very useful)
Tapestry needle

Megan E Sass Chunky Knit Beanie Hat

Megan E Sass Chunky Knit Beanie Hat

I think the simplicity and chunkiness (is that a word?) of this chunky beanie hat would look beautiful with an interesting yarn that's heathered, ombre, tweedy, or marled. You could also use 2 different worsted yarns knitted together (marled) to create an interesting fabric. This should knit up fast since it uses size 13 needles! Check out Megan E Sass for this free easy quick knitting pattern.

MATERIALS NEEDED:

1 ball of super bulky weight yarn, such as Lion Brand Thick & Quick or Lion Brand Hometown
16 inch circular needle, size 13, or size needed to obtain gauge (I actually use a size 10)
Double pointed needles

The Brioche Honeycomb Cowl by Knit LA

Free Knitting Pattern The Brioche Honeycomb Cowl by Knit LA

How cozy and sophisticated is this Brioche Honeycomb cowl by LA Knits? Who wouldn't love this as a gift? The brioche honeycomb stitch creates a beautiful texture and pattern. This might be a little difficult for a beginner and is not what I would call mindless knitting, but it does have good instructions about how to create the brioche honeycomb stitch. This free knitting pattern for the Brioche Honeycomb Cowl by Knit LA uses Blissa chunky yarn (130 yards) and size 17 needles and is worked flat. Knit LA has other great free patterns using chunky yarn you should also check out.

Now that you've made your gift check out our post Best of Free Printable Tags/ Labels For Handmade Gifts and check out our free knitting patterns!

For more free printable labels for handmade goods and tutorials on how to make fabric labels check out my Pinterest board DIY labels/Tags

For more free knitting patterns check out our pinterest board "Free Chunky Knitting Patterns" and one skein knitting and crochet patterns.

http://ohyoucraftygal.blogspot.com ©Oh You Crafty Gal! All rights reserved.

Best of Free Printable Tags/ Labels For Handmade Gifts

2014-11-03T09:50:00.000-08:00

Check out this free printable tag for your hand knit or crochet gifts from Cobberson & CO

It's now the perfect time to start making any Christmas gifts you are planning. And while you are at it why not start thinking about the packaging. I was looking on pinterest for ideals and found that many free printable tags for handmade gifts are no longer there. Most of the links were broken. This left me compelled to share the few great ones I found that in fact do actually link to free pdf you can print. Yea!

How to Contour For Your Face Shape

2014-10-22T08:58:00.000-07:00

Image via makeup artist Samer Khouzami

Growing up I loved playing with make-up. I had a rather extensive selection and was made up nearly every day in a creative new way that coordinated with my outfit. Years ago I stopped making myself up so much and settled on one or two looks I usually wore, natural, red lips no eye makeup, or cat eye (eye liner only) with light lips Then a few years ago I started learning about all the bad chemicals around us especially in our personal products ( lotion, shampoo, make-up, etc). And I threw out nearly all my make-up and personal products and replaced them with all natural products.

How to Read a Sewing Pattern Envelope

2014-08-12T09:22:00.002-07:00

Image from Sweet Briar Sisters

image credit: Stitch in my Side

You will want to start with an easy pattern of course. My students in my last class (I teach in the non virtual world too), asked me a great question I never thought of, how do I know what an easy pattern is? Look for patterns that have key words like easy, and quick. Terms like average or advanced would indicate that it is NOT a pattern for beginners. Also try to select a pattern with few pieces and no more than one new technique for you. Some good first projects are any clothes that are wraps (wrap skirt, wrap dress, etc.), or have elastic waist bands. Other good first projects are pillows, stuffed animals, pillow cases, etc.

image credit: Stitch in my Side

To shop for a pattern you should first look for a table with the pattern books. They will be huge fat heavy books with the styles of patterns in them. After you find the style you like remember the style number of the pattern and go to the file cabinet of the pattern brand you chose. Then look for the pattern number you chose.

Selecting a Size
Patterns tend to be smaller than ready to wear (clothes in the stores). The reason is designers started to make clothes bigger with a smaller size labelled, because everyone wants to say they are a smaller size! This is also why no label sizes the same.

So do not go by your normal size, instead go by your measurements. So you will need to take your measurements (bust, waist, and hips) before you go shopping for patterns.

Reading The Pattern Envelope

image credit: Rosie Wednesday

Pick a style on the front you want to make and then look at the back. The picture above is of the back of a pattern (Simplicity pattern #3833).

1. This is the pattern number
2. The amount of pattern pieces for all styles.
3. These computerized pictures of the styles are called flats. I learned how to make them in fashion design school. They show details that might not show in an illustration like darts, seams, buttons, and zippers.
4. Fabrics are suggested types of fabrics for the pattern. You don't have to use them, but your project is more likely to turn out if you do follow the pattern companies suggestion.
5. Notions are what you need to complete your project besides fabric and or interfacing (we will cover what interfacing is later). Some examples would be buttons, elastic, or a zipper.
6. Body Measurements. Select the size that's closest to your body measurements. You can follow the line down to match how much fabric you'll need for your size. If you are a female and larger than a B cup you should use your high bust measurement instead of full bust. See picture below.

Source

7. Amount of Fabric look at the style you want to make and the size, and you will see the amount of fabric you will need depending on the width of fabric you chose comes in at the fabric store. Typically bolts of fabric come in widths of 45" or 60". If your fabric you chose is only 45" you would need more fabric than if it were 60" wide.
8. Interfacing quantity. Interfacing is a stiff material that you place on the wrong side of fabric to help give it stiffness and more body. It can be fused to your fabric with an iron (fusable) or sewn to the pattern piece. It's usually used at necklines, in collars, waistbands, cuffs, etc. This tells you the amount to buy for the version of the style you choose.
9. Finished garment measurements. This is the amount of extra ease added by some patterns in certain areas such as the bust to help make sure you have enough fabric to allow for mistakes such as having your measurements off. In the picture above the size chosen in the picture above has 36" for the bust for example and the finished garment measurement for the bust for that size is 38 1/2" this means they allowed in the pattern for an extra 2 1/2" only in the bust.
10. Fabric with or without nap. Nap means that the fabric will look different depending on how it's positioned. This usually comes in the form of texture (velvet cordorary) or design (stripes, novelty prints, etc.). So if you have flowers for example, you'll need more fabric to make sure all the flowers match up on your finished garment. This pattern has ** next to each fabric width, indicating that they've given you all fabric requirements with nap, this is the maximum amount of fabric you'd need.

Still have questions? Then watch this video below from Professor Pincushion on how to read a commercial pattern.

How To Read A Commercial Pattern Envelope (17min)

Homework:
If you don't have a pattern at home to look at go to your local craft/sewing store (Walmart will do as well) and look at their patterns. Of course you can buy patterns online as well, but I would save that until you are more familiar with patterns. You can look for one for your first project, or just to familiarize yourself with patterns.

Next Lesson: Check back soon for our next lesson on how to understand what's in the pattern envelope.

Previous Lessons:
lesson 1: Welcome and intro first,
lesson 2: Guide to Buying a Sewing Machine
lesson 3: Sewing Machine Supplies
lesson 4: Getting to Know Your Machine

lesson 5: How to Thread Your Machine

lesson 6: How to Sew a Straight, curved, and corner line

lesson 7: How to Sew a Basic Seam
Lesson 8: Trouble Shooting Your Sewing Machine
Lesson 9: Basic Sewing Terms

Lesson 10: How to Fix Tension on Your Sewing Machine

Best Sunglasses For Your Face Shape

2014-06-09T10:15:00.003-07:00

ICU Black Retro Cat Eye Sunglasses

One of the best thing about summer is you can rock your sunglasses all you want! This season I ordered some online. I have never bought sunglasses online before. I love buying things online these days because I buy less stuff impulsively and save a ton of time. The problem with buying sunglasses online though is that you can't try them on. How do you know what will look good if you can't try them on? Well before placing my order for some sunglasses with ICU eyeware, I researched into what works best for my face shape (oval). Apparently I can wear any style and look good. Well that made my day! I opted for the classic styles from ICU with a hint of fun. I choose 4 different cat eye styles: Tortoise cat eye in brown and yellow, cat eye with brown leatherette, and black retro cat eye (pictured above). They also have some great styles in their ecoline which uses recycled materials. Can you tell I like cat eyes? Puuur...haps it's because I like cats?

Big Sexy Vintage Voluminous Sixties Retro Hairstyle Tutorials

2014-03-11T10:31:00.001-07:00

Unfortunately there is no tutorial for this modern version of a 60s do but with the tutorials below I'm sure you could figure it out! Image via

Inspiration
I've always loved big teased long hair with a bit of a throwback to the sixties, especially with pale glossy lips and black eye liner and mascara (just don't go to literal 60s make-up so it doesn't look like a costume). The bigger and pouffier (is that even a word?)the better. Harken your inner Bridget Bardot, Priscila Presley, Jean Shrimpton,and Sophia Loren. Think big long and styled but in a sexy bed head kind of way. Total sex kitten. Pair it with a sun dress, little black dress, or a black turtle neck and jeans for a full proof knock out look.

Free Twisted Rib Large Mug Cozy Knitting Pattern with Videos

2014-02-10T11:18:00.002-08:00

Last year I created this pattern for my super duper huge mug (holds about 3 cups) that I use to drink coffee every mourning from. I couldn't find any patterns to fit my huge mug so I decided to make up my own pattern! I've been using my mug cozy for over a year now and I love it. It's even great for keeping smoothies in the summer cold which I live in on the summer. I have certainly gotten a lot of use out of my mug cozy!

Best Ways to Add Instant Volume To Your Hair

2014-01-28T12:21:00.001-08:00

Check out Kristen Stewart's big hair in her W magazine Photo shoot! Wow this is the best I've ever seen her look by far! Could it be her hair?

I've always loved having long hair. The shortest I've ever had it was in between chin and shoulder length bob and that was only cause I accidentally told the stylist I wanted it that short thinking it was longer (curly hair bounces after it dries)! My hair has always had a ton of body naturally, because it's curly to wavy (depending on the weather and the length of my hair at the time). So I usually just wash it and go. No blow drying, hair products (except for frizz products in the summer), or tools or anything. But for the last 10 years I've had occasional hair loss.

How To Make Your Clip On Hair Extensions Thicker

2013-12-29T12:37:00.000-08:00

Jacquelyn Jablonski, Vogue Italia September 2011 image found via

I've always loved long big hair. If you were to look at any of my fashion illustrations I did growing up you would see that they almost all have long huge cartoon exaggerated style hair. I've always had my hair pretty long anywhere from shoulder length to half way down my back. Lately I've been really influenced by big sixties volumious hair styles. The bigger the better. I started this post to share all the best resources and ideas I found online but soon realized I had so much info I wanted to share that my one post was really a series of posts. So this is the first post in this Big Sexy Sixties Hair series.

Top 10 Kickass Easy Handmade Gifts

2013-11-08T21:49:00.000-08:00

While this may seem early to some to start thinking about Christmas already, it's not if you plan to make gifts for anyone. My rule of thumb is to try to finish gifts you are making by the first week of Dec if you haven't finished yet by that time I usually will buy a gift instead and just save that gift to give for next year instead or for a birthday. No since in stressing yourself for the holidays! With that said making a gift is a great option for anyone on your list. It's personal and unique. No need to worry if they have what you are giving them already!

How to Fix Tension on Your Sewing Machine

2013-10-23T15:53:00.001-07:00

Check out Sewing School's post on tension

Threads Magazine has a great tension guide: notice where the tension points are

How Do You Know If Your Tension Is the Problem?

If your stitches look perfect and your sewing machine is sewing great, do not touch your tension knobs! However if your follow the below check list from Threads Magazine and it's still not right, I would suggest starting to try adjusting your tension slowly using a test scrap piece of fabric (never your project)!

Please Check the Following Before Touching your Tension Dial

A drop of oil has been added to the hook area (when applicable).
The correct presser foot is attached for the technique and fabric.
Incorrectly threaded machine: Did you use all thread guides? Did you thread with the presser foot down,which would keep the thread from slipping fully between tension discs? Is thread unwinding freely from the spool, or catching on the spool’s slash? Are you using a bobbin as a spool (which can interfere with the thread flow)? Is the bobbin inserted correctly?
Dirty machine: Lint and thread ends lodged between the tension discs, under the throat plate, or around the bobbin case and bobbin, increase the resistance and restrict the thread flow. “Floss” between the tension discs with a lightweight, lint-free cloth, and check in the bobbin area for thread ends and lint.
Damaged machine parts: Bent needles and bobbins, and rough or damaged surfaces on the needle eyes, thread guides, tension discs, take-up lever, throat plate, presser foot, bobbin case, and in the bobbin area can all cause problems. If you drop a metal bobbin on a hard floor, throw it away, even if it looks fine; the smallest damage can distort tension. Avoid damage to the bobbin-tension spring by cutting the thread close to the case before removing the bobbin. Raise the presser foot before removing thread from the upper tension.
Needles, threads, and fabrics: Different thread sizes and types on top and in the bobbin can throw off basic tension settings. A needle that’s too large or small for the thread can also unbalance your stitches, because the size of the hole adds to or reduces the total top tension. If you find that you’re getting puckers on lightweight fabrics try changing to a straight-stitch foot and needle plate, and shorten the stitch length to 1.75 mm (15 sts/in.), before you reach for those tension dials.

How do You Fix You Tension?
Tension is like a game of tug of war. When both sides are equal neither sides are winning. When one side is winning and one is losing your tension is off. The key to finding out which way to turn your tension dial is to find out what side is winning and losing. Is your top thread loose and bottom too tight? Or is your top thread tight and your bottom loose? One way that makes this easy to tell is to use a light coloured piece of fabric to test with two different colour threads that will show nicely against one another. The below graphics I think are a great way of illustrating this tug of war. I would actually suggest printing the below picture and keeping it with your sewing machine for a quick reference. Trust me it will come in handy!

Love this graphic showing how tension works from Superior Threads

Here's another great graphic showing tension. Image is from Kite Sewing 101

In order to understand tension you need to understand which way it is off. I have found that understanding it is the best way to learn this. If you look at the illustrations above and think it out I'm sure you will understand which way you need to adjust your tension.

If you look at the above graphic you can see illustration number 1 (far left) shows a fabric sample that shows the top thread on the bottom, unlike the perfect tension in illustration 3 (the far right). This means that the top tension is to loose and the bottom to tight. In illustartion number two there is the opposite problem.

How Do You Increase or Decrease Your Tension

So now that you know how to determine which thread is tight and which is loose how do you adjust it?

How to Adjust Top Tension
First you need to find your tension regulating dial (see illustration of sewing machine above). It will be in a different place on every machine so if your not sure which knob it is, check your sewing machine manual. If you do not have a manual it will be the knob with numbers on it that does not change your type of stitches or length.

If Your Top Tension is to Loose
To increase your top tension (if your top tension is loose) turn your knob so that the numbers are increasing. Try 1/2 to one number lower, then test on a light piece of scrap fabric with a different colour thread top and bottom. Continue until it looks even on both sides and you can no longer see the bottom thread on the top. If you seem unable to do this keep it where it is closet to balanced and proceed to how to adjust your bobbin tension below.

If Your Top Tension is to Tight
To decrease your top tension (if your top tension is tight) turn your knob so that the numbers are decreasing. Try 1/2 to one number lower, then test on a light piece of scrap fabric with a different colour thread top and bottom. Continue until it looks even on both sides and you can no longer see the bottom thread on the top. If you seem unable to do this keep it where it is closet to balanced and proceed to how to adjust your bobbin tension below.

How to Adjust Your Bobbin Tension (Your Lower Thread Tension)
You should always try to adjust with your top tension first if possible. You should not need to adjust your bobbin tension unless you are using a heavier or lighter thread than usual. Heavier fabric needs more tension (turn the dial to a higher number) and lighter fabric less tension (turn the dial to a lower number). According to Mainely Sewing Machines too many adjustments with the screw in the bobbin could make it loosen it's grip.

Every machine will have either a top loading drop in bobbin, or bottom loading with a bobbin case (the sewing machine pictured above has a bottom loading case). The below picture shows how to adjust the tension by tightening or loosening the bobbin case screw.

Here are a few things to keep in mind to trouble shoot before adjusting your bobbin tension.

Is your bobbin winded right? Meaning is it would too loose and loopy or to tight?
Do you have the right bobbin for your machine?
Has your bobbin case fallen on the floor? If so it might be damaged and therefore affecting the tension.

Check out these great videos to see how to adjust tension on your sewing machine. Sometimes it just helps to watch someone. :)

How to Adjust Tension | Sewing Machine How Cast (4 min)

This is a great quick video about how to adjust upper thread tension

Sewing Machine Thread Tension - Updated Professor Pincushion (9 min)

This is a VERY through explanation of adjusting top and bottom tension (bottom loading only)

Bottom Loading Bobbins
One simple way to test if you need to adjust your bobbin tension if you have a bottom loading bobbin is to take the thread hanging from your bobbin case (if you don't have a bobbin case you have a front loading bobbin). If the thread unwinds and the bobbin drops a few inches, your tension is perfect. If the thread doesn’t unwind at all, your tension is too tight and will need to be loosened. If the thread unwinds with no effort and the bobbin drops easily, your tension is too loose and you’ll need to tighten it. Use a tiny screwdriver and turn the screw on the side of the bobbin case by 1/4 turn. As seen in the illustration below the good old righty tighty lefty loosey applies here. Test the tension again. Repeat until the thread only drops a few inches.

image via singer

Top Loading Bobbin
Below is a picture of a top loading bobbin case. For how to adjust tension on a sewing machine like this (top loading) in the video below.

Top Loading Thimble: image via Yesterday's Thimble

Check out the video below to learn how to adjust tension in top and bottom loading sewing machines. She describes everything great and is very to the point!

Top and Front Load Bobbin Explained (5 min)

Here is a great pdf on tension from the University of Kentucky. I suggest that you print this and keep it with your sewing machine for a quick reference.

Found This Post Because You are Having Problems With You Machine?

Since starting this sewing school I have had many people trying to ask my questions about problems with their sewing machines. I will not answer any specific answers to your machine questions beyond this so please don't ask. Here is my general advice: "Have you read the above my article and applied what you learned? If not try that. If your machine is still not working check out my troubleshooting guide, also check your sewing machine manual which usually while have a troubleshooting guide as well. If this does not work you can try a sewing forum such as Threads magazine's or try a search online describing your problem. If this all fails you need to take your machine in to be repaired, unfortunately sometimes you just have to.

Homework
With a white piece of fabric and two different colored threads sew a straight line and look at it compared to the tug of war pictures in this lesson. How does your tension look? If it is not perfect work until you can achieve perfect balance (neither top nor bottom is tugging more than the other).

Next Lesson: How to Read a Pattern Envelope

Previous Lessons:
lesson 1: Welcome and intro first,
lesson 2: Guide to Buying a Sewing Machine
lesson 3: Sewing Machine Supplies
lesson 4: Getting to Know Your Machine

lesson 5: How to Thread Your Machine

lesson 6: How to Sew a Straight, curved, and corner line

lesson 7: How to Sew a Basic Seam
Lesson 8: Trouble Shooting Your Sewing Machine
Lesson 9: Basic Sewing Terms

Next Lessons:
Lesson 11: How to Read a Pattern Envelope

Basic Sewing Terms

2013-09-26T19:21:00.002-07:00

vintage pincushion pattern for sale at Craftsy

Hi Everyone! If your following this class, good to see you back again. If your new welcome to the class! If you need to catch up you can see at the bottom of this post or click here to what our prior lessons were if you need to catch up Today we are going to learn some basic sewing terms to get you started with pictures. Some of these terms we will cover in further depth in future lessons.

Basic Sewing Terms

Seam Allowance- The width of your seam, from the stitch line to edge of fabric. This usually varies from 1/2" to 5/8" for most seams. Your pattern will tell you how much to use.
Fabric Grain-means the direction of the threads that are woven in the fabric. The term warp threads are the secure threads on a loom, while the term weft refers to the threads that are woven back and forth through the warp threads.
Bias-A 45 degree angle to the straight grain is a bias cut in sewing, and is the stretchiest part of the fabric.
Straight Grain The straight of grain runs parallel to the selvage.
Cross Grain The cross grain is always perpendicular to the selvage.

Selvage-The bound edges of the fabric that are created when the weft threads are woven back and forth in the weaving process. The selvage edge will often have writing on it or a slight differences from the rest of the fabric. The selvage edges will not look like you just cut through it.
Nap-This refers to fuzzy fabrics such as a fleece or velvet. Some fabric have a one direction nap, so it’s important to sew the pieces of a project with nap going the same way. You will often have to buy extra fabric if your working with a nap. It will often tell you how much on your pattern
Interfacing A generally light weight material used on the inside of a project for added stability. It comes in fusible (iron on) or sew on forms and often has a separate section at sewing stores near the fabric. Your pattern will tell you if any is needed,how many yards, and what piece or pieces it will be used on.

Interfacing image via Craftstylish

Facing-A partial lining used in areas suçh as arm holes, necklines to give a finished edge without a complete lining.
Dart- Helps to shape fabric around curved areas. Often around bustlines, waist, hips, and shoulder areas.
Basting Stitch-A temporary stitch to hold fabric in place.
Backstitch-At the beginning, and end of your stitching, a few reverse stitches on your machine locks your stitches, so they don’t unravel. Most seams will start and end this way unless you are doing a specific technique that requires you to use a basting stitch.

image via Newton Custom Interiors

Sewing foot-The presser foot that is attached to your shank of the sewing machine, such as an all purpose foot, zipper foot, blind hem foot, etc.
Clipping-Cut the seam allowance perpendicular to the seam, but not into the seam. This allows fabric to lay smoothly around curves.

image via Newton Custom Interiors

Top Stitching-A decorative or functional stitch that is done on the outside of a seam after it is turned, such as the top edge of a tote bag that is lined. It helps to keep corners and seams as sharp as when ironed.
Notches are used to line up two or more pieces of fabric that you will be joining together. Notches are symbolized in various sizes, from single to quadruple. Larger notches always refer to the back side of the garment, which help keep fronts and backs straight in your mind and prevent mistakes.

Image via Sewing about.com

Dots: Image via Sewing about.com

Dots are made in various sizes by the pattern companies. These must be marked onto your fabric. They indicate starting and stopping points for stitching, as well as points to match up markings for things like darts.

Next Lesson: How to Fix Tension on Your Sewing Machine

Previous Lessons:
lesson 1: Welcome and intro first,
lesson 2: Guide to Buying a Sewing Machine
lesson 3: Sewing Machine Supplies
lesson 4: Getting to Know Your Machine

lesson 5: How to Thread Your Machine

lesson 6: How to Sew a Straight, curved, and corner line

lesson 7: How to Sew a Basic Seam
lesson 8: Trouble Shooting your Machine

Next Lessons:
lesson 10: How to Fix Tension on Your Sewing Machine
Lesson 11: How to Read a Sewing Pattern Envelope

Comfy Shoes with Goodies From the Dollar Store, Cute Custom DIY Insoles and More!

2013-07-29T18:36:00.000-07:00

Check out how to create custom fabric covered insoles from Pearls and Scissors

Like any girl I love shoes! I have enough shoes to be embarrassed to say how many. However I only wear a few because most are way to uncomfortable to wear for long walking, and living in the city I walk a lot. The worst is in the summer when I want to wear skirts, shorts, and crops without socks. My feet are always torn up from even from short walks wearing flats. Until I discovered the wonders of insoles and heel cushions. Oh my does that make a difference!

Trouble Shooting Your Sewing Machine

2013-07-08T12:35:00.000-07:00

Check out artist Natalie Dee for more funny comics

Hi Everyone! If your following this class, good to see you back again. If your new welcome to the class! If you need to catch up you can see at the bottom of this post or click here to what our prior lessons were if you need to catch up Today we are going to learn what to do when you have sewing machine problems!

One of the most important things you can learn when it comes to sewing is what to do when your sewing machine goes crazy, because it will! Just ask anyone who has sewed for a long time. This often scares off new sewers and cause projects to be put off only never to be finished. Just picture yourself finally on a roll on your project until..... it jams with your project stuck in the machine. Aughhh! It will happen to you, but if you know what to do it will be a short blimp along the way. I have often had students who say they had a little experience long ago that they stopped sewing because "they were afraid of their sewing machine". So if this is you, just know that you are not alone.

The tricky thing about your sewing machine not working right is most of the time it really doesn't need to be repaired. I would guess 90% of the time that's the case. So how do you know if your machine might actually be repaired? Well that's what we are going to cover here. I'm going to share with you this class what I do to trouble shoot my machine.

image via pickle dish

Stop, Cut, and Rethread
Say it with me stop, cut, and rethread............stop, cut, and rethread......stop, cut, and rethread. This is what I want you to chant in your head (or out loud if you don't mind looking crazy) when something goes wrong with your machine. This is my first method of trouble shooting when things go wrong. It will seriously fix about 70% of your sewing machine problems. I know it sounds to easy to be true, but I swear it is. Sewing machines are finicky machines. They like extra attention now and then that's all. Don't be mad at your machine, it just wants a little extra love! Below is a more detailed explanation of my method. If this doesn't work have no fear it might just be that your tension is off which we will cover in our tension lesson.

This is what Urban Threads (a Mpls based embroidery comp) has on their office door,

If Your Machine is Sewing Weird Stop!
My first rule is if something doesn't seem right when you are sewing stop immediately. The reason is if you continue to sew and your machine isn't working correctly, it call actually pull your fabric down into the feed dogs (if your not sure what this is review lesson 4) and you might actually be in the position of having to cut out your project to get it out of your sewing machine. And if you don't have enough extra fabric to cut a new pattern piece your whole project will be ruined. Really not cool!

Cut Your Threads

The next step is to cut your threads, and take out your bobbin. While how to cut your threads may seem self explanatory, depending on how severe the problem you are having it may be a bit difficult. If you are having difficulties because your thread and or project is tangled up in your machine you should cut both the top and the bottom thread as close to your project as you can. If you are having problems with cutting your thread on the top you can take out your needle. This can also help if you have fabric stuck in your feed dogs. You can then put your needle back in after you have your threads all out.

Rethread Your Sewing Machine
After you've stopped, cut your threads (both top and bottom), have removed any threads in your machine, and taken your bobbin out you are ready to rethread your machine. When I say rethread your machine I mean the whole thing top and bottom, even if you think they are OK. If you forgot how to thread your machine review lesson 5.

After you have rethreaded your sewing machine make sure both the top and bottom flow freely. If they do not make sure that thread is not stuck on something. If it is still not flowing freely and it is not stuck on anything I would try a test on a scrap of fabric, but know that it might be a tension issue (which we will cover in our tension lesson).

Lesson Conclusion
While I would say my cut, stop, and rethread method works 70% of the time, it's still not 100% of the time. This method will not fix all machines all the time, but is a pretty quick way to fix most problems so it's worth trying first. For that 30% of the time it doesn't work we are going to have to do some more investigating. A common problem that you can fix at home that would not be fixed by my stop, cut, and rethread method is tension. So check out our tension lesson, if you are still having any problems. By the end of lesson 8 and 10 you should have either fixed your sewing machine by yourself or know that you really do need to take it to be repaired. Class dismissed!

Found This Post Because You are Having Problems With You Machine?
Since starting this sewing school I have had many people trying to ask my questions about problems with their sewing machines. I will not answer any specific answers to your machine questions beyond this so please don't ask. Here is my general advice: "Have you read the above my article and applied what you learned? If not try that. If your machine is still not working check out my tension guide (our next lesson), clean and oil your machine according to your manuels instructions, also check your sewing machine manual which usually while have a troubleshooting guide as well. If this does not work you can try a sewing forum such as Threads magazine's or try a search online describing your problem. If this all fails you need to take your machine in to be repaired, unfortunately sometimes you just have to.

Homework:
Chant stop, cut, and rethread........stop, cut, and rethread.... while you mediate and any time you have sewing machine problems!

Next Lesson: Basic Sewing Terms

Previous Lessons:
lesson 1: Welcome and intro first,
lesson 2: Guide to Buying a Sewing Machine
lesson 3: Sewing Machine Supplies
lesson 4: Getting to Know Your Machine

lesson 5: How to Thread Your Machine

lesson 6: How to Sew a Straight, curved, and corner line

lesson 7: How to Sew a Basic Seam

Next Lessons:
lesson 9: Basic Sewing Terms
lesson 10: How to Fix Tension on Your Sewing Machine
lesson 11: How to Read a Sewing Pattern Envelope

How to Defuzz Your Sweaters and Stop Sweater Pills In The First Place

2013-03-15T18:49:00.002-07:00

Lark shows you how to defuzz your sweater with a Sweater Stone

This time of year I usually start de fuzzing my sweaters, since they're pretty worn by now and I usually start slowly putting my sweaters away this time of year. I've always used my trusty Ever Care fabric shaver I got for like $6 years ago at Target. It's always worked great, until now. It finally died on me, so I started to research into buying a new one by looking at reviews. After reading review after review about fabric shavers destroying people's sweaters I started feeling thankful for not having wrecked any of my sweaters with it so far and I no longer want a fabric shaver. So I started looking for alternatives that are safe and don't have the possibility of destroying my favourite sweaters. I found two products that sound promising and as an added bonus they're no tech so no need for batteries and they can't break they're also both available for under $6 including shipping.

Photo from Lark

How Do Sweaters Get Pills (otherwise known as lint or fuzz)?

According to ME Williams for DIY Life, "All yarns are made up of a bunch of twisted fibers. Short-staple fibers -- a term that refers to the length of the real or imitation animal hair used to create the yarn -- often wind up poking out of the yarn at either end of the individual hair. When a group of fiber ends are sticking up like that, friction often causes them to bunch together... and then you have pills."

Pills happens simply from the natural abrasion of the fabric against objects and itself during normal use and wear. Pilling frequently shows up around the arm pits, the sleeves, and the front of the sweater where abrasion is most common. Some fibers are known to be pill-prone: acrylics, merino wool, and cashmere, and particularly inexpensive cashmere.

How Can you Prevent Sweaters From Getting Pills In the First Place?

Turn the garment inside out before washing
Use a Lingerie bag
Use the gentle cycle (and shorter washing-machine cycles in general)
Lay sweaters out flat to dry or remove it as soon as possible from the dryer

How to Safely Remove Pills From Your Sweater

There are two products I found to be a good safe alternative to fabric shavers. The Defuzz It Comb and the Sweater Stone.

De Fuzz It Comb
I just recent bought a De Fuzz It comb and tried it on my fuzziest sweaters. It didn't take to long to do at all and took my very worn sweaters to looking gently used. I was pleased with the results, and would buy it again. I was not expecting to look new, I knew that would be quite a stretch, nor was I expecting it to preform as well as my fabric shaver did. Which is fine with me as long as I don't have to worry about ruining my sweaters. On that note I do want to emphasis that it's not impossible to ruin a sweater with the De Fuzz It Comb, just much less likely. Possible problems I've seen in reviews are that using the comb can actually cause some fuzziness due to the abrasion used in this method (since abrasion is needed to cause pills). So I would suggest not using it on a sweater in like new condition with just a few minor pills. You would be better of just hand picking it off in that case. It does create a big mess so just know ahead of time that you'll need to either vacuum or clean of the surface you used with a lint brush, so it's best to work on a hard surface like a table that you can wipe down or brush off easily. Also you will need to constantly keep adding fuzz to your fuzz ball, so it does take awhile.

These pictures did not show the fuzz very well, it actually looked much better after than the pictures show. This sweater is felted so it already was super fuzzy with lots of pills. After it was still fuzzy but without pills.

Sweater Stone

The sweater stone is made of a pumice stone and is basically covered in cardboard to make it easy to grab onto. Pumice stones naturally have pits and sharp edges, which grab onto the short fibers and cut them off. I have not tried this myself but plan to try to buy a pumice stone on a stick at the dollar store to try it. If it doesn't work I plan to use it to clean our toilet. I don't know if using this pumice stone is different than any other.

People who have reviewed this product say that the stones can crumble as you use them so you can get black pumice all over your sweater. It does not seem as though this damages the sweater, just makes it messy, however I would test it on a light coloured fabric you don't care about to be certain first. It also could cause some general fuzzines due to the fact that it uses friction against the fibers (since abrasion is needed to cause pills). One other thing to consider is pumice also smells like sulfur, so your sweater might smell of it too. So you'll want to use a Sweater Stone before hand washing or dry cleaning, not after.

Some reviewers on Amazon said they liked the sweater stone over the De Fuzz It. My guess is the results would be similar to what I got from De Fuzz It (that it will take a very worn sweater to looking gently used, but not new). It just might have been easier or faster with this method vs the De Fuzz It.

Ways I Don't Suggest to De Pill Your Sweater

As mentioned before while fabric shavers have worked for me with better results than the above methods, it also runs the risk of ruining your sweaters by the fibers being pulled into the razors. I am lucky that never happened to me, but personally I think the risk is too big unless you have tried the above methods and are willing to get rid of your sweater if it doesn't work, then what have you got to lose?

I also would not suggest using a disposable plastic razor (the kind you shave your legs with) to shave your pills off, because of the high risks of cutting the yarn in your sweater and ruining it. If your interested in this method there are lots of sites that show you how to do this.

Any of the methods described here (defuzz it, sweater stone, fabric shavers, and disposable shavers) will take away some of the fiber of your sweaters so just beware that if you de fuzz your sweaters to often they could become very thin. So de fuzz sensibly!

Chelsea Clinton and Marc to buy $10.5 million apartment in NYC (PHOTOS)

2013-03-15T12:50:00.003-07:00

Chelsea and Matt's living room. I like the calming neutral colour palette

Photo credit: BB CREATIVE

I'm not a huge celebrity news kind of person, but I must admit I do like to peek into public figures and celebrities homes. I couldn't help but be curious what digs Chelsea has since I feel like I grew up knowing her. Like a friend of a friend from high school or something.

Start Our Free Online Sewing Class For Beginners

2013-01-14T14:40:00.000-08:00

Whether you just want to brush up on sewing or have never touched a sewing machine before, this is the place for you! I teach sewing (in the non virtual form) and developed this free online course as a way to help my students and to help inspire others on the web to start to learn to sew.