I do quite a bit of embroidery, quilting, crocheting etc and I've done some basic sewing. The sewing has pretty much been limited to piecing together quilts, making curtains and the occasional skirt. Despite taking on these projects over the years, I always feel like I'm wrestling with my sewing machine a bit. I wanted to feel a little more confident on sewing projects so I signed up for a basic sewing course at Stitch Sew Shop in Alexandria, Virgina. It was a class a week for a month and I learned so much and had fun at the same time.
First class was a basic intro to the sewing machine. They get you familiar with the sewing machine and then walk you through making a pin cushion to bring everything you learned together in a cute little project:
I'm already using it! The second class starts you on learning to read a pattern, how to put the pieces together and the right settings on the machine. For this we made a tote bag and I could not believe that I put a tote bag together, from fabric purchase to completion in under 3 hours:
It really helped having an instructor walk us through the process as there were some specific ways you had to sew the pieces together and then turning out the pieces, as well as exciting techniques like box pleating (!!) I'm not sure I would have been able to do it right the first time. The instructor at Stitch, Sew, Shop was so good and so patient though, it made everything feel easy.
Classes three and four were all about making a pair of pajama bottoms. This moved in to some additional techniques like french seams which made me feel so competent! This was a lovely finishing touch and just made the pajamas look professionally done. Again - this project from buying the fabric to trying on the finished product took 6 hours all together which amazed me.
This cute fabric is a Cotton and Steel pattern and I loved it. Stitch Sew Shop has an awesome fabric selection and is great to shop around in even without a specific project in mind.
So over all, after these classes, I feel much more confident with my machine. Now I'm pawing through my pattern collection, which had previously just been drawing dust, to find my next project!
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