Sewing: Day 2 Continued...

Pants! Not the most beautifully constructed pants in the world, but they look like pants and fit like pants, so they are pants! I found how to make lounge pants from a website, and it was pretty simple to do. By the way, Ella hates them and refuses to wear them. I'll probably just alter them a little to fit Anna.



Ella decided to document me sewing her new pants.

Sewing: Day 2

After sewing all day yesterday, I received my newest sewing book in the mail from Amazon.com. After flipping through the projects, I was inspired to make a cute little cover for my newest possession - my sewing machine, of course!

An hour or two of cutting, pinning, ironing, and sewing later, and I had a brand new cover (with pockets!) for my sewing machine. Although the fabric isn't my favorite, it was my cheap-o "practice" fabric from Wal-Mart, I thought the cover turned out great!

Sewing: Day 1

For Christmas, I bought myself a sewing machine. I have had the notion to do some sewing for quite awhile - you know, curtains, pillows, simple stuff. I just never got around to learning how to do it or getting my hands on a machine. So this year I decided to take the plunge, do some research and buy one.

I checked Consumer Reports then shopped around at my local Wal-Mart and fabric store, and decided on the Brother LS-590 25 stitch sewing machine. It was a great buy at Hancock Fabrics here in E-town, so I felt great about my choice.
Next, I needed to get all the "stuff" for the machine. I had no idea what to get, so the nice lady at the store steered me toward some needles and I bought some cheap fabric and thread to get started. I then went to the bookstore to look for some good beginner books. I found Sewing 101 and One-Yard Wonders, and just like that, I was off!

I asked my mom to come help me set it all up the next day, but believe it or not, I had it all figured out by the time she arrived! I couldn't believe I actually wound the bobbin and threaded the thing all by myself (well, with the help of the instruction manual)! Hey, I can DO this, I thought.

I thumbed through my new books and decided to make some fleece pillows for my girls. After a quick trip to the fabric store again for some cute fleece, quality scissors, and other notions, I was ready to go.

Just to see if I could do it, and to get in a little practice, I made a little tote bag. It turned out pretty well considering it was my first attempt at sewing anything with a sewing machine ever.

I felt ready to make some pillows, so I cut the fabric and started to sew! I made two raw-edged pillows that turned into fringe pillows and two heart pillows that required me to slip-stitch the last bit after stuffing them. The slip-stitch was harder than any of the sewing machine work!

The results of my first day of sewing made me feel proud and accomplished!