Sewing Machine Spa Day

This is part of a Learn to Sew series where I occasionally post tips, tricks, and beginner projects.

Admission: I’ve never been to a spa.  And I’ve never really felt like I needed to, so I don’t feel any loss.  I did get a facial of some kind once where they rubbed dry ice on my face and I felt like my skin was too small when I left… it was nice but not something I’d pay for anytime soon.  Bring on the wrinkles: they are badges of honor!

Anyway, sewing machines do need their time to rejuvenate and get refreshed, especially in the form of lint removal and oiling.  My machine, at least according to the manual, needs oil every three hours worth of sewing. I will tell you I don’t oil it every three hours; that would be crazy.  More like every 10, I think.

A few months ago, I noticed my machine shaking considerably more than normal when I was sewing, and it was having a hard time getting the needle going.  So I looked in my manual (a lot of manuals are available online if you don’t have one) and saw the 3 hours thing… and felt like an idiot that I’ve had my machine for years and haven’t oiled it.

I took everything apart and was SHOCKED at how much stuff had gunked up in the machine.  So much so, in fact, that when I tried sewing again, the freshly oiled goop (I missed some) got stuck on a gear shaft and it wouldn’t sew!  I was freaking out.  I had to really work it to get it moving again, and you should have seen the piece of gunk I pulled out of it.  It was like the creature from the black lagoon.

Now I regularly de-lint and oil my machine.  Every machine is different (in fact, some say to never oil it or to have the professionals oil it), but let me give you a basic idea of how to do it.  Of course, ALWAYS consult your own sewing machine manual for how to give some TLC to your own machine.

When you open your bobbin part and see lint, it is time!  Pull out your bobbin.

I have a nifty lever that opens everything up when I push on it.  Like magic.

Pop!  Look at that mess!  Next I pull out the part that holds my bobbin, and I remove the plate on top by the feed dogs too.  There is always a great collection of lint there.

Carefully brush the loose lint away using the brush that came with your machine, or I use a paintbrush sometimes too.  If there is lint really trapped in crevices, I bust out my sewing machine tweezers.  Be very careful, and just pull on lint!

You’ll end up with a pretty pile like this.  Yum.

If you are supposed to oil your machine, use your sewing machine oil and add a SMALL drop on the parts that move; just turn your hand wheel and see what moves, and put the oil on that. If you do too much, the lint will soak in the oil and give you a bigger headache than before.  Ask me how I know.

Then, when you re-assemble it (just reverse what you did taking it apart), it will be purring like a kitten.  And your machine will thank you.

Stripes

It is Kids Clothes Week.  And I’ve been lying in my bed sick for the past two days, so while I had a little bit of energy, I had to sew up a quick refashioned top for my girl.  And now I’m going to go lay down again.

I found the stripe shirt at Goodwill ($1) and kept it to repurpose into something smaller.  I didn’t keep the original neckline, and when I got it outside, I realized the stripes were a dark navy… not black, like the new collar.

Oh well.

She’s just happy she got something from her momma.

Fleece Farm Friends

I made these little guys before the baby was born, and when I was cleaning out some files I realized I haven’t shared them on my blog yet- they appeared on Tip Junkie last November, but they need a place in my own archives.

 

You can get the template for these guys here. Just click on “download” on the right column.

You will also need:

• Fleece, 1/4 yard cuts of assorted colors (you will have plenty of leftovers- maybe make a little scarf or something with the extras!)
• Sewing Machine
• Hand Sewing Needle
• Coordinating thread
• Polyfill- stuffing

Using your templates, cut out your shapes from your fleece. Be sure to line up the ball pieces along the bias. This is the diagonal of the fabric, and will help your ball be more of a ball instead of an egg.

Don’t forget all your little pieces that make the ball a farm friend!

For the Chick, Cow, and Mouse, pin two of the ball pieces together, end to end. Begin sewing 1/4″ from the end, and stop sewing 1/4″ from the other end. Use a 1/4″ seam allowance.

Add another piece, sewing with the same 1/4″ instructions, so you end up with a set of three pieces. Put this aside, and make another set of three for the chick.

The chick will need its tail inserted between the two halves before you sew the ball together, so just pick and end, match up the seams, and shake those tail feathers so they stick in between the halves. 

The mouse and cow will need their ears set next. Fold your cow ears in the center like the template shows, and fold the mouse ears so the corners line up.

The ears will be set in when you sew your next set of three ball pieces, one in each seam.

For the Rooster, sew two red pieces, and then one orange to make your set of three.

Now you will insert the shape that will make the tails, rooster feathers, and red wobbly thingy. The feathers go between the red ball shapes, and the wobbly thing (what is that called??? Mike calls it a gibbler when he grabs the fat under the baby’s chin… ha ha!) between the orange.

For the tails of the other animals, insert the tail at one end where the points all meet.

Sew around the entire ball, leaving a 3″ opening for turning along one of the sides.

Stuff with stuffing, as firm or as soft as you like. For a more musical experience, put a cat jingle ball toy in as you are stuffing. I get mine at Wal-Mart for cheap. (My husband vetoed the jingle experience this time. Sometimes you just need quiet!)

Hand-stitch your opening closed with a coordinating thread.

Time to embellish! Noses (and beaks) first!

Sew your beak pieces together along the 90 degree angle. Stuff with a little bit of stuffing, and hand-stitch to the center of the Chick and Rooster’ faces.

For the cow, cut a 6″ x 3/4″ piece of white fleece, and for the mouse, cut a 4 1/4″ x 3/4″ strip of gray fleece. Sew each long strip piece with short sides together with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Pin to the nose piece and sew carefully around.  (I sewed some mouse whiskers directly on the ball with some embroidery floss before adding its nose)

Turn right-side out, stuff, and hand-sew noses to the center of the animal’s face.

For the cow, I hand-stitched on the spots using regular thread and a blanket stitch. It is totally unnoticeable, though! So much for cute stitching.

Hand-stitch the eyes on all your farm friends, and you are done! Although, the first thing my husband said after I showed him these guys was, “Where’s the pig?” I guess I’m not done after all!!

Chick

Cow (although someone commented that he looks like a dog… so, dog he could be. My kids call him a cow)

Mouse

Rooster

Now you have a fun set of farm animal plushie balls to throw at your kids ;) 

They are lots of fun- and really soft since they are made of fleece.  Yay!  This was a really fun project.

**Oh!  The Create Kids Couture pattern giveaway winner is ADAWNA!!  Congrats, I’ll be e-mailing you.***

Pleated Chevron Skirt

{This is the tutorial I did for Sewing In No Man's Land during Sew for Me! Week.  My camera is acting up and I can't share my latest with you right now, so I figured I'd put this on my blog for people to find in the meantime!  Enjoy!}

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Once upon a time I was shoving my way through a crowded church hallway and 8 months prego when my eyes were captured by the most adorable outfit EVER on one of the beautiful ladies in our congregation.  Gray stripes, yellow sweater, great necklace… you better believe my brain was taking inventory of the whole thing so I could be a copy cat.  After I had that baby, of course.
When I saw the chevron pattern from Half Moon Modern, I had to have it as the gray stripe.  HAD TO.  You should to, because it is awesome.  And I bought it.  8 months pregnant.  And so it sat.
But now, that fabric has transformed into an awesome wearable skirt!!!  Want to make one too?  It is easier than you might think!

To make the Pleated Chevron Skirt, you need:

1 1/2 yards Chevron fabric!  This tutorial uses Half Moon Modern.
9” zipper (I was going to use an invisible zipper, but changed my mind at the last second –read it was going to be too small and I didn’t want it to pull really tight and expose the invisible zipper. I need to step up the exercise…)
Optional pocket fabric! 1/4 yard
Usual sewing supplies
***use 1/2” seam allowances, iron often, and finish all your edges!***



To begin, measure your waist where you want your skirt to sit (I recommend measuring after lunch, or it will be a little snug in the end… ahem.).  Add 1 inch to that measurement.

My measurements were 29” waist, so I added 1 and got 30” as my starting number.  My measurements will be in (parenthesis) to help you see the process.

For your front piece, divide your measurement (30”) in half (15”).  Next, when using Half Moon Modern, add 10 to this measurement to get your front cut width (25”). If you aren't using HMM, figure out how many inches it takes to meet up your zig-zags, and multipy it by 2, then add that to your original half measurement to get your cut width (I suggest folding the pleats and measuring before you cut to make sure it isn't too small). Make sure the center of the skirt lines up with a chevron point!  I wanted my skirt to be to my knees, so I cut it 21” long too.



Your back pieces will be the half waist measurement (15”) divided by 2.  Then, add 5 1/2” for the pleat, plus at least 1” for seam allowances for the sides and zippered center.  My cut size was 14”.  Cut two of this size, doing the best you can to have the chevrons line up after you sew your pieces together.



Starting from the center of the front skirt pieces, start making your box pleats by lining up the point of one zig-zag with the dip of the one next to it.  Makes no sense in writing, so I hope you can see if from the photo.  When the pleats are closed up, the zig-zag pattern will appear to continue without any breaks.  You will have two pleats.



Do the same to the back pieces too, except make only one pleat per side.



To make your waistband, cut two pieces the same width as your front skirt piece. Cut four pieces the width of your back pieces.



Sew the back waistband pieces to the sides of the front pieces, and then sew them all together along the long side, like so.



I ironed a 1/4” hem along one side, so when I am hand-stitching later, it will be easier. 
On to pockets!  If you want pockets, cut 4 shapes like this (I just traced around my hand to get a reasonably sized and shaped pocket piece):



Make sure you have two of each direction!



Pin the pocket pieces right sides down onto your skirt pieces, at a comfortable spot for your hands. 



Stitch the pocket to the front and back skirt pieces, (and while you are at it, tack down those pleats so you don’t get poked with pins anymore).



With the pocket sewn on, mark with a pencil or pin 1/2” from the edge of the pocket.  This is where you will pivot your fabric while sewing.



Place the skirt pieces right sides together and line up the pockets.  Sew down the sides, going around the pocket as you go.  Don’t sew the pocket shut!



Now, attach your waistband, lining up the non-ironed waistband edge with the pleated edge of your skirt.  Sew together!



Now, let’s install the zipper.  I learned this zipper trick from Ashley, and it works pretty well.  I’ll give vague instructions, since she already did a great job with her tutorial. 
Sew up the entire back of the skirt and iron it open.  Now, pull out some sort of adhesive, whether it be glue stick or fabric glue or tape, and put the glue on the seam allowance where your zipper will go.



Stick the zipper teeth-side-down onto your glued seam allowance, making sure the teeth line up with the seam. Make sure the zipper doesn’t go higher than the center waistline seam- you need to fold that over soon to finish this skirt up!



Using your zipper foot, stitch carefully on the outside of your fabric to secure your zipper.  When you are done, use a seam ripper to unpick the zipper seam.

Hem your skirt, and the hand-stitch the rest of the waistband to the interior of the skirt.  I stitch it so the inside waistband seams are all enclosed.



You have yourself a skirt!  It’s awesome in every way!  It sits snug on the waist and pleats out so very perfectly around those chevrons…



Paying attention to detail is what makes a good project GREAT!



And what’s that peeking from the sides?



Why, it is an adorable pocket, perfect for those boogery tissues and random half-chewed fruit snacks your children hand to you as you are trying to head out the door.



Paired with a sunshine-y yellow cardigan, I’m totally ready to be twinners with that gal in my church.  Think she’ll mind? ;)