I finally learned how to sew! My mom gave me a sewing machine two years ago for Christmas but work and babies kept it in the box. I just couldn't take it anymore. I took a class in late July at Stitch Cleveland in Lakewood from Heidi Massingill who was helpful and patient and fabulous. The space is basically a studio or workshop with large tables, fabrics, sewing machines and everything you could possibly need for a project. Just walking through their door is motivational. I think I giddily smiled during the entire 2 hour Sewing Machine Basics class. I immediately came home and grabbed a cloth diaper to sew up a flannel burp cloth. Can't say I produced the straightest lines but I was excited.
My goal is to make sweet little bloomers and dresses for my daughter and cozy pjs for my son. Being able to hem and mend works for me too. My favorite patterns right now come from Amy Butler (who has the most fantastic fabrics) and Lotta Jansdotter. Amy Butler's Barcelona skirt will be my first major project using a pattern. I'm hoping that Stitch will offer a class. By the way, Amy Butler's studio is in Granville, outside of Columbus.
Lotta Jansdotter's book "Simple Sewing for Baby" is a practical beginner book. The patterns are not quite "simple" to me yet but they can be done with practice. I made horse rattles for all of the new babies in our family. Each one provided a learning experience. With the first horse, I sewed the ribbon ears facing toward the inside rather than the outside and made the nose too pointy. Some improvement on the second but the curves were still too angular. The rest were OK with some ribbon ears spaced apart and some pretty close together. All were stuffed with polyfill and a jingle bell. I had seven horses (giraffes?) staring at me, waiting to be finished. I knew I had to hand sew the ends. I took the second one, squished it under the foot of the sewing machine and hoped for the best. Not a good idea. Laziness. Got out the needle and thread and finished them off.
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