adventures in quilting part 1: how to sew
I think I tried sewing a button back onto a pair of shorts once, and it didn't work out very well. That is the extent of my sewing experience prior to tonight. Tonight I sewed the outside of a pin cushion! I will post pictures tomorrow, once it is stuffed and finished. It is gloriously lopsided, and I adore it terribly. I am so glad I decided to start with something small - and practical! now I have a place for all my pins! - as opposed to diving head first into a quilt. Honestly, it didn't turn out half bad, and I'm tickled each time I look over at it resting floppily on What-Used-To-Be-Known-As-The-Puzzle-Table-And-Shall-Henceforth-Be-Known-As-The-Crafting-Table.
Lessons I've learned:
Prewash your fabric. I am not entirely sure why, though I suspect it tames all the loose threads a bit. There were a lot of loose threads.
Iron your fabric. I knew I was supposed to do this going into it, but I was so excited to come home with my little back of quilting spoils - and let's be honest, I knew my first attempt wouldn't be my best - so I skipped the ironing part. I also half forgot in the moment, due to my excitement. Ironed fabric means cleaner cut lines and more even matching up of pieces, plus everything will lay flat.
Trace sew guide before pinning loose pieces together. Perhaps this should have been intuitive, but what can I say. I am a spaz.
Read directions carefully. I misinterpreted a detail - a minor one, to be sure, and really it doesn't make a huge difference - and need to be more careful in the future.
I taught myself how to tie off and how to backstitch, and it was all incredibly fun. And incredibly, incredibly meditative. I will definitely be working my way up to hand piecing my first quilt, because a) hand piecing is just so, so soothing in so many ways, and b) sewing machines are EXPENSIVE, yo. I want to make sure this is something I'm going to keep up with if I'm going to invest in a sewing machine.
So far, I totally love this. This is right up my alley, and I can't believe it never occurred to me to try this before. Oh! And my friend and I are going to the Quilt Extravaganza on Friday! I seriously doubt I'll have any money to spend - I really, really, REALLY should not be spending money - but if the prices are right, I'll probably cave. I need to work out a budget for the rest of the month, at the very least.
Lessons I've learned:
Prewash your fabric. I am not entirely sure why, though I suspect it tames all the loose threads a bit. There were a lot of loose threads.
Iron your fabric. I knew I was supposed to do this going into it, but I was so excited to come home with my little back of quilting spoils - and let's be honest, I knew my first attempt wouldn't be my best - so I skipped the ironing part. I also half forgot in the moment, due to my excitement. Ironed fabric means cleaner cut lines and more even matching up of pieces, plus everything will lay flat.
Trace sew guide before pinning loose pieces together. Perhaps this should have been intuitive, but what can I say. I am a spaz.
Read directions carefully. I misinterpreted a detail - a minor one, to be sure, and really it doesn't make a huge difference - and need to be more careful in the future.
I taught myself how to tie off and how to backstitch, and it was all incredibly fun. And incredibly, incredibly meditative. I will definitely be working my way up to hand piecing my first quilt, because a) hand piecing is just so, so soothing in so many ways, and b) sewing machines are EXPENSIVE, yo. I want to make sure this is something I'm going to keep up with if I'm going to invest in a sewing machine.
So far, I totally love this. This is right up my alley, and I can't believe it never occurred to me to try this before. Oh! And my friend and I are going to the Quilt Extravaganza on Friday! I seriously doubt I'll have any money to spend - I really, really, REALLY should not be spending money - but if the prices are right, I'll probably cave. I need to work out a budget for the rest of the month, at the very least.