Thursday, February 17, 2011

paper vs. fabric

You guys are truly the greatest, greatest, greatest!

Thank you for all of the great comments, encouragement and advice on sewing yesterday.

Keep 'em coming!

Your comments, e-mailing with my grandma and a phone call with my mom have me set to try to adjust the tension. I had e-mailed Erica back after her comment asking her how to adjust the tension but after talking it through with my mom on the phone I do believe I at least have a starting point having identified that other knob on the front of the machine. (I was so proud of myself for figuring out the first knob could take me from straight stitch to zig zag stitch!)




I did not actually sew anything on Wednesday. Just blogged about sewing.

This little bag was one of my projects on Tuesday though.

We will be taking dinner to some friends soon who recently had the sweetest new baby.

When they brought dinner to us when David was born there were cute baby napkins and baby blue tulle wrapped utensils in addition to the amazing quiche. I decided that a cute bag to bring the food in would be a fun project for my sewing experiments. Plus I know my friend will not be judgmental of my less than expert attempts.

I used a straight stitch on the lavender card stock to sew it onto the purple origami paper. As you can see I have a section where I have holes and no thread . . . um? . . . and a piece where I got carried away and didn't think ahead about the width I wanted my border to be. Oh well.

I think the top zigzag sewing the origami paper onto the red card stock (to cover up the store logo on the paper grocery sack) turned out cute but the bottom one (which also turned out blurry in the photo unfortunately) leaves some to be desired.

I then just glued the red card stock to the grocery sack because at least I did think ahead on that one and realized that it would sew the grocery bag shut.

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You may be wondering why I am sewing on paper rather than on fabric.

You see, paper and I are friends. We have been friends for a long time. I am used to paper. I know how it works. And it doesn't slip slide around and you don't have to pin it.

I must admit I dread pinning. Do you pin when you sew? I'm sure it is the best thing to do but it just seems so time consuming and I'd rather just try to hold the fabrics together to be honest but I'm sure that would probably cause a big giant mess-up.

So tell me, do you pin?

Kelly

p.s. is sewing on paper going to dull my friend's machine's needle all up? Can I buy a new needle for her? How does that work?


8 comments:

Jenni said...

I've never sewn on paper, but I think it is super cute. Yes, I would use separate needles for sewing on paper vs. fabric -- just like you don't use fabric scissors to cut paper. It might be easier in this instance to just give her a little money for a new needle -- that way she'll get the right one for her machine.

I usually pin at least somewhat - really depends on what I am sewing. Yes, it is time consuming, but it is the only way to ensure that your fabric stays together correctly.

Zach and Alyson said...

Pinning is key to sewing on fabric. And also a lot of pinning helps to ensure that you don't have crawling fabric (gathers) per my momma.

My mom had a little sewing lesson with me on Sunday as well because I inherited my Grandmother's old Singer. Not that I didn't know how to sew, but I certainly didn't know how to sew using the really old machine. It works like a charm though.

-Alyson

Kori said...

Sewing on paper is a big rage right now. :-) So I'm sure you're in great company. I would just ask your friend what kind of needle to buy or if she'd rather have money. Or, if she is like me, she keeps extra needles in the little box attached to the machine. Then you could take a package to the store and match it.
Now, I am wondering about the part where the thread disappeared. Any chance there is lots of thread behind that? I am thinking that maybe the stitches were small enough that the holes they create in the paper are really close together and actually perforated the paper. My guess is that you could easily perforate the paper along your stitching lines. So, find out where the stitch length knob is. :-) (Did she also send the book with you? Or maybe look on the Brother website.) Larger numbers are onger stitches. On a zig zag it can be adjusted to be a wider zig and zag or to have the points be farther apart. Would just have to look in the book OR try it out on scrap paper at different settings to see what the knobs do! Could be a fun collage type thing.
Do I pin? Hmm, not if I don't have to! When sewing a smocked dress, yes. When sewing on slippery fabric, yes. Otherwise, I don't if I can avoid it! Curves (like sleeves and necklines), tricky things (like zippers, gathers or pleats)are always pinned. I made Hannah a skirt the other day and only used pins when cutting out the pattern - don't want to cut the fabric crooked or it's ruined! But some people use magnets and such for that even. But once the skirt was cut I used only my hands and machine to get it together. :-)
Have fun!
Kori

JSH said...

Yes on the pins. Plus, you get to get a cute stuffed pin cushion in the shape of your choice. I have a tomato. A close second to pins would be ironing when appropriate. Not on paper....that could get interesting! It's a bit time consuming, but all your hems are much neater.

lauren said...

:) that made me laugh... i am one of those that never wants to pin, tries not to pin, and usually ends up pinning because i mess it up. usually like sewing the back to the ront or something like that. :)

Lana said...

I almost always pin; the exception would be something very small and straight.

I'd use different needles on fabric and paper.

Julie P. said...

My mom is a BIG seamstress. So I watched a lot of sewing growing up, but alas, I myself can't stand it. If/when you start to sew with material, if you are going to make something that will be washed ever after you sew it...make sure you wash the material first! And, pin you must. If you go to JoAnn's you can get some material from their scrap section to practice on. (cheap)

I love the holes in the top paper, I think it looks like that was intentional!

Kelsey@RedefiningDomestic said...

Love sewing on paper! I have a post lined up of simple spring cards doing that! Love your blog. Hope sewing continues to go well, we can learn together!