Getting the Best Out Of Your Sewing

Check out the new articles on turning your sewing into a business and getting your sewing room in order.

Actually they go hand in hand because if you wish to turn your hobby of sewing into a business you need to get your sewing room in order first.

It's amazing what you can find once you embark on this spring/autumn cleaning of your sewing room, your sewing nook or your sewing cabinet. Something you bought for a particular project that you didn't get around to sewing, could take on a whole new project.

Anyway you may get some ideas and inspiration from these sewing articles, check them out here.

Spring/Autumn Sewing Room Cleaning
So You Want To Sell your Wares (Your Sewing Business)


Cheers
Carmel


sewing

Online Now.....Basic Pattern Drafting at an Affordable Price

Well it's done and online and you can access it here
Our Basic Pattern Drafting eCourse
Sew More For U Basic Pattern Drafting eCourse

The eCourse is over 6 weeks and has 15 Manuals, 17 Video Tutorials and Specialty PDF on tips and techniques.

All in all a great course for learning the basics of flat pattern drafting.

Take advantage of it while the introductory price is still on.

We did it and we're happy it's out there for you.

Take care

Carmel and the Crew from Sew More For U

Sewing For Tiny Ones

Sewing for tiny ones

This is a subject close to my heart. We have had 2 very tiny premies and 1 tiny premie born in our family, and you don't think of clothing these tiny bubs until one is born into your family. My niece. who is now 34 years old was 1lb 4oz and born at 26 weeks. that many years ago she remained in a humidy crib until she was 4 months old and even at that age was so very small.

She herself had a premie babe and he was only 960 grams and born at 27 weeks. The difference in the care and treatment between the two was something to see and be amazed by.

But because of the 'bringing on' of the premies today, there is a need for the tiny clothing for them, especially the bonnets or beenies and it is a huge thank you to the ladies like the ones in this article from Frederick MD USA.

I hope you enjoy the read and if there is a group in your area who would like to get involved with something like this, the premie nurseries at the hospitals could put you in touch with those who would like to take advantage of your help.

When a premie babe is born it is a traumatic time for the parents and they can do with all the support and help that is available to them and it is very rewarding to be on the giving end.

Enjoy the article and I'll catch you later.

Carmel
Sew More For U

Sewing


FREDERICK — No parent plans to have a premature baby. An early baby catches parents off-guard, and, in many cases, they haven't thought of clothing that fits the tiny infant.

That's when the Good Samaritans at Homewood at Crumland Farms come in.

Ladies of the weekly craft and knitting class at Homewood meet once a week to make hats, blankets, burial gowns and other items needed for the nurseries and children's departments at Frederick Memorial Hospital, Johns Hopkins Hospital and other hospitals around the country.

Some of the items are so small they fit in the palm of the hand. Other items must fit infants two pounds and larger.

Recently the Homewood ladies decided to add quilts to their list of offerings. They work in collaboration with Care Wear Volunteers, a national nonprofit organization based in Frederick.

Founded by Bonnie Hagerman, who leads the quilting project, Care Wear recruits volunteers to knit, crochet and sew apparel such as hats, booties, kimonos, diaper shirts, toys and burial garments for premature and low birth weight infants across the United States.

"In (a) special care nursery, sometimes the quilts add a little color in a sterile, intense atmosphere, and garments aren't readily available for tiny infants," Ms. Hagerman said.

For the ladies at Homewood, their work is a labor of love.

Edith Horst said she likes seeing the completed project.

The ladies make other items as well, including huggable dolls. FMH gives a toy to each child in the emergency room.

FMH says the dolls calm and distract the youngsters, making it easier to administer medication, Ms. Hagerman said. At Johns Hopkins, specially made dolls are used to show kids what part of their body will be treated, Ms. Hagerman said.

The ladies at Homewood began using their sewing skills to make lap robes for Homewood's Alzheimer's and health units. Then they added prayer shawls for the Homewood minister to give to sick people. They make wreaths, scarfs, Christmas decorations, doll clowns and other craft items that the Homewood resident association and auxiliary sell at fairs and bazaars.

"It's a pretty worthwhile thing to do, and you enjoy good companionship while you're working," Ms. Horst said.

Julie Norris, Homewood activities director, said, "We take advantage of all the talents we have -- knitting, sewing, crocheting."

Ms. Norris credited Mary Kay Huber-Leslie for organizing the sewing class, which represents only one of many activities for Homewood's 300 residents.

"We provide activities for all levels," Ms. Norris said. Activities are modified to suit the patient, she said.

Other activities include trips to the nation's capital, dinner theaters, Bible studies and socials.

Sewing

You can sew your basics..

I’m a great believer in getting the basics right. That goes for your wardrobe as well as everything else too.

Today’s article is all about getting the basics right.
You can sew your basics.. Get your patterns right for your basic wardrobe and you are home free.

You can build on the basics and don’t forget these basics can last you several seasons, so use good quality fabrics. You can add colors and styles with various pieces in the latest trends.

I find these articles are helpful when planning a wardrobe and I hope you do too.
Don’t forget to check out the free patterns offered here
If you need a good sewing companion try this one here there are some great free bonuses with it too.

Cheers
Carmel

Basics That Won’t Break The Bank
There are plenty of basics you can pick up that there’s no need to pay the extra to obtain a “design name.” From the outside no ones going to know they aren’t designer and no ones going to see the label so their a safe bet!


Items such as white jeans, flirty skirts, cotton T’s, crocheted shrugs, or shorts can be purchased without the designer name. Also watch for T’s put on sale by some of the big online retailers for as much as 50% off. Bluefly.com quite regularly puts DKNY and Rebecca Beeson T’s on for a serious reduction in price.


Looking fresh like they just came off the rack is important. If you purchased budget items then you’ve save quite a few dollars so once they start looking not so fresh get rid of them.


Shoes are another arena where you can save some money. No need to buy designer. Most important is fit and comfort, and of course you need to be certain they’ll work with your wardrobe. This season the wedge, as well as flats for the summer season, are in style so have some fun. If you shop carefully you can add several pair for the price of one pair of designer shoes.


Lastly you can save a whole lot of money on your jewelry. Costume jewelry is affordable and the selection is great. If you stick to costume jewelry you can buy pieces for this seasons fashion and not feel bad because you spent too much and they are out of style next year. There are many good online store with very reasonable prices. Don’t forget to have a hunt through your old jewelry as well – you might be surprised at what you find that has made it back into style. Large clunky jewelry is certainly in. As is wood and bone jewelry. Color is making a big statement this year. This is a very fun season because just about anything goes provided you complete your look.


If you need to get some ideas for the spring season – this months women’s magazines have some great articles and examples. Vogue, Elle, and In Style are all full of excellent fashion pages.


So don’t fret, you can look like a million dollars on a shoe string budget with a little creativity and hunting! Make your fashion statement!



About the author:
Sher from Estate Jewelry International has been serving customers for over 20 years, providing fashion, jewelry, and wedding help. Please visit us at http://www.estatejewelryinternational.com/

Mystery of the Sewing Squares???

Hi all,

Of all thing sewing,I just read this amazing article in the Tempe News and thought, you never know who reads what, or who know what, this world is a small place really. Someone who reads this blog just may know someone who was involved in making the squares.

It seems the sewing has been done very well and I hope they will put up a photo when the quilt is completed.

Anyway, anyone who knows anything about it the contact information is at the end of the article. Let's hope someone can help as it would be great for whoever purchases the quilt to have the history too.

I can't understand anyone just bundling up something as rare as that and giving it away.

Still to each his own....

Take care

Carmel
Sew More For U

Sewing

Tempe News
Tempe sewing group uncovers bedspread mystery
By Hayley Ringle, Tribune
April 7, 2006
It’s a mystery of children’s drawings that became a handsewn coverlet. And the 20 women and lone man of the Contempo Tempe Sewing Group would love to have it solved.
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Lifestyle
Tempe
“We’ve had a lot of fun just looking at it,” Catherine Hoiland said. “Gosh, all the details.”

The group — which sews dresses, pajamas and play clothes for children from working poor families — thought they’d received just another bag of donated material last December. But these 45 fabric squares, each signed by a child, were special.

There are pictures of Babylonian art from 1700 B.C., drawn by Nadia Robeson. A Sumerian husband and wife from 3000 B.C. were drawn by Debbie Bencomo. Jessica Clark wrote out the Magna Carta, while Roxanna Apaez drew a map of Lower Egypt.

The sewing group believes the students were given a geography or history lesson on ancient Egypt, and then each student was given a topic to draw, said Mary Rupert, 74.

“I think it’s amazing,” said Gwen Hoover, 82. “I think it was a big project someone was doing as a group. It took a lot of kids doing a lot of work. Each patch is so fascinating.”

But the group has no idea who those students are, what school they’re from, what teacher gave the assignment and why the drawings were given away.

The pieces don’t appear to be too old.

The mystery is deepened further because the bag of children’s drawings was donated by club member Virginia Cook, who died suddenly in December. She was a volunteer for a Scottsdale hospice, and had received the pieces from the hospice’s thrift shop.

The group decided to put the pieces together into a coverlet to preserve the fun, unique drawings.

They plan to raffle off the coverlet in December to raise money for other sewing projects. They’d like to have some background for the raffle winner, and maybe even have some of the children who made the drawings at the annual Christmas dinner.

But most of all, the women want to show these children that their drawings were put to good use, and to show them the finished product.

“They deserve to be recognized,” said Frances Winokur, 91.

Mystery drawings
Information: If you have any information on the mystery drawings, call (602) 438-9751.
Donations: To donate fabric, zippers, lace, flannel, buttons or knitting supplies to the Contempo Tempe Sewing Group, call (602) 438-9751.

Good deed
This is an example of a good deed. Do you have a good deed someone has done for you? Tell us. Include your name, city and phone number. Send to Hayley Ringle at hringle@aztrib.com or call (480) 898-6301.
Contact Hayley Ringle by email, or phone (480)-898-6301



Sewing

Hello to you,

Here at Sew More For U we are having some interesting discussions regarding the Basic Pattern Drafting Course and how we are going to package it to sell.

We have the DIY sewing eguide and there are some who think we should sell this with the Basic Pattern Drafting Course, like an all in one but they're not sure which one should lead, like the guide with the course or the course with the guide.

Basically when you get down to it, we could have three options, course and guide combined, course on its own and sewing eguide on its own, course with eguide and eguide with course.

We have about a week and a half to decide, then we will have about another week and a half to get the websites ready.

We have already re-organized our Sew More For U website, new header, new colors, it's still a work in progress.

As this blog is about sewing and helping you with your sewing then all of the above when it's released will do just that but in the meantime here is a tip for you on gathering.

For heavier fabrics, when you want to gather or ruffle, use extra strong thread in your bobbin. The thread you use to pull up the gathers is the bobbin thread, so using a stronger thread will help prevent the thread from breaking half way through.

Well that's it for now, come back soon and find out what the outcome of the release of the Basic Pattern Drafting Course is.

Till then, see you

All the best

Carmel

Sewing Decisions....Gets Tuff.....

Do you ever go through a slump with your sewing? I do and am in one right now. I should be getting my winter wardrobe organised, yes, the southern hemisphere is going into winter.

My biggest problem is, I'm not sure what my lifestyle is going to be this winter. I guess when I get that figured out, there shouldn't be a problem.

You see, during the winter, I normally do tax consulting, ugh...!!! I hear you say but, I'm one of the nice guys or should I say gals. We work on your side, we are the ones who try our darndest to get you back the maximun refund.

Anyway, once I decide if I will go back to that this tax season, I should be able to work out my winter wardrobe and then get into the sewing.

If I don't go back, I will be working from home with my computer and sewing machine and the wardrobe for working at home compared to a corporate wardrobe is like chalk and cheese. The work at home is much more comfortable as you can imagine.

I wrote a PDF report today to help my basic pattern drafting people with interfacings. I try each week to have a special download for them, something that relates to the making of the patterns they will be drafting.

Whenever I do this, I always find out new and wonderful things. Nothing like researching to bring you up to speed. We have so much choice today, very spoilt but it can get confusing at times.

My first basic pattern drafting group have only two weeks left to finish the course, it has gone by so quickly.

I'm working on a package for the sewing eguide and the basic pattern drafting course. I have changed my mind several times on how we will release the drafting course. Everyone is suggesting this week and we will go through them all next week and see what will work the best.

Well I'm off, so will catch you later.

Till then, take care

Carmel

For The Embroidery Lovers

Fashionable Embroider Designs: How to Stitch Them Ourselves?
By Robbie Darmona

Embroidery has become an important part in today’s fashion. Wide variety of embroidery designs exists which can be seen on nearly every wearable cloth in a man’s wardrobe: T-shirts, trousers, garments. It also takes on a large number of household materials: bed-cloths, counterpanes, draperies etc. Various kinds of embroidery designs can be found on the Internet. There exists a basic systematisation of this diversity:embroider designs can be qualified into four types.

The first one is the most exploited by embroidery lovers: the clothing embroidery design. It includes embroidery designs on fashion clothes, on man’s wear, on children’s clothes, on women’s dresses or suits. This type of design can be easily purchased either on the Internet , or from the ordinary embroidery shops. What makes them more attractive is that they can be produced by the person using computerized machines or software- first you pick up the digitized design you’d like to stitch, download it and the machine stitches it in no time.

The second type is the logo embroidery designs, which can be sewn onto T-shirts, sweatshirts and other garments. They can also be ordered on the Internet. The special thing is that most of them are done by professional embroiderers. Great care is taken about their production: their size, shape, texts and outlines are artfully accomplished.

The third kind of embroidery designs is the household designs. It is developed for decoration of household materials, such as draperies, carpets, mats, bedspreads, and so on. They also are produced by professionals, most of all because of their great size.

And last come the embroidery designs on any other materials and general products: such as embroidery on baseball caps, on shoes, gloves, hats, on different personal belongings- almost everything they can be sewn onto. This type can also be done by stitching software or ordered on the Internet.

Whatever embroidery design you pick up, you have to be aware how to make it. Part of the pleasure of having a pretty embroidery on your clothes is to have done it on your own. That is why, many people start using sewing machines, which help them develop their embroidery skills. But there are few things to be considered when using a machine. First of all, choose carefully the colours of the threads which you use, and make sure you have put threads enough to finish the whole embroidery design. After doing this, you’d better start stitching your embroidery design NOT on the original cloth, but on a plain fabric to set the size, shape and outlines of your design. And remember to hoop firmly the cloth on which you have started, otherwise you may interrupt the stitching process. Even if clutching strictly on these rules, there are several things which may as well go wrong.

The first thing is what to do with the embroidery design when it is ready. People often fuss up when it comes to sewing the design onto the original cloth. Remember: you need to be creative! Any place can be appropriate for a design to put on, so don’t stick just with the middle of the cloth. For example, try sewing the design on the back of the blouse, or on the left button corner. Asymmetry can be highly provocative and fashionable. Many novices are confused when trying to make a logo. Bear in mind that logos demand smaller fonts of texts (Arial and Verdana would be most suitable as fonts ), and the thinnest possible outline. Otherwise, you risk ruining the effect of the discreet showing up of your logo. Black bobbin thread or the same color thread should be used as the top when making texts on dark fabric. Smaller objects don’t need to be outlined as it would make no difference in the final results. One of the priorities of the smaller designs is that they are easy to make: if you are a new-beginner, you‘d better start with making small designs, the width of 3-4.5 inches. Not having to worry about greater objects will put you at ease with the machine itself and would help you get accustomed to the work. Don’t panic when something gets wrong: finish the stitches and try to edit it afterwards. Another big point to be made here is the support of the sewing machine: you have to change the needle frequently, also when finishing a certain design.

Bearing these tips in mind, you may start your own unique design project The final advice I can give you is enjoy your work and create something really beautiful!

For more information you can visit embroidery designs Article by Robbie Darmona

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robbie_Darmona