Monday, January 09, 2006

HELP - the Christmas gift that I forgot to mention...

So I got a sewing machine for Christmas. I asked Mom to pick out a good one, since I know absolutely NOTHING about sewing (beyond stitching, of course!). She got me a Brother machine....I don't have the model number or specs in front of me right now, but I know that it has about 27 different stitches and is not one of the fancy computerized ones. Heck, the computerized one I probably could have figured out faster....
Anyway. I need some pointers! I'm pretty much overwhelmed by everything about it....even the language is foreign to me. It will be a while before I can get serious with it, since I don't have a good place to set it up yet. But in the meantime I can read, right? I think my first projects will probably be pillows -- I'd like to finish a few things, and that seems like a simple way to do it. Being the perfectionist that I am, I may invest in a cheap rotary cutter and mat so that I can have strips of EXACTLY the same sizes to attach to the sides of some smaller pieces (I hope that made sense!).
So am I too ambitious here? Am I going to end up sewing my thumb to my fabric? Stay tuned.....

5 comments:

Juanita said...

I have a Brother machine that sounds similar to yours, although mine is *much* older. I love it, but agree that it takes some figuring out. The user manual in mine had a table in the back explaining what settings to use for various stitches-- that helped more than anything for me.

The only other thing that is really helpful is actually using it. I'm sure you won't sew your thumb to the fabric. ;)

Von said...

Congrats on your new machine, Erin! Do try to use it often and become good friends :) I've had my little Janome for almost 8 years now and still refer to the manual - mainly when I do buttonholes as I do them so infrequently. Can you work with your mom or a friend who is more knowledgeable to get you started? Perhaps find a "Sewing for Dummies" type book to refer to. Then the next thing is to just use it, and use it, and use it some more :) The more you do, the more confident you'll become. BTW, I love my rotary cutter :)

Dani - tkdchick said...

Congrats on getting your first sewing machine. I have my Mum's old one. She's recommended a Bernina when I get my next machine.

Definately invest in a rotray cutter, ruler and mat! You'll never use scissors again!

Anne S said...

Have to admit my first sewing machine was a Bernina, and now I have a Janome ... much preferred my Bernina - Mum agrees with me too, they're wonderful machines. And you really don't need one with all the bells and whistles unless you're going to do lots of machine embroidering etc. As for the rotary cutter - definitely an awesome tool! I love mine ... I originally bought it to start quilting, which I haven't done yet, and use it for everything else - it's great to cutting out ornament backings etc :) Hope you manage to tame the sewing monster :))

Kim said...

Congrats on getting a machine! I also have a Brother. I had an older one that quit on me and got this newer style. I have figured out how to get a straight stitch and a zig zig out of it and that's about it. LOL I agree with everybody that it just takes practice. Start with something small and work your way up. I don't have a rotary cutter, but would love to. Good luck with the stitching. :D

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