What was your first sewing project?

So I got my machine today, a Brother BM 2600. Had a play with it and managed to sew a square that wasnt to wonky and checked out the different stitching. Pretty fun.

So what was your first sewing project? Was it easy or hard?

A few other sewing related questions:

Do you backstitch to "close off" the thread?

Do you use patterns or do you freestyle your projects?

How do you decide what fabric to use?

I'll leave it at that for now lol

So what was your first sewing project? Was it easy or hard?
My first sewing project was a black Bolero jacket when I was in year 9 at school. In my defence they were all the rage back then ;) It was really quite easy, but I had my teacher to help me through the tricky parts.

Do you backstitch to "close off" the thread?
Yes, always.

Do you use patterns or do you freestyle your projects?
Depends on what I'm making. I'm not a terribly brilliant sewer, so for clothes I stick to patterns, for other stuff I freestyle LOL. Check out my blog entries for Jan/Feb and you will see what I made up myself.

How do you decide what fabric to use?
Again it depends on what I am making. The drink bottle covers I made were oilcloth and the bags and apron were just regular cotton. The patterns will tell you what type of fabric you need if you are unsure.

So what was your first sewing project? Was it easy or hard?
Well, I was 11, it was 17 years ago, so tricky to remember exactly what! My mum helped me through a top and shorts, btu my first solo project, at 12, was a Wondersuit for my Cabbage Patch Kid.

Do you backstitch to "close off" the thread?
Definitely. If it's something like a dart, though, I sew off the end of the fabric and then tie the tails together.

Do you use patterns or do you freestyle your projects?
I do both. Often I use both techniques within a single project. But I have been sewing for a LOOOONG time. I would recommend super simple patterns for your first few projects.

How do you decide what fabric to use?
I tend to buy the fabric first, and then fit it into a project later. This can be a bit tricky, but I'm sort of at a stage where I know roughly how much I will need to complete anything I want.
For a beginner, I recommend using medium weight fabrics, cotton or cotton/poly blend. Avoid satin, chiffon, georgette, crepe and tulle until you have a bit of experience under your belt.
Synthetic knit fabrics are great - you don't have to edge them, and they don't roll too much when you're cutting and sewing. There are some fairly specific techniques for working with knits, though, like using a ballpoint needle (easy enough) and certain stitches that will stretch with your fabric (a small zigzag in size 1 width, size 1 length is fine)

Happy sewing!

So what was your first sewing project? Was it easy or hard?
Well, I was in grade 8, and it was either a pillow case or a pair of shorts. The shorts were a terrible fit! They fitted round the waist, but not comfortably around my legs! loved them though. I LOVED my pillowcase, until it was in the boot of the car, and a tin of petrol spilt over it :(

Do you backstitch to "close off" the thread?
Always.

Do you use patterns or do you freestyle your projects?
Pattern, but not always a "pattern" pattern, iykwim. My mil is a dressmaker (of sorts - once got the contract to make the school uniforms! Her niece is going shopping with her today so mil can make bridesmaids dresses!) and she has patterns and she'll also use what she has to create a pattern. i.e.: a pair of shorts for J - she used an existing pair we had of similar sort of material and traced around them and made me a pattern! I made 3 pair, but then I lost the pattern.. J loved those pants !


How do you decide what fabric to use?
At the moment, I like simple fabric. I did try to make a pair of boxers for J (the 3rd pair referred to above) from satiny material, with the help my my mum (who used to make us clothes as kids) and it failed after a wash! lol I'll build up to that

Good luck!

ooooh now you've got me in the mood for sewing! And I do need some more pillowcases!

So what was your first sewing project? Was it easy or hard?
It was probably a cushion cover. I went through a stage where I made a lot, they were easy because they were squares... no zips :lol:

Do you backstitch to "close off" the thread?
Yes

Do you use patterns or do you freestyle your projects?
Freestyle. Patterns scare me... I'm afraid I will stuff them up.
That said, I am determined to (eventually) get a basic pattern & give it a go.

How do you decide what fabric to use?
I see it & I love it & I buy it.... then I decide what to do with it.
I tend to stick to cottons & avoid the slippery stuff like Audax suggested, I'm not really up to it yet BUT I do have a whole heap of satin scraps I have plans for.

New machine, woot! Have fun!

ETA - have you decided what you are making first?

Ive made a sleepsack out of fleece for my 13mth old! I just freestyled a pattern based on his other sleepsack and so far its turned out great but it took a few good hours of swear words and hate towards my sewing machine to get to this point lol Now I just have to decide if I want to button it up or zip it up. Then itll be done and ready to wash and wear.

It isnt perfect (the stitching is less than straight lol) but I think itll be durable and wearable. Im already decided on my next project - Pjs for the older boys.

Man I could stroll around Spotlight for days!

Awesome Freya!