So You Think You Can’t Sew?

Why I Can’t Sew

Although I took sewing machine lessons as a kid, I have lived my life with Velcro and safety pins.  When tie blankets first became all the rage, I was all over it, there was no sewing needed to make fun decorative blankets for the kids.

When I needed to put up fabric over the three windows above my bed to block out the sun, I went to the fabric store, bought the perfect fabric and backing, glued them together and proceeded to Velcro them to the wall.  You’d never know they weren’t sewn.

When I took Home Economics in junior high, I’m embarrassed to say I snuck the shirt I was making home at night for my Mom to work on for me.  She did a great job.  Sewing is just not my thing, I just can’t sew.  If something I am using doesn’t have an undo button, I’m just not interested.

About a year ago, something I saw at Walmart caught my eye.  It was a sewing machine for under $60. No one was more surprised than me when I began to entertain thoughts of buying a sewing machine.  What did I need with a sewing machine? I can’t sew!  After all, I survived this long without one!

Cute, huh? The fabric came from Walmart.

The last time I did a tie blanket with my daughter, it became so small, that there was hardly enough blanket to warm us up in.  I think this was the drive of my unconscious need for a sewing machine.  After all, the logical side of me can’t stand the thought of not being able to take advantage of all the material we had, as the ends had curled up making the blanket more oval than rectangular.  Had we sewn it, it would have looked better…and bigger.

Now I Can Sew

Back to that sewing machine I saw at Walmart, it was only $55.97 for a Brother 20-stitch sewing machine.  Visions of teaching my daughter how to sew danced in my head.  And if you think about it, a sewing machine is technology, so that makes sewing cool, right?

I bought the sewing machine from Walmart right before Christmas.  Our church was having a Christmas show and my good friend had been asking around for a sewing machine.  Mine was still in its box, so I brought it over to the gym during our daughter’s volleyball practice and together we racked our brains on how to use a sewing machine.  She had sewn before, but it had been a good 20+ years.  We unboxed it and soon realized that neither one of us had any thread!  A quick call to a girlfriend and she brought us the thread she had inherited from her mom.  We were on our way!

Fortunately, this Brother LS2400 sewing machine came with a bobbin already threaded with white thread!  What a blessing.  We followed the enclosed directions and the diagram on the top of the sewing machine to thread the needle.  I’m telling you, it was more of an adventure of Laurel and Hardy than a tribute to Betsy Ross, but we ventured on.

Our goal was to sew an elf vest for her youngest daughter.  We looked online for ideas on how to cut our pattern.  We made our cuts and timidly sewed the vest together.  Boy were we proud of our creation.

We called her daughter in and needed to make some more cuts around the armholes, but eventually got it looking pretty good.  Notice her volleyball knee pads?  We caught her during a water break!

We were so proud of ourselves, giving each other high fives.  We were able to unpack the machine, thread it, cut out our fabric, sew together the vest, and make adjustments all within 1 1/2 hours.  And as an added bonus, a few of the other mothers who looked in at us at the  beginning of the practice were quite impressed with our sewing prowess by the end!

My friend borrowed the machine afterwards and successfully made a couple pairs of Elf booties, teaching my son how to use the machine in the process.

I was now ready to take on blankets.  My daughter and I went to the fabric store and picked out soft velvety fleece material.  We couldn’t wait to get home and make our blankets.

Here is my daughter sewing her blanket creation.  She was super excited to make the blanket after choosing the fleece material herself.  We ran into some issues where the blue owl material was not the same size as the purpose material.

Rather than opting for a smaller blanket, we decided to let half of the sides have a purple border and the other 2 sides  just have owls on it.

Here is my 9 year-old son working on the back of his blanket.  We easily sewed through two pieces of fleece fabric without a problem, it was not too thick.

Look What We Sewed!

Here is my son’s blanket, it has monsters on it with glow in the dark eyes and teeth.  We bought 2 yards of material for the front and 2 yards for the back.

I think he likes it!  And the blanket is plenty big enough to cover his whole body.

Now, I’m not going to tell you this was all smooth sailing.  On my son’s blanket, I ran into a couple of issues where the needle wouldn’t move and we wound up with a huge knot a couple of times.  By the end, the blanket was done…and so was the needle.  I broke it while trying to sew over a thick corner that needed a touch-up.  So i installed a new needle (2 more come in the box) and I continued on because I could see what was possible, and the kids were so excited to see their blankets coming together.

I’ve threaded the needle so many  times now, I no longer worry about trying to remember how to thread it! Does our blanket and sewing job look perfect?  No, certainly not.  There were times when my son ventured off course and there’s no straight line to be found in his sewing job.  But he doesn’t  care and neither do I.  We were just excited to finish up his blanket.  I’ll leave perfectionism to the pro’s and just enjoy the experience with my children.

Features:

• 20 Stitch functions
• Stitch width and length dials
• Easy bobbin winder
• Has two stitches – straight and zigzag
• Pedal controller for start, stop, and speed
• Includes a built-in free arm for sewing or hemming cuffs
• Has a built-in accessory storage area

Pros:

• Easy to travel with, less than 10 lbs.
• At less than $60, the price is very reasonable
• Comes with a DVD to help you figure out how to use it
• Has  built-in light
• Comes with a bobbin filled with white thread to make starting easier
• Comes with 2 additional needles!

Cons:

• Doesn’t come with a carrying case (unless you count the box it came with!)
• Although it can sew through jeans for a hem, it does better with lighter fabrics

The Brother LS2400 Sewing Machine is available at your local Walmart store or online at Walmart.com for $55.97.

Here’s a quick video we made showing how the kids are using the Brother LS2400 to make their creations…

A Mom’s Perspective

Now, I know I’ll never go on to  be a professional seamstress.  Will I make my daughter’s clothes?  No, for her sake and for mine.  But, we already have lined up our next project, to make some cute owl pillows for my daughter’s room.

And perhaps I’ll gather up enough gumption to fix the zipper that separated from my favorite pair of shorts.  Who knows, I may even let the seam down and re-sew it on my son’s suit pants.  There’s possibility now where there once was hopelessness.

And better yet, it makes me feel good that my kids are interested in sewing too and feel more comfortable using a sewing machine.  I will wind the bobbin for them, they don’t need to learn that just yet.  What I want them to focus on is the possibility of making things that is now within their realm.

Think you can’t sew?  You may be surprised what is possible with a sewing machine!