What's in your sewing basket?

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Permalink Reply by S.Taylor on October 14, 2009 at 9:52pm

I love my sewing basket. It is one of my favorite things. I got a pretty new one for my birthday and enjoy sitting down with it to sew on buttons etc. I think your sewing box needs snaps, a few buttons , a seam ripper is a must. I like my tomato pin cushion. A tape measure, a chalk and fabric eraser. A seam gauge,thimble,a few colors of thread. , hooks, a magnet to pick up those spilt pins. this is a typical sewing basket but I also have a square basket with no top, handles on the side , i use it to hold my embroidery and hoop and DMC floss , or small sewing project. Of course these are all the basics . Bees Wax is good to make the thread go through the fabric smoothly.It is in quilting supplies . I have a rotary cutter but I don't use it much (good for quilters)

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Permalink Reply by Countrymamma on October 14, 2009 at 10:59pm

Very interesting. I am just learning to sew, so these things were helpful to me! I just got my little sewing kit, and I'm anxious to begin working.

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Permalink Reply by Gloria Jacobsen on October 15, 2009 at 12:50pm

So let's begin. Let's start with simple straight lines. There are three things that come to mind, a pillow case, a pot holder, and a sachet for the drawer. When you get the straight lines you can go onto the bigger projects. Make sure the fabirc you have chosen is washed, and ironed. For a pillow case ,(you will need for the standard pillow case) one yard of fabric 45 inch wide. Once you have washed and ironed the fabric, look at the fabric, you will see the salvage edge, that is the edge where the looms ended the fabric. That edge will not fray(pull or tearing is harder to do on this edge.) The cut edge is the straight of the grain. With the fabric flat on the table , right side facing down,(the right side is the part that will be to the outside when you are done, It ususally has the pictures printed on it.) fold the woven edge towards the other woven edge by 20 inches, The remaining fabric should be 5 to 6 inches. You will cut that fabric off, straight line cutting. You can use the straight pins to pin the folded pieces togther, so you can use weighted cans, clean rocks, anything that is clean and will hold th fbric down so you will not get shifting of the fabric. I have a yard stick, that I lay down on the fabric, but if you don't you can use the marker that should have come in you kit, if not use a pencil and mark the line straight down. Now cut the line. Your remaining piece should be 36 inches long by 40 inches wide. Take the extra piece and fold it up and put it into you stash box for now. Now it time to sew. Cut off 18 inches of thread. Get out the needle threader, put the wire loop end into the eye of the needle now put the thread through the wire loop and pull the needle outward. You should have the needle threaded. Once you have your needle threaded, you tie a knot at the end of the thread. You should have a double thread piece of just under nine inches. Now you will
put the threaded needle into the pin cushion, while you pin the side of the pillow case up. Put pins down the side of the case and across the bottom. You will mark and measure a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I used a pencil that is normal for the marking of the seam. Time to stitch, put the threaded needle going straight down through the fabric, pull the needle till it stops with the knot. You are holding the needle in one hand and the case in the other hand. You have the thimble one the finger that pushes the needle through the fabric. Now the cut edge is towards you and you have the needle under the case now come up as close to the going down stitch as possible. Pull the thread until tight. You have you base stitch started. Now it is an easy into the fabric, going through both pieces and right up again just as close as you can do this. You go in, down, through, in, up and pull. There will be spaces inbetween the stitches, you should be able to get about, for now 6 stitches per inch. Once you have learned you will get 8 to 12 per inch. I get 8 my sister gets 12, and so did my grandmother, but for now the in down and up motion is what you are working on. When you get to the place where you can no longer do the in, down, through,up and pull motion, You make another knot in the thread and now clip the thread so that the knot is towards the fabric and the left over piece is above the knot. thread the needle again with the 18 inches. ( I have found that 18 inches is the easiest length to handle, any less and you do a lot of threading, more and it gets tangled.) Sew teh rest of the side seam and the bottom seam. When you are done with the seams, remove the pins and put them into the pin cushion. Time to clip the corner edge, so that it will lay flat, At the edge clip a wedge out of the corner that looks like a piece of pie. Now do a straight clip in up to the seam and just on the other side, so you should have the straight clip the pie cut the striaght clip along the edge, but not into the sewing, seam. Now go and press the seams open. Now let the pillow case hang so it eases into the shape. Now you can turn the case, so the right side is out. Press the case flat again, Time for the ruler and pins again. You are going to mark the hem. Mark two inches down and fold, pin, and press,remove the pins. Mark another 2 inches down, fold and pin and press. You should have pinned down a 2 inch hem.Stitching time. This time you stitch the hem line two inches in catching all the layers in the stitches. Put the first stitch and knot on the inside, seam. You want to be able to see how the seam is going so that it looks nice, so you will be stitching on the top side. Do the same sewing motion of the in, down, through, up and pull. ONLY you will make the knots to the inside. The last knot goes on the inside, next to the other knot. Now press the case again. You have completed the first project. Yeah!!!. (My son now has a checkered pillow cases to go with his quilt. I'm making this for Christmas.) The next project will be from the left over pillow case pieces. We will make drawer sachets.

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Permalink Reply by Countrymamma on October 17, 2009 at 10:46am

Thanks! I will begin right away. I think I'm going to do a pillow case. I have some scraps of material that are large enough for that, I think. This sounds like a good weekend project. I will post pictures when I get it done.

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Permalink Reply by Gloria Jacobsen on October 17, 2009 at 11:03am

If you have a problem or question let me know. I will keep the computer up today. This is exciting for me. So much so that I am making an apron by hand today. It's out of dish towels.

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Permalink Reply by Gloria Jacobsen on October 15, 2009 at 10:39am

I had forgotten about the snaps and hooks with eyes, fabric eraser was another thing I had forgotten. I have two machines with electronic parts and they warned me not to put in a magnet or I would erase the memory of the machine. So the putting one in the basket for hand sewing is a good idea, I used to have one.
I put in a tape measure and a ruler with the sliding gauge. I put in loop tape. I get my bees wax from the fellow that raises the bees. He sells big chunks, for about a dollar. I have a rotary cutter and it's good for the cutting of the straight lines in quilts. I also don't use it much. I have a small mat that when I move around like to the patio, it comes with me, but it doesn't fit into the basket. Thanks for getting my brain started.

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Permalink Reply by Mrs. JP on November 3, 2009 at 9:34am

All the basic colors of thread plus those in between colors of thread left over from things I've sewn. Needles for everything from upholstery to embroidery to hand sewing. Buttons, lots of buttons - I save all the extras that come on clothes now. Of course there are fabric scissors, craft scissors, and all in between scissors. My basket has thingys that help me clean my sewing machine plus the directions for use of the machine. Wow,,,that was a fun question and a great idea for gifts!!!

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Permalink Reply by Gloria Jacobsen on November 3, 2009 at 12:40pm

Wow thank you. NOra has the basic becasue I sent it to her. Now I have to get the more for the basket and a basket. I had forgotten about the buttons ans snaps, and the thread that you wind up becasue you have sewn with them. I'm making a shoe box into a basket for her. I'm putting the lid into a giant pincushion. LOL Her son is our godson and that little guy goes through pants,at the knees. LOL

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Permalink Reply by S.Taylor on November 11, 2009 at 9:30pm

I only have sons so I have lots of knee patches in my sewing kit too :)

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