Today is day 31 of Sewing School.
We made it though the month– 31 Days of Sewing School– I can hardly believe it! It’s been a challenging task for me to blog everyday this month (one day did get squished into the next, but I’m not going to be too hard on myself), but I have thoroughly enjoyed it, and I hope you have, too.
My hope is that you’ve found inspiration to get sewing, no matter what your level of experience is. There’s no need to be intimidated, dear readers, that sewing machine is your friend. Today I thought it would be fun to celebrate with a small giveaway and a little sneak at what’s in store in the future.
The more I’ve delved into the topic of sewing, the more I’ve wanted to actually sew! I’m hoping next month, as my contributors come back on the scene, that I can actually spend some time at my sewing machine, cranking out some simple handmade gifts. I’ll be sure to show you what I make.
The other thing that I’ve realized with this series, is how much I couldn’t fit into the 31 days. You all asked so many good questions when we started this journey, that I realized that I didn’t just have enough ideas for a month-long series, but that after October, I would want to get started right away on a related eBook.
So be on the lookout– sometime in the future, I will be releasing my very first eBook, an expanded (complete with lots of new material) handbook on the basics of sewing.
Giveaway
When my good friend took a trip to New York City this year, I told her to be sure to visit Purl Soho. She just happened to be going to Soho the very next day and was delighted by this charming yarn and fabric shop. The ladies of Purl also happen to write what is in my opinion one of the best sewing/yarn crafts blog around, called The Purl Bee. It’s definitely one you’ll want to note down as a great sewing resource.
When I told Purl about our Sewing School series, they were happy to donate a celebratory gift for one of our lucky readers, a book, titled Last-Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts, which is the perfect reward for celebrating the end of Sewing School. This book contains
a beautiful collection of heartfelt gifts that can accommodate any busy crafter’s schedule and skills. You’ll find a wealth of inspiration for the home and wardrobe, arranged according to the amount of time required to complete them, from about 2 to 12 hours. Among the 30 patchwork and quilted projects you’ll see the influence of traditional techniques and styles.
One lucky Simple Homemade reader will win one copy of Last Minute Patchwork + Quilted Gifts from Purl Soho, and two of my handmade sweater beanies (one for you, one for a friend!).
The book will come directly from Purl; the sweater beanie will ship in early December from me.
How to enter
1. {mandatory} Answer the following in the comments: What was your favorite day of Sewing School, or what was the most helpful takeaway you took from the series?
2. {optional extra entry} Tweet about the giveaway, mentioning @SimpleHomemade’s #sewingschool series. Leave a comment here with a link to your tweet.
Giveaway will end Saturday, November 3rd, 2012 at midnight PST. Good luck! Thank you again for reading and journeying with me through 31 days of Sewing School.
About Nicole
The discussion about different needles was really helpful, along with the post about different fabric types. Thanks for a great month – I learned a lot!
I thought the needles day was really helpful too. I’ve had my sewing machines for a number of years and I’ve never changed the needle. Yikes – I’m definitely going to before I start my next project.
I really enjoyed the selection of books you listed. I requested some from the library that I had never read before.
Great giveaway! Love The Purl Bee! Being the novice I am, all the posts were helpful. I think the most helpful post, was the one you did on needles. Thanks again for the series, my sewing machine will be put to good use this holiday
I love “pinterest’ posts, so I liked the “Pinterest to Real Life” post best!
I actually already own this book (and love Purl Soho!) but if I won I knew a lady who would *love* to have it!
Sarah M
I liked best the part on cutting out patterns. I like the tip to cut the pattern in the largest size.
It was all extremely helpful for a novice like myself, but what I think I appreciated the most was the insight into your sewing library. I now know a few resources to turn to at the library, as well as a few great gift recommendations for lovelies in my life. Thank you!
My favorite was the button hole day! Those darn things are so finicky I always like hearing how everybody else does them. Thanks for doing such a great tutorial series.
Thread tension!!! I made the mistake of trying to adjust mine once, because after troubleshooting using the manual (and knowing that my sewing machine is within reach of my curious two-year-old’s hands) I was convinced it had somehow gotten messed up. I changed it over and over again, sewing on scraps, trying to make my stitches right, before re-threading my machine and ending up at the exact same tension that I started with. I never really knew what had gone wrong that day until reading your post. I won’t make that mistake again!
I’ve been sewing for years, so most of the information I already knew, but I enjoyed reading each post anyway! I especially liked seeing what sewing books you use – it gave me some ideas for new ones to check out! I also liked the tutorials you shared.
I’ve sewed simple things for a few years now, but one thing I’ve always somehow struggled with was the tension. That and the choosing needles post was the most helpful to me. Being that I actually stopped sewing for a while after becoming so frustrated in not knowing what was wrong with my machine, I realized it was the tension. It just needed a slight adjustment. So small, but can make such a difference. Thanks for doing the sewing school series on your blog. It’s not only been helpful, but motivated me to sew more now that I have the knowledge.
Thanks for holding the giveaway! Here’s my tweet to share your giveaway! I’m @_Rebecca and I follow you on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/_Rebecca/status/263748512334876672
Fabric types – I get so confused. I know it would make more sense if I sewed more, but walking into a fabric store goes from exciting to overwhelming so quickly for me. I made my daughter’s pirate skirt Saturday, and several of your posts whirled through my head during that morning. They were great little reminders.
I liked the days about the books- I love new resources!
Your 31 days of sewing was great! I’m gonna have to go with Day 2 as my favorite. As a beginner in all things sewing, I loved learning the basics. At least know I can sew a button or two
The rolled hem…. I always thought it was something fancy- maybe even cylindrical??? Hee Hee!
Thanks so much for this helpful series, I really appreciate the work you put into it! I am a novice seamstress, as I first learned less than 2 years ago. I have since made a handful of projects, but have not had many hours of practice. My favourite day was #23: How to sew a basic rolled hem. So basic, but I didn’t know how to do it yet, so THANKS!
Loved the whole series – thank you! I too got a bunch of the recommended books from the library, and the tips on sewing curves, like shortening stitch length, really helped me. I have been motivated to buy a new (to me) machine so I can really expand my sewing. Thanks again
I found the entire series very motivating. I am a new sewer and so I like to read the basics from several people. Sometimes it clicks better from one source than another. I liked the day about cutting out the pattern and fabric. I feel the need to move beyond square pillows and now feel like I can!
Thank you so much! I made my kids’ awesome Halloween costumes this year (Max & Moishe from Where the Wild Things Are) and I learned A LOT from your posts! I can’t pick one specific post. I guess I liked the very basics and cutting out patterns. (I never had done that one before!)
The day on buttonholes was super helpful. I’ll be saving it for the future!
I found the day on cleaning your machine very helpful, and the discussion about different needles informative.
My favourite was the tank top refashion day 29: such a simple and fun idea! The most useful was definitely the tension thread day! That’s my black beast but I am facing it and fighting it (often it prevents me from sewing!)
I appreciated your encouragement to get to know your machine better. I was a bit intimidated by my new machine with all its bells and whistles but now am more comfortable. Thanks for the giveaway and the blog!
I liked the post about the different stitches. I just got a new machine with lots of different options and I am itching to try them out.
My favorite was the tension day. I have walked away many times from my old machine in the middle of a project due to tension issues. This was really helpful for me. Thank you!
Looks like a wonderful book and the beanies sure are cute!
The most helpful idea for me was just reading through your posts and seeing how you broke things into simpler steps. When I consider a sewing project it tends to seem like a big scary red neon light PROJECT, but your blogs made me realize it’s more likely a set of simple achievable steps and then voila, you get done and there is your project. The series made sewing in general seem much more approachable to me as a full time worker with 2 children under 3 at home. Thank you!!
The tension day was something that I needed to know more about and its never really covered in sewing workshops and it can be the most frustrating thing!
I believe day 30, repurposing sweaters was one of my favorites. Thanks for doing this. I learned how to sew taking a home economics class in high school but so many girls (my 2 included) didn’t have that class offered to them. They learned from me and this site will be great for them!
I liked the refashioned tank top post, the pictures were easy to follow.
I tweeted this. My username is @LawanaGray
I skimmed through and saved most of the posts since we moved last month so I am not sure yet which will turn out to be most helpful. But I loved the sweater beanies post. Can’t wait to get back to the rest soon.
thanks!
First of all, thank you for sharing the last 31 days with your knowledge and fun! Most all days were helpful for me because beginning next month I will be teaching my granddaughter to sew. She is homeschooled and this wil be one of her elective studies. Well, I have been out of the sewing loop for some time and I wondered how I was going to do this thing. Until I came across your emails with so much that I could use! We are both very excited and eager to begin, and I know with the helps you have given we both will learn and have much fun together!!
I really enjoyed the post on French Seams. I’ve been a beginner sewer since high school but had never learned this technique. Thank you!
I love repurposing sweaters, so was excited to see that featured and look forward to the beanie tutorail…
I can’t believe you blogged every day for a month! Way to go! The most helpful day for me was Day #23 because I have so many skirts and things that I want to hem myself. Thanks for all the awesome tips!
Day 15 was my favorite. I’ve never actually sewed from a pattern, so this was so helpful.
I tweeted about your giveaway https://twitter.com/Eek565/status/264322745708474368
The basic rolled hem! I’ve been sewing for a few years now (self taught) but its been very basic (with the exception of loosing my mind and making my daughters baby bedding!). I’m short and EVERY pair of pants needs to be hemmed, so the rolled hem gave me instructions and confidence to do the next job myself
. Thanks for a great month!
Easy question for me – the day you did buttonholes was my favorite. I’ve always had trouble with those and your post inspired me to attempt once again to get them correct! Thanks for your help.
My favorite was Day 12: Don’t get tense about your thread tension.
Most useful for me was Day 2: the tip about threading your needle with the end of the thread that was loose on the spool.
It just goes to show, no matter how long you’ve been doing something you can always learn something new.