dianaschnuth

Last year, before I really got interested in sewing, my son asked me to make him a mega-mushroom stuffie. I explained to him that I really wasn’t that skilled yet, and that I didn’t have that much fabric to work with — all I really had was some leftovers from my first (and only) cosplay, plus some attempts at cute fleece anime hats and other randomness.

Instead of a giant mega-mushroom, I convinced him to let me hand-sew him a little blue mushroom — the kind that makes Mario into a little flea in New Super Mario Bros.

Connor loved his new fleece-and-felt mushroom, and named him Blue-White.

That was a year and a half ago. Now that I’ve gotten back into sewing, Connor asked me if I could finally make him that mega-mushroom he asked for so long ago. Luckily, he was OK with Mega being only a little bigger than Blue-White, so I was able to use some more fabric scraps — this time, the back half of an old yellow t-shirt and some red remnants I bought off of eBay, along with an old peach-colored woven fabric scrap — instead of taking my son on a Joann’s trip.

Of course, everything for a six-year-old has to be done NOW, so this project got done in a morning and part of an afternoon.

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After my successful pincushion project, my next venture was a pillowcase for my son’s travel-sized pillow  I’d gotten some cartoon fabric remnants at a good price on eBay, so I used one that I knew Connor would like, but that wouldn’t kill me if I ruined it: Mickey Mouse.

Luckily, The Seasoned Homemaker’s tutorial on making an envelope pillow with French seams was well-worded with helpful photos, so I only messed up a couple of times (and those were minor and easily hidden).

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Yesterday, after four long weeks, I finally got my sewing machine back from the shop. It got a long-needed tune-up, plus a few new parts and a new foot pedal. My Singer 476 is now working as good as new (I assume — it was a wedding present to my late mother-in-law in the early 1970’s).

Since I know I need some remedial sewing skills before I can make anything remotely fancy, I’ve set myself some basic projects to teach myself the easy stuff first. Today’s project: a pillow-style pincushion.

Things I learned today:

• How to thread my machine: mainly, to make sure it’s threaded properly so I can set the tension
• Which one of the bobbins in my sewing box does not, in fact, go with my machine
• Where the sweet spot on my new foot pedal is
• How and when to slow down before pivoting a corner

Yeah, I know that a teeny tiny stuffed pillow isn’t much of a project… but I’m pretty damn proud of myself, anyway.

Next project: an envelope pillowcase for my son’s old toddler-sized (aka travel-sized) pillow.

Eventually, I’m hoping to be able to tailor my clothes and my son’s — within reason, like adding pockets and darts and making shirts skinnier — and make some clothing and home decor items. I have lots of ideas for things I want to learn and to try.

I feel a little silly, being so stoked about something simple like four straight-stitched lines… but everybody’s got to start somewhere.