My thoughts on sewing

I love to sew.  I try to make something on my sewing machine couple times a week.  My parents gave me a Hello Kitty Sewing machine last year for Christmas.  I love my sewing machine, especially the stitch choices!  Changing stitches is easy, the machine automatically sets itself up, so when I start to sew, the stitches look right.  It is very easy to use this to make designs from patterns, and also designs I make up as I go.

When I first learned how to sew, my mom let me sew on her Singer Featherweight 221 first.  It only has straight stitch, but it felt like it was just my size, and it didn't sew too fast.

That's one other thing I like about my sewing machine.  I can control the speed.  If I am sewing a straight seam, I like to go fast!  But if I am sewing a tricky spot, or curves, I can slide the dial to the turtle and slow way down.

I have sewn clothing for my stuffies like the panda and kiwi in the picture that I made up as I went.  Most of my projects are like this.  I want something that I think of, I take fabric and cut and sew it until it looks like what I want.  Sometimes my plans don't work out like they do in my mind.  But it's still a ton of fun!

From patterns I have sewn clothes for myself, gifts, room decorations and outfits for my dolls. My favorite project was a soccer outfit I sewed last month.  I used the Fitted Tee pattern in, Sew In Style by Erin Hentzel for the top.  I sewed a seam wrong, and when we used the seam ripper, my mom accidentally ripped the top front.  It was a great opportunity to use the shorts fabric to repair the top.  For the shorts, I used Doll Capri Pants from All Dolled UP by Joan Hinds.  I used one of my decorative stitches on the top.

The project that I use the most is a pair of PJ's that I sewed from owl print flannel.  They are so comfortable, and I wear them all of the time.  I also used decorative stitches for the neckline and hems for the sleeves and legs.   My projects look unique with the decorative stitches.

When I sew, I get to be creative.  I get to make things that I can't find in stores.  I get excited to take fabric and thread and turn it into something I can play with or wear.  I'm so glad that my mom started to teach me how to sew when I got my first 18" doll.  I don't have enough money to buy all of the clothes I would like for my dolls to have, but now I can sew many of them.  I have even given my friends gifts of outfits for their 18" dolls that I have sewn. Sometimes if the project is complicated my mom has sewn clothing, and other things for my dolls.