Starting the adventure

I am starting this blog to document my journey with sewing; the good, the bad, the ugly, and the finished product (hopefully not ugly!).

Reason to Sew

The one practical reason I want to learn to sew is so that I can hem my own dress pants.  I am 5’2” and no longer growing so I will always need to hem pants.  It is $10 a pop to have someone else do it so why not learn myself.  My mother-in-law has taught me how to do a blind hem but my current machine only has the stitch not the foot.

The other main reason I want to learn to sew is because I see all of the neat things that can be made.  I randomly look at blogs and see adorable fabric and kid items that I could make for my daughter, Lillian.

My interest piqued when I realized how messy feeding a baby was going to be.  My mother-in-law, Sue, made some towel bibs before Lillian was born and once Lillian started eating solids I realized how amazing they were.  I thought “I can make those.”  So I researched online and found a slightly different way of making the bibs than Sue did.  Unfortunately, I did not have a machine, so Sue brought me her mother’s old Kenmore.

Kenmore Sewing Machine

I did make towel bibs and struggled with using the machine.  It felt like I was always getting the thread tangled and the fabric was being pulled to the left.  I got so frustrated that I finished the bibs that I bought the supplies for and then put all of the sewing stuff away.

That is until I bought new dress pants.  I bought them at Kohl’s for less than $20 so why would I want to spend another $10 just to get them hemmed?  So out comes the Kenmore for some practice and some frustration.  I had my mind set that I could do this.  I could make it work without a blind hem foot.  I practiced and never got better.  Frustrated once again, I gave up on the blind hem and started researching new machines.

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5 Responses

  1. I just found your blog, and I love it! I found it while looking up reviews and info on the Bernina 330. I am thinking of getting one. I completely understand this post! I am also 5’2 (I like to round up) and cannot even imagine all the money I have saved over the years hemming my own pants! I love all your projects!

  2. I’ve been perusing your blog (happened by by accident and now spending lots of time here!) and wanted to comment that your skills are quite good for a beginner and your machine is a part of that. Just wanted to mention, I have an old Kenmore too (Older than yours methinks) that I purchased back in ’74 or so and really…I still use it for certain things. It’s all metal construction and does a good job when tuned up right. You might consider taking it somewhere and have them give it a good once over and then keep it around for certain things. For instance, I may keep that one loaded with one color thread and jump to it when I’m sewing something with contrasting colors instead of changing my threads out constantly. Or a different stitch that I have to use on a particular item.
    That is, of course…if you still have the thing.. lol.

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