Yesterday I asked a question on my Facebook page: If you could learn one new skill, what would it be?
I was surprised how many people responded that they wished they knew how to sew, and happy because that is actually one area where I can help.
When I was a little girl I took sewing lessons for several years from a sweet old lady named Ms. Ann at our local fabric store. We learned how to sew all kinds of clothes, quilts, pillows, etc., and had fashion shows once a year to show them off. I’m no master seamstress. I’m not going to be auditioning for Project Runway any time soon, but I can put together basic pieces for my kids.
Since so many of you said you wanted to learn, I thought I could start a series of simple sewing tutorials for beginners or kids. These first few videos are just to introduce you to your machine and teach you how to thread it.
I’m using a Brother LS 1217 model that came from Walmart maybe ten years or so ago.
The first video is just an introduction to the various parts of the sewing machine. (I apologize because I forgot to shoot this one horizontally.)
Then I made one to teach you how to thread a bobbin.
I also made a video about how to thread a sewing machine. I know the quality of these videos isn’t the greatest, but I hope they are helpful to you if you are just starting out.
I know that getting started and learning how to thread your machine can be the most intimidating part of sewing for a lot of people. Sometimes the pictures and diagrams that come with the machines make it even more confusing. Try checking YouTube to see if there are videos for your specific machine. I find watching someone else do it to be really helpful. Also, you can see that even the people who have that skill are not perfect. Sometimes our thread jumps off the machine in the middle of our bobbin videos. đŸ™‚
If you are looking for an easy project for a beginner, check out my 10 minute sweater skirt:
One of my favorite sewing crafts to date is this tutorial for how to sew a rag doll. Check it out here!
You can also click on the “Make It” tab at the top of the blog for more project ideas.
I am so glad they taught this skill in HomeEc class when I was in high school (yep, they used to cal it that…I am a dinosaur!) I had to bust out my machine yesterday to saw a sweater I ripped on a drawer handle!