Sewing Tutorial: Using the Adjustable Needle Position on your sewing machine

OK, so, you all got treated to some of my family's mini-vacation photos.  Which I'm sure is only a small step away (up or down?) from being forced to watch someone's vacation videos.

Well, I knew I was going to take a lot of photos, going to Washington DC and all, and I thought, hey!  What better place to look like a full-blown tourist than our nation's capitol?  I shall wear my camera around my neck proudly!  In my mind, it beats a fanny pack any day.  But of course I wanted to look somewhat cute while looking tourist-y.  So I made a camera strap in 30 collective minutes (had I not been interrupted by about 1,257,302 things during that 4-hour time period).

Anywho, the strap itself: there is no "camera strap tutorial void" that needs to be filled out there.  Seriously.  There are about 500 camera strap tutorials all over blog land.  I loosely followed this one.  Basic, customizable, easy.

BUT...I wanted to use this little project to point out one of the most useful features of my sewing machine - I don't know if yours has this or not, but if it does and you have never used it...you should give it a try!  Your whole LIFE is about to get a little bit easier.  :)

It sounds a little intimidating, maybe?  I don't know.  That's where a room full of people would be really helpful right now.  I have no idea if this is something that everyone knows, or something that no one knows.  Since most of my real-life friends give me the song and dance about how they're scared of sewing machines (as if they're about to be attacked by one?), I'm going to go ahead and assume that the adjustable needle feature is not one that is commonly used.  If I'm mistaken, and you're a pro at it, and you're finding this whole post just really inane and patronizing, then by all means skip it and go read one of the funny ones.  Like my Oven Mitts Story.  That's a good one. 

So anyway, the needle of the sewing machine.  Did you know that it can move to the right or left?  It doesn't have to stay in the middle? Here is why that is helpful:
When you are trying to stitch really close to the edge of fabric, but still want to have a clear guideline to follow when you are feeding your fabric through, you can move the needle over, closer to the edge.  Allow me to demonstrate with some pics :)

This is what it looks like on my machine. Do you have one of these?

In this first picture, the fabric gets guided along the right side of the presser foot.  But you can change the needle position (move it over to the right), making it possible to stitch closer to the edge, without having to lose your "guide."  Such a simple thing, but so handy.  

And if you wanna get fancy...

(Just kidding, it's not all that fancy.)  But look: in the first picture, the needle is in the middle.  I am using that little line in the middle of the presser foot as my guide for the fabric to follow.  If I kept the needle in the center position, it wouldn't really work.  It would just stitch along the edge of the fabric and do no good.  But if I move the needle to the left, then I can still use the line as my guide for the fabric, while still being able to stitch close to the edge.  Does that make sense?  Don't move the fabric; just move the needle over!  

So, if you were wondering why you would ever need to mess with the needle position on your machine, now you know.  :)  After having this feature, I would never buy another machine that didn't have it.  

Was that helpful at all?  What other sewing how-to's would you would like to see here?  

*Linking to*
http://www.thirtyhandmadedays.com/
http://whipperberry.com/
http://www.southernlovely.com/
tatertotsandjello.com/
http://www.504main.com/
http://seevanessacraft.com/
http://www.bacontimewiththehungryhypo.blogspot.com/

Tutorial (sort of): Cheerleading Hair Bows

Funny story time!

I was at a cheerleading parents' meeting about a month ago.  (That's not the funny part - it gets better!)  I was carrying my Thirty-One bag - the one with the changeable skirt - and it was a skirt that I made.  (I mentioned it here, but that was a while ago.)  Here's the one I was carrying, just because it would be kinda lame to talk about it and not show a picture:

Anywho, so I got to the meeting, and one of the other moms said, "oooh, I like your purse!"  I of course said "Why thank you!  It's one of those bags where you can change out the skirt - but I make my own skirts because there's no way I'm spending any $25 on the ones in the catalog."  And I said it with attitude.  Like, "Ha, I stuck it to the man, and they can just deal with it" attitude.  To which she replied, "ha ha, I sell Thirty-One bags.  I'm a consultant!"  To which I replied, "Oh!  Uh, um, uh, um, uh, um...oh...I'm sorry!" Stupid, stupid, stupid!  I felt so dumb.  Luckily for me, she didn't care.  In fact, she thought it was pretty funny.

But Rachel!  You say.  What does this story have to do with Cheerleading Hair Bows?  Well let me tell you.  For you crafty types, you know how this goes.  "Oh, you sew?  Wow!  Hey, she sews!"  And then..."Do you do hair bows?"  Hmm.  No, not really.  But I'm up for anything, especially not having to shell out unnecessary cash for some mass-produced, overpriced hair bow.  So basically, I volunteered to do the hair bows for the squad.  They didn't want anything crazy; they just wanted simple basic bows that go on ponytails.  Can do!

I used this tutorial and adapted it a bit.  These cost about $1 each to make.  $1 each!  I bought my ribbon in 20-yard spools.  I probably used about 10 yards of each.

Here's how I did it:
1. Cut ribbon lengths.  To make 22, I cut 22 lengths of each, in 3 different ribbon widths: 1.5", 7/8", and 3/8".  Each length was about 20".  I cut each end into a "v" shape* by folding the ribbon in half (long-ways) and cutting it diagonally.  The skinny ones were a pain to do, but that's ok.

 2. Seal the edges.  Using child labor* (my 8yo), each end of all 66 ribbon lengths was sealed with Fray Check. 

Fray Check is awesome stuff, and it lasts forever.

 3. Assemble the ribbons and machine-sew* together, with the ponytail holders.

Here are my 3 ribbons.

Here they are, centered and stacked together.

I folded them over in the middle...

held the ponytail holder to the underside...

...and sewed back and forth 2-3 times using a zigzag stitch.  I cannot be bothered with hand-sewing, sorry.

the top

the underside

flip the ribbons over - inside out, almost.  They lay down pretty nicely. 

4. Put on an episode of 24* and fire up the glue gun

5. Finish.  Cut small lengths of ribbon (I used the 3/8") and glue them around the middle.  Just find which way works best for you. I used flat-nosed pliers to squeeze the ribbon down*, because one of my pet peeves is burning my fingers with hot glue.

These were probably about 1.5" to 2" or so.  Aren't you glad to have such an accurate and specific tutorial to follow?

6. Admire!*

7. Regret never having made the cheer squad in high school or college.


8. Stuff the pain by enjoying a Reese's PB Cup.  Or two.*

*Optional, but recommended

Linking to...
 

Tutorial: DIY Lap Desk

***Hey, are you here from Pinterest?  Hello!  :)  I'm so glad you found your way to my blog. I hope you look around!  I write about all sorts of things, but mostly focus on sewing & needlework.   I have recently changed the name & url of my blog - it used to be Pleased as Punch; now it's Gilbert Street Stitches.  If you'd like to start receiving posts from here in your reader or email, go ahead and subscribe!  The buttons are to the right.  :)  Why don't you drop me a note to say hi; I always love to meet new readers!***

Now, on to the reason you are here in the first place...

When I was in high school and college, I had this great beanbag lap desk.  I did all my homework on it...I could sit on my bedroom floor, on the bed, on the couch...wherever!  It was just perfect.  I decided that I wanted to get my kids each their own lap desk for doing their own homework.  Well, have you looked online lately?  The best price I could find was about $24 + shipping.  As IF!   

So, with a little sewing (straight lines only, I promise!), a little hot glue, and a lot of resourcefulness, I made my kids each their own lap desk, and spent $2.50 total, by using mostly what I had around the house.  Now, of course, this will vary from person to person, but I know that anyone can do this project for under $5.  I'll show you how!

STEP 1: Find a suitable board for the top of the desk.  
Wanna know what I used?  A hard (cork-backed) placemat for one (the one in the pictures), and the bottom of a kids' wooden puzzle for the other one (with decorative contact paper on the top - that was my $2.50).  I raided my kids' playroom and found the puzzle (that they no longer play with), and I had the placemat from at least a year ago.  I found it on clearance somewhere and thought it would someday be useful.  Don't have these things?  Look in Goodwill!  You could use almost anything!  You just want a good surface to be able to lean on to write.  Be resourceful!  The approximate size you want your board to be is about 12x16 inches. 

STEP 2: Cut out your main fabric.
Measure your board, and add 6" to the width, and 6" to the height.  These will be the dimensions for your fabric.  If you have a board that's 12x16 (or close), a fat quarter (which you can get for like .99) will work great, and you won't have to cut anything!  Precision is not all that necessary; we're not doing quantum physics here!

That's about an extra 3" all around.  Won't this fabric look cute?

STEP 3: Make your piping*. 
*Fear not!  Piping seems like it would be difficult to make, but it's actually not.  If you want to impress your friends and amaze your neighbors, try it out.  You'll even amaze yourself.  Piping makes this lap desk look great, and it also makes it super-easy to assemble.  It's worth the extra step, trust me!
Check out my piping tutorial here.  

STEP 4: Sew your fabric into a box-like shape.
With right sides together, one corner at a time, fold each corner over onto itself, like this: 

Measure on the raw edge: 3" from the point.  Make a little mark.  Then, from that mark, draw a line perpendicular to the raw edge, like this: 

Repeat with each of the other corners.  Cut off the "flaps," and turn right side out.  

I present to you: the Floppy Fabric Box that is impossible to get a good picture of.

Now we're getting somewhere!

STEP 5: Sew piping to the main fabric.
With raw edges together, on the right side of your main fabric, sew the piping to your fabric.  Use a zipper foot (on your sewing machine) to make it easier.  Do yourself a favor, and don't start at a corner!  Start sewing in the middle of a side.  Trust me.  And leave about an inch of un-sewn piping at the beginning, so you can easily tuck it in when you get to the end.  Again, trust me.  ;)

raw edges lined up

don't freak out when you come to a corner of your main fabric; just keep sewing.  No problem!

No pinning necessary.  Just pinch the piping to your fabric and sew away!

When you come to the end, you'll have some overlap.  Do this: veer the first part you did (remember, you left an inch of un-sewn-on piping) off of your fabric, like this:

Then, overlap the end part over top.  Like this:

kinda messy looking, but don't worry.  It'll turn out fine.

sew right over top of that baby!  Go slowly so you don't break a needle.

trim off the excess piping

At this point, you'll have this:

a nice little hat for your sewing machine! ha ha

STEP 6: Fire up that glue gun!
(Hot glue worked best for me.  I tried E-6000, and all it did was smell bad.  But use whatever you want, of course!)  Start at a corner.  Lay down a bead of hot glue, and push the cording down onto the glue.  Go from one corner to the next, adjusting and finagling as you go.  

you'll glue that to the bottom of the board.

No having to fold fabric!  No burnt fingers!  This is why piping is so great for this project.  :)

Here's the tricky part we came to...it doesn't look too bad, huh?  Just make sure it all gets glued down here.

Remember to leave a "short" end open, for stuffing.

STEP 7: Stuff that thing like a Thanksgiving turkey.
I thought about using beanbag filler, but #1, it's (surprisingly) expensive, and #2, it seemed like it would be a pain to use.  Not to mention the mess!  So I used Poly-fil, and it worked beautifully.  No Poly-fil?  You could un-stuff an old pillow and use that.  I've done that once or twice before.  :)

Stuff till your little heart's content.  When you have stuffed enough, glue the last side down.  Fluff it up to evenly distribute the filling, and.............


You've got yourself a lap desk!

Here's the one I made for my little guy.   That's the upside-down puzzle bottom (on top) with faux bois contact paper from the dollar store.

I'd love to hear from those of you who try this...and please, if you have questions, feel free to email me and ask!   

Love these link parties...
The Shabby Creek Cottage * Somewhat Simple * Beyond the Picket Fence * A Glimpse Inside * A Little Tipsy * Christina's Adventures * Chic on a Shoestring * Tidy Mom * The Shabby Nest * Fingerprints on the Fridge* Skip to My Lou * Sumo's Sweet Stuff * Keeping It Simple * The Girl Creative * Making the World Cuter