A few weeks ago, my friend Ashley came over to teach me how to sew. I’ve had a Singer sewing machine for about 10 years, but for some reason, it never quite worked—at least for me. I was fairly sure it was defective.
Alas, when Ashley was behind the wheel, it worked just fine. She showed me what to do, including:
- threading (a fairly tedious process)
- winding a bobbin (a necessary evil)
- pulling the bobbin thread up from the dark recesses of the machine (this appears to be something magical)
- sewing a straight stitch (“straight” is a cruel hoax. You set the machine for straight stitches, but they are never really straight)
- sewing a zigzag stitch (I’m sticking with a straight stitch for a while)
- back stitching at the beginning and end (something I enjoy because it proves the machine will do what I tell it to do)
- adjusting the thread tension (something you don’t do unless there’s a good reason)
My first project was patching some blue jeans. It worked—but was not pretty. I wear them anyway.
Then I tried a small practice quilt using old, worn-out towels. I suggest never sewing old towels. This is an effective cat bed.
Now for the big quilt
The real first project was a quilt. Perhaps I was too ambitious when I planned a five-foot by seven-foot quilt, but I wanted it big enough to be useful.
I cut the six-inch squares one at a time until I got bored (after two squares), then tried to cut as many as I could with my super-sharp and super-dangerous rotary cutter. I found I could slice through a stack of 24 layers as long as I didn’t care too much about accuracy or the safety of my fingers.
This photo shows a stack of 24 squares near the middle of the batch.
I also used some workshop tools to hold everything in place while I cut.
It’s a quilt—it’s a quilt
Yes it’s really a quilt. The stitches are not as straight as they should be, and the corners of the squares don’t match as they should. But it has three layers (top, bottom, and batting), and it’s warm, and it looks great from across the room.
And it certainly meets my minimum expectations.
Next time: The Haunted School House
