Two Thanksgivings ago my brother’s girlfriend Jen convinced me to go to Target for my first Black Friday experience. We drank a whole lot of wine before (and while at Target, sorry Dad) and I ended up coming home with a sewing machine. I had always wanted to learn how to sew and this Singer gem was too good of a deal to pass up. The sewing machine sat untouched in it’s box for one entire year before I decided to get busy (I also bought a crockpot which I still haven’t used, but how do you say no to deals and those faces!).

The hardest thing for me was setting the damn thing up and I wanted to throw the bobbin out the window many times. I found Singer’s instructions completely unhelpful. Instead of spelling out exactly what I did, I’m going to point you to what I followed: tutorials on setting the machine up and threading it. This Tilly saved me after hours of frustration with the Singer packet. I like her pictures, step by step instructions, and that she provides the names for everything (how was I supposed to know what a freaking presser foot is). If this doesn’t work for you google ‘setting up a sewing machine’ or ‘threading a bobbin’ and there are all sorts of videos on YouTube and pictures that will help. Take a deep breath, I promise you can do it.

Ok so you spent one whole day and now the machine is set up, woo hoo! Now, what will we sew?! For inspiration I turned to my favorite homemaker, Caitlin of Hardly Housewives. I started with a beginner project, Embellished Dishtowels. Again, I’ll let you read through Caitlin’s post for instructions but here are my tips for true beginners (like me!):

1. Go to Joann Fabric. They are super nice and will help you buy pins, thread, etc. Buying fabric proved completely overwhelming for me so I started out by buying these pre-cut squares (which are perfect size for embellishing a few dishtowels). You’ll see them in the store near quilting and though they are more expensive than buying by the yard, they are still cheap ($3 per square) and didn’t give me anxiety like walking through the fabric isles did.

2. It’s ok to buy these cheap dishtowels at Target (that’s what Caitlin uses and she’s a pro).

3. Get ready to do more ironing then sewing. Ironing (after washing/drying the fabric) is BY FAR the longest part of the process. You iron for an hour and then sew for 2 minutes, be prepared. When ironing use a ruler to make sure the fabric is straight (you fold in the edges to create a clean line- check out the Pacifier holder post below to see tips on ironing).

 

Other fun things to sew and give to friends (except not to mutual friends because they already received these from me!):

• Pacifier that clips to the baby. This one is super easy and really fun – my favorite for sure! Beginner notes: I couldn’t find mitten/suspender clips anywhere so ordered them on Amazon. For the elastic look for 1/8 inch width.

• Embellished burp clothes. Similar to dishtowels and also makes a great present. Beginner notes: Go to Target to get the pre-fold diapers. I believe they are these ones, but it’s helpful to hold them up and make sure they are the size of a laptop (13″ or so). I messed up and bought the three-fold ones at first and they were HUGE. I apologize to those who got these in the mail.

• Napkins. Beginner notes: these are the hardest of the four and I’ve only made one set. I had a tough time keeping them square so measure as you go and make sure everything lines up.

As you can see from the above I’m still figuring out corners and how to end the stitch. Since a baby is going to puke all over this anyways, I sent them out as is. If you figure out how to do corners please let me know – good luck!