And sew it begins! A magical summer of sewing! Grab your needle and thread, and join us on our journey from beginner to designer! Follow along with our sewing crafts, or read to the end to learn more about our fabulous Sew-Cool Summer Camps!
Beginners Guide to Machine Sewing!
Before we jump into things, we encourage you to practice hand sewing before sitting down at a machine! Learning some basic stitches by hand is super important as a first step to sewing. When you're ready to try out machine sewing, we will walk you through the basics and some super fun projects to try out!
What You Will Need:
Sewing Machine
Spool of Thread
Fabric
Scissors
Sewing Pins (optional, but helpful!)
Instructions:
Let’s see if we can find a friend to help us out! If you have never used a sewing machine before, we suggest finding a parent or teacher to help you through the basics to ensure your safety as a beginner!
Awesome, ready to start? Take a look at your sewing machine before turning it on. Try to figure out what each part might do, and ask questions if you are unsure!
Ensure your pedal is plugged in, and your sewing machine is plugged into a power outlet
Taking your spool of thread, you will put it on the spool spin, guide the thread through the thread guide, and wrap it around a bobbin on the bobbin winder
Turn on your sewing machine, and press down on your pedal to wind the bobbin with thread
When the bobbin is done winding, cut it off the spool and place it below your needle in the bobbin cover. Before moving the bobbin, turn your machine off.
Return to the spool of thread and guide it through your machine until it reaches your needle. Your machine will likely have arrows or instructions to help you!
Thread your needle, and ensure that all elements of your machine are in place!
Place fabric under the thread, and press down the lever that moves the presser foot onto your fabric
Turn your machine back on, and you are ready to sew! As you press slowly onto the pedal, be sure to guide your fabric gently with your fingers far away from the needle.
For further help, check out some more of our sewing projects below, or sign up for a class or camp with our incredible Creative STEM teachers!
DIY Little Heart Purse
This adorable craft is the perfect chance to create something homemade that you can show off everyday! Follow along as we begin from a sketch, and use a sewing machine to make our design come to life! This is a great way to learn how to be creative with scrap materials, and recycle old fabrics!
What You Will Need:
Fabric (scraps and recycled fabric are great to reduce waste!)
Yarn
Button or Large Bead
Sewing Machine
Thread
Sewing Needle
Pins (optional, but helpful!)
Scissors
Paper
Coloring Supplies
Instructions:
Grab your paper and coloring tools, it’s time to brainstorm! Feel free to follow our design, make it your own, or come up with something new! Play with color, and think about size as you plan for your project
Pick out your fabrics
Create pattern stencils by drawing the shapes of your design onto paper, considering how many of each shape you will need.
Trace your patterns onto the fabrics of your choice, and cut out each piece. For example, in our design you will need; 4 heart shapes and 2 rectangle shapes
Hem the edges of your rectangle shapes that will be the opening of your bag.
Lay your pieces on top of one another with the insides facing out, and pin them into place.
Sew along the sides, leaving the top side open, and then flip your piece inside out to reveal clean seams!
For additional elements such as our heart designs, you will again sew two matching pieces with insides facing out, and flip it inside out to create clean seams. Hand sew the portion you used to flip your heart inside out, and repeat to your two other heart pieces.
Sew one of your hearts onto the back of your bag, leaving half of it showing above the opening of your bag
Flip your other heart upside down, and sew the bottom half of it onto the inside back of your bag - this will allow the point side of your second heart to fold over the front of your bag.
Hand sew a button onto the front of your bag, and cut a slit into your second heart where it will line up with your button - this will allow you to close your bag!
Sew one side of your yarn into the inside left side of your bag, and sew the other side of the yarn into the right inside of your bag.
Add any final details your imagination comes up with, and enjoy showing off your new bag!
DIY Back to School Pencil Pouch!
Summer is the perfect time to experiment, learn, and explore before heading back to school in the fall! Want to test your sewing skills and create a super cool project you can use at school? Follow along with this DIY Pencil Pouch to customize your back to school supplies this year!
What You Will Need:
Fabric (have fun mixing and matching patterns and colors
Scissors
Zipper
Sewing Machine
Sewing needle
Thread
Iron (optional, but helpful!)
Sewing pins
Instructions:
Begin by picking out your fabrics! Get funky and iron out any wrinkles if you can - this will help you sew your project!
Create your pattern, our pencil pouch includes four rectangle pieces for the inside and outside of your project
Pin one rectangle to your zipper - with the top of your zipper facing the outside of your fabric. This will create a clean seam along the where your zipper meets your pencil pouch.
Repeat that step onto the other side of your zipper, and additionally pin your inner lining pieces to the other side of your zipper and sew your pieces into place!
Fold your pieces over one another, so that your inner lining pieces are facing out. Pin along the bottom edge of your bag and sew along this line.
Sew along the sides of your bag, and turn it right side out for a finished pencil pouch! Have fun customizing your own!
Tie Dye Magic!
Tie Dye is one of the best summer crafts! Have fun creating outside with friends for this awesome textile project. Practice making your own patterns on fabric so that you can use new designs on other sewing projects like pillows or pencil pouches!
What You Will Need:
White or light natural fabrics (cotton or linen)
Tie Dye Mixtures
gloves
Water
Tie Dye Bottles
Bowls/Bins
Place to allow your clothes to dry
Rubber bands
Instructions:
Select the fabric or clothing item you want to tie dye! And don’t forget to put on gloves!
There are several different methods for tie dye, so have fun experimenting! You can create a spiral by pinching the center of your piece and twisting, you can bunch up random sections, or create your own method!
Secure your fabric or clothing item in place by wrapping several rubber bands around it
Mix your tie dye colors with water in separate bottles, and dunk your fabric/clothing items into water
Using a few different colors, add the tie dye mixture across your fabric/clothing items to saturate them with color
Allow these to sit and dry for anywhere between 8 to 24 hours
Take off the rubber bands and reveal your amazing design!
Follow instructions on washing these, as you will want to wash them separately for their first few times in the washer!
Have fun trying out new tie dye methods, and tag us on instagram with your finished projects! We would love to see how you incorporate tie dye into your sewing crafts!
Sew-Cool Summer Camps!
Do you love exploring the science of how things are made? Join us for our "Sew-cool" Sensory Fab Lab Makerz Summer Camp! This camp explores the intersection of sewing, making and the science of how things are made for a full week of fun projects, new themes, and fun, fizzy, tactile experiments.
Sign up today to save your spot in one of our upcoming camps!
Follow us on our socials to keep up to date with all things Maker Studio!
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