Wow! So many wonderful things! I can hardly wait for late May/early June so I can begin working on school clothes for Miss Abigail! *LOL*
I finally broke down and bought an 18" doll for her--for her fifth birthday in October. American Girl was out of my budget--and she isn't all that careful with many of her toys yet. I would cringe every time she left a $100+ doll on the floor. I need to get busy and drape a sloper for the doll so I can satisfy my creative urges making doll clothes! *LOL*
I learned old-school sewing techniques and never used a rotary cutter, mat and quilting ruler until about 25 years ago! I still don't use them a lot, except when cutting very straight lines for quilts, bags, table cloths and napkins, bias or straight binding, etc. I believe many people use them for cutting out garments, but I cling to my humongous, super-sharp tailor shears. Use what works best for you.
Remember, be sure to launder your washable fabric prior to cutting. If it's going to shrink, you want it to do so before you cut, rather than afterwards!
Fabric, particularly woven fabric, is similar to wood in that it has grain lines. In the case of fabric, it has the lengthwise ("straight") grain (which usually is very stable), crosswise grain (may have a bit more give than lengthwise grain) and bias. Bias typically is a 45-degree angle from the lengthwise grain (although it can be specified at different degrees on patterns) and has more give than the crosswise or lengthwise grains. You'll need to know this as you work with patterns.
Your snack bags are good practice for sewing straight lines. As your projects create "scraps" (be sure to save decent sized pieces to incorporate into other projects), you may find that you have some long pieces along the selvedge (that's the woven edge running the length of the fabric that doesn't ravel) that you can use to practice long, straight stitching. They also make nice handles on bags--make tubes so you can use them later! *LOL*
If you were trying to make a narrow hem on the cloth napkin, you probably did not have enough fabric to the right of your presser foot to cover the feed dogs (those funny, toothy things that move up-and-down in the throat plate), which caused the fabric to feed unevenly, resulting in a wavey hem. Also, check your machine to see if you have more than one throat plate. Many come with two throat plates: one with a wide hole (for zigzag and decorative stitches) and the other with a very small hole for straight stitching. Believe it or not, that can make a significant difference. The other thing to check on your machine is if it has multiple needle positions. This can allow you to position the fabric to cover the feed dogs better, while moving the needle to the right of center to maintain a narrow seam or hem. You would need to use the zigzag throat plate for this operation.
Apart from the seam allowance markings on the throat plate of your machine, you can purchase (or it may be included in the accessories that came with your machine) a seam guide. It usually screws into a tiny hole an inch or so to the right of the throat plate and is adjustable. Works well for straight stitching and most curves (definitely not 11.5" doll clothing, though!).
You are doing great! Experiment with your machine on scrap fabric to learn how the various attachments and stitches work. You'll be sewing like a pro in no time!
Edited to add:
Just had another thought on your napkin. It may not have been cut on the straight grain of the fabric, causing the seams/hems to wave. So many possibilities to explore! *LOL*
I finally broke down and bought an 18" doll for her--for her fifth birthday in October. American Girl was out of my budget--and she isn't all that careful with many of her toys yet. I would cringe every time she left a $100+ doll on the floor. I need to get busy and drape a sloper for the doll so I can satisfy my creative urges making doll clothes! *LOL*
Oh my! So many lovely things posted. I have to figure out how to quotes multiple pictures. But, I loved EVERYTHING! The figment bad is amazing and I really loved the plaid pooh outfit. The car organizer was a fab idea and the scooby shirt is super cute.
THanks for all the support! I used the same fabric to make 2 additional snack bags (in different sizes) and a cloth napkin. I want to attempt some type of pattern tomorrow. I'm going to look at some of the links I discovered (from the dis) and see what looks not so hard. I'm off all week on spring break, so I have time to play around. I bought a bunch of clearance fabric at wal-mart, so I feel like I can mess it up and not stress (too much )
Ok, on to dumb sewing questions...
1) how do you cut out the fabric straight? Is that what I need a rotarty cutter for? I already have the self-healing mat. THe rotary citter was on my list, but I kind of left the list home and had to wing my supplies
2) When sewing, is there anything I can do to ensure that I am sewing in a straight line?? It is just a matter of practice and patience? My little snack bags are ok, but it looks like a drunk person sewed the seams on the napkin!!!
I learned old-school sewing techniques and never used a rotary cutter, mat and quilting ruler until about 25 years ago! I still don't use them a lot, except when cutting very straight lines for quilts, bags, table cloths and napkins, bias or straight binding, etc. I believe many people use them for cutting out garments, but I cling to my humongous, super-sharp tailor shears. Use what works best for you.
Remember, be sure to launder your washable fabric prior to cutting. If it's going to shrink, you want it to do so before you cut, rather than afterwards!
Fabric, particularly woven fabric, is similar to wood in that it has grain lines. In the case of fabric, it has the lengthwise ("straight") grain (which usually is very stable), crosswise grain (may have a bit more give than lengthwise grain) and bias. Bias typically is a 45-degree angle from the lengthwise grain (although it can be specified at different degrees on patterns) and has more give than the crosswise or lengthwise grains. You'll need to know this as you work with patterns.
Your snack bags are good practice for sewing straight lines. As your projects create "scraps" (be sure to save decent sized pieces to incorporate into other projects), you may find that you have some long pieces along the selvedge (that's the woven edge running the length of the fabric that doesn't ravel) that you can use to practice long, straight stitching. They also make nice handles on bags--make tubes so you can use them later! *LOL*
If you were trying to make a narrow hem on the cloth napkin, you probably did not have enough fabric to the right of your presser foot to cover the feed dogs (those funny, toothy things that move up-and-down in the throat plate), which caused the fabric to feed unevenly, resulting in a wavey hem. Also, check your machine to see if you have more than one throat plate. Many come with two throat plates: one with a wide hole (for zigzag and decorative stitches) and the other with a very small hole for straight stitching. Believe it or not, that can make a significant difference. The other thing to check on your machine is if it has multiple needle positions. This can allow you to position the fabric to cover the feed dogs better, while moving the needle to the right of center to maintain a narrow seam or hem. You would need to use the zigzag throat plate for this operation.
Apart from the seam allowance markings on the throat plate of your machine, you can purchase (or it may be included in the accessories that came with your machine) a seam guide. It usually screws into a tiny hole an inch or so to the right of the throat plate and is adjustable. Works well for straight stitching and most curves (definitely not 11.5" doll clothing, though!).
You are doing great! Experiment with your machine on scrap fabric to learn how the various attachments and stitches work. You'll be sewing like a pro in no time!
Edited to add:
Just had another thought on your napkin. It may not have been cut on the straight grain of the fabric, causing the seams/hems to wave. So many possibilities to explore! *LOL*