Avoid a sewing disaster! How to easily clean & oil your sewing machine at home

If you own a sewing machine and hate the idea of it, or any of your precious sewing projects getting damaged, there’s a really simple way for you to not get stuck halfway through your creative joy: cleaning and oiling your sewing machine!

It is easy to do, quick to finish and clean up, and your sewing machine will love you for it! 😍

In this post I’ll walk you through how to give your sewing machine some regular care and attention. Read on to find out how (and how I found out the hard way why maintaining your machine is so important!)

Continue reading “Avoid a sewing disaster! How to easily clean & oil your sewing machine at home”

13 Smart & Simple Sewing Machine Hacks You’ll Love

If you know anything about me at all, you’d know that sewing is a passion of mine. I think that being able to sew is an awesome skill to have and a brilliant hobby for anybody to fall in love with. 🥰

Which is why I can’t stop talking about it!

But you may not already know this: I do remember (not so long ago) when I was a complete sewing newbie. I hadn’t even touched a sewing machine until I’d already had 3 kids of my own.

And I remember being VERY nervous the first few times I sat down to sew. I mean, what if I pressed something wrong? What if I broke something? What if my fabric went sailing sideways out of the machine and I just ruined everything?!?

Because I think that sewing is so fantastic and I want to help you to feel more confident when you sit down at your own sewing machine (without fear of pressing the wrong thing!), in this post I am sharing a bundle of helpful sewing tips and hacks that you may never have heard before.

Are you ready to enjoy your sewing time with more confidence and less stress? Then take a few minutes to read through this list of sewing tricks before you take hold of your sewing machine!

Continue reading “13 Smart & Simple Sewing Machine Hacks You’ll Love”

How to Sew Your Own Bean Bags in Less Than 15 Minutes!

Who doesn’t enjoy a good old fashioned bean bag toss? And in America a few rounds of cornhole is a popular must-do game too.

But did you know that there is a SUPER easy way to make your own bean bags?

You can whip up a few bean bags with your sewing machine and be outside playing already in less than half an hour!

Even sewing beginners can make these easily because there is so little stitching and just straight lines! Sounds good, right?

You don’t even need to go to the fabric store to buy new fabric like I have seen elsewhere online. Just dig through that lonely, left-in-the-corner collection of fabric scraps. You’re sure to find enough for this quick sewing project! I can tell you, I’ve got loads of leftover pieces, many of them from the latest DIY sewing kits in my Etsy shop!

So, are you ready to play? Then read on and follow along with this short sewing tutorial now!

Continue reading “How to Sew Your Own Bean Bags in Less Than 15 Minutes!”

What You Need to Know: Serger vs Sewing Machine

What can a sewing machine do? What about a serger? And an overlocker, coverstitch machine, embroidery machine, and more?

The number of machine available for sewing fans is brilliantly distracting and enticing. And also confusing!

Never mind the number of brands of all those machines on the market!

And all the sparkly fancy sewing tools you could buy for your sewing space. (Psst, you don’t actually need to buy allllll the tools, you know! Take a look at these 8 essential sewing tools you need to have.

But when it comes down to it, which type of machines are really necessary for you to get on with successfully completing your sewing projects?

In this blog post you’ll find all the goods on the big 2 machines: what a sewing machine can do for you, what a serger can sew, and what the differences are between the 2.

You’ll also be able equipped to decide whether you need one or both machines to fit your big sewing dreams!

Ready? Read on…

Continue reading “What You Need to Know: Serger vs Sewing Machine”

Love Sewing? 11 Reasons Why You Need A Sewing Machine

Did you know that sewing is one of the oldest types of textile arts? People started sewing thousands of years ago using animal sinew for thread and bones for needles to create their clothing and housing.

Humans are still sewing to this day, but thankfully we don’t have to go stripping animals to be able to do so! Modern sewing machines have made creating clothes and other fabric products a snap compared to way back when!

Sure, sewing by hand is still an option for some projects and a beautiful art form.

But I’ll be honest with you: I just don’t have the patience to hand sew anything! Which is why I own a sewing machine for my sewing projects.

If you want to get creative with fabrics and, like me, don’t have the patience to hand sew everything, here’s why you need a sewing machine too!

Continue reading “Love Sewing? 11 Reasons Why You Need A Sewing Machine”

Sewing Tutorial: How to Make a Fabulous Dragon Costume

Today I’m sharing with you some really cool ideas and hacks to sew a dragon costume for your kids!

If you have looked around my Everything’s Famtastic blog you have surely seen that I do love a good sewing project. Especially the type where I have sewn something really cool by modifying an existing pattern which didn’t fit exactly what I needed.

I tell you, THAT is the beauty of being able to sew! Have an idea of what you want to create and being able to find a way to make it happen!

What you might also have noticed around this site is the variety of kids’ costumes I have sewn over the years for my own 3. In Germany here we celebrate Karneval early in the year and then there’s Halloween in October. Add in any dress-up wishes and that all ends up being a lot of costumes that I’ve had to deliver! Hulk, animals, spooky, funny costumes … I’ve covered quite a range!

So, do you want to see that super dragon costume and take a peek at some other kids’ costume ideas too? Read on…

Continue reading “Sewing Tutorial: How to Make a Fabulous Dragon Costume”

Beginners Sewing Dictionary Part 3: Sewing Machine Terms Easily Explained!

In case you missed it, the last few blog posts here have been all about getting back to the basics of sewing and learning (or maybe just jogging the memory) some of the most useful and important sewing terms.

Because, let’s be honest, the more sewing vocabulary you know, the more confident you will be when it comes time to sit down with your fabrics (see HERE for fabric terms) and sewing patterns (check out THIS post for sewing pattern definitions) and your sewing machine.

And don’t you just LOVE the feeling of knowing what you’re doing?!?

Oh wait! We haven’t talked about all those fancy sewing machine terms yet, have we?

There’s no better time that the present to start! Let’s jump in!

Continue reading “Beginners Sewing Dictionary Part 3: Sewing Machine Terms Easily Explained!”

Sewing Dictionary for Beginners Part 2: Basic Sewing Pattern Terms You Need to Know Now

Sewing is such a fun hobby that allows you to create a huge variety of projects yourself. Whether you are new to sewing or just need to refresh your skills, it’s always useful to understand all the sewing jargon you read in patterns, tutorials and online.

Although some of the sewing vocab that gets thrown around sounds complicated and at times like a foreign language, it’s actually not as intimidating as it seems! Just give yourself the chance to read and understand them! Then your relationship with your sewing machine and sewing patterns will become much happier and your sewing projects are much more likely to turn out exactly how you’d envisioned.

This post is part 2 of my “Sewing Dictionary for Beginners” series. The last blog post contained a stack of sewing terminology specifically related to fabrics (like how to tell the difference between the front and the back of fabrics). In case you missed it, you can read the 15 fabric terms you need to know HERE .

Today’s sewing vocabulary post contains loads of technical sewing words and phrases to help you in understanding and working with sewing patterns. Once you understand what a pattern is talking about, you will be able to prepare, cut, and sew your fabric pieces together to successfully create your wonderful project!

Ready to dive into some knowledge?

Continue reading “Sewing Dictionary for Beginners Part 2: Basic Sewing Pattern Terms You Need to Know Now”

Beginners Sewing Dictionary Part 1: Essential Sewing Terms about Fabric You Need to Know

As a beginner, the world of sewing may appear to hold many dark and mysterious secrets. I am here to show you that by learning a few basic sewing keywords, going fabric shopping and sitting down at a sewing machine will become much less intimidating and way more fun!

Words like “tension” and “bias” and “allowance” almost sound like they come out of a how to get along with people in business text book! But these sewing terms are really used in sewing speak and actually extremely important for preparing to sew and actually putting your foot to the pedal

Recently I shared a post about how you can avoid 5 common mistakes that sewing beginners make. Have a read of that article in conjunction with this post to help you start your sewing journey.

In today’s post I will be focusing on the most common words you’ll come across in fabric terminology. These can help you understand different fabrics and what fabric your sewing pattern recommends for your project. Be sure to stay tuned for more upcoming parts in this sewing dictionary series 😉.

Let’s dive in to learn these important fabric terms!

Continue reading “Beginners Sewing Dictionary Part 1: Essential Sewing Terms about Fabric You Need to Know”

5 Common Mistakes that Sewing Beginners Make & the Easy Ways You Can Avoid Them

Sewing is such a fun and creative hobby to learn. The variety of projects you can make are practically endless and can be as small or as grandiose as you are willing to put your time, effort and imagination into.

Like any new skill, learning to sew will be full of small wins, proud smiles and a more than a few moans of frustration. Remember this though: Nobody nails anything the first time they try it. Learning to sew is no exception.

BUT how do you get better at anything if not through practice, experimentation and learning from mistakes?!? The best way to get better at sewing is to keep trying. Like that old saying “If you fall off the horse, get back on”. Don’t let the mistakes dishearten you and stop you from improving. If you’re still unsure whether it’s worth learning to sew, take a look HERE at why sewing is so good for you.

There are plenty of websites out there listing gazillions of mistakes that sewing newbies make. You may even have come across some of those sites already. You might recognise that you have made some of those mistakes too.

I have seen so many mistakes made be sewing beginners that don’t even make it onto these other lists. And I want to help you avoid the frustration of making those mistakes too.

How do I even know that these things are “mistakes”? Well, just between you and I, *wink wink* perhaps, just maybe, I might have made some of them too.

Most sewing mistakes- we won’t call them a “sewing fail”- can be all too easy to make. BUT they are also avoidable with a bit of know-how and paying careful attention (i.e., not being too tired when try to nail that outfit at the last minute!).

Are you ready to learn how to avoid making 5 big sewing mistakes, stop feeling so exasperated, and improve your sewing experience? I’m here to help you! Read on…

Continue reading “5 Common Mistakes that Sewing Beginners Make & the Easy Ways You Can Avoid Them”
error: