A Sewing Machine Review, Because…

The bad news is that my beloved sewing machine of eight years died on me during one of my projects.  :(

The good news is…

I got a new one!

I bought it from Overstock.com, which is where I got the old one too.  The great thing is that it’s a model with more features and stuff, but a smaller price.  They were having a deal on it that made it about $10 less than my old sewing machine. 

And I got free shipping, shipping that took longer than normal though.  It took two weeks from when I ordered it to receive my package.  I think this was just bad luck because it normally only takes the usual 3-5 business days.

I bought a refurbished Brother JX2517 sewing machine, on sale for $49.99.  Brother is the same company that made my old machine, and my mother’s sewing machine, and my sister’s sewing machine, etc.  Yep, we have a lot of their machines running around here.

It’s been my experience that Brother sells a wide variety of sewing machines that are quite affordable (some more so than others), well built, easy to run and last a good long while.  Which is why I love them. :)

Anyway, here is my new sewing machine!  Isn’t it pretty?

As you can see, it comes with an instruction book, a DVD, the foot peddle and plug…

…and some accessories!

Extra bobbins, extra needles, zipper foot, a buttonhole tool, etc.  Plenty to get you going.

My old machine was a very basic model and didn’t have many built in stitches at all, but this one has several.  I’ve already tried out a few of them, with good results.  The instruction booklet has a list of all the stitches and their use, very helpful.

What I wasn’t expecting was the deal with the bobbin, it’s a top loader.  I had never used one before, but thankfully, I found it really simple.  The instuctions and markings on the machine made it easy. 

Both threading and running this sewing machine is a breeze.  It runs really smoothly and seems quieter than my old machine too which is a real plus.  I find I do my best sewing at night and a quieter machine is less likely to wake people up.

But, speaking of my old sewing machine…

Here is the poor thing. :(

It’s a Brother LS-30.  As I’ve mentioned before, it’s an extremely basic machine.  Good for a beginner or for someone who does very minimal sewing.  Though it can work wonders in the right hands, I made this dress with it among many others.

It served me well for over eight years, but it’s time to go.  I will probably donate it or something.  Hopefully somebody else can still get some use from it if they can repair it or just use it for parts.

Goodbye old friend.  You were very useful to me until the very end.

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From Socks to Doll Sweaters

Well, two weeks later (argh!) I finished the next project on my craft list.  A recycling project too!

For this project, I had some old socks and tights to turn into something new and cute.

Doll Clothes!

The socks became cute little sweaters using this tutorial, sort of.  The pattern for the tutorial was for 1/3 scale ball jointed dolls, mine are smaller than that.  They are 1/4 and 1/6 scale dolls.

So I had to make my own patterns.  If anyone is interested, I decided to post the patterns on my doll blog.

With the tights I made actual doll tights and socks.  Two pairs black tights, two pairs of white tights in two sizes, and three pairs of white sock in two sizes.  Whew!

But they are quick and pretty easy to make, even by hand.  Actually I made all these sweaters and legwear by hand sewing except the first sweater.  Machine sewing is not recommended at all.

Anyway, this first sweater (for Hikaru) is made from a navy blue knee sock that didn’t fit right.  Knee socks are great for this because you get plenty of material to work with.

The sweater has lace along the neckline and a row of faux pearl bead “buttons” down the front.  It closes with sew-on snaps.

The tights, I think are pretty much fool proof to make.  The material is stretchy enough to fit well and hide any goofs you make while sewing.

Now doesn’t her outfit look so cute, and perfect for an Arizona “winter”?

I made this sweater (for Usagi) with the other navy blue sock.  It has thin ribbon along the neckline and bottom hem and closes just at the top with a snap.  I added a “large” button at the top “to close” it.

In addition to tights, I made this doll a pair of thigh high socks.  They are basically tights with the top cut across and hemmed, and no elastic needed.

Paired with a plaid skirt, it kind of looks like a school uniform.  She just needs more appropriate shoes.

And finally, I made these two cute white sweaters using little bobby socks.  Smaller socks for smaller dolls.

They are both embellished with ribbon bows and more pearl “buttons”.

The tights came out just as well on this smaller doll as with the larger dolls.  It makes me wonder how easy it would be to make tights for fashion dolls, like Ever After High dolls.

The socks are knee length and are super quick to make.  I found they look cute both when worn to the knee and when scrunched down at the ankle.

They both are so adorable now all bundled up.  All the dolls look so cute, it makes me want to make more sweaters.  I guess it’s time to dig out more socks.

Here’s the updated list:

• Pink dress
• Accessories
• Socks
• Headbands
• T-shirts
• Tank Top

Four down, just two more to go.  And I will either have it done by the end of the week, or just postpone it until January.  Christmas is coming quickly after all, and I need to start working on those crafts.  Look forward to it.

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While We Wait, An Easy Fix for Fans

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

It’s taking longer than expected to finish the next project on my list.  Much longer, sigh.  So I thought in the meantime I would share an idea I had.  One I meant to share ages ago.

Fixing up fans.

These are a pair of pretty handheld fans.  The one on the right came from a craft store, and the other came from an Asian grocery store.  Fans like these are easy to find and usually sell for $1-2 each.  So pretty and useful, especially when Spring and Summer come again.

Just one problem with them.  The little “handle” thing has a tendency to pop off after several uses.  And since that’s the only thing keeping the fan parts together on the pin thing, this is a big problem.

My first attempt to fix this was to simply thread ribbon through the fan.  This looks nice and adds a useful strap, but it’s only a temporary fix.  It’s difficult to tie the ribbon snug enough to actually work well.

Enter the jewelry pins.

I bought these at Joann.  They’re intended for making earrings and such, but I thought they would be great for this task.  I’m sure regular jewelry wire would work too.

Just need to yank off that old pin thingy…

…Thread the jewelry pin through…

…and twist it at the end to secure.

I had to do it at both ends because the eye of the pin wasn’t big enough as is.  I should have measured first.  Oh well.

I’m sure with more practice (or more skill at jewelry making) I can make these look better.

But for now I am happy with the results.  My fans work perfectly now.  Now just need to wait for the weather to warm up enough to need them.

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Pink and Sparkly, A Knit Dress and a Costume?

The good news, I finished two more projects on my crafts list perfectly on time.  The bad news, I actually forget to post them here.  Several other things came up over the holiday and that’s life.

Anyway, the first project I made was a really cute knit pink dress.

I started with this great knit fabric I found at SAS.  It’s so soft and super stretchy.

I started to make a circle skirt using this tutorial, only I skipped adding a seam allowance and a zipper because I am using knit fabric.  No need for zippers!

For the top, I used a knit tank top as a guide to cut the front and back pieces.  I also cut a rectangle of fabric to cover the middle of the front side.

This special rectangle was cut into strips after sewing to the front of the dress.

Each strip was then gathered in the center like a cute bow.  I added pink rhinestones to the center of each “bow” to make it extra pretty.

After sewing the top to the skirt and hemming everything, here’s the finished dress.  It came out wonderfully and it’s really comfortable to wear. 

The only problems I had with it was with my sewing machine.  I’m afraid my beloved sewing machine is on it’s deathbed.  I will soon be getting a new one.  You will hear more about that later.

Anyway, this new dress isn’t just pretty but very versatile.  It just needs the right accessories.

I started by making another, larger circle skirt with this sparkly tulle.  It’s leftover from the tulle I used to make a Halloween costume years ago.  For this skirt, I cut it down to open the circle and curved the corners and little.

Then I added a long ribbon along the waist area and left long ribbon tails to tie it.

I made sure to carefully melt the cut edges so they wouldn’t unravel.  I used a lit candle for this, a scented candle.  It was tricky, but effective.

The result is a sparkly tulle wrap skirt.  It can be easily worn over dresses and such to add a little something extra.

And there’s more accessories…

I cut strips of some plain tulle and carefully glued rhinestones to it in a straight line.

After trimming and adding a clasp, I had a rhinestone necklace.  I also did the same thing to make matching bracelets.

When worn the tulle isn’t very visible, so it looks like the rhinestone are glued on to me.

That’s not the only thing I added rhinestones to, I added some to these old wings to perk them up.  They are the same ones from that old Halloween costume.  I also added rhinestones to a headband to match the necklace and bracelets.

Add all these accessories to that simple cute dress and…

…It’s a Halloween costume!

I dressed as a pink crystal fairy this year.  It came out great right?

The best part is that all the pieces can be used for so many other costumes or for everyday outfits.  The tulle wrap skirt pink dress would be great for a dressy outfit for a Christmas party, maybe with the right accessories?

Here’s the updated list:

• Pink dress
• Accessories
• Socks
• Headbands
• T-shirts
• Tank Top

Three down, Three more to go.  The next one should be up by next week, but hopefully sooner.  Look forward to it. :)

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