Messy fun

I have been doing sewing classes on a Tuesday night as requested by my crocheters. I have been teaching some of them crochet for over 18 months now and it was time for people to wander off in their own crochet direction; blankets, garments, little gifts or home decor.

It is a messier business than crochet but just as much fun. Everyone has different abilities but all are willing to learn something new, even if it is a feature on their sewing machine that they never knew was there. Our first project was ambitious, a sleeveless summer top with facings but everyone was keen to get stuck in.

Same pattern used by three different people from Sew magazine June edition. The orange one has neckline pleats for a smaller bust, mine has a crochet lace trim, and the blue one has a fashionable scoop back hemline. I love the way they are all different.

Next they did some machine patchwork to show how to insert a zip in a make up bag. Fun, chaotic and liberating. You just sew strips together until you get a piece of fabric then we backed it with quilting and lining. Everyone experimented with machine quilting. 

Mine had a little owl iron on motif with swirly machine stitching.

But I loved Carols mix of florals with a wavy machine quilt.

Everyone made a fair dent in my patchwork scraps box which I was delighted about. Now we can all insert a zip with the machine basting method. So skirts next week with darts...

Enjoy your crafting folks. Jo x