22. Un-Tangled

I was at my machine, sewing away today, when I reached down for a bobbin. I keep them close at hand in the top of my sewing box.



No matter how much I tidy them though, they always end up in such a tangled mess. You only have to breath near them and they unwind and very soon they are in a bigger mess than this lot are.



The bobbins above are for my old machine. I love this (yes, it stops the bobbins from unwinding) but it also annoys me because it's shape is not really very storage efficient. It takes up way more space than I would like. I know there are lots of other storage solutions, and clips you can buy, but I am reluctant to spend money that could be better used for fabric and other fun stuff.



Anyway, after I popped my instagram photos up on various social media, my friend Amy found me this tutorial. I nipped out to the hardware shop (well as quickly as you can nip to the hardware shop with three kids) and grabbed some tubing in exchange for some small change. I've done a couple of test bobbins, using both 12.5mm and 16mm tubing, and both work fine - I do prefer the tighter curl of the 12.5mm though. My tubing is thinner than what was used in the tutorial but that seems to be okay too.

Update on My Camera

You might be wondering how my camera went, after I blogged about it the other day?



Well, I tested it yesterday. Don't stress, my windows are just very, very dirty. I would clean them but I don't think the kids are finished messing them up yet.



Ahh that's better...

Everything seems to check out ok, except the latch for the battery compartment has been broken (It was prised open to get the batteries out before being left in the back yard), so I have to hold it closed. A rubber band seems to work ok. One of my friends has very helpfully suggested that I keep storing the camera in rice for a while to help prevent fungus from growing on the lens, so I'm going to do that. I'm very, very grateful that my camera still works.

Experiencing Technical Difficulties...

I am really hoping this works. My camera spent the night in the back yard, in the rain...

For anyone who does not know this trick. This is what you are meant to do if your mobile phone, or other electronic equipment gets wet.

1. DO NOT turn the equipment on. Electricity + Water = Bad (water can cause short circuits which can fry your device)
2. Remove batteries from the device (provided, of course that your toddler did not already do this) 
3. Carefully try to dry your device as best you can with a cloth or some paper towel.
4. Place the device inside a container with some rice
5. Leave it in a warm, dry place (preferably out of reach of children) for several days. The more you love the item, the longer you should leave it. I understand recommendations range from 2-3 days to a week.
6. Pray lots, cross your fingers and do good things, hopefully if you are good to the universe, the universe will be good back to you. 
7. Check item. Hopefully it works.

I am open to any other advice anyone has to offer...?

Update: You can see how I went, over here.

Scissor Storage

I have a lot of scissors. More than you see here. I recently ordered myself a magnetic knife rack from simply homes to store my scissors. It gets them up off my table and away from small, inquisitive children. It's much easier to find the ones I want this way, too. I could probably use another one for more scissors, and wouldn't mind having a few more of these around the house for screw-drivers, utensils and... ummm... knives?.

My Creative Space - Getting closer to Leather City

I'm working on my red leather City bag today. I've had some interesting stops along the way. I broke a needle. I've had trouble with skipped stitches. I ran out of bobbin thread, half-way along a seam.... but it's coming together, and I am mostly happy with it. I have a strap that I'm pretty pleased with and the Ink & Spindle fabric that I have chosen to compliment the leather seems to be working out to be a nice match.

I have discovered that leather and double-sided tape really work well together, however, I'm not sure my machine likes it very much. Since the skipped stitches occurred right after the broken needle, I don't think it was blunt or bent (the usual reason for skipped stitches). I noticed the needle was a bit gummy, cleaned it up and it's all good again so I'm guessing that was the cause.

What's happening in your Creative Space?

Sharing the Gadget Love - Magnetic Pincushion

I love my magnetic pincushions. I have three, all in different colours. I keep one by the iron, and one by the sewing machine and one where-ever I am cutting out. I swap them around, because the one by the sewing machine tends to get fuller, and the others get emptier. They are great because you don't have to stab anything with a pin, just sort of toss it in the general direction and the magnet does the rest. This means I can focus on my sewing and not have to worry about looking up to get rid of a pin. If you drop a bunch of pins on the floor, you can wave the pincushion over them and it picks them up.



You will notice that I use berry pins. Some of them have bigger heads than the others. The ones with the smaller heads are glass headed, whilst the others are plastic. You can iron over the glass ones without melting them. The plastic ones melt and can stain your fabric.

Sharing the Gadget Love - Snip, Snip, Snip!

I love these snips! They are under three dollars (!) and the best little snips ever. I have bought other ones that look similar and cost more money and they were not near as good. In fact they were crappy. These ones have BBB on them and are navy and come in an orange sleeve.



I use them for snipping threads at the beginning and end of every seam. You really should snip those threads as you go, you know, because otherwise you could end up in a tangly, knotty mess. Of course, automatic thread cutters are lovely, but they can't altogether replace a good pair of snips. I have three or four of these floating around the sewing room. One is just not enough! Hopefully they sell them at your sewing supply store too.

Sharing the Gadget Love - Magnetic Seam Guide

I wouldn't be game to use a magnetic seam guide on my electronic Janome machine, but so useful on the industrial machine...

Rajah Cloth Tip

Do you use a Rajah Cloth?* If you do, do you have trouble sometimes finding the writing to know which side is the right side to have facing up? Searching, turning, flipping.... Where IS that writing?



Thanks to a small boy who likes to snip things, I had an idea. Snip! Now I can easily see which corner has the writing on it. (If you look REALLY closely, you can see the writing on this Rajah cloth below, it is just very faint - no WONDER I had trouble finding it)

*If you don't have a Rajah Cloth, you should seriously get one. Maybe even two. They are great for steam pressing.

Tuesday Tip #4 - Pattern Storage

Do you have trouble getting all of the pattern pieces back into the envelope? Especially after you have traced them, and there are extra bits?

Pop your pattern, and all of it's bits inside a zip-lock bag. I also will throw in anything else that has helped me to complete a project, (such as printed out tutorials) inside the bag.

After I have completed tracing out all of the bits, I place the original pattern sheet back inside the original envelope, so as not to lose it. The other pieces get thrown back in the zip-lock bag as we go - safe and sound!

Do you have a useful sewing tip? Join in! Post a Tuesday Tip on your blog and link to it here -

Tuesday Tip #3 - Don't cut the Original!

When using purchased patterns, it is a good idea to trace or copy the pieces you need, rather than cut the original pattern piece. I actually do this for all of my patterns now. Sometimes patterns can become damaged through use, or pieces become lost, so I copy what I need and place the original back in the pattern envelope so I don't lose it.

For patterns that are not multi-sized, I usually just photocopy. If it is small and I plan to use it a lot, I might stick it to a piece of a cereal box with a gluestick before cutting it out. This makes it easy to trace around with either a fabric pen or my rotary blade. I have taken entire patterns to Officeworks and had them copied for me.

There are many things you can use to trace or copy patterns, but one of my favourites is sew-in interfacing, which you can purchase in a 10m roll from Spotlight for about eight or nine dollars. The interfacing is easy to see through, so useful for fussy-cutting things, and sort of clings to most fabrics, almost eliminating the need to pin.

Do you have a useful Sewing Tip? Join in and share your tip with others....

Tuesday Tip #2

When sewing a 4-hole button, you can make it extra secure by sewing first one side. Tie the thread off, and then sew the other side.

This way, if a thread becomes broken, only one side will unravel, leaving the other side to stop you from losing your button!

Tuesday Tip #1

Don't sew over sticky tape, unless you like picking teeny, tiny bits out with tweezers...

Join in! What is your favourite crafty tip?

Hot Wheels PJs

Liam is the proud owner of a new pair of Hot Wheels pajamas. I made one of my nephews a pair of these last year, there were enough leftovers for Liam, but I've only just got around to making them.

I reckon Noah will be wearing them by the end of winter.

A couple of things I did differently. I read on someone's blog ages ago a tip for joining elastic. You butt the two ends up against each other and then sew them to a piece of ribbon. This reduces all the extra bulk where the elastic joins. I was also recently reading the sewing thread on Essential Baby, and another member was discussing how she "Dad proofed" pants by using a piece of ribbon to indicate the back. I know its not a new idea, my mum used to do the same, but it got me thinking. I have decided to combine both ideas, and came up with this: Elastic joined by a piece of ribbon that also identifies the back of the pajamas!

I have a pair of Thomas the Tank Engine pajamas cut out ready to make. I must get onto that....