That's funny. A man came to the studio with a singer heavy duty machine which made me laugh a bit. It seems to be marketed to men. It grey has a sharper profile. Not a curved edge on it. The promotional pictures show the inner workings of it. I do wonder how much this all matters.
It's such good fun and we need a bit of that in our lives. 😊
Via @amcunningham.bsky.social My late grandfather learnt how to sew during WWII - part of basic training in the army at the time. No sewing machines when posted to hostile terrain with no electricity. There’s a story of social/cultural change in the decades that followed.
His last outfit was from primary school and was Loki from @louiestowell.bsky.social's series.
This was even easier with just an L hand stitched on.
Handy tutorial for you here!
youtu.be/gLZkAiYe5kk?...
A pink t-shirt with a blue question mark laid over it. The question mark is made from scrap jersey fabric backed with fusible interfacing. This will be ironed on to the t-shirt.
Having a panic about world book day?
I thought we were past this phase with The Boy being 13 and all but no.
Thankfully he has a thing for books with characters who wear t-shirts with easy to replicate designs on them!
One Alex from Mega Robo Bros on the cutting table. @neillcameron.bsky.social
Are you a man who would like to sew?
Do you know a man who would like to sew?
I'm trying something - classes for men. A client commented that they found classes of women a bit intimidating so I figured I'd see if classes for men would be of interest.
What do you think?
My current class schedule for anyone near Belfast who fancies sewing something!
makeitfab.co.uk/classes-at-m...
Wow - I have posted so little on here! You'd be forgiven for thinking I hadn't spent 10+ years doing social media management. 😆
The front of a cord dungaree dress covered in little bits of fluff.
Top sewing tip for the day - Don't cut fuzzy fabric when wearing cord.
A craft stall in a charity shop. There's all sorts of exciting craft goodies like embroidery stuff and Christmas decorations.
All set up and ready to bring Christmas sparkle to Holywood! 🧵🪡🤩
Christmas Jumper Reveal!
The naffest Christmas jumper ever? And I'm proud of it! I'll be selling kits to upcycle your jumpers in Oxfam in Holywood tomorrow.
Come chat all things sustain fashion with me from 10.30. 🧵🪡
I've just been informed that slay is no longer cool.
Which makes my Sleigh embroidery pattern a bit redundant. 😆
If you want to be doubly achingly uncool I'll be selling them in Christmas jumper kits at Oxfam in Holywood on Saturday. 🛷🎅
Try it with the kids that come into the shop and you might look cool. 😆
I started to tell this story to some students earlier and one exclaimed wabi-sabi is exactly the word they were thinking of with my sewing philosophy.
Am I trendy?!? 😱
And never, ever, ever buy a machine that is marketed for children.
They are universally crap and your kid will either give up sewing or ask for a better one in a year.
On the whole though - it is worth paying more for brands like Brother and Janome.
The cheaper the machine the more likely it will play up and put you off sewing.
10 stitches on a good machine is better than 50 on a machine that can't handle more than a couple layers of fabric.
I'm getting all the Black Friday sales spam which has reminded me to warn you all about impulse purchasing a sewing machine.
Do your research!
What machine you get depends on what sort of sewing you'll do and you budget.
Call out to all @qubelfastofficial.bsky.social student and staff members!
Next week is European Week for Waste Reduction and there is a whole host of events happening.
I'll be at the Students' Union on Tues, the MBC on Wed and The McClay Library on Thurs. 🪡🧵
www.qub.ac.uk/about/sustai...
If you like the fabric the off cuts will be added to studio classes fabric stash. There's enough for a few cushions at least! 😍
If you're wondering what I'm making it's rugs for our hall. We've been bare boards since we moved and this recent weather has reminded us we really should put something down.
The fabric was about £7 a metre from Mad about Fabrics bargain corner. So all three rugs will cost about £50.
A black white and tan rough collie sitting on a large piece of green, yellow and blue stripy fabric. Her back is to the camera but she's looking over her shoulder in a very sassy manner.
I've found something more annoying than a cat sitting on your fabric while you try to cut it. A very stubborn dog! 😆
A young brown haired boy using a sewing machine to sew Christmas fabric onto a gold sparkly ribbon.
Last but not least - on the 22nd December the kids will be taking over the studio with sessions for 8+.
Christmas bunting and decorations for the younger kids and last minute panic gifts for grandparents/aunts/uncles/parents for the older kids.
The other Christmas news is December in the studio will be all about Christmas makes. From Stockings to beauty gift sets via sacks for those who hate wrapping presents.
You can book a class here: makeitfab.co.uk/classes-at-m...
A green jumper with a white sticker on it. Red embroidery floss is being stitched on the black lines.
Sorry, I'm going have to talk about Christmas. Please forgive me!
First off, date for your diary - 6th December 11am-5pm at Oxfam Holywood Superstore!
I'll be doing demos and selling kits so you can turn a boring jumper into a Christmas wonderland!
Perfect for Grinches and Christmas fans alike. 😉
The ones in the photo went to my FiL who had had a stroke to help him increase the strength in his hand/have something to do with his other hand.
My ill gotten gains from the show yesterday.
It's easy to be put off by the price of getting into a show but the postage for this little lot would have been significantly more than the ticket.
I love those cat sofas! 😻
A white desk with a sewing machine on it. There is a denim skirt and bunting that reads Make it Fab attached to the front.
Demo done!
Genuinely - if anyone had told me 10 years ago that I would be presenting at the Knitting and Stitching show I would have thought you were kidding. 😁
I'm sure I will! 😁
