Disboutiquers Part 29 Kids Disney Boutique / Customs Clothes psst..we sew ;-)

[ADisneyQueen]

Would anyone recommend the Janome my style 100 as a good machine for my 12 year old? I would like to relearn to sew, too. I want to make all the cute Disney stuff I see on here! I haven't sewn in 15 years and was never any good at it and got so frustrated when the machine would jam. The sales lady told us that the top loading bobbin on the 100 wouldn't jam. Is that true and is it a good machine for beginners? Thanks.

[lynnanddbyz]

Originally Posted by shan23877

Hi ladies! I'm a longtime lurker on this thread, and was hoping you'd be able to provide you opinions. I have a Brother C6000i. I LOVED it for the first 6 months that I had it, but then it broke down and had to be repaired. Since then (in the last year) it's been serviced twice and is now acting up again. It skips stitches with such regularity that I'm convinced the machine has demons. (No amount of cleaning, needle changing, bobbing changing, rethreading will keep it from happening). Needless to say- I'm frustrated and ready to move on from the machine. Seems silly to pay another $100 to have such an unreliable machine repaired. I am considering purchasing the Singer Patchwork from Joann Fabrics. I am an intermediate sewer and primarily use the machine for quilting and princess dress making. Any feedback on the machine, Singer in general, and making the purchase from Joann would be appreciated.

Thanks!

This is only my opinion. I LOVED the old Singers they were workhorses. The new Singers are all made in China. Singer is only a name now they make NOTHING and farm everything out. Their machines are CRAP!!!!! Sorry for the strong language. I have the same opinion of the less expensive Brother machines at Walmart. That being said Brother does have a few nice machines.
Everything depends on your budget. I would get the nicest machine you can afford if you are going to use it on a regular bases. Take your time and try out several machines. Go to several dealers and buy NOTHING when you are looking. Go home and check prices on the internet and really think through ALL of your choices. Buying online is fine if you have seen and test driven in person.
I will get off my soapbox now. I have been looking for a year and can not decide if I want to spend the money for a commercial one(heavy duty only straight stitch) or one with a few bells and whistles. HSN, Allbrands, Bernina, Amazon are all good places to compare.

[goteamwood]

Originally Posted by shan23877

Hi ladies! I'm a longtime lurker on this thread, and was hoping you'd be able to provide you opinions. I have a Brother C6000i. I LOVED it for the first 6 months that I had it, but then it broke down and had to be repaired. Since then (in the last year) it's been serviced twice and is now acting up again. It skips stitches with such regularity that I'm convinced the machine has demons. (No amount of cleaning, needle changing, bobbing changing, rethreading will keep it from happening). Needless to say- I'm frustrated and ready to move on from the machine. Seems silly to pay another $100 to have such an unreliable machine repaired. I am considering purchasing the Singer Patchwork from Joann Fabrics. I am an intermediate sewer and primarily use the machine for quilting and princess dress making. Any feedback on the machine, Singer in general, and making the purchase from Joann would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by ADisneyQueen

Would anyone recommend the Janome my style 100 as a good machine for my 12 year old? I would like to relearn to sew, too. I want to make all the cute Disney stuff I see on here! I haven't sewn in 15 years and was never any good at it and got so frustrated when the machine would jam. The sales lady told us that the top loading bobbin on the 100 wouldn't jam. Is that true and is it a good machine for beginners? Thanks.

I can't speak from experience on the janome but I took at quilting course at my local independent quilt store and ALL the ladies there, lifelong quilters, only use janome. If I were upgrading I'd be looking there. I trust people like that who don't sell machines but who use them. Maybe talk to the people at your local quilt store if you have one.

I have the singer curvy 8763 I got as a Christmas gift last year. I've been happy with it. I've done A LOT of sewing in the year and its been great. I read a bunch of reviews which were admittedly mixed on the machines in my sub-$200 price range last year. I got this one because its what a friend had and she loved it. I do agree that singer probably isn't what it used to be. But it's not terrible. Will it last forever? Probably not. But it's doing the trick.

[sewmess]

Originally Posted by phins_jazy

A new needle makes all the difference in the world..... That is all!

AMEN!! - I was working on a project recently and was wondering why the machine was acting up - eating the cloth and such - and decided to change the needle. I had a knit needle and was working on woven!

Originally Posted by shan23877

Hi ladies! I'm a longtime lurker on this thread, and was hoping you'd be able to provide you opinions. I have a Brother C6000i. I LOVED it for the first 6 months that I had it, but then it broke down and had to be repaired. Since then (in the last year) it's been serviced twice and is now acting up again. It skips stitches with such regularity that I'm convinced the machine has demons. (No amount of cleaning, needle changing, bobbing changing, rethreading will keep it from happening). Needless to say- I'm frustrated and ready to move on from the machine. Seems silly to pay another $100 to have such an unreliable machine repaired. I am considering purchasing the Singer Patchwork from Joann Fabrics. I am an intermediate sewer and primarily use the machine for quilting and princess dress making. Any feedback on the machine, Singer in general, and making the purchase from Joann would be appreciated.

Thanks!

I have a newer model Singer and I have had very little problem with it. As long as I keep it dusted out at least once a month we're good to sew. The light is a little iffy: sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but since I always use my Ottlight, it doesn't bother me. I appreciate the variety of stitches and ease of selection.
I grew up with Singers (my mom and sister had them) so that's what I know.

[shan23877]

Thanks for the feedback ladies! I'd love to make the jump to Janome or Bernina, but I have a hard time jusitfying the cost. Since I don't sell anything it's tough to talk myself into a $500+ machine for a 'hobby'.

For now I will probably go back to Singer. I've been very, very disappointed with Brother's customer service over the last year. I have a very basic Singer that I've always liked, and that's the brand my mom, grandma, and aunts always used.

Now that I've introduced myself around here maybe I'll share the photos of the quilts when I get them done (It's possible to finish 2 quilts in 13 days ). They both have a Disney theme too!

[cogero]

Originally Posted by shan23877

Thanks for the feedback ladies! I'd love to make the jump to Janome or Bernina, but I have a hard time jusitfying the cost. Since I don't sell anything it's tough to talk myself into a $500+ machine for a 'hobby'.

For now I will probably go back to Singer. I've been very, very disappointed with Brother's customer service over the last year. I have a very basic Singer that I've always liked, and that's the brand my mom, grandma, and aunts always used.

Now that I've introduced myself around here maybe I'll share the photos of the quilts when I get them done (It's possible to finish 2 quilts in 13 days ). They both have a Disney theme too!

I have a Janome and I love it. It is a magnolia 7334 I think I read a lot of the reviews on sewing pattern review.

[dianemom2]

Originally Posted by PrincessMickey

SIL's

Her mom's

My other SIL

This picture I put a dish inside so you can kinda see it being used.




Here's a few of them.

Those all turned out great! The purses are sure to be enjoyed by the girls and the casserole carriers turned out so cute! What a neat idea to take store bags and dress them up with the additional fabric. They look like wonderful gifts. It must have been a fun afternoon to sew with your family.

Originally Posted by RMAMom

For Emily
[IMG][/IMG]

For Edward

The aprons and vest look super. Do the aprons just pull over the head? I can remember having an apron very similar to that when I was little. I used to love to help my mom in the kitchen and she made me a couple of cute aprons to wear when I helped her.

Originally Posted by disneychic2

I'm getting ready to start my next sewing project which will be a Rapunzel dress for my 3 1/2 year old granddaughter. My daughter sent me a video while we were in Disney of our granddaughter opening the package of her twirl skirt and matching top. She put it on and twirled her heart out and begged to put it on first thing the next morning. Made my day!

I am loving all the ideas I get from this thread! I'm having a hard time resisting the 770 embroidery machine, but I do have a brother sewing/embroidery machine that does have large hoops. It just doesn't have the capability to download designs. There is no USB port and I only have one card for it and the designs built into it. So it's good to personalize things, but that's about all I use it for. But it's great living vicariously through you talented ladies, so keep it up please!

Oh, and for the fear of monsters, I heard of using a simple spray bottle of water as monster repellant that gets sprayed before bedtime to take care of the problem. Don't know if it would work for your little one, but could be worth a try. The twins look so cute sleeping together!

I love that your granddaughter loved the skirt and top you sent her. How nice that your daughter sent you a video of her enjoying it.

What Brother machine do you have that does sewing and embroidery? If it has a card slot, you should be able to download designs and stitch them out. You just need to purchase PED Basic. It costs about $100 for the box and a card. I used that for several years on my old Ellageo machine. That machine also took floppy disks and I found out that I could buy a floppy disk writer for about $10. That allowed me to transfer all the designs to floppy disks and transfer them to my Ellageo that way.

I also did a spray bottle to curb nighttime fears when my older dd was young. We used a can of air freshener. She couldn't read so it didn't matter that the can said Febreeze or some other brand. She thought it kept monsters and bad dreams away. And as a nice bonus, her room always smelled good.

Originally Posted by ADisneyQueen

Would anyone recommend the Janome my style 100 as a good machine for my 12 year old? I would like to relearn to sew, too. I want to make all the cute Disney stuff I see on here! I haven't sewn in 15 years and was never any good at it and got so frustrated when the machine would jam. The sales lady told us that the top loading bobbin on the 100 wouldn't jam. Is that true and is it a good machine for beginners? Thanks.

Most people who has Janomes seem to love them. I know that Chiara has a Janome serger and a Janome embroidery machine that she is very happy with. Go on Sewingpatternreview.com. They have lots of sewing machine reviews on there.

Originally Posted by shan23877

Thanks for the feedback ladies! I'd love to make the jump to Janome or Bernina, but I have a hard time jusitfying the cost. Since I don't sell anything it's tough to talk myself into a $500+ machine for a 'hobby'.

For now I will probably go back to Singer. I've been very, very disappointed with Brother's customer service over the last year. I have a very basic Singer that I've always liked, and that's the brand my mom, grandma, and aunts always used.

Now that I've introduced myself around here maybe I'll share the photos of the quilts when I get them done (It's possible to finish 2 quilts in 13 days ). They both have a Disney theme too!

We'd love to see pictures of your quilts. Especially Disney themed quilts.

Nobody seems to have posted good things on here about modern Singers. They are not well made anymore. Especially the embroidery machines seem to have a ton of negative feedback. Sorry that the Brother machine didn't work out for you. I completely understand not wanting to lay out $500 or more for a machine that might not see heavy use. Have you considered checking Craigslist or something for a slightly older Singer that might be in great condition and dirt cheap? There are several people who have bought Singers on Craigslist or found them in a re-sale shop and absolutely love them. Another option is a Juki machine. They have started making home sewing machines that compare favorable to the Bernina's but at a much lower price point. I played around with them at the Quilt and Sewing Expo back in the fall and I really liked them.

[ADisneyQueen]

Well, I ordered the Janome 100 today. Thanks for the comments. It was only $250 on sale. I know the Magnolia gets really great reviews, but I wanted to keep it simple and low cost for dd.
What should our first projects be? I have an apron I bought at WDW and I would love to have more with a Disney theme.

[nannye]

Hello Ladies,
Looking for some advice.

I am making the Simply Sweet with a ruffled bottom. I'm wondering what the easiest way is to do 3 layers of ruffles instead of one? would it be to make each layer a different length and stack them with everything being even at the top?

Thanks
Erin

[aboveH20]

Originally Posted by dianemom2

I love the bag that you made for the Big Give. The ribbons around the top were so cute! Did you make the entire bag or did you line an already made canvas bag? I've never worked with canvas because it looks so stiff and difficult.

Thanks.

Yes, I made the entire bag -- very time consuming. It's duck canvas, with iron on interfacing for extra durability, plus the lining with pockets, handles, and ribbon. I'm not sure what possesed me to make it, other than I saw a similar one that I liked.

[miprender]

Originally Posted by goteamwood

Very cute model and the outfit is cute too.

I finished 2 of my kids aprons I am working on for our playgroup christmas party/cookie decorating thing next tuesday. I ONLY have 12 more to do. Luckily they are pretty easy now that I have figured out how I want them to go together. I got dish towels at IKEA on clearance, they were big enough to cut half to make two aprons, which you can see are plenty big on the 2-3 year olds they are intended for. So each apron was only $1 in dishtowels, and the rest is on-hand stuff. I need more elastic though, so that will be a little more expense. But mostly it is just labor. The gingerbread people stitch out quickly and easily, though, I am sure I can get them all done before tuesday morning.



(they took turns wearing the same one since the other one didn't have the straps on yet before they were in bed.) Can't keep working on them though, I am out of RED embroidery thread. 'Tis not the season to run out of red thread!

Those came out adorable

Originally Posted by PrincessMickey

If you're ready for picture overload, here is everything I worked on last week.

First up a small purse for my 10 year old niece. She is a girly girl and her dad is in the Air Force so I thought the fabric was fitting for her.

front


Next up is the same style bag for my 14 year old step-niece. I don't know her very well but my SIL told me her favorite color is balck and she is into skateboarding. I couldn't find a skateboarding fabric that I liked that wasn't too kiddish but I thought this would work and also adds a little color.

front


And both bags together

Great job on all the bags.

Originally Posted by RMAMom

I finished the aprons for my grandchildren, please excuse the half naked mannequin!

For Emily
[IMG][/IMG]

For Edward

Everything looks adorable, but I really love the fabric on that vest.

Originally Posted by pyrxtc

I haven't sewn at all since my vacation. I have to sew tomorrow because my husband bought pants that are way too long and I am now in a self debate over whether or not to move the zipper up so he can still use them or just to finagle it myself and make stoppers out of thread at the end. They are wind pants. Zippers on the bottom outside of each leg. I have to make them about 4 inches shorter so they fit him. UGH !

Looks like they came from the same room. Now to decide if I let my friend buy the blanket from me ???? I should make her buy the curtains then too right ?? I paid $4 for them I think. So it would be $10 for the set.

Great find. I always find it hard to get back in the swing of things after coming back from vacation. I feel like I forget how to do things

Originally Posted by aboveH20

(Old dog here, trying to learn a new trick. After first post froze, Plan B is typing in Microsoft Word. Let’s see if I can figure out how to do this.)



Okay, this is probably more than you wanted to know, but here goes.

I don't have a pattern, I based mine off of a Disney one I had. Basically 17" wide and 18" tall.

Four tips:
1. Put a loop on it to make it easy to hang up. I don't think I'd hang it if it were really heavy, but otherwise it's convenient to have.


2. Put a ring on the side, better yet, one of each side. I had a hand sanitizer bottle hanging from my bag for our last trip -- very convenient.


(The bags I made for the Big Give had the Mickey head rings and I made little tags with their initials.)




3. Include a zippered pocket.


And, then get a see through pencil case to put in it for your little stuff. (I should add that I don't carry a purse when I'm traveling. I have a "vacation wallet" that I carry in my front pocket, and then I put other purse stuff in the pencil case -- tissues, phone, mini first aid kit, pen, etc. It makes it so easy to pull the pencil case out and see everything.) In the main bag part I put a folded up sweatshirt, poncho, umbrella, etc. Can you tell I've been to Disney a few times during cold, rainy weather!



 
4. After putting in the grommet I like to sew off the corner so there’s less stress on the grommet.



Okay, I think your question was about how to do the strings.

You’ll need two strings. To determine how long to make them, double the string over and measure roughly the length and width. (see photo)



You’ll need two


One goes in and out the left side and the other goes in and out the right side.



Insert each pair through a grommet and tie.



Voila. The world's best traveling companion. I love how since it's lightweight it can be easily folded up and put away, but when pressed into service holds a fair amount of stuff.

Your turn to make one.

Great tutorial. I just pinned it in my "secret" folder

Originally Posted by nannye

Hey everyone with PE770's...
I have the instruction book and I am looking for some other resources on learning the PE770. Any youtubes videos or tutorials, directly related to the PE770 or what you found helpful would be really appreciated.
Thanks
Erin

Sending you a PM

[PurpleEars]

Originally Posted by shan23877

Hi ladies! I'm a longtime lurker on this thread, and was hoping you'd be able to provide you opinions. I have a Brother C6000i. I LOVED it for the first 6 months that I had it, but then it broke down and had to be repaired. Since then (in the last year) it's been serviced twice and is now acting up again. It skips stitches with such regularity that I'm convinced the machine has demons. (No amount of cleaning, needle changing, bobbing changing, rethreading will keep it from happening). Needless to say- I'm frustrated and ready to move on from the machine. Seems silly to pay another $100 to have such an unreliable machine repaired. I am considering purchasing the Singer Patchwork from Joann Fabrics. I am an intermediate sewer and primarily use the machine for quilting and princess dress making. Any feedback on the machine, Singer in general, and making the purchase from Joann would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Welcome! My impression is that modern Singers are not as well made as they used to be. Having said that, I have a Singer serger and I haven't had problems with it (other than user error). It sounds like you had a lemon Brother machine. I have been happy with my Brother machines and will probably buy another Brother in the future.

Originally Posted by ADisneyQueen

Would anyone recommend the Janome my style 100 as a good machine for my 12 year old? I would like to relearn to sew, too. I want to make all the cute Disney stuff I see on here! I haven't sewn in 15 years and was never any good at it and got so frustrated when the machine would jam. The sales lady told us that the top loading bobbin on the 100 wouldn't jam. Is that true and is it a good machine for beginners? Thanks.

Welcome! I haven't heard anything negative about Janome machines. I think most modern machines are pretty user friendly now, so any one of them would be good for beginners.

Originally Posted by ADisneyQueen

Well, I ordered the Janome 100 today. Thanks for the comments. It was only $250 on sale. I know the Magnolia gets really great reviews, but I wanted to keep it simple and low cost for dd.
What should our first projects be? I have an apron I bought at WDW and I would love to have more with a Disney theme.

Congratulations! I think a good first project is PJ pants (that was one of my first projects when I started sewing again). Most people here would recommend the Easy Fit pants pattern from youcanmakethis.com. The instructions are much better than commerical patterns, especially for someone learning to sew.

Originally Posted by nannye

Hello Ladies,
Looking for some advice.

I am making the Simply Sweet with a ruffled bottom. I'm wondering what the easiest way is to do 3 layers of ruffles instead of one? would it be to make each layer a different length and stack them with everything being even at the top?

Thanks
Erin

My concern with doing that is the thickness of the materials. 3 layers of ruffles could get pretty thick and make it hard to sew. I don't have any suggestions though.

[dianemom2]

Originally Posted by ADisneyQueen

Well, I ordered the Janome 100 today. Thanks for the comments. It was only $250 on sale. I know the Magnolia gets really great reviews, but I wanted to keep it simple and low cost for dd.
What should our first projects be? I have an apron I bought at WDW and I would love to have more with a Disney theme.

I agree that easy fit pants from youcanmakethis are a great first project. Plus, I think that Hancocks is having flannel on sale next week for a super price. I'd wait until you have a couple of other projects under your belt before trying an apron since they usually involve either ruffles or bias tape. Pillows are also super easy and there are lots of free skirt tutorials on the internet.

Originally Posted by nannye

Hello Ladies,
Looking for some advice.

I am making the Simply Sweet with a ruffled bottom. I'm wondering what the easiest way is to do 3 layers of ruffles instead of one? would it be to make each layer a different length and stack them with everything being even at the top?

Thanks
Erin

A simply sweet with 3 layers of ruffles would mean you would have to sew through 4 layers of fabric to attach it to the dress. That would be very thick and difficult to sew. I think you would end up with a few broken needles. Instead, I think that I would use this method:
http://www.danamadeit.com/2012/03/tu...red-skirt.html

It will be a bit more work in measuring and cutting. But I think it will be easier sewing in the end.

Originally Posted by aboveH20

Thanks.

Yes, I made the entire bag -- very time consuming. It's duck canvas, with iron on interfacing for extra durability, plus the lining with pockets, handles, and ribbon. I'm not sure what possesed me to make it, other than I saw a similar one that I liked.

Well, now I am even more impressed. It turned out great! I'm sure that bag will last the mom forever because you made it from such sturdy material plus you lined it. I love the ribbon pieces around the top.

[goteamwood]

Originally Posted by dianemom2

A simply sweet with 3 layers of ruffles would mean you would have to sew through 4 layers of fabric to attach it to the dress. That would be very thick and difficult to sew. I think you would end up with a few broken needles. Instead, I think that I would use this method:
http://www.danamadeit.com/2012/03/tu...red-skirt.html

It will be a bit more work in measuring and cutting. But I think it will be easier sewing in the end.

I KNEW I saw a tutorial recently on this. As soon as I saw her question I thought of that method (which I have only read about in that particular tutorial) but couldn't find where I saw it and would have only made matters worse trying to explain it! Thanks for helping me not go crazy wondering if I made that up! I seriously went through all my crafty/sewing pins on pinterest plus all my PDF patterns looking for that tutorial!

I started playing around with embroidery software today. I downloaded sewwhatpro a few weeks ago and found it to be not very easy to use (I am a SAHM now, but was a computer technician and systems admin for the previous 12 years.) I did try embird, which was better, but since I use a Mac exclusively I have to run it in emulation with XP, which isn't exactly enjoyable. I did find today a Mac app, which seems to fit the bill, Embrilliance. Has anyone used it? I guess it is cross-platform Mac and Windows and is about $150, lets you combine existing files to create names etc. but the demo does not save. (annoying.) anyway, long story longer, I was hoping that someone has some positive review of using it in real life, Mac or no, before I plunk down the $.
I want to be able to combine files and make my own text embroidery appliqués. I just got a SUPER deal from 8clawsandapaw.com on the monthly font club where you can get ALL their 600+ fonts for $29. within 30 days. You have to "purchase" them and download them once you have an acct, but they are all free on the site after you pay for the club. They have some great fonts I really like, and plenty I am just downloading because hey, they are basically free and who knows if I might need them someday.

[smile5sunshine]

I am such a super bad friend! I've managed to look through everything. I LOVE the aprons, thank you Cheryl for doing the drawstring backpack tutorial, the cozy-carriers were awesome, the purses cute, etc.

I've been busy because (like always) the end of the year snuck up on me and I'm trying to finish a ton of crafting/sewing all in the next week. I have 5 Disney dresses to finish for a friend taking their trip after Christmas, the eye spy bags for the Give (which THANK YOU ANDREA for the mini-tute you did a while ago!), and a DIY ornament wreath for a gift exchange. On top of all that I still need to pack and order my house before we leave to visit family for Christmas break! ACK!

I know, excuses, excuses.

Back to sewing for me!
Sunshine