Josie the Awkward Learns to Sew, Part 3

Last Thursday (the 10th) was the last time I really spent any time sewing. I dabbled a bit on Saturday afternoon, but nothing to write about.

I organized my sewing area--grouped my threads and buttons by color (Got to love that ROY G BIV that my art teacher at Andrews Elementary ingrained into my brain!) and labeled by pincushion so that I can tell which pins serve which function. (I can practically hear my sister rolling her eyes at me as I type this.)

More clean-geekery: I discovered that the satin stitch is really pretty and simple, and I really enjoy cleaning up the ends of fabric scraps.

Bartacking! Folks, that is a fun word to say. I'm not going to lie. Bartacking (hee!) is a short satin stitch, used to reinforce points of strain in pockets and lingerie straps. I sewed an entire pocket by bartacking, and I discovered that it would make a fabulous stitch for finger puppets. Also, when I was making the pocket, I had to rely on my previous learned skill of cornering, which I didn't mess up at all. Yay me!

Button sewing is a lot simpler than I thought it would be. Of course, I already know how to hand sew buttons, so maybe that's why it seemed so simple.

I've got a few things left to try with the light cotton-poly blend I've been using: rolled hems and zippers, mostly. But I need to buy more zipper packages so that I can practice. But then, on to heavier fabrics.

I finally, FINALLY figured out reverse stitching. Josie the Awkward realized that she has to hold the switch down all the way, not just tap it or flip it. It turned out really nicely. Good on, Josie.

That's it for now!

Toodles!