SewLSC

So, you want to make your own jewelry to go with your handmade garments?   You've come to the right spot. Years ago, I launched a 90-day project where I made a new piece of jewelry every day out of found objects. Folks often comment on how well my jewelry matches garments I've made. That's because I made the jewelry too. Button to Post Earrings Below is a list of 90 different jewelry tutorials I wrote for projects that are quick and simple to make using easy to find household objects. Many projects are based on key resources destined for your trash or recycling can.  The list of projects include: belts, bracelets, cuff links, earrings, necklaces, neck-rings, pendants, pins, and zipper pulls. The list of core found objects used include: bottle caps, bottles & jars, box, broken chain, duct tape, game pieces, gift card, glass, hair bands, hardware, old leather from garments, bags or scraps,  LEGO® , paper, leftover refrigerator piping, polymer clay your ki...

Sewing generates sharps as waste: needles, rotary cutters, broken scissors, dull or bent pins, dull or damaged serger blades. These can pose a danger when discarded. To reduce risk to myself, folks visiting my sewing space and sanitation workers I’m careful in handling sharps. Plastic screw top containers of all types are great for sharps of all sorts. I use large white plastic glucose tablet containers, but any container that is durable, puncture proof and secures tightly is a good choice. Secure Jar to Dispose of Sharps  I label the bottle sharps, store it high on a shelf out of reach from my young grandchildren and put in used needles and used rotary cutter blades. It can take years to fill. The mouth of the jar is just barely large enough to hold rotary blades, so it is very difficult for the blades to accidentally come out when disposing. Or if dropped. Not that I’ve ever done that. Since I buy blades in bulk, the used blades can’t go back into the container from which the bla...

 Are you looking for free containers to organize your sewing stuff? I find a lot of materials for organizing sewing supplies in my recycling can. Many are free, found versions of items found in the US Container Store or the IKEA marketplace. Examples: Storing Patterns The large plastic, rectangular plastic containers that leafy vegetables like spinach, arugula and kale are the perfect size for holding paper patterns. I label with paper taped to the side so I can readily see what type of patterns are in each box. They are designed for grocery store shelves, so they site very nicely and easily side by side on a shelf. The small, flat plastic rectangular boxes that hold salad tomatoes are a great size for threads and matching wound bobbins. These are designed to be nicely stacked in the store. They are see through and stack well on my shelf. I label them with paper taped to the side of the box, so I readily know what type of thread it is: all purpose, cotton, silk, e...

 Grab a cup of coffee, tea or soda as I outline my thoughts for sewing in 2025. I’ve been on a RTW fast since 2011. I’ve met my 50 yard dash goals for the last two years. And I’ve done a good job in 2024 with making only “mindful fabric purchases.” I’ve been enjoying the fabric fast, the 50 yard dash and PR contests as a way to challenge my creativity and use up stash. I like to think of the PR contests as I did challenges presented in art school. This is the assignment, what can I do to make it work? What new sewing techniques can I learn? My favourite "me made" garments are ones I learned how to do in PR contests. I’ve really enjoyed making active wear, swimwear and garments for swing dancing. I get to skip the indignity of trying on gear that does not fit and makes me less than happy about my aging, gravity challenged body. Instead, I can now make items I love, fit well and flatter. I tend to buy deadstock; so I save fabric destined for the dump and use ...

How did I do in meeting my 2024 sewing goals? Great question. I was just thinking about that. Grab a cup of coffee, tea or soda as I explain. “Mindful purchasing” has been a great motto. Thank you, YoungRobert and the Fabric Fasters . I continued my RTW fast begun in 2011 at the suggestion of PR member Sarah Gunn, better known as Goodbye Valentino . I now make a lot of clothes for my family too, especially DD (and her friends with whom she shares clothes) and my grandchildren. I reduced both my fabric purchase and my sewing/clothing budget a lot in 2024. Most fabrics that I bought were either needed to address a gap in stash for a particular project or fell into the category of “wow that is so amazing I need to sew it up now.” I am pleased to say,  I acquired no excess yardage in 2024. In fact, I sewed a lot more yardage than I purchased. Active Wear Contest #1 These were my 2024 sewing goals and an end of year report on how I did: 1) Learn how to sew workou...