What a cute book! I hope I can get my grandson sewing as soon as he's old enough. I'm sure he'd love to make his own finger puppets and much more. :)

For spacers to keep the pegboard away from the wall, buy some doweling, about 3/4 inch should be thick enough. You only need a foot or so of it. Using a miter box and hand saw, cut sections of dowelling about 1 inch long.

Next, using a power drill and a 1/4 inch bit, drill holes through the center of your dowel pieces. (from flat surface, to flat surface, not on the curved sides).

This creates "wooden washers" or "donuts".

You can now mount your pegboard directly to the wall using these thick wooden washers. They keep the board off the wall. Your screws need to go through a metal washer, then through the pegboard, then through the wooden washer (or donut) and then into the drywall and hopefully, if you've measured correctly ahead of time, into a stud.

You might need one or two in the middle area if you have a very large piece of pegboard.

This is a really nice way to go about creating these bags. I made a series of them years ago for all the women in my family. I didn't have any instructions at the time, so I figured it out on my own. :)

Mine were black velvet with satin lining, and the pocket section was also velvet lined with satin. The center piece was padded so we could attach a few small broaches to the middle right through the fabric. I did narrow satin ribbon drawstrings through a casing, and did some beadwork on the drawstrings after each was drawn through. We still have them, and love using them.

The felt version would certainly be a lot faster and simpler to make. Maybe I'll do some new ones, since most of us seem to acquire more jewelry! They do keep your jewelry from getting scratched and tangled up and are perfect for traveling too.

This is so cool, thank you for taking the time to make this video!

I saved up old pillows for a while before making this project. Every time I bought a new pillow, the old one went to my sewing room. When I had enough we got the tape and other supplies.

By using pillows and scrunched up disposable plastic shopping bags to stuff it, I didn't need as much batting to fill it. I used a very heavy wooden hanger, and padded the shoulders with foam before hanging my hollow un-stuffed DTD form on it.

We cut PVC pipe for the stand and notched it for the hanger to fit into the top, and got the hanger well secured on the pipe before hanging the hollow form on it. The form was left unattached so we could adjust it later on.

We stuffed it lightly so it would be fairly stable so we could work on the plywood bottom.

We took lots and lots of measurements first with a yardstick to get the depth from front to back and width from side to side as accurate as possible, then traced around it to make a pattern to cut the plywood. We measured in from the outside edges to guesstimate where the pipe would need to be, then we cut the hole for the pipe.

After stapling the plywood bottom on, we stuffed it some more from the armholes and neckline, while it was laying on a table.

When we were done stuffing we put it on an umbrella stand.

When mounted, it needs to stand the way you do when you are relaxed. Measure from each shoulder, right at the joint - to the floor, to see which shoulder is higher. Duplicate this on your DTD. Also get someone to check the angle of your stance from the side, so it doesn't lean forward or backward too much. It needs to stand the way you normally do when relaxed, so your clothes will hang right.

Take some digital photos or compare it to yourself in a full length mirror to know if you have it "standing" the way you do. Check all directions.

Because we left the DTD unattached at the hanger end, we were able to shift the whole thing as needed to get it to hang right, and match my stance and height.

After adjustment, you can add more stuffing to make it stay in that position, and permanently attached the hanger/pipe contraption at the neck and shoulders. If stuffed tightly it won't budge. Voila! You're ready to sew!


PS. I covered my finished DTD with a knit fabric slipcover so I could pin pattern pieces and fabrics to it. I made a simple top, with a very snug fit and did elastic casings in the neck, hem and short sleeves so it would stay put once it was on. I slipped it on over the finished DTD, and then pinned on black twill tape to mark the center lines, waist, etc. The tape really should be glued on once you know you have it centered properly and the cover can be taped or pinned in place or you could use some spray adhesive so it won't shift.

Good luck!

I didn't wrap snugly, I wouldn't have been able to breathe. It got snug as we wrapped because the tape stretches as you unwind it and cut it. I did the cross your heart method just out of common sense. That was before I saw this page. It works! Glad to see the idea here.

We left the very bottom area until the arms were done, so I could sit down while the arm area was done. I needed the rest. This is an exhausting process for the wrappee, especially if you have any health problems, but it works. I have never had such ease in making garments fit.

Now all I need to do is figure out a way to make one for making slacks!

I made one of these a few years ago with some help from my husband. It just about drove me nuts wearing it, it was so hot and uncomfortable, but it was worth it. I would recommend it to anyone with fitting problems. Its worth its weight in gold!

I love my old serger, but would like to learn more about the new machines with coverstitch and other capabilities. I'm hoping to someday invest in a new machine.

A good serger book is absolutely essential to learning to use your machine.

Well, I finished up the last receiving blanket on Christmas Eve. Now we're just waiting for the new arrival. :)

Wow! 161 comments, I guess anyone would love to have this book for their sewing library. I know I would, I just love ribbon roses. I wonder what other projects it has?

Mystery Sewing Machine Foot

I'm pretty sure that this foot is missing a piece. My buttonholder has a plate that screws OVER the throat plate of the machine, so that it can swing the fabric back and forth freely. The feed dogs on the older machines didn't go down, so they had to be covered.

I think your mystery foot IS a regular zigzagger, as some of us suggested, but I do believe its missing a piece which would make it work on regular weight fabrics.

If you read my second post on the original question, you see this...

There probably should be a plate that goes under it that has a wide opening for the zigzag stitch, but which also covers the feed dogs.

In any case, if you are trying it on another machine, you should drop your feed dogs, as I'm pretty sure this foot will push the fabric from side to side as it works and you shouldn't hold onto the fabric while its working.

If you can find a throat plate for a buttonholer, it will probably work the same with this foot.

Emmy

I did my first project with the bias tape maker today. It took a little experimenting to get the right temperature for my fabric, once I had the heat set right it worked perfectly!

One receiving blanket down, and 7 more to go! LOL! The baby shower is on Saturday!

Here's a tip on what to do with old spools of thread that are so old the thread can't be used for sewing.

Make yourself a Sewing Wreath for your sewing room door, or to hand over your machine:

Dust off your old spools of thread and unwind enough thread to get down to the brighter color underneath. Find a nice vine wreath that you like. I prefer the ones with light wood, which look a bit like wicker.

Choose old spools of thread in colors to complement your decor, and wire them on in bunches of 2 and 3. Weave in some ribbon, add a bow, maybe a bit of other trims you have on hand, wire on a few special buttons in groupings of 2, 3 or 4, next add wire to the back for hanging, and voila! Your own sewing room wreath to cheer up your workspace. :)

That Thread Carousel is one COOL way to store thread! I love it!

I have and use all the other options you've shown, but my personal favorite is pencil boxes. I sort by color and also by thread purpose, label the end of the boxes and stack on the shelf, ready to go.

I use a divided cutlery tray for my most commonly used thread colors, (black, white, cream, grey, navy) which fits into my second desk drawer perfectly. Its very handy, everything is available at a glance.

I have about 4 bobbins holders for my many brands of bobbins - my trusty old Singer Featherweight, my mother's old Singer from the 1960's which I learned to sew on and had to buy my own bobbins for (with two people sewing on one machine, you can never have enough bobbins), my grandmother's Brother from the 1950's which she loaned me for a year - so I had to buy more bobbins of course, Brother bobbins for my daughter's machine because I sometimes have to borrow it, like when my White is in for a tuneup, and of course bobbins for my White, and since I have to replace the White, I'll probably have another brand to add soon.

I think I must have about 120 to 150 bobbins in all and I still run out because they aren't a universal fit. I wish sewing machine manufacturers would get together and agree on one size fits all!

Zip lock bags are handy for so many things. I use in practically every room of the house to keep things sorted,especially small stuff. I should buy stock in the company, they must be making a fortune!

Perfect to go with the bias tape machine, for quilting, making your own piping, and also for scrapbooking too. Definitely an interesting item.

Wow! That is so COOL! Thank you so much. I can really use this tool, especially on the projects for our first grandchild :)

What a treat! This will really speed things up. Now I guess I'll have no excuses to avoid making my own bias tape! No more hauling out the ironing board and a heavy iron, and no more burning my fingers.

Congratulations to cindsmith too!

Emmy :D

I've been sewing for about four decades. My mom sews, my grandmother sewed, and now my daughter sews, although not as often as I'd like to see. Now that she's expecting her first child, I think she'll probably sew more, since sewing for babies and kids is so fun and doesn't require a lot of fabric.

The main problem I have is finding good fabric for garments. We only have one fabric store here and they carry a lot of polyester junk, not much in cotton, linen, silk or rayon. Hardly any natural fibers at all, which are the only kind I can wear (allergies).

I wish we had a really good fabric store, a good book store and a proper art supply center.

Its a tie between my ruffler and my buttonhole maker. Both are for my old Singer Featherweight, which is the main reason I kept it even when I got a modern machine. Now nearly 25 years later, my "modern" machine needs replacing and my Featherweight is still growing strong.

I'll always keep my Featherweight! Gotta love ALL the feet that make sewing easier, faster and neater too! I use them all! When I buy a new machine I'll have to start collecting feet all over again, unless the ones from my old machine fit the new one too.

I love the snap on feet that modern machines have, such a time saver.

Wow! What a time saving tool! I'd love to have one someday!

I hope they'll make attachments available for different size bindings, like the old fashioned binding makers have. They come in three sizes. I hope this machine will eventually have the same options, it would be great!

Thanks for showing us how this works. :)

I forgot to add that you should try this on your Featherweight machine if you have one, or another older straight stitch machine. There probably should be a plate that goes under it that has a wide opening for the zigzag stitch, but which also covers the feed dogs.

In any case, if you are trying it on another machine, you should drop your feed dogs, as I'm pretty sure this foot will push the fabric from side to side as it works and you shouldn't hold onto the fabric while its working. Its not a pleater or buttonholer as I have both of those for my Featherweight. I really think it does zigzagging over braid, fairly thick braid at that.

Please put up a video of it when you have it working, I'd love to see it in action.

Emmy

I have never seen one like this before, however, it looks like it was made for a straight stitch machine, like the old Singer Featherweights.

That "can opener gear" probably provides the side to side movement necessary for these machines.

It probably created a zigzag stitch, and the big open space above the foot looks like you could run braid through it. I'd guess that its for attaching braid and other trims, with a zigzag stitch, on a NON-zigzagging machine.

Could you upload a video of it operating on your machine, using a straight stitch? That would certainly help.

Emmy