Simplicity Creative Group is looking for sewers, crafters, and everyday inventors to help design their next crafting machine. Adaptations for existing machines are also welcome. If you have an idea that will improve or simplify a crafting activity, enter the Design Challenge for your chance to win up to $1,000.
Visit the Design Challenge page on Redesignme.com to post your idea and be eligible to win one of 9 prizes.
This challenge ends at 11:59 pm, EST, on April 18, 2011. See Redesignme.com for official rules and details.
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Thank you for this opportunity to win your contest. One of the ideas I use is: When sewing, you want to keep the project under the presser foot in place. Most sewers use their fingers to control the project. If you use the point of a seam ripper, it will control the project & it keeps your fingers safe from the needle area.
Another idea is to keep your projects ready to pick up to work on or take with you is: purchase several baskets with handles & and place each project in a basket. You want to include necessary needles, shears, small ruler, & what ever you will be using for this project. I purchased baskets from garage sales for 50 cents & lined & padded them.
Threads is a wonderful magazine. Enjoy it and use lots of the ideas..
I love sharing ideas. A couple things I do, use "rubberized", no slip shelf liner to put on the bottom of the foot pedal, so it doesn't slide around. Also, if you have a newer machine, which is lighter in weight from older machines, a piece cut the size of the bottom of the machine will help it to stay in place on a table top.
Another tip, I put a small piece of double sided adhesive tape on an open spot on my machine. For short pieces of thread that are statically charged, the tape grabs them and prevents them from getting tangled in your line of sewing.
I have a few ideas. But right now I want to thank Simplicity for their figure adjusting patterns. My daughter is a slim adult with a 34DD bust. Adjusting patterns for her was a nightmare until I discovered your special series of patterns for slim to curvy figures. FABULOUS! I have them all. Keep up the fight for terrific well fitting designs.
I recently designed and made a skirt in the style of a large flounce. I would like to see a sewing compass built in or attached to a machine, for making flounces, small or large. I have seen attachments for circular sewing so it seems an adaptation would be just what we need.
I'd like to see a narrow-hem attachment that works well regardless of the fabric or how it's cut relative to the grain.
I would love for my sewing machine to have an audible alert, a ding or beep, when the bobbin runs out of thread. Or have the machine stop! It is so frustrating to sew an entire seam, especially if it was gathered or something, only to find there was no thread in the bobbin.
I'd like to have a laser stitching guide. It would allow me to input the seam allowance required (1/4", 1/2", 5/8") and would then run a red line to the right of my presser foot for the correct distance from the needle. It would change if I moved my needle from left to center to right. AND it would run a good 4-6" from the needle toward the edge of the table. My husband uses a laser guide on his radial arm saw and I'm jealous he gets the neat tools!
Fortunately, I had two wonderful designers - my mother and grandmother (who is now deceased). They both taught me to dream and to be creative, which my mother still insists on today; it is 'okay' to have your items tweaked! Their beliefs were in the little details, but also look at the whole. I love my designers!
Since I had two wonderful designers and love to sew, the item or items I would love to have are: compact items with plenty of storage along with a cutting board and rulers that fold up but maintain their true measurements. This compact tool kit would be useful to sewers who take classes, travel, or have a small space at home. These rulers and and cutting boards would clip together to enlarge to the appropriate desired measurements by the sewer.
Hi Simplicity, Sometimes when I sew in reverse, I need two hands to guide the fabric. It looks as though, companies stopped making sewing machines where you can select reverse, and have two free hands for better control of the fabric. Can you please incorporate this feature in your new design? Thanks.