*I decided that I needed a simple project to practice on before I tried to make a stocking. We had a couple old pillows laying around with holes in them so, I decided to use the stuffing to make a pillow. In order to begin this process I had to figure out how to thread the needle. I began my search of YouTube and blogs to find a beginning tutorial on how to sew. There were many to choose from, but only a few that I found really useful. I am borrowing a sewing machine from a friend, and once I familiarized myself with the machine it was pretty easy to figure out how to thread the needle and wind the bobbin. I used this website a lot for quick tutorials: http://www.sewing4beginners.com/.
I first began practicing on a scrap piece of fabric, but I kept getting tangled clumps of thread on the underside of the fabric. I tried re-threading and that helped for a bit, but the clumping kept occurring. It was a struggle to search for problem solving tips online, especially because I didn’t know what was happening to my thread and what exactly to search for help. Out of curiosity I posted the picture to the left onto my facebook and twitter pages asking why my thread was getting tangled. I had several friends and co-workers respond on facebook telling me to clean my machine, fix the tension, and that my bobbin was wound incorrectly. On twitter, even with the hashtags #learningtosew, #sewing, #sewinghelp, and #CEP810, I only had one response to my plea for help.
Even though I had lots of people suggesting solutions, I think the machine is not working properly. So, my progress is on hold until I get a new machine to practice on.
Brittany Schroeder 