Sewing

Announcing The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour

~ Michelle

Craftsy bag tour image b

The Great Canadian Craftsy Bag Tour starts today! Just what is the GCCBT? To sum it up, we’re all Canadian bloggers, we all sew, we all love Craftsy, we all reviewed some of the bag-making classes on Craftsy, and we put it all together for you to read over the next week.

The whole time the tour was being put together, I keep remembering an old television ad for Red Rose Tea: “Only in Canada you say? Pity.” Well, the bloggers all may be in Canada, but you can read along from anywhere in the world with no duties, tariffs, or shipping costs.

Head over to Emmaline Bags to start the tour today. And join us every day for the next week on our tour. It’s going to be fun, informative, there are prizes, and discounts too!

Happy creating!

Just One More Stop at the Fabric Store

~ Michelle ~ 11 Comments

You all must really be wondering if I’m sewing at all anymore. I am, but I can’t show you… yet. All I can do is give you a tease of what’s to come.

photo teaser

Isn’t that beautiful fabric? I’m going to make you wait to find out what I do with it, but I won’t make you wait very long. Just wait until Monday, April 4th and I’ll tell you more.

So, I have one more adventure to share with you from my recent trip to Ontario. I stopped at Fabricland. In fact, I stopped at Fabricland… a few times. I told my hubby I had to go. I kept remembering all the sewists on a forum I follow who had found wonderful printed Cotton Spandex at their Fabricland stores in Ontario. There was none at my store, so I had check while I was there. I found a store close to my sister’s home. Let’s call this Store One. You’ll understand why shortly.

I scored some wonderful Cotton Spandex at Store One, which I showed you in my last post. Then I saw another store as we drove to my Mum’s. We’ll call this Store Two. I did go in, but there was nothing new there. In fact their sales were different. In Store One, the Cotton Spandex was 50% off, in Store Two it was only 25% off.  Store Two was a different division, I was told. However, there was a new sale starting in a few days, so a few days later I went back to Store Two.

My hubby dropped me off and in I went. Right away I could see the Cotton Spandex was not on sale. I had a few minutes before my hubby came in so decided to look around. Just look what I found:

black lace with gold flowers

black lace with red flowers

black lace 1

I couldn’t believe my find! I also couldn’t believe the price. It was $4.95/meter. Well, forget Cotton Spandex. I was buying lace!

I had just had a big shop at Bra Makers Supply, so I knew I had to be a little more careful with my spending – my Christmas money wasn’t going to last forever. I only planned to buy those three laces. I was really pleased to find them and with their price. Just imagine my delight when I got to the cashier and found out they were on sale by half again! I only paid $2.50/meter for the laces!

My hubby had come into the store by then, and was still helping me keep to our schedule. I really wasn’t in Ontario to shop. Once we were in the car though, I told him I needed to go back to Store One and see if they had laces too. His reaction was typical of a non-obsessed, non-stash-building, non-bra-maker. ‘What? You were just there!’

Then I explained the savings we’d have. This lace is what I need for bra-making. It’s a great saving. It’s only on sale for a limited time. I persuaded him it was a good thing for me to go back to Store One again.

Store One had only one little bolt of lace, but I bought a meter of it.

brown lace

Now my truely obsessive bra-making nature came out. I had to go back to Store Two and had to buy more of the laces. My hubby was done. He was not going back to Store Two for a third time. So this time, after a family visit, my niece and I went back while the sale was on. All these laces were $2.50/meter. Talk about a score.

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black lace 3

black lace clovers

purple lace with pink

purple lace with silver

white lace with peach shimmer full

white lace

Once I was back home, a friend wanted to make some panties. Off to the fabric store we went and what do you think I saw? Thankfully, it wasn’t lace! There were bolts of Cotton Spandex though. I’m still very happy with all those trips to Fabricland One and Two.

Happy creating!

The Cotton Spandex Opportunities

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

On a sewing forum I follow, someone posted a cute pair of panties and had lots of response. ‘What pattern are these? No elastic? I have to know what pattern, …’ It went on for a while. We were told they were Scrundles. Off I went to search the web for Scrundles. I didn’t find any Scrundles, but a little more searching and I found Scrundlewear Ladies Underwear by Stitch Upon A Time.

I looked at the first photo to show up and thought, that doesn’t look like what I saw. This photo is from their Etsy shop. These are boy shorts. What I’d seen were more of a classic brief shape.

boy short

Then I scrolled through the photos and saw this:

brief

These were more along the lines of what I’d seen posted. Super cute!

The pattern offers five styles of panties in one.

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Hmm. Now I’m thinking. I really love my TNT Kwik Sew 2286s, but I did think these were super cute. Here’s what they say about their pattern:

2 different styles included, Briefs and Boy shorts
4 different waistband options
2 different leg band options
3 different trim options, faux fly, lace and ribbon bow
You can make more than 16 different underwear with this one pattern!

They were sounding better and better.

Then things got more tempting for me. On the same forum, all these people started posting about the cute printed Cotton Spandex they were finding at a Canadian fabric store, Fabricland. Off I went to my local store to see if they had it. Nope. It seemed to skip my Province. From what I was reading, it was in the Eastern stores, and the stores in the Province west of me too.

I put the thought of those cute panties on hold. If I was going to make them, I wanted mine to be cute with some patterned material too, not just the solid colors of Cotton Spandex I’d found.

Then there was that unexpected trip to Ontario. After visiting and spending time with family, a very quick trip to Bra Makers Supply, and more family visits, it was time to go to Fabricland.

There is was! The same cute patterned Cotton Spandex I’d seen on the forums.

cotton for panties

My first trip to Fabricland was a quick trip, so I grabbed a meter of each with plans to go back and get a little more while it’s on sale for half price.

At this point, I had the material, but not the pattern. Then came Jennifer Getter’s birthday (Jennifer of Stitch Upon A Time). On the SUAT’s Facebook page, she said she was celebrating by offering 40% off patterns that day. What a great opportunity! I’d bought some material, so with 40% off, there was no reason to hesitate anymore.

Another of my goals for this Spring is to make myself a T-shirt that really fits. Sewing with Nancy had a few episodes on sewing the perfect T-shirt. After watching, I purchased my pattern. It’s from Pamela’s Patterns.

perfect t-shirt

This is a darted T-shirt, so should really help when it comes time to do a Full Bust Adjustment on it. It’ll be like the work is half done for me. Rather than starting from scratch and adding a dart, I’ll only have to adjust the dart that’s already there. On the show, they even show how to adjust the dart higher or lower as needed. Great!

However, it was another of those projects that needed Cotton Spandex, so it’s been waiting.

These are the materials I purchased to work on a few Summer tees. I may mix and match things up too.

cotton for tees

I had hoped on my second trip to the store, I’d find some brighter colors. They did have a couple, but the prints were huge. They weren’t anything I’d want for panties or Tees. I’d even brought my hubby in with me to help me decide. He didn’t like the other prints either, so I’ll have to be happy with all these nice new black and white prints.

While I was there I did see one more wonderful fabric.

african print

This is part of an African Prints collection. I grabbed what was left (not even a full meter), and will use it for a Swoon bag, or as a feature on a bag. So pretty.

Happy creating!

My Spring Lingerie Wardrobe Plans

~ Michelle ~ 8 Comments

We all have plans of things we want to make or sew, but last fall I realized I had so many projects to make on my list that I needed to break things down a little. I made a Fall/Winter list and left everything off that I wouldn’t be wanting over the winter. That helped me tremendously.

I did the same again just recently when I was planning a trip to Bra Makers Supply. When I started to make my list, there were a lot of darker colors on it like Black, Black Cherry, Chocolate… I took a look. Well, I took a look after I added up what it was going to cost me if I bought everything on my list, and I decided to re-do it for only Spring and Summer.

The first thing to do was to go through my stash and see what I needed to complete what was there already. I have a Pink Bra Kit but I didn’t have a Finding Kit. I had an Ivory Bra Kit too, but again no Finding Kit.

Finding Kits were on my list.

findings and bra kit

As well as the Finding Kits, I picked up a Lavender Bra Kit and Finding Kit. All of these will make a lovely light-colored Spring and Summer bra wardrobe.

While at home I looked at the cotton I had for panties. I had some Beige, and some Pink. So I needed some Ivory. Bra Makers doesn’t have Ivory in their Cotton Spandex, but they do have lovely Modal in an off white that looked nice with the Ivory Duoplex. I loved placing the fabrics beside one another and seeing how close the colors were for myself.

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I had my hubby with me (he was the one rushing me out of the store), and I told him to look at the Bra Kits and pick the one he liked. On his third pick, we agreed. We chose the Lavender Bra Kit and Findings, with Lilac and Lavender lace. The kit is showing above, but here’s the lace.

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Oh, it’s so pretty! I did realize after I left the store that I didn’t buy the Lilac Cotton Spandex, but BMS does carry it, so that will be something I still need to purchase.

Two more bras will round out my Spring and Summer wardrobe and they’re both Beige. I bought some Beige Polka Dot Tulle, with Beige Sheer Cup Lining, and a Beige lace to make Beverly Johnson’s Heather bra that was shown in her Craftsy class.

Heather on Ashley smaller

This photo is from Beverly’s blog. You can read how she made it and what pattern adjustments to make here. It’s such a beautiful delicate looking bra. I can’t wait to make my own version of it. Here are my materials for it.

beige lace beige tulle beige sheer cup lining

For the last bra on my Spring/Summer list, I chose Beige Cut and Sew foam with a gorgeous Beige and Copper stretch lace.

beige lace over beige cut and sew foam

It was love at first sight when I saw that lace. Just imagine of my delight when watching Beverly’s last bra-making class and I saw she used the same lace over a beige foam cup! It’s beautiful together.

One last purchase and (gulp) possible plan – a bathing suit. Bathing suits simply don’t fit me. If I buy them to fit the bust, they float around me. If I buy them to fit my frame, I’m spilling over the top. They have not been one of my favorite things.

The Princess Tankini Pattern.

tankini 2

Sewing a bathing suit is at the bottom of my list, so if I don’t get to it, I won’t feel overly upset about it. In fact, I didn’t buy any material for this project. The pattern is enough for now.

I can’t wait to start sewing. Happy creating!

A Trip to Bra Makers Supply

~ Michelle ~ 24 Comments

We all have plans and we all have schedules. Mine changed suddenly last week, and my husband and I found ourselves flying to Ontario, Canada with only a day and a half notice. I knew right away though, there was no way I was going to be within hours of Bra Makers Supply and not go there. I started to make plans right away.

So here’s a little post about my trip to Bra Makers Supply. I was so excited to go, and to meet everyone. However, I arrived the same morning everyone was leaving for the Bra Makers Cruise. That was a small wrench in my plans, but I did get to meet Beverly and some of the staff. It all worked out great.

Beverly and M

Beverly is as wonderful as you think she is, and so is the store! Due to our schedule, my DH had to rush me a little to get me out of the store. I arrived with a list in hand, and wanted to take my time and enjoy the whole process of being there, looking at everything, selecting what I wanted, taking photos all along the way. Our schedule demanded otherwise.

I did buy all the things on my list, but I didn’t take anywhere near as many photos as I wanted.

There were shelves that went almost to the ceiling. Everything is wonderfully organized; truly a bra-maker’s delight. Along one wall there were plastic baskets of rings, and sliders, and wires, oh my! Along the opposite wall were more shelves with laces, elastics, simply everything we need.

shelves

Just imagine shelves of laces!

wall of lace

Next to these were the Stretch Laces. I really could have spent a lot more time there. Well, my money would have run out eventually.

Below are just a snippet of the elastics. Right in the middle of the lower shelf that’s showing in the photo – the new Grey and to the right of it, the new Black Cherry. Oh so pretty! I heard they are going to be part of complete Finding Kits in those colors. Yay!

elastics

It was so fun, but DH was keeping me to my schedule. So a few quick photos, and it was time to seriously shop and hit the road again.

I bought everything I need for my Spring/Summer bra and panty wardrobe. That will be another post.

haul

Oh, just look at that wonderful stash and me not at home with my sewing machine.

After we went to Bra Makers Supply, we made another quick stop: the location of the original Tim Horton’s restaurant. This may be the original site, but a new building has been put up.

building

This location is part restaurant – you can buy your coffee and whatever else Tim’s offers – but it’s also a museum. It was really a fun walk-through. Here are a few photos from the upstairs.

Does anyone remember these prices?

prices

Here are the original donuts that were offered. I don’t remember any of these.

donuts

I thought this was a cute sign, so took a photo of this too. I have no desire whatsoever to be a Donut Maker, but a Bra-Maker. Yes, please!

sign

This poster was great. I love how it tied the donuts to hockey. For all the non-Canadians reading, Tim Horton was a Canadian hockey player, who after that career, opened this chain of famously popular coffee shops, that are still very popular today.

wall

My hubby is a Timmies fan, so this part of our stop in Hamilton was a highlight for him. With me not shopping, I had a little more opportunity to take  few photos.

D and sign

I can’t wait to get home and start sewing. Happy creating!

Pattern Testing the Minimalist Wallet

~ Michelle ~ 4 Comments

I was given the opportunity to test a new pattern, and I jumped at the chance to do it. It’s The Minimalist Wallet Pattern. The pattern was released on Sew Modern Bags.

I wanted to try this pattern because the designer wanted to see it in leather and I had just scored that great leather stash. Now I had the opportunity to use some of it. Win-win

pattern

This pattern is very easy to make, and working with the leather was delightful. It is so soft. It cuts so easily. It sews really easily too. I did use a leather needle, which I’m sure helped a great deal. All in all, it was great to work with leather. The only part about working with leather that wasn’t a delight was using Wonder clips. They have little teeth in them, and those little teeth were showing on my leather! I ended up using office clips. They still left a little bit of a mark, but it didn’t look like little bite marks.

Here’s the wallet. I added a second snap to the closure tab. I’ve seen that before and liked that option. When your wallet is full, use the outer snap; when the wallet is less full, the inner snap. It keeps your wallet from feeling like the closure is loose fitting.

wallet-closed

Here’s the wallet from the inside:

inside-no-cards

The wallet has eight card slots. Each of the four you can see with the little crescent cut into them has one behind as well.

Here’s the wallet showing the billfold. Bills, receipts, shopping lists all fit in here easily.

bill-fold

The only real problem I ran into when making this was using the snaps. I actually had two problems with the snaps. The first one was the outer snap that’s attached to the body of the wallet simply would not attach. I went through four snaps before I gave up on reinforcing it as the instructions say. There was just too much thickness there for it to work with the leather. It’s been behaving just fine now without that reinforcement.

A second problem I had was entirely my fault: I attached both of the snaps at the same time – the one on the body and the one on the tab. The instructions say to attach the one to the outer body and nothing at that point about the tab, but I didn’t read the instructions. As things quickly began to not make sense, I started reading the instructions again. I threw out the first tab I’d made and cut out another tab and started sewing again where I’d veered off. There were no more problems from that point on.

I don’t think the first problem I had with the snaps was an indication of the pattern though. The pattern is designed for Kraft Tex. The Kraft Tex may be thinner than leather, and the reinforcement needed.

Happy creating!

Basic Black And Not So Basic Black

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

I’m happy to say, as of this blog, I have no RTW panties in my drawer. Yay! That means all my panties are now very comfortable, pretty, and me-made. I like that.

So, what did I make? It was time to make some more black panties.

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Here’s some of my stash. The Cotton Spandex is all cut out and ready to be sewn. The gorgeous wide leopard lace was a find eBay. Oh, it’s nice. So I’m building my black panty wardrobe here.

I’m using my favorite TNT pattern, Kwik Sew 2286. They don’t call it a hipster, but that’s how it fits me. It’s hard to find, but if you can find it, grab it up. It’s a great pattern.

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What really sold me on this pattern was it’s almost exactly like my favorite, now-discontinued, RTW panties. Both have elastic lace trim at the waist and leg opening. It’s almost the exact same shape too. The pattern sits a little higher, and I found I preferred that.

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Here are the first couple of pair done. I really love that leopard lace! And although it’s not a perfect match for my Pin-Up Girls classic bra with the leopard mesh trim, it’s close and I’m happy with it as a set.

front-2

The next pair was made to match too.

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This one is black with red lace at the waist and leg opening. I couldn’t resist putting a little of the Lycra on the panty to mimic the Lycra on the power bars and bridge of the bra.

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This is another fun set for me.

I am making four pair of basic black with black lace trim. I ran out of lace after making the first panty, so off I went to the fabric store and I found this wonderful lace on sale for 65% off. I bought 15 meters! I think it was $2.20 to start, so I pretty much cleared the bolt.

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The lace trim wasn’t the only great deal I got that day. I wandered into the discount area, and walked by some lovely bright crinkle cotton. I walked by it, and then back to it. It was only $3/meter. I think I walked away three times, but kept going back. Am I ever happy I did! When I went to get it cut, I found out it was half price! So I took what was left on the bolt, just over two and a half meters. This will make a lovely summer top.

cottoon

As for the lace I bought, I think I’ll have enough for a little while now. Before I even found this lace, I knew I was getting low, so had also been looking on Etsy and eBay for laces too. I found this lovely scalloped lace that I plan to use on two of the basic black panties.

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This will make my favorite panties almost exactly like my former favorite – they had scalloped lace trim at both the waist and leg opening.

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I bought a few meters of that too. The next time I’m looking for black lace trim, I should be set!

Happy creating!

Sewing Amidst a Mess

~ Michelle ~ 6 Comments

My sewing room feels like a disaster right now. It’s somewhat functional, if I don’t mind stepping around piles of things needing to be sorted and re-arranged. On top of the sewing space feeling like a bomb went off, my camera isn’t working properly. I’m hoping it’s just the USB cord and I’ve ordered a replacement. It will still take photos, I just can’t get them off the camera. So here are some from my phone. (not great quality)

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This might not look too bad for some, but for me, well, I’m not enjoying my space at the moment.

What happened? Well, remember my new-for-me serger? It’s all computerized. The outlet I had the previously-borrowed serger plugged into didn’t have a surge protector on it – it didn’t need it. That serger wasn’t computerized at all. I live in a town, outside a major city. The city has regulated power. I don’t. When I bought my sewing machine, I was told if there’s a surge of power, it will fry the circuits of my sewing machine, and now my  serger. I needed a solution before I could use it.

It took a while for me to convince my hubby that this was a priority. But it’s done now, and I just need to re-organize.

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Here’s my new little surge protector for both my sewing machine and my serger. This little guy is screwed into the outlet so there’s no chance it will come loose. My sewing machine and serger both have a new desk too.

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It’s cozy, but it works.

I’ve even completed my first project in the new space. Just after the New Year, a neighbor came over asking me to alter her costume for her granddaughter. I don’t enjoy alterations, but because she’s a good neighbor, I said yes. I’m going to have her spread the word that I’m terribly expensive so I don’t get a bunch of costume renovation customers. I’d much rather sew selfishly or for gifts.

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It’s a charming costume, and the alterations weren’t hard. It was too big in the waist and arm, and the shoulders needed to be taken up too. I’m hoping to get a photo of her in the costume.

Now for some me sewing. I have a Swoon Coraline Clutch all cut out.

Happy Creating!

Coraline Clutch

~ Michelle

Oh, I think I love bag-making as much as I love bra-making. I made another Swoon. I must say, I love it. I used it the same day I finished it, and was so happy with it. Here’s my Coraline Clutch shown with the pattern.

with-pattern

I made this out of the same fabric I used to make my Agnes-inspired skirt, and the temporary dog boots. (I told you you’d see more of this, but I think I’m pretty much done with the material now.) This is a thick flocked knit. I really do love this material. I have a little more in black. I also have a similar black flocked stretch denim. So many things to sew still!

Back to Coraline. Here’s the inside of the bag.

Inside

The pattern is a great pattern, and it all comes together easily. Swoon has a Facebook group for support, and that group lists a bunch of files. One of those files is a video tutorial that I used to help me make this bag – just to make sure I was doing everything right.

I added a fun little bracelet charm to the zipper to give it a little more oomph, and to make it easier to pull that little zipper.

zipper-pull

Here’s the backside of the zipper pull:

back-of-zip-pull

I love that it is two-sided. Regardless of which way it shows, it looks pretty.

I worked to pattern-match the fabric so I’d have the same pattern showing on both the front and the back. I could have done a tiny bit better with my pinning because I noticed the bottom seam doesn’t match perfectly, but I’m pretty pleased with it overall. Most of the time I won’t be looking at it from the bottom, so the sides match well. There’s always something to work on for the next project, isn’t there?

pattern-matching

One change I made to the pattern was to simply attach my strap into the bag’s seam. The pattern calls for a 1″ D-ring and a 1″ swivel clip. I didn’t have those on hand, and didn’t have time to run to any store. I made this up, showered, and went out to a banquet. I love it as is, but also think I’d love to see it with the D-ring. I have another planned already.

Here’s my new Coraline with Catherine, just to show you the size.

On-Catherine-with-new-drape

Catherine is draped in some lovely fabrics that I’m hoping will make it into a holiday skirt.

Happy creating and have a very Merry Christmas!

My ‘New’ Serger

~ Michelle

Many, many years ago, my wonderful husband bought me a serger. He surprised me with it, so I hadn’t had any input into the decision. He just wanted to make me happy. And he did!

The serger, however, did not. It was a Kenmore. I don’t remember the model, but it was nothing but trouble. It would not stay threaded no matter what, and that was only one of its problems. I’d taken it back for repairs three times while it was still under warranty. Finally, the last time I took it in, I found out there had been a recall on it. The store replaced it on the spot. That was wonderful!

The big problem was, I wasn’t in love with the idea of a serger anymore. Yes, they can be great, but after three years of nothing but trouble, I didn’t even want to use it. I wasn’t using it. It sat for years. I finally sold it.

There were times I did regret selling it. Every once in a while I’d borrow one from a friend, because they are great in finishing everything so quickly and neatly. When they work, they’re the greatest.

Do you remember a while back I mentioned a friend had let her serger and Cover Pro machine come and stay at my house? I was going to let the Cover Pro stay here, but her serger didn’t work very well. I had taken it in to be repaired and the repair man said it wasn’t a very good machine – it wouldn’t hold the thread, it was loud and it shook a lot. Hmm, that was not what I was wanting… again. After struggling with it, I called her up, thanked her for her kind offer and gave it back to her. Now, in her defense, she’d never even used it, so had no idea.

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     I wasn’t having the best of luck with sergers, was I? However, if you’ve read my blog for any amount of time, you’ll know, I don’t give up.

Just a few weeks ago, I called another sewing friend to ask if I could borrow her serger. She said, ‘Yes, of course.’ Then she said she’s selling it and wanted to know if I was interested.

Well, to make a long story a little shorter, look who came to stay at my house:

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This is the Bernina 1300MDC. Just to assure me she’s a great machine, she came with a sticker on her front saying she’s the Consumer Choice 2010.

I just (finally) had time to sit down and start reading through the manual. I didn’t get very far before I was absolutely stunned by what I was reading. I was reading how to insert the needles, and it said how to change the Left Needle for Cover Stitch, and the Center Needle for Cover Stitch, then the Left for Overlock, and the Right. I stopped reading. I read that all again. This is a Cover Stitch machine too? I had no idea!

I called my friend and asked her. ‘Yes,’ she said. I must have sounded a little odd because I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I had no idea when I got the machine that it was both. I simply thought it was a great serger.

She went on to say, she’d just had it serviced to make sure it was in perfect working order before selling it. I’m thinking my serger luck has changed! Woot woot!

Happy creating!