Christmas 2012 was THE year - the year I got a sewing machine! It is a pivotal point in a Knaak girl's life. Whole new possibilities of creative projects open up with a sewing machine! Here's the girl in her protective case.
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Don't the stickers look great? |
So what did I choose to make as my first sewing project? Well, there's a long list of things I want to make: quilts, clothes, etc. But as a grad student I'm limited on time especially since I have my 2nd comps (comprehensive exam) coming up. One thing that I needed to make that is fairly simple is a new pillowcase for Sammy.
I originally made Sammy a pillowcase when he was in New Zealand studying abroad for a semester. I put a snake on it because its one of his favorite animals (yep, he was a biology major). Well, he's been sleeping on it for years now and it was deteriorating.
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Original Sammy pillowcase. The snake is falling off in the middle. |
A new pillowcase was needed and I now had the tools to do the job. I followed
this easy tutorial and it turned out pretty well. But before I made the pillowcase, I asked Sammy what he wanted on it this time. In typical boy fashion, he said he wanted a dragon! Well, my simple first sewing project was turning into a difficult one. But I knew I could put anything on the pillowcase by fusing. Dragons have many complicated parts. Luckily, I took awhile looking around on the internet and found the perfect compromise.
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A dragon shaped like a bicycle crank. (Can't find the original source.) |
It was perfect! It's a simplified dragon with a bike element for a guy who loves bikes. I did remove one of the horns and shortened the one I left. I used "Steam-a-Seam2" to put it on the finished pillowcase. I just followed the directions and it was easy. So here's the final result.
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Much better than the old one! |
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Close up on the dragon. |
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Clashes slightly with the beautiful quilt. Jack had to make a sneak appearance. |
I think it turned out well. I actually think I'm going to have to make one for myself! It was a great project to start on. Next up is patching bike shorts and a surprise gift for a friend. And eventually a log cabin quilt (I'm making myself wait until I defend my 2nd comps.)