Sewing With A Twin Needle

Today I finally tried out my twin needle that I got last September...sad I know! I have NO idea why I waited this long because it is amazingly easy!! I always thought it would be fiddly or difficult but it isn't!!! It's crazy how fear stops you trying something and then once you try it, you wonder why you didn't try it sooner.

I needed to take up the hem of some track pants I bought for Max and thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try out the needle. You can see the lovely row of neat, double stitching along the bottom. I would love to get a few twin needles in different widths as I would have used a wider needle if I had one but am still very happy with how these turned out.

I thought I would include a bit of a how-to on using twin needles and some info on stuff I figured out along the way. I spent a lot of time pinning and reading these tutorials and posts over the last few months to help me figure out what to do so I definitely want to give them credit! You will probably even find extra info and tips too! I'm sure I read more than these 3 but these are the only ones I can find right now.

Tutorial 1 at Make it and Love it

Tutorial 2 at Bolt Neighbourhood

Tutorial 3 at Made by Rae

Here's What I Did - How To Sew With A Twin Needle

In a nutshell...

• Buy a twin needle.
• Put it in your machine.
• Pop 2 spools of thread and your bobbin in.
• Thread the needle.
• Sew!

For those who need more details... :-)

1. Buy a twin needle from your local sewing shop. I bought a Klasse Twin Stretch needle, 4mm and size 75 from my local Spotlight store. These needles come in various widths ranging from 1.6mm to 6mm, various sizes, and for various fabrics or threads. You can view the range here. I am sure there are other brands out there but this will give you an idea of what types are available.

2. Put the needle into your machine. They can be used in pretty much any normal sewing machine and you put it in just like a regular, single needle.

3. Put a spool and bobbin or 2 spools of the same colour on the spool holders/pins on your machine. Some machines have 2 permanent spool pins, 1 permanent and one temporary, or only 1 standard spool pin. My machine has 1 permanent pin and 1 temporary pin as you can see below. If you have 2 permanent spool pins, then just pop 1 spool/bobbin onto each pin and if you only have 1 spool pin, go here to see how to put them both on the same pin.

4. Take both threads and thread your machine just as you normally would with 1 thread. It really is that simple with the threading. Don't stress about the threads getting twisted or tangled...it just works! When you get to the needle, separate the threads and thread one through each needle. 

5. Make sure you have a bobbin in the bobbin holder. It doesn't really matter what colour this thread is because it stays on the back side of the fabric quite easily due to the zigzag that it does along the back.

6. Sew!! It is worth doing a few practice runs to make sure the tension is right but once you get that, you just sew like normal! If the fabric seems to pull into a ridge between the 2 rows of stitches, loosening the top thread can help with this. Also ironing can help it to sit flatter. You can back stitch to secure starts and ends and just sew like normal! It really is that easy!! You just have to keep in mind that you can only ever sew with the right side of the fabric up because the underside doesn't look the same as the top.

So that's it! Using a double needle is super easy and can make a big difference when hemming knits or just to add more interest and detail to woven fabrics. I hope that you won't feel so scared to try this now!

My Self Cover Buttons Order Arrived!!

A little while ago, I stumbled across a tutorial on how to make fabric covered button hair clips. Even since then I've been so curious to try making some because they looked heaps easier than I thought they would be. Well...I finally got around to putting an order in and all my bits and pieces arrived! Here's what I got!

What you can see above is:

• E6000 glue. I got the 29ml tube and it seems huge!! You save money overall if you buy the larger tubes (it comes in 110ml, 29ml and 5.32ml) but I really think it's going to take me awhile to use this up! It's apparently the best stuff for this kind of thing as it is still flexible when it dries and super strong. I was a bit shocked though to read on the back of the tube that it is known to cause cancer so I will be taking every precaution when I use this stuff including a face mask, gloves and using it outside.
• A set of tools for all sizes of cover buttons (figured I may as well get them all and save money as I would like to use these for various things in the future). These are the newer clear tools so you can line up your fabric more easily if there is a picture you want to centre.
• 2 prong alligator clips
• Bobby pins with glue pads on the end
• Round magnets to make covered button magnets
• Sterling silver plated surgical steel earring studs and backs with glue pads
• Packs of covered buttons in 3 different sizes...12ml, 15ml & 19ml
• Lots of brightly coloured snap clips with glue pads. I just LOVE the pretty colours. I bought a sampler pack of the 21 different colours available so it included silver and other similar colours too. If I buy any more in the future, I think I'll stick to buying the bright, coloured clips only because you can buy individual colours.
• A fabric cover button snap clip kit with everything you need to make 10 clips plus instructions

I ordered all this stuff from a great Australian store called Jackobindi. They have all kinds of stuff to do with self cover buttons. A little tip too...it TOTALLY pays to like their Facebook page cause they have amazing sales and offers on there! I got a couple of free bags of buttons with my order which was awesome!!

I thought I'd show you a close up of the kit. It's a really fantastic way to learn how to make the hair clips and they have a few different kits for different covered button projects. All I needed to add to the kit above was a pair of flat nosed pliers and a hot glue gun (the glue gun was optional...you can make them without it). 

With all my goodies, I'm planning to make some fridge magnets, earrings, and a few different styles of hair clips. I can't wait to see how they turn out!! I'll have to show you what I make and let you know how it all went. :-)

(((Please note: I don't have any affiliation with Jackobindi...I just think they are a cool cover button store that I would like to share with you...and they're Australian which is even better because it's so hard to find good Australian craft stores!!)))

Clover Quick Yo Yo Makers!

Last week, I finally got some of the Clover quick yo yo makers! I have had a heap of fun trying them out and thought I'd let you know what they are like. I bought the extra small circle, small circle, small butterfly and small flower. I got them from Amazon.com because they worked out to be almost half the price of buying them in store or online in Australia. It's ridiculous how cheap stuff is from the US!

Here is a pic of the circles. The extra small one is really tiny!! After trying these out, I think I'd like the medium size too. I've made the standard circle yo yo's before with only a cardboard circle template and it worked ok but these quick yo yo makers make it much less fiddly for the circles. I still found it a little fiddly to get it sitting the way I wanted at the end but I thought the stitching part was much easier...and the cute little guides just make it fun! ;-) My first few turned out pretty well but I felt like it took me a few to really be happy with them and get the hang of it. I think it's definitely easier to make them in larger sizes. You also have to be careful to get the right tension when pulling it tight.

Below are the butterfly and flower. With the flower and butterfly, you actually sew 2 separate sections that gather up separately. They take a little more work but turn out quite cute! I did find it hard to get them to sit in a really good shape, especially the butterfly, but I guess it all depends how picky you are. I will definitely have to work on getting the butterfly to be a bit more even though. I pulled one side tighter than the other. I also found the instructions a bit confusing when it came to pulling up the gathering stitches for the butterfly but managed to figure it out ok.

Each yo yo maker comes with detailed instructions....VERY detailed instructions! What you actually need to do is quite simple once you figure it out but it takes careful explanation to learn it that first time. I found the circle instructions were pretty easy and clear to follow and I just needed to go a bit slower with the flower and butterfly. After you do them all once or twice, you don't really need to follow the instructions though...unless you don't make them too often and forget. I'm sure I'll forget how to do the flower and butterfly! Here's a couple of pics to give you an idea of how detailed the instructions are.

The butterfly instructions.

The circle instructions.

I'm hoping to use mine on some hair clips with covered buttons and maybe on some gifts for friend's children. :-) My first order of supplies to make covered buttons is in the mail!! I can't wait for it to arrive!

Backs of the yo yo's, butterfly and flower.

If you would like to watch a video on how to use these, I've found one that show it well. This lady shows you pretty much every step and takes her time. When you're making them yourself, you can do it more quickly. She does finish it off a little different to the instructions but it works. :-)

Welcome!!

Welcome to Stitches and Love!

I'm so excited to finally get organised and be able to share all the fun things I make for my boys, myself and family and friends. I have previously been blogging over at Make It For The Boys but have decided to gather everything here in the one place. Please bare with me while I finish importing posts and get to work on posts about all the crafty things I have been dying to share over the last few months. You will find that this welcome post will end up in the middle of old and new posts due to importing my posts from Make It For The Boys that are older than this one. I hope it isn't too confusing and I will add links to important things like tutorials that you can find at the top of the page. :-)

Life has been very busy with our new little addition to the family but things are starting to settle down now that Max (my eldest) has started kindy and I finally have some decent chunks of regular time to myself!! I am very lucky that Sam sleeps quite well so having Max at kindy is as good as a child free day. :-) I am finally starting to get everything organised so that I can get into more sewing so I am hoping to have quite a few sewing and craft projects to share with you this year as well as dozens of wonderful tutorials I have discovered in some awesome blogs.

I look forward to sharing with you and always love to hear from you so don't hesitate to leave a comment!

Simple Bottle Maze by A Bit of This & A Bit of That

I came across this great idea for a simple bottle maze today. I think it would be great for Max! It's super easy to make and inexpensive...and you get to recycle too! You could do so many variations and difficulty levels. I know I loved mazes as a kid and would have thought this was awesome. You could even get the kids to help you make it! Will have to try it out before Max starts kindy in a couple of weeks. Eeek!

Anyway, go and take a look!

"A Bit Of This and A Bit Of That: amazing bottle maze....: Ebi-kun LOVES mazes so I whipped up this to keep him busy for a while...."

Christmas Stockings for Our Family

My mum started a tradition of making us all our own Christmas stocking for our first Christmas. As kids, we always thought our stocking were the most awesome Christmas stockings around and we still all love them! When I got married, I decided to continue the tradition and made my husband a stocking for our first married Christmas. I did the same for Max's first Christmas and today, I've just finished Sam's Christmas stocking just in time for his first Christmas. I'm so relieved I got it done in time. Life is a whole lot busier with 2 little boys to look after. :-)

They are lined with batting in between the fabric and lining and the names are embroidered in chain stitch. The edges of the cuffs are done in satin stitch and clipped close to the stitching. I never really intended it but they've all ended up in a shade of red!! I think they look really nice all together and our little stocking family is complete. :-)

Christmas stocking are something that you can make for anyone including those special boys in your life. I used an old McCall's pattern for these stockings so I can't post a pattern online but here's a few links to some great stocking tutorials if you'd like to make some yourself.

- Tip Junkie's list of stocking tutorials
- Fabric Worm's stocking tutorial
- Prudent Baby's stocking tutorial
- Sew Like My Mum's stocking tutorial

That should be enough to get you going and give you some great ideas. Happy stocking sewing!!

***UPDATE: Here is a pic of the pattern I used just in case anyone is interested in tracking it down. You can often find it available online second hand. :-)***

Ideas for Boy's Themes

If you're new to making things for boys, it can seem daunting and quite tricky coming up with themes or ideas of things to make. To help you out, I've brainstormed a heap of themes that boys love. You should find something there to get you started. :-) I've avoided anything branded as I think some of the best homemade stuff comes from our own imagination or at the very least, is based around a timeless theme, not the most popular TV show. Feel free to make any suggestions of extra themes that could be added to the list! I know I'll be adding more as I think of them. :-)


Submarines
Planes
Cars
Trucks
Motorbikes

Trains

Bikes & Scooters

Skateboards

Ships

Construction vehicles
Town & Roads

Jungle

Under the Sea
The Beach

Desert

Wild West, cowboys, indians

Arctic/Antarctic animals and landscape

Snow

The Zoo

Pirates
Castles
Knights
Dragons
Robots
Aliens
OuterSpace
Cave Men

Bugs
Farm Animals
African Animals
Birds
Fish
Reptiles
Mammals
Pets
Dinosaurs

Explorers
Detectives
Armed Forces - Army, Navy, Airforce
Firemen/Fire trucks
Policemen/Police Cars
Ambulance Officers/Ambulances
Doctor
Roman Soldiers
Inventors
Detectives
Secret Agent/Spies
Kings & Queens

Sports (football, soccer, hockey, basketball, cricket, athletics etc)
Cooking/Food

Music/Instruments

Building/Tools

Computers

Computer games & consoles