I don’t know how long I was on Reddit… more than 8 years because it was before my first kid was born. Probably at least ten. Not signing in to check though.

Something I always feel especially glad to have is those tweezers with the bent ends on them. I use them to thread the machine (especially pulling through from behind the needle), pull up bobbin thread, turn edges under close to the needle, grab stuff that fell behind the desk…. I can’t think of all their uses right now.

This year so far, the best thing was learning to confidently sew buttonholes with my machine. I’m finally at the point where I can just put the foot on, get the settings right, and go; without doing a test run every time.

I wouldn’t have known that was bedding.

I bought some super expensive 100% linen the other day that I fell in love with, printed with these watercolour looking flowers. When I showed my SO he said it looked like bed sheets and I was so mad at him. >.>

It looks awesome! And the gathering turned out perfectly!

Offended? I’m glad it isn’t just me, too! And guess what I found today:

You can totally get your machine to do this for you.

I’m pretty sure I’ve done this by accident by getting one of the threads twisted around the presser foot. I can’t quite figure out what she’s doing but this looks like a game changer if I can get it right.

Edit: I only had to watch it a second time to figure out what she’s doing… just pulling the tail through the zigzag. Clever. But I’m still pretty sure I’ve done something similar by accident with a straight stitch. Haha.

I wonder if you could sew some zigzag trim (rick rack) really securely into the seam, to give a spiky effect? That would probably be more baby-safe than the yarn hair, and might look cute.

https://www.sewingparts.co.uk/machines/brother-110.html

This site claims to have a foot pedal for that model. I wonder if it would have the same connector if the machines look that similar. You never know.

Although maybe a slightly different model. Yours looks more flat on the top and the top left thread guide is a little different.

From what I can search it looks like a Brother Riviera 110 maybe?

https://becsew.com/products/brother-riviera-110-instruction-manual-download

Manual available here it looks like. Photo matches.

I’m doing this today!

When I did the first gathered tier on my Coquelicot Skirt I had so much trouble! I broke threads twice and it was such slow going.

I called my relative who’s a pro and she said “it shouldn’t be that hard. Make sure you’re using good thread.”

And she was right. The thread I was using was fuzzy and some no-name brand stuff that was given to me. I switched to a polyester Gütermann thread which she suggested (anything smooth and strong and new-ish should be good). Today has been SO MUCH EASIER.

I also reduced the tension from 4 to 2 on my machine which I think helped.

I love it! Thanks for taking the time! I’ll change it next time I’m at the PC.

Wish we had lots of submissions and lots of people voting but maybe we’ll get there eventually. The community is young yet. :)

Here is the pattern I used for the skirt. I cut the pattern at the shortening line and then did a 1:2 gather for the tier which I cut at 14” (I’m 40” from waist to floor). I want to do one more tier but have to find the fabric!

Awesome!

Wait this means I have to add silnylon to my stash, doesn’t it?

Thanks!

I haven’t, thanks for the link!

Yes the gusset works really well for movement. If you’re making use of every scrap it’s also good for longer thinner pieces that might not have another use. I think it’d look pretty cool in a contrasting colour too. (And if I had to make a garment bigger I might run a strip right from the end of the sleeve to the hem)

I have a family member who runs sewing workshops and she keeps all the scraps (serger threads, fabric bits too tiny to sew with) for filling living room poufs. It works really well for a dense and compact stuffing and apparently they’re nice to sit on.

She encourages students to make the pouf first then add sewing scraps to it as they work on other projects.

Here is the link for the YouTube tutorial I used for the sizing and basic shape of the tunic.

I think my sleeves and armscyes were too small because I went with an ungathered sleeve.