Sew, a needle pulling thread…

Woohoo, it’s finally here!!!! The first official ‘Sew’ post for Sew, Cook, Create! And my oh my does it feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel good!

B and I purchased my machine back in July after the ‘end of financial year’ sales. We paid a lovely $150 for this baby, even though it retails for $329 AUD. Isn’t she gorgeous?! We haven’t come up with a name for her yet, so if you have any geeky/sci-fi ideas, post them below.

And now, the machine in all her shiny glory…

And when you open up her little compartment, you find these neat little items.
These sets are standard with most machine these days.

I told you she was lovely. My machine is a Brother XL-2620. It came with an instruction manual and a nifty DVD that I’ve yet to watch. One of the many things I love about Brother is that they have a tonne of info and FAQ’s specific to each machine on their site.

Right, so here is some quick advice for the sewing newbies out there.

Buying your machine.
Don’t just go for the most expensive, shiniest machine in the store. Evaluate your wants and needs and go from there. I mean sure, it’s nice to dream about owning this $9000 machine, but does it match your skill level? Is there a more affordable machine that can do everything you need it too? Talk to your local craft store worker and get their advice. Shop around and don’t forget to check out your local department stores, as you can often pay higher prices at craft/sewing speciality stores for machines. My Aunty Ann, who is an incredible quilter (amongst other things), uses an old Brother machine that her mother used to use when she was younger. Keep your machine well maintained and it’ll last you a very long time.

Your sewing essentials.

• Once you’ve got your machine, the first thing you need to do is read the manual. Your manual will tell you which parts and accessories are best for your machine.
• Machine oil (to lube up the machine) – Depending on the make/year of your machine, you may have to oil your machine regularly. Some machines come pre-oiled, and only need to be oiled when being serviced. Speaking of, my sister recommends getting your machine serviced every 2 years for regular sewers.
• Unpicker (also known as a seam remover).
• Hand sewing needles – you can pick these up from most supermarkets cheaper than you would from your craft store.
• Dressmaking shears – These are expensive for what is essentially a pair of speciality scissors, but good ones are worth it. It’s so much nicer on your fabric, too.
• Small pair of craft scissors – for cutting threads, felt etc. You want to use your shears (see above) purely for fabric, so a little pair of craft scissors is necessary for all the other work.
• Tape measure.
• A quilter’s ruler – Worth it to pick up, if on sale.
• Tailor’s chalk – for putting temporary marks on fabric, tracing patterns, etc.
• Extra bobbins – once you get into sewing and have several projects going on, you’ll want to make sure you have plenty of these babies around and wound.
• Gutermann thread – probably one of the best all purpose threads. Don’t get tricked into buying cheaper threads as they will break and fluff up.
• A sewing box – to hold all your accessories and threads.

If you want to see the rest of the photos as I unpack my machine visit our Flickr page. Be warned, some of them are extremely SILLY!
And feel free to visit our facebook page. We’re even on twitter!

A special thanks to my Big sis Em who helped me with a lot of info in this post. Love you big time 🙂

That’s all for now, but I already have several ideas and thoughts I want to share with you in the next sewing post. Stay threaded tuned.

Next sewing post coming soon…