Sew Cool Accessories!

Hello Friends!

The first sewing camp, Sew Cool Accessories, was held last week at Pulitzer & Panetta Creative Studio in Huntington. pulitzerandpanetta.com We had a fun time!

Our project was to make the incredibly cute Keep your Cool Smartphone case from the Straight Stitch Society, designed by the fabulous Liesl Gibson. You can see her amazingness at http://oliverands.com/

First order of business was to learn to thread a needle! Most of our campers had experience sewing, but we started by reviewing a few basic stitches. The running stitch, which is a basic sewing stitch of going up and down. We focused on trying to make the stitches even in length and evenly spaced on our hoops. Then we moved on to backstitch, which as it sounds, you move your needle forward from underneath (back of the fabric) and then when on the top (right side) of the fabric, you go backwards, putting your needle in the previous stitch ends, thereby connecting the stitches. You have a continuous row of stitches. This is a strong stitch, which is useful when strength is called for or for reenforcing corners or seams.

Then came the hard decision! To make an ice pop or the adorable ice cream sandwich. I was sure that ice pops would win, but in the end, most decided to make ice cream sandwiches. I couldn't decide, so I made both!

The project let the girls really express themselves with colors and stitches. They had a lot of fun with it!

The project offered so many learning opportunities. The phone holder is lined with a batting material, which none of the students had worked with before. It is also lined and has an adorable pocket inside, perfect for stashing some money and ID with your phone all in one place. The keychain is an added bonus!

The last step was setting in a snap, which required the use of a craft hammer, which was quite cathartic! We had so much fun with that, I forgot to take pictures!

This was a lot of sewing in a short time, but look at the amazing results! And those smiles! Now the phones can stay safe and the girls have total bragging rights that they made it themselves! 

And while I taught them the finer points of pattern reading and lining up notches, I got an education in current pop music. Which was perfect, so I knew which songs I should download onto my new iPhone.

  

Thanks girls!!

As a bonus, they took a look at some of my knits for Fall I am currently working and pronounced them cool. They will be at Rexer-Parkes come the end of Sept. This fall, we will have more than just knits for babies, but super warm and cozy hats and accessories for children and adults!!

I am also planning on attending the Greenport Maritime Festival and possibly the Huntington Fall Festival. An Etsy store is on the horizon...

Stay Tuned!!

This coming week, August 12th, I am teaching Fantastical Friends at the studio, where kids ages 6 and up can make their own stuffed friends. They can be cute or ferocious! Whatever they come up with! There is still room available if you know a child that might want to join us.

Here are some pics of a penguin being made. Our little camper has a sweet penguin already and wanted to make him a friend! So cute!

Sewing isn't just for girls. Jut this past week, I taught a friend of my son's how to make a stuffed friend and he decided to make a rancor, (you may know it as that big gigantic beast that chases after Luke Skywalker after Jabba the Hut drops him into the pit in the Star Wars series). It was the first time he tried his hand at sewing. Isn't is cool?! 

Create on!

Amazing news - Sewing Camp for kids! Read on!!

Hello Dear Readers!

I am excited to announce that I will be teaching a sewing camp at the Pulitzer and Panetta Creative Studio in Huntington. The camp will be on Monday July 29th through Thurs Aug 1st, with two sessions- one for older sewers and one for all ages over 6.

Here are the details of the camps, which I will run and have Miss Naomi, a fantastic sewing assistant with me to ensure that everyone has the attention they need throughout the class!

You can call the studio up & register anytime! The sooner the better for all who want to take it so we can make sure we can run the class! We need to have four students to run each class, but I am sure we can get that!

Lots of other camps are offered too, so check them out. My children have been going to classes and camps at the Creative Studio for years and love them!

The Pulitzer and Panetta Creative Studio was voted Patch's #1 Summer Camp in 2012!So excited to be a part of them now! http://www.pulitzerandpanetta.com/pulitzerandpanetta.com/HOME.html

Here is the official camp descriptions:

Sew Cool Accessories $245  + $25 materials fee  Monday July 29th through Thurs Aug 1st 9:30am-12:30pm

Ages 8+

This camp is all about making something with your hands that is uniquely your own!  KIds will explore the three major types of fabrications, learn how they are made, how to select the right one for your project and how work with them. Different stitch types will be taught hands-on as they will learn how use a pattern to create an adorable iPod/Phone holder uniquely their own. Kids should have plenty of time to make some other chic accessories.

No prior sewing experience needed. Material Fee includes copy of The Keep your Cool Smartphone Case pattern for each student, plus all the designer fabrics and trims needed for the projects.

We will be using the adorable Keep Your Cool Smartphone Case by the incredibly talented Liesl Gibson of Oliver and S. http://oliverands.com/ Kids can use it to store their iPod's, smart phones and hold their keys.

This pattern is perfect because it allows each child to express themselves creatively while learning sew many different sewing techniques in one project!

The studio has a lunch club available from 12:30 to 1pm for students who want to stay the day! After lunch will be:

Make Your Own Stuffed Creature 1pm-3:30pm  $225 + $10 materials fee
Ages 6+

Have your ever looked at a stuffed toy and thought “I can do that?” Now you can! Design your own “Ugly Doll” type creature from sketch to stuffing! Kids will learn different types of stitches, allowing us to embroider & “paint” with thread and stitching. With each project we will work on cutting, pinning and hand sewing skills. No prior sewing experience needed.

This is an example of two of the projects made by these children in the Make Your Own Stuffed Creature Class. Kids draw a sketch. From there, I taught them how to make a pattern from their design. We talked about what colors to use, they learned different stitch types and chose which ones they wanted where. They cut out the pieces and sewed them. To finish it off, they learned the blanket stitch to sew them together and stuffed it.

Look at their faces! They were so proud to hold their finished projects and show their classmates!

A recent study showed the benefits of children sewing: Sewing’s multitude of choices—color selection, fabric options, design and proportion—help stimulate creative thinking skills. Completing a project fosters a sense of accomplishment. Hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills develop through the use of the hands, and exercises in following directions along with problem solving skills are all added benefits of sewing experiences for children.

Plus, it's SUPER FUN! : )

If you have any questions, please let me know! Hope your little ones can join us!

Sew On!