You are Invited to a Learn to Sew Party!

Welcome to the First Annual Megatastic World Famous Ma Moose Learn to Sew Party.

I just made that up. Sorry I'm just really excited. That's not really a thing.

But...

Let's have a "Learn to Sew Party" anyways. Sound fun? (This is where you say "Yes!")

I often get asked to teach someone to sew or hear the sentiment that it would be nice if they were good at sewing.

Here's the thing, if I can do it, so can you.

I had zero desire to learn how to sew until my oldest kids were toddlers. I somehow started reading sewing blogs when I searched online for hairbow tutorials. It was an instant obsession. And I mean obsession, I pretty much dream in sewing now.

So now, here I am. I am not going to teach you everything I know, nor am I going to reinvent the wheel here. There are lots of good sewing blogs and tutorials available already and I will share some helpful blogs during our series.

What I will do is create an opportunity for anyone willing to get their sewing feet wet, ask questions, have fun and just go for it. It's really the best way to start. Don't worry about messing up. My seam ripper is my best friend, it's all good.

This party is for you if you:

-have never sewn before and are interested in giving it the good old college try.

-have sewn before, but want to jump back in and need a little push.

-enjoy sewing already, want to try some new projects and help others fall in love with the obession, lifestyle hobby themselves.

-are basically a sewing guru and are willing to hang around to help answer questions and pass on knowledge to beginners (and to me too, I am always willing to gain more sewing knowledge!)

Basically the only requirement is that you are willing to use a sewing machine and want to party with me.

There will be two parts to the series.

Part 1:
We will learn basic knowledge, such as threading our machines, sewing basic stitches, different types of fabric... Projects will include: hairbows, baby paper, and a basic skirt. If you have sewn before, this might be a little boring for you, but please feel free to help answer questions or offer encouragement to those starting out.

Part 2:
Moving on to my bread and butter, and the reason I started sewing in the first place: apparel sewing. We will talk about how to read patterns and general clothing construction. Projects will include basic pants, peasant dresses, leggings, and t-shirts.

Phew, that's a lot to cover! We will go relatively slow, but I don't want to drag this out forever. I need to send you out into the wild wonderful world of sewing at some point! My goal is to cover part 1 over two weeks and when we get to part two, I will slow down and cover one new type of clothing each week.

Here is the tentative schedule for Part 1:

By participating in this party, you do not have to sew every project we discuss. If you find another project you want to work on during this series that you find helpful, that's fine too. Any tutorial or sewing project you find online or in a project book or wherever is fair game. The point is to jump right in.

However, I would love to see what you are working on and be here to answer any questions you may have. I have created a Flickr group where you can upload photos of projects you made during this series. Feel free to join the group here. This will be a fun way to also see what other people have made too, and comment on each other's projects.

I have also made an Instagram account if you would rather share with hashtags. I'll be honest, I have never used Instagram before. I think I get it, but we will see. If you want to share projects there, use the hashtag #mamoosesewingparty. (DidIdothatright?) My instagram name is mamoosehandmade.

Since this is my first series of this nature, this will allow me to see if I prefer sharing with a Flickr group or with Instagram. Share your photos of your projects whichever way you prefer, and hopefully next time I do something like this, I will have a better clue of what I am doing.

I'm very excited to kick this thing off, and hopefully make more sewing friends along the way. If for some really strange incomprehensible reason you decide you hate sewing, I promise to still be your friend. :)

If you are planning on sewing along, either as an eager newbie or experienced seamstress to keep us in line, please comment below. I would love to see who is partying with me!

Check back tomorrow for a list of sewing tools you will need. (Hint: one is a seam ripper.)