September is National Sewing Month!! It started in 1982 in recognition of the importance of home sewing to our Nation. Not that we should need it but anytime an excuse comes up to sew, I take it. However, more and more things seem to pile up and crowd out any extra time to do the things we enjoy. If you enjoy sewing or have been wanting to learn how to sew, make it happen in September as part of National Sewing Month.
Even better—how about making something without sewing a single stitch? There are many blogs and videos that show you how to make useful items out of those extra t-shirts taking up space. Many of the projects require only scissors, no sewing necessary. Examples are scarves, jewelry, head bands, rugs, totebags and much more. Generation-T.com has an abundance of ideas for t-shirt projects.
The other clothing item you can get a lot of reuse out of are those outgrown or unwearable sweaters. Some ideas for transforming a sweater into useful times include hats, mittens, doggy wearables, slippers and totebags. What else can your imagination come up with?
Any of these project do not have to include spending a lot of money on a sewing machine or tools. To keep costs low, ask your family and friends to borrow sewing tools or even a machine. And, I would even bet they will offer you fabric too! Yard sales and want ads are also ways to find reasonably priced items. I would suggest requesting to test the sewing machine before paying for it and finding out later it has some major problems. Take someone who has sewing experience with you to provide advice and help make the decision.
If you are looking for free projects, sewing trends or any related additional sewing resources, the American Sewing Guild (www.asg.org) and sewing.org are excellent. Threads Magazine (www.threadsmagazine.com) is another favorite of mine. Even without a subscription, they have great information available. Books through your local library are great resources as well.
I am always willing to offer sewing classes. If you are interested, please contact me.
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Additional information is available by contacting Janell at the Chouteau County Extension Office at 622-3036, janellb@montana.edu or in the Chouteau County Courthouse at 1308 Franklin St in Fort Benton.
Montana State University, US Department of Agriculture and Montana Counties Cooperating. MSU Extension is an equal opportunity/affirmative action provider of educational outreach.
