As makers, most of us have the best intentions of getting our Christmas projects done early. These tips will help keep your embroidery, sewing, and quilting gifts on schedule!
School starts in about six weeks. That means that Christmas sewing should probably already be on your machine. Are you ready?
Service Your Machine
Has your machine had its well-baby check? The earlier, the better since dealers traditionally get very busy and back-logged around Halloween and Christmas. At the very least, give it a good cleaning. You can floss your machine and clean the bobbin area, especially the bobbin tension spring. Change the needle, too.
Get Organized and Stock Up
For me, the number one thing is getting your embroidery room organized. When finding what you need is an effort, creating is not only inefficient, it’s just not fun anymore.
Unless you know what you have on hand, you don’t know what you need. No/thing is worse than being stopped mid-project because you are out of a necessary supply.
When everything is where it belongs, replace thread, stabilizer, needles, and anything else you need as supply runs low. By giving yourself a bit of time, you may be able to take advantage of sales.
Decide on Projects
Bonnie has a great Holiday Project Planner that you can download here. Each page identifies the project, who it is for, the date it is needed, and has a spot at the top for either a picture of the project or fabric swatches. She puts them in a three-ring binder and keeps it in her car for reference when shopping. See how Bonnie makes a schedule and creates realistic expectations here.
Make Project Kits
After she has decided on her projects, Bonnie makes kits for each one using jumbo 2.5 gallon zip bags. She includes fabrics and anything else she will need for the project, right down to thread.
When she has time, all she has to do is unzip the bag and everything is right there for that particular project. Maybe it is only 5, 10, or 15 minutes, but it is long enough to wind a couple of bobbins or cut fabric to size. Put works in progress back in the bag, ready for the next session.
How do you get ready for the season of making?
Debbie Henry
Sew Inspired by Bonnie
Debbie Henry - July 28, 2024
Great strategy, Karla!
Debbie Henry - July 28, 2024
Judy, the best way is to take an owner’s class from the dealer where you bought your machine. If that isn’t possible, try searching for YouTube videos for your machine type. There are a lot of tutorials out there!
Debbie Henry - July 28, 2024
Thank you, Kim!
Kim Whitehorn - July 23, 2024
Thank you for all the tips you provide. They are always helpful and bagging the projects is a wonderful idea.
Judy Hayton - July 23, 2024
How can I learn to embroidery a pattern I`ve had for about 1 Year??
Karĺa Woody - July 23, 2024
Start early make a Christmas list then I shop for what I need then set set in for long days of sewing