The Very Easy Guide to Using Your Sewing Machine

Thousands of people buy a basic sewing machine and never get it out of its box, lacking the confidence to get started and daunted by off-putting manuals. This book will change all that. Sewing machine guru and popular author, Wendy Gardiner, has written a user-friendly guide to using a basic sewing machine, with the elements you would get in a manual, naming parts, showing how to thread up, checking stitching and tension etc, followed by a section building skills as you start using a sewing machine. This is followed by 9 great projects: a Drawstring Bag, an Appliquéd Pillow, a Clutch Bag, a Pillow with Piping, Tab-Top Curtains, a Quilted Pot Holder, a Scarf, Apron and a Decorated Towel, all specially designed to build skills such as sewing seams, buttonhole sewing, adding zips, blind hems, quilting, free machine embroidery, using twin needles and making pleats, trims and pockets. There is a glossary of all the important terms, and an excellent trouble-shooting guide.

This book is a joint project with Toyota, using all their sewing machine expertise, but all the techniques and projects can be done with other sewing machines
High profile author Wendy Gardiner has edited major sewing magazines and websites and written 12 craft and sewing titles, and brings all her know-how to this essential guide
Builds from all the useful parts of a sewing machine manual into a tutorial of basic skills, and then on into 9 beautiful projects to build skills and confidence

Book Contents

Foreword 2
Introduction 6
Your sewing machine 8
Tools and equipment 14
Winding and fitting the bobbin 24
Upper threading 26
Checking stitching and tension 28
Trying out your machine stitches 30
Using your machine 32
Straight stitch 34
Drawstring Bags 36
Zigzag stitch 40
Heart-Felt Appliqué Pillow 44
Buttonholes 48
Party Clutch Bag 52
Zips and piping 56
Perfectly Piped Pillow 62
Hemming ways 66
Café Curtain 68
Quilting 74
Quilted Pot Holder 76
Free motion 82
Swirls and Flowers Scarf 86
Twin needles 90
Retro Apron 94
Bobbin work 102
Decorated Guest Towel 104
Advanced techniques 108
Tucks 110
Trims 112
Couching 114
Patch Pockets 116
Useful information 118
Troubleshooting 119
Glossary 124
Index 127