Charity Sewalong: July 2018

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adorable-animal-bulldog.jpgThe Animal Welfare League (AWL) is a national non-profit organisation caring for companion animals across Australia.

AWL works with local councils, state government, rescue groups and the community to improve the outcomes of stray and surrendered pets. They are nationally recognised for their unique and innovative programs, initiatives and re-homing strategies.

In this month’s sewalong we are asking you to stitch, embroider or design your most creative dog or cat bandana, which the AWL can give away with new adopted pets or sell in their stores to raise money for much-needed supplies.

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Sewalong Brief

Get creative by embroidering, appliqueing or decorating your dog or cat bandannas with sewing trims like the one below.

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Create a Sewing Machine Reference Guide

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If you’re a new or regular sewing/embroidery machine user one of the best things you can do to enhance your sewing projects is to create a sewing machine reference guide booklet. It’s simple, easy and will teach you all about your machine.

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Creating a sewing machine reference guide will show you in detail what your machine is capable of and enable you to make a better use of your machine stitches and settings. Even if you’ve owned a machine for years, you’ll be pleasantly surprised by what this booklet will teach you about your machine. Plus, it makes it super easy to reference when creating those beautiful sewing projects.

What you need to create your booklet

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Charity sewalong: June 2018

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Magic Moments – Grandies

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Grandies was born to put a smile on the faces of a group of people often forgotten by society. This program reaches across Australia, focusing on the elderly, the grandmas and grandpas who may either be at home alone or in hostels or nursing homes with no family nearby to support them. Their teams of volunteers take time out of their busy schedules to give time back to these Grand Oldies (Grandies) to make them feel cared for, honoured and valued as important members of our community.

Sewalong brief

We would like to support Grandies by creating knit beanies and mittens, which will provide comfort and warmth this winter to a number of elderly men and women Australia-wide.

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If you would like to get involved simply download the free sewing patterns below.

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Create a ‘shabby chic’ apron

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This project will teach you how to decorate an apron using lace, fabric, your machine decorative stitches and applique techniques.

To create this project you can use any style sewing machine. I have used a Brother NV110 sewing machine.

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What you will need

Apron

You can sew your own basic apron using the pattern from our May Charity Sewalong. I have purchased this apron from a Daiso Japanese store for only $2.80. You may also be able to find aprons like this from $2 stores across Australia.

Materials

  • Download the Applique Shape Patterns (PDF, 400KB)
  • Hot Melt Web for the applique
  • Range of matching fat quarters for the applique
  • Lace style 1 – 2 x width (plus 2 inches) of the bottom of your apron and 1 x the top width (plus 2 inches).
  • Lace style 2 – 1 x width (plus 2 inches) of the top of your apron and 1 x the width of the pocket (plus 2 inches)
  • Lace style 3 – 1 x width of your pocket (plus 2 inches)
  • Fabric – 6 inches x (2 x width (plus 2 inches) of the bottom of your apron and 1 x the top width (plus 2 inches))

How to create your apron

First you need to get together all of your fabric, lace and applique pieces. Start cutting out your applique shapes from the fat quarters. You can choose any colours for these applique shapes but I would suggest you choose a white fabric for the circle and then style your cupcake shapes differently.

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Create simple applique using Embrilliance software

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In this project you’ll learn how to create a simple star applique design using Embrilliance StitchArtist software then apply it onto a garment. This project is perfect for 4″ x 4″ (100mm x 100mm) embroidery hoops, using machines like the Brother NV180 sewing & embroidery machine.

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We’ve used BurdaStyle Vintage Nina Jacket sewing pattern to create a jacket using sweatshirt material

Creating the applique design

  1. Open Embrilliance and select the hoop size for your machine. This design will only be small, therefore you can select the 4″ x 4″ (100mm x 100mm) hoop.
  2. Hit the Program Preference icon and select your hoop size from the preferences.Preferences.jpg Continue reading →

Charity sewalong: May 2018

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blog-pic-apron-headway-adp-sewalongHeadway ADP

An acquired brain injury, like a stroke or traumatic injury can impact any of us at any time. These injuries often cause symptoms like seizure, verbal impairment and physical disability and can affect everything from our decision-making and memory tasks to our organisational skills and behaviour.

This month’s feature charity is Headway ADP, whose specialised services help people with an acquired brain injury redevelop the skills and functions they need to reintegrate into the community. During May you can help brighten up their cooking class activities with these fun aprons for clients to use.

SEWALONG BRIEF

Download the 1 yard magic apron pattern (PDF) from SewCanShe website. Sew in fabric of your choice.

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Charity sewalong: April 2018

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Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital

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Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital (AZWH) is one of the busiest and largest wildlife hospitals in the world.

Their dedicated wildlife veterinarians, vet nurses and volunteers work around the clock to rescue, rehabilitate and release sick, injured, orphaned and displaced animals and native
wildlife.

This month you can help the hospital and their animals by sewing these vibrantly-themed cage covers in various sizes! The covers attach onto the doors of the hospital’s bird and reptile cages to create a private environment where animals can get the rest and recovery they need.

SEWALONG BRIEF

Sizes and fabrics

The hospital has asked for bird and reptile cage covers in numerous sizes listed below. All covers you make will be used and greatly valued. Covers are rotated and washed regularly in warm water for disinfection so make sure your material is pre-washed and shrunk before you measure and sew.

Reptile cages

  • Use fish or desert print fabric OR sandy desert coloured fabric
  • Sizes (width x height)
    • 570mm x 350mm
    • 1190mm x 290mm
    • 1140mm x 460mm
    • 320mm x 740mm
    • 880mm x 380mm.

Bird cages

  • Use bird, trees or plant-print fabric  OR  some green fabric with a bright coloured embroidery thread
  • Sizes (width x height)
    • 490mm x 605mm
    • 850mm x 760mm
    • 1150mm x 760mm
    • 1050mm x 1230mm (upright)
    • 820mm x 270mm (make 2 curtains)
    • 1370mm x 980mm.

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