Trends & designs in sewing kits

What's New, Nov/Dec 1999

THE LOVE FOR SEWING kits is stronger than ever. Kits. remain the ultimate method for introducing basic sewing techniques. For many young people, their initial successes lead them on to try further fun sewing kit projects. We have already witnessed our students learning about measurement, fabric cutting and sewing machine basics. So what's new in the world of sewing kits for the 1999-2000? Here are the latest offerings.

COCONUT GEAR

Now you can purchase flannel boxer kits for 50% off the usual price by ordering in multiples of ten and pay only $5.50 per kit including shipping and handling. Coconut Gear offers an assortment of plaid flannel boxer shorts that include a multiple sized pattern, easy-to-follow instructions, fabric, elastic, a care label and thread. Students will love their finished boxer shorts and appreciate the low cost of this all-inclusive project kit. Easy instructions for both beginner and experienced sewers.

Brand New For the New School Year: New fabric designs for flannel boxers.

COCONUT GEAR, RO. Box 441, Medford, MN 55049; 507/4511000.

HAAN CRAFTS

Among Haan Crafts' new stuffed animal kits are dogs, bears, a bunny, cat, gorilla, hedgehog, stingray and a smiley character. By popular demand, students will find a ladybug, bee and lizard kits. Other new projects include licensed basketballs with embroidered badges. Haan adds pants and locker caddy kits to its Fun Print line, plus appealing new "Out of Africa" and "Universe" prints. New pillows and totes made from pre-printed panels include patterns and instructions to make additional projects from the extra fabric.

Brand New For the New School Year: Stuffed animals, and licensed basketballs.

HAAN CRAFTS, 506 E. Second St., Otterbein, IN 47970; 800/4226548. www.haan.com

LAMA

Kick off your shoes and relax in LAMA's comfortable, easy-to-sew pants. This year, students can order the kits in 21 fabrics including soft, yarn-dyed flannels, camouflage and cotton prints. In addition to some old favorites, they have added Geckos, Turtles, Ladybugs, Racing Flags, Flower Power and Kids' World to their fabric selection. Other popular clothing kits include shorts, hooded pullovers, tank tops and cotton tops.

Brand New For the New School Year: Football and basketball print fleece for mittens, caps, pullover hats and stadium blankets.

LAMA, RO. Box 681, Mt. Airy, MD 21771; 800/876-8870. www.lamasewingkits.com

PINEAPPLE APPEAL

From tie-dye to plaid, boxer shorts to hats, Pineapple Appeal offers students sewing kit designs that are not only comfortable, but also stylish. Create a wardrobe with kits that come in cotton, flannel, fleece and twill. Warm up with a hat kit for beginners or dress in a hooded sweatshirt design for more advanced sewers. Flannel boxer kits and autograph Flanimal kits have been particularly popular with young sewers. Flanimal kits include lizards, frogs, turtles, fish, platypus, lobster, ladybug and crab.

Brand New For the New School Year. Flannel boxer kits.

PINEAPPLE APPEAL, P.O. Box 197, Owatonna, MN 55060; 800/ 321-3041.

www.pineappleappeal.com

SEW KITS BY LIDA

Easy, precut kits excite beginner sewers. Pillows that express students' interests are popular, especially the Traffic Pillows. An addition to the pillow line, Traffic Pillows are colorful and easy to sew. These designs include a traffic light, stop sign, detour sign, one way and do not enter signs. The Locker Pockets are very useful for better organization at home or at school. Locker Pockets come in bright colors, in easy-to-sew fabric and with a special hanger for hanging it anywhere.

Brand New For the New School Year: Traffic pillows.

SEW KITS BY LIDA, INC., RO. Box 500, Harleton, TX 75651; 800/882-5487.

STANWOOD

Stanwood has cuddly synthetic fur hand sewing kits for sewers of all experience levels. The starter level consists of quick and easy kits to introduce hand sewing, including animals, sport items and comical characters. The intermediate level has larger kits such as a Giant Panda, Jungle Snake, dogs & cats and teddy bears. The advanced level offers challenging kits including Giant Polar Bear, Grizzly Bear, Parrot and long-time favorite - Mike Monkey. The more experienced the sewer, the more challenging the sewing kit.

Brand New For the New School Year: Ferret, Puppets, Teddy Bears.

STANWOOD PRODUCTS, INC., 56 Harvester Ave., RO. Box 465, Batavia, NY 14021; 800/782-6966.

www.stanwoodkits.com.

TO SEW

To Sew offers projects that students can quickly and easily complete ranging in colors, shapes and themes. Students will love the brand new projects that include a Yo-Yo, Figure Skates, Hockey Skates and a Worm. Select from holiday projects, pumpkins and snowmen; sports themes, boxing gloves and running shoes; animal projects, snakes and monkeys or a design that suits a specific interest or hobby, computers and guitars. Tb Sew now features navy blue fleece to compliment school uniforms.

Brand New For the New School Year: Yo-Yo, Figure Skates, Hockey Skate and Worm

TO SEW, INC., P.O. Box 974, Malibu, CA 90265; 800/824-5278.