Survival sewing: Sewing it fast

What's New, Nov/Dec 1999 by Meyrich, Elissa, Green, Deborah

SEWING IS A CRAFT. IT CAN bring about great feelings of accomplishment. As we all know, there are some fundamental sewing skills needed to do basic tasks we face in daily living. We call this Sewing for the 21st Century: Survival Sewing. These include sewing skills such as sewing on a button, putting up a hem, replacing a zipper or mending a tear.

Survival Sewing lessons can include the following activities:

Students bring in an article of their own clothing, which needs a button sewn onto it. Demonstrate how useful and easy it is to know how to replace a button.

Show how to cut off those way too long legs of jeans that are dragging through the streets and teach them how to hem.

Teach them to applique embroidery trims on their jeans to create their own personal looks. By using the zigzag stitch on the sewing machine, it is very easy to applique embroidery patches onto jeans. This also can be done with simple hand sewing skills as well.

Assign some simple introductory projects using the sewing machine. Once they master threading the machine, sewing a hem and finishing a seam, students can move onto other projects.

The following Tote Bag Project makes a good introductory sewing machine project. Students can use many types of fabrics and trim their bags with buttons, braid, sequins and other notions.

If the student has chosen a lightweight fabric, you might want to mention that iron-on fusible interfacing will make the fabric for the bag much sturdier.

Step 1 -The Pattern

On the drawing paper, draw a rectangle 11 inches wide and 14 inches high for the bag. The strap pattern should be 18 inches long by 2 inches wide so you can fold and press the strap in half.

Step-2 The Layout

Fold the fabric width-wise so that the selvages are on either side and there is a fold running between them. Place the 11-inch side of the bag pattern on the fold of the fabric. Pin. Place the 18 inch side of the strap pattern along the selvage of your fabric. Pin. Cut the bag and the two straps. Make sure to put a notch on the side seams of the bag one and half inchesup from the fold line. This is the mark for your sew line to create the corners of your bag.

Step 3 - The Side Seams

From the top of the bag, pin, then sew down the side seams. At the bottom of the bag where the notches were placed, fold out your corners so they form a triangular shape. Sew across to create the bottom part of the triangle. Sew through the notches on the side seam from one end to the other. The point of your triangle is the bottom end of your bag.

Step 4 - The Top and the Straps At the top of your bag, fold in

one and half inches and press down. (For a clean finish fold a half-inch of the raw edge under and press again.) Stitch close to the lower edge. Now prepare the straps by folding them in half with right sides together and pressing them. Sew down the outer edge of the straps. Turn right sides out and press again.

Step 5 -Strap Placement

Place one strap on each side of the tote bag so that each end of the strap is approximately five inches apart from center. Pin the end of the straps to the inside of the bag and sew each end of the straps down.

Once students have mastered the basics, there is no telling how far they can go with Survival Sewing. By exposing young people to the interesting art forms of sewing, such as accessories, fashion sewing and quilting, you will give them venues for their creative expression and self-satisfaction.

Elissa Meyrich and Deborah Green operate Sew Fast, Sew Easy, a store that provides sewing instruction and easy-to-do projects located in New York City, NY