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No more Masks!

We started making masks in mid-March of 2020 and by Thanksgiving 2020, we had delivered our last mask order. During that time period, we made beautiful masks in many different quilting fabrics (and in some polyesters as well) and it was quite a ride while it lasted! When the government mandated that everyone needed to wear a mask… there were none to be found in stores! We leapt in to the void and developed masks for children, teens and adults as well as masks for folks with large heads and masks with filters or filter pockets for extra safety. Developing our different designs and sewing our various modified mask designs kept my sewing teachers and me busy for over 8 months during the pandemic.

It kept the Create! Sewing Studio business going when there was no other income, which helped to pay the bills and was great for our mental health, but ultimately it could not last. It took a while for the big corporations to gear up their mask-making machines but they finally did and we were force to shut our operation down for lack of orders.

It was sad to see it end, but we had started teaching our sewing lessons remotely via zoom by then, and we transitioned back into teaching and put away our mask making supplies. Our masks travelled from our home base in Acton, MA to as far away as Washington, DC, Colorado and South Florida, but most were picked up by our local customers from the front porch. Thank you to all of you who ordered masks from us!

Masks, Masks, Masks

“I started Create! Sewing Studio in 2008 after I graduated from Simmons School of Management. On March 13, 2020, we cancelled all sewing classes and lessons and shut our doors due to Covid 19 restrictions. One week later Create! Sewing Studio’s “Masks by Becca” was up and running with 5 of us, myself plus 4 of my sewing teachers working remotely making masks as fast as we could. In a little over 3 weeks we sold 300 plus masks to folks who had no idea where to turn to protect themselves.”  –Becca Szetela, owner and senior sewing instructor, Create!® Sewing Studio, Acton, MA

 

Who would have guessed on March 14, 2020, the day after we closed the sewing studio that we would become so interested in masks and mask making…

 

 

Important Fabric Concepts for Sewing Students (revised)

Washing your fabric

ALL fabric should be washed before sewing with the exception of fleece and “dry clean only”  fabric. But no need to use laundry soap! All of our beginner projects are made with woven cotton (Flannel is a type of woven cotton.). Wash your cotton fabric in cold water WITH NO DETERGENT and dry in the dryer. DO NOT USE perfumed fabric softeners or dryer sheets!

  1. Reasons for washing new fabric 
    1. Removes coatings/fabric finishes
    2. Fabric can shrink up to 3% when washed the first time.
    3. Some new fabrics “bleed” when washed the first time because of dyes used.
  2. No perfume products! When the fabric is ironed they become an irritant to nose and lungs. If you have respiratory allergies, it makes it hard to breathe.  We have seen kids having a hard time breathing. It’s scary to see a child struggle to breathe if they are near the ironing board when the fragrance is intensified by ironing.
  3. Fabric softeners leave a residue on the fabric which gets on the iron, sewing machine and your needle. There is no need for these chemicals to be added to your fabric. They were developed to deal with body odor. This is NEW fabric 🙂
Diagonals and solids  
  • SOLID COLORS: People flip fabric and sew the wrong pieces together. You have to mark right side and wrong side  and sometimes it still gets sewn wrong.diagonal stripesone way pattern
  • DIAGONAL STRIPE: Almost impossible to match the stripes. This never looks good on a beginner project and is frustrating.
  • ONE-WAY DESIGNS  Buy an extra half yard to a yard of fabric so you can lay it out with everything is facing the right way! Example: picture of cup-cakes
Info on the end of the fabric bolt

When you shop for fabric, look at the end of the bolt. There is so much information!end of bolt

Fabric Name, Fiber Content, Fabric Width, Fabric Care (i.e. washing) instructions, Designer, Price (per yard)

Fiber Content is important. 100% cotton is the easiest fabric to start learning to sew with. Fabric width is also important. The wider the fabric, the more fabric you get per yard. Fabric Care (washing) instructions: If it says dry clean only, it is not a great choice for a beginner project of lounge pants!

That’s all I can think of for now. I hope this clarifies concepts we have tried to explain in the past. If you have any questions or comments feel free to call, text or email me. I love to hear from you! 

Rebecca Linson Szetela
Instructor/Owner
Create!® Sewing Studio, 274 Great Road, Acton, MA 01720
rebecca@createsew.com
508-320-5475

Important Fabric Concepts for Sewing Students

I have not written a blog post in a while, but I feel compelled now as there are some subjects that come up constantly in our classes that I think are important. This blog post is dedicated our present sewing students and to future sewing students as well.

Wash your fabric before sewing! With the exception of the fleece that we use for stuffies and fabric that says “dry clean only” all fabric should be washed before sewing. Our beginner projects are all done on some type of woven cotton. Flannel, by the way is woven cotton as well. When washing your cotton fabric, it should be in cold water with detergent (preferably unscented!) and dried in the dryer. PLEASE do not use perfumed fabric softeners or dryer sheets. There are several reasons for this.

  1. When the fabric is ironed, these scents and  perfumes heat up and can be a real irritant to your nose and lungs. If you have any allergies affecting your respiratory system, it can make it hard to breathe. This is a real issue in our sewing classroom as we have seen in our classes some children have a hard time breathing being around any kind of fragrance…it’s scary to see a child struggle to breathe if she or he is near the ironing board when the fragrance is intensified by ironing.
  2. Fabric softeners can leave a residue on the fabric which gets on the iron, sewing machine and your needle.
  3. In addition, there is no need for all these chemicals being added to your fabric. All that perfumed stuff was developed to deal with covering up body odor. This is NEW fabric!
  4. Reasons for washing new fabric:
    1. Gets any coating/fabric finish off the fabric.
    2. Gets the “shrink out” as fabric can shrink up to 3% when washed for the first time.
    3. In addition, some new fabrics “bleed” when they are washed for the first time because of the dyes used. After the first washing, you should be able to wash your new garment with your other clothes once it is sewn.

 

Diagonal Stripes, Directional Fabric & Solids

This topic seems to be misunderstood by many of our parents when buying fabric for their children’s lessons. Adult sewing students also seem to have a hard time with this concept. When we send out information on buying fabric for a class, we ask the following:

 

diagonal stripesone way pattern

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  1. NO SOLID COLORS. The problem with solid colors is if you don’t carefully mark right side and wrong side, people end up flipping the fabric around and sewing the wrong pieces together. What a mess! We have seen this on lounge pants (both kids and adults have made this mistake) and it is a disaster!
  2. NO DIAGONAL STRIPES! Diagonal stripes are almost impossible to lay out with a pattern and match the stripes. This never looks good on a beginner project and is VERY frustrating!
  3. ONE-WAY DESIGNS there are some very cute fabrics with a one-way design, so just buy an extra half yard to a yard of fabric. That way we have enough fabric to lay it out so everything is facing the right way! Example: picture of cup-cakes… if you turn it one way the cupcakes face up, but if you turn it another way they are upside down and if you turn it sideways…well, the cupcakes look pretty odd!

 

Info on the end of the fabric bolt

When you shop for fabric, look at the end of the bolt and you will find all kinds of information. There is so much information on the end of the bolt! Look at the picture below. end of bolt

  1. Fabric Name (Nice to know if you want to buy it again at a later date, but not terribly important.)
  2. Fiber Content (This is VERY important!)
  3. Fabric Width (This is important.)
  4. Care (read: washing) instructions
  5. Designer (sometimes included, but not always)
  6. Price (per yard)

Number 2 Fiber Content is SUPER important. We ask for 100% cotton because it is the easiest and most forgiving of fabrics to start learning to sew with.

Number 3 Fabric Width is also important. The narrowest fabric is usually 42-43″ wide. Some fabrics are actually narrower (especially some specialty quilting cottons and batik cottons) and some are as wide as 58-60″ wide. The wider the fabric, the more fabric you get per yard.

Number 4 Fabric Care (washing) instructions is SUPER important. If it says dry clean only, it is not a great choice for a beginner project of lounge pants that need to get washed often!

That’s all I can think of for now. I hope this clarifies concepts we have tried to explain in the past. If you have any questions or comments feel free to email me. I love to hear from you! 

Very sincerely,

Rebecca Szetela
Create!® Sewing Studio
rebecca@createsew.com

Meet Rebecca: Entrepreneur, Seamstress, and Educator

I recently had the opportunity to speak with Rebecca Szetela for Learnivore’s “Most Interesting People in the World” series. She is both the owner and sewing instructor in the fast-paced, creative environment she has developed at Create! Sewing Studio in Acton, MA.

To read the rest of the story, click on the link below:

 

https://learnivore.com/users/learnivorearts/posts/meet-rebecca-entrepreneur-seamstress-and-educator

Ask Becca… Sew Simple! “repurposing”

Ask Becca… Sew Simple!

IMG_1321

Q: What are the basics of “repurposing”!

A: First you need to know where to find clothing for repurposing. Your own closet plus thrift shops & ebay are all good places to find vintage fashion!

Let’s start with your own closet. Do you have clothing that feels out of fashion or dowdy? Could it use a make-over? Think about how you could re-work what you already have. 

Next…thrift shops! Shop regularly as the selection is always changing. Found something you like that fits your budget? Buy it now, it may not be there later! Try things on. Wear clothing you can slip an item over to see if it fits. Look for quality fabrics. 100% wool sweaters can be a find, but watch out for furs or leather. Furs can be dried out & brittle or need expensive cleaning. It may sound funny, but smell your items. Don’t bring mold & mildew home!

Ebay is another great place to look for vintage fashions. You can find amazing items, but check sizing carefully. Actual measurements are helpful! Also, the price may be great, but remember to add shipping charges to your final cost!

Repurposing is a lot of fun, good for the environment & can expand your wardrobe in a totally unique way!

 

 

New + “Repurposed” = Great Style!
This sewing student’s outfit is both a new item plus a repurposed item. Her fabulous “made by me”
sweatshirt is all new marbled purple fleece, but her gorgeous jeans are repurposed! 

For the repurposing project, she took an old pair of jeans & used decorative thread &
embroidery 
stitches to stitch the stripes around the legs. She made this combination
of top & pants 
into a super cool & updated look!

Loving Create!® Sewing Studio…

I am so inspired this week!

Sunday We produced our first ever Create!® Sewing Studio Fashion Show at St. Matthews UMC here in Acton.

Tuesday Business coach Deb Laflamme taught a group of local business owners (including yours truly) all about the new stuff coming down the pike on Facebook.

Thursday I actually wrote, designed and sent out an email  newsletter for the first time in a year!

All week long! Our sewing students get more and more creative with their sewing projects; having fun while they learn. As my husband would say “It’s all good!”

So… enjoy the Spring weather, but don’t forget to also get Create!-ive! We are glad our students love learning here, because we love what we do!

Fashion Show Models waiting for their cue.Photo Credit: Crystal Gonsalves
Fashion Show Models waiting for their cue.
Photo Credit: Crystal Gonsalves

We are now on Instagram!

Follow “createsewbecca” to see our images.

Creative Inspiration

Young sewing students gather around the dressmaker form to get their picture taken!

I was thinking today about why I do what I do. My dear friend, Lorrie visited today from California with her daughter, Katie and I gave them a tour of our sewing classroom. As I showed them some of the projects our sewing students are working on we talked about creativity (Her daughter also has a creative background.) and sewing and what is important to us.

The thing that started me in this business of teaching people to sew is my passion for creating. It’s why I named our sewing school Create! and it’s what gets me excited every day.

Watching our sewing students literally leap into the classroom (the kids) to get to their sewing classes and seeing the intense joy as they learn to sew wonderful clothing and bags and stuffed animal and (for the adults) incredible valances and home decorating projects as well is a daily inspiration.

As we expand our classes and offer more and more of what our students want, it’s good to remember why we do what we do. It’s the love of creative expression and it’s a blast!

Pig’s Toes!!!

What are Pig’s Toes?  Here at Create!® Sewing Studio, we have renamed a part of the sewing machine. “Pig’s Toes” is the name we use for the Presser Foot.

The reason for this is simple. We do it for safety reasons!

The first time I told a student to put her Presser Foot down and she “pressed her foot down” I knew we had a problem! Then when I found a source that called the Presser Foot “Pig’s Toes”, I hoped that this would solve our problem.

Find me a girl who refers to her feet as pig’s toes!

After over 5 years of teaching kids, teens and adults how to sew…I think we made the right choice! What do you think?

Photo credit: http://eofdreams.com/pig.html