This is a super simple pattern for a spool pin doily. If you have basic crochet skills you probably don't need these step by step instructions, but for those who have never crocheted in the round it might be helpful.
If you've never crocheted in the round, remember that you have to join each round to the top of the first stitch of that round and that first stitch will actually be a chain that is equal to the first stitch in the round.
For example: If the first stitch in the round is a dc (as in this pattern) the first "stitch" is a chain 3 which counts as a dc stitch. When you join that round, you'll join with a sl st in the third chain stitch.
After joining, you'll need to sl st into the starting place for your next round as in Round Two below where you sl st into the ch 2 space of the round below.
START WITH A LOOP
ROUND ONE
ROUND TWO
ROUND THREE
FINISH OFF
This can certainly be made fancier, but this gives a good basic starting pattern that is just the right size for a spool pin doily.
Just for kicks, I drew a chart of the pattern. For more complicated work, I follow charts like this
Just a short post to show some more "jelly roll bags." By that I mean that the exteriors are entirely made of jelly roll strips (the interiors are made from yardage.)
I made these three items and STILL have more than half the jelly roll bundle. I don't know how I'll use it all up!
The middle bag is a pattern from Yoan Sewing Studio, the other two I just made up on my own.
I used odd mismatched leftover strips on this one
BTW, Yoan has tons of cute bag patterns, and some of them are similar to the ones I make myself. But since she has already done the "work" for me, I enjoy using her patterns once in a while. And her videos on You Tube are a joy to watch.
This is my new "secret weapon." My Singer 222 free arm Featherweight. With a small bag like this, that tiny little free arm is a game changer. I top stitched around this lickety-split.
Sewing bag together at final seam - this would be much more difficult on a flat bed or even a free arm with a bigger diameter than the Featherweight. (If you watch Yoan do it in the video, you can see how fiddly it is to do on a flat bed machine.)
I never really wanted a white Featherweight until one just "happened" to come my way.
I tend to go through phases in sewing machines:
The Black Straight Stitching Singer phase (15-91, 201, 99, 221, 127, 301),
The Slant-O-Matic phase (401, 403, 404, 500, 503),
The Style-O-Matic/Fashion Mate phase (237, 328, 338)
The Touch & Sew phase (600, 600e, 603.)
The Swing Needle Phase (a couple of 319s)
The oddball model here or there - an Atlas, an Elna, a Wizard
Countless Kenmore 158 machines
(Recently, I've begun clearing the decks and I've sold all except a handful of my all time favorites.)
But a White Featherweight has never been on my radar until I started going through my current phase which is compact size machines.
Already having the black 221, the Genie 354 and the Mini Kennie 1050, I kind of wanted to round out the collection with a white Featherweight just to see what all the hype is about.
I'll make this short and sweet, it is VERY pretty. But it isn't of the same quality as a black Featherweight. It does not sew quite as nicely - and you'll have to take my word for that, it's like driving a car, you just "feel" it. There is a kind of cheaper feeling to the whole machine which isn't to say at ALL that it isn't high quality, but it's a step down from the original 221.
Verdict: the "WOW" factor is the looks - this is one really pretty machine. It sews fine, nothing wrong with it, but it just doesn't send me.
It's been a while since I featured a new machine here. Mostly I've been selling them, not adding them. I'm trying to downsize. This post shows my "skeleton crew" of machines that made the purge.
But then I added just one more because no collection is totally complete without THIS ONE. Singer Featherweight 222K
These aren't readily available in the U.S., they were never sold here so when you find one it came in from Canada or the U.K. where they were made. Many of them have the 220v motors which need to be replaced, rewound for 110v, or used with a step down transformer.
Happily, this one is from Canada so it has a 110v motor and no revisions were needed.
Basically the appeal is twofold, the main thing being this: a tubular free arm. There were few, if any, Singers of that era that had a free arm (the Singer 320 was one of them, but I don't know if that came before or after this model) so for the most part you had to get a European branded machine (Bernina, for example) if you wanted a free arm in the 1950s.
I've never done this, but I think if you had to sew a badge on a sleeve, you could do it really easily with this tiny little free arm! Ditto if you had to add patches or darns on the knees of jeans
It has already come in handy for sewing bags - the tiny free arm is PERFECT for this.
Also, this model, unlike a 221 Featherweight, has a feed dog drop that is actually quick and easy to accomplish. No fiddly knob underneath the machine like the other black Singers, but a super easy lever to go up and down.
This machine came equipped with a free motion foot, and it truly does beautiful FM work. I do NOT have skills at free motion, so disregard my clumsy attempts to doodle a design and focus instead on how smoothly and beautifully it stitches. Of course you couldn't get an entire quilt in there, but you could do FM quilting on small projects in addition to darning and embroidery.
So by my own set of rules, there is no reason to have both a 222 and a 221. Every machine has to have a unique purpose, remember? But since I made the rule, I can also bend the rule. They are both beautiful, dontcha think?
Singer 221 (1950) and Singer 222 (1954)
And the first thing I sewed on the 222 was a dust cover for her case. That is pretty much the first project I sew on every new machine. PATTERN HERE
Also made the hokey, but popular mini Dresden plate spool pin doily. I felt compelled because it seems expected of every Featherweight owner. (I didn't buy the pattern, but just figured it out.)
Trying to switch up my sewing a little bit and tackle a new challenge. I went on a brief but furious quilting frenzy recently and churned out four quilts in a couple of months (none of them intricate or exceptional, but good enough for me to say I made quilts!)
I've made bags galore, some of which I've posted here. I've made doll clothes (ditto.). I've sewed costumes, dresses, and blouses. Then - seeking a new challenge - I decided to sew JEANS!
I started with denim shorts, so I could learn some of the techniques on a smaller project. Basically it's all the same thing, except for the length, after all.
Didn't do in seam pockets, I'll save that technique for another project.
For this project I used my beloved Kenmore 1760 which is about the most rugged machine I have. And it even did the decorative stitching on the back pockets.
The only thing this machine can't do well is a buttonhole, and I had some trouble with this (long story, I'll skip it for now). I got the job done, after several passes and it looks kind of chewed up but it is what it is.
The main new thing I learned was how to sew in a fly. The directions with my pattern didn't explain this well, and I even had trouble after looking up several tutorials. I am practically dyslexic when it comes to Right and Left especially when my instructions sometimes said to do something "on the right side" meaning right versus wrong as opposed to right versus left.
After ripping it out several times when it didn't come out "right" (meaning correct) I finally figured it out for myself but I STILL don't think I got it right because my lap is on the wrong side. Sigh...
There was a little struggle sewing down the belt loops at the end - very last step and I almost lost it! But when I folded up a scrap piece of denim and sewed across that and onto the end of the belt loop it worked perfectly. Yes, I had to go back and pick out the stitches on the leader fabric, but that wasn't too bad for the result I got.
And there it is - not perfect, but okay I guess. I could call this a "muslin" in the sense that it was a practice project. I may or may not graduate into making a full pair of jeans right away, but at least I know I have learned how to do the most difficult construction techniques and I know my Kenmore can handle it.
I change it up often, moving things around to suit me, but this is the latest arrangement.
I have downsized my collection of machines - no really! Yes, I have pared it down to the ones I really use and no more. (Okay, I don't really USE my Featherweight 221, but that is the one "collector's item" I allow myself - well that and the Singer 127 treadle which is a display piece elsewhere in the house.)
And okay, I don't really NEED both a Kenmore 1050 and a Singer Genie, but I am a sucker for "miniature" items. Those are both the coolest small size sewing machines in their neat molded cases and I can't resist...after all they don't take up much room. They're so CUTE!
Kenmore 1050, Singer Genie 354
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I keep both the Kenmore 1760 and Kenmore 1774 because they each bring some different applications to the party:
Kenmore 1774, Kenmore 1760
The 1774 does a chain stitch - only machine I have that does it now that I sold the Touch & Sew 600e. It is also my FMQ machine. I like a vertical bobbin machine for FM work which rules out the 201 and 401. I can't do it on my 1760 because I have never been able to find an embroidery (hopping) foot for SHS.
The 1760 is my only free arm machine, and my Go-To machine for about 90% of my sewing - hence the position of "honor" in my space.
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The 201 and 401 don't cancel each other out, either. Both are rotary hook drop in bobbin machines, so technically the 401 usurps the 201, all else being equal. But even though I don't do a lot of quilting, I have found that piecing is a joy on the 201 with its narrow feed dogs and dedicated straight stitch.
Singer 401, Singer 201
The 401 is my only slant shank machine and it is just about the Best Overall sewing machine Singer ever made. The only thing it "does" that is unique for me is that it takes the Singer Deluxe Monogrammer which is about the coolest thing ever. Kenmore has a monogrammer attachment as well, but it doesn't make letters as beautiful as the Singer version.
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The Kenmore 16641 serger doesn't have to justify its existence, of course. While it's not technically "vintage" like all the other machines (I don't think any home serger falls into the "vintage" category at this point) it is an older model that I bought on Shop Goodwill for $60 and it is a most excellent machine. I've gotten my money's worth 10x over on that one.
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If anyone is counting, I think that tops out at NINE machines. Well, and the 301 I have at my Mom's house which I may bring back home later... so we can call it an even TEN.
In a previous post I compared the Kenmore 1050 "Mini Kennie" to a Featherweight. But this Kenmore machine really has more in common with another, lesser known, Singer model - the Genie (aka the Starlet in Europe.)
I'm not sure if this is technically accurate, but I'd refer to these as 3/4 machines as opposed to the Featherweight which is a 1/2 size machine. That - and zigzag capabilities, plus the case configuration - gives these two machines a greater basis for comparison. Also, they are both 1970s-era machines.
They both have clever plastic molded cases that conform to the machine (rather than a box such as you use to carry a Featherweight.) They weigh less than 20 lbs each.
These machines have a few similar features such as a retractable spool pin, low shank snap-on feet, and built in accessory storage.
There a number of differences, though.
In most ways, the Kenmore is the better built machine. However, you may be surprised how much quieter the Genie sews. It is also worth noting that your work is closer to your line of vision on the Genie.
The Kenmore makes an unpleasant whine and I'm not sure if it is something specific to this machine.
The stitch quality is more or less the same
(I could stand to adjust the tension on the Kenmore - left sample)
The Kenmore with its presser foot pressure adjustment, reverse stretch stitches, and built-in buttonhole stitch covers more bases for garment sewing. However, the Genie stitches pretty nice buttonholes with the Singer Professional Buttonholer, so it can still hold its own.
A Genie has the added feature of its funky '70s flower decor which might not make it a better sewing machine, but gives it an undeniable "oomph" factor.
