School’s Out, Sewing’s In

Wanted to share some of the fun we’ve been having with summer classes–

Mom and daughter team at Eagle Creek Sophia Trench Coat class

Our first summer sewing class for budding sewists was Jr. Project Runway-see end of post for more classes for girls and boys.
Maxi’s, maxi’s…


…and more maxi’s

Pretty lace trim

Serger Club Cami

Another version of the camp and flat locking

Summer Sewing for Kids

Beginners-for those new to sewing
Projects will be the same for all sessions of Beginners

Dates, Times, Locations for Beginners
Tuesday-Friday, July 30-August 2, 10:30-12:30
Make It Sew, Chanhassen
Tuesday, August 20 and Wednesday, August 21, 10:30-2:30
Bloomington Hancock Fabrics

Advanced Beginners-for those who have sewn but not worked much with patterns
Projects are different for all classes so students may take 1, 2 or 3 sessions

Dates, Times, Locations for Advanced Beginners
Monday through Thursday, June 24-27, 2:00-4:00 OR
Friday, July 30-August 2, 2:00-4:00
Make It Sew, Chanhassen: call 952-767-0701 to register
Tuesday, August 20 and Wednesday, August 21, 10:30-2:30
Bloomington Hancock Fabrics

Junior Project Runway-for those ready to tackle a project of their own choosing
with guidance from instructors

Dates, Times, Locations for Junior Project Runway
-Thursday, July 18, 1:30-4:30
-Tuesday, August 27, 1:30-4:30
Make It Sew, Chanhassen

For questions or more info:
http://www.materialgirlsewing.com
Call: 952-201-3863
Email: materialgirlsewing@gmail.com

To register for classes:
Make It Sew-952-767-0701
Bloomington Hancock Fabrics: call 952-201-3863
or register online at materialgirlsewing.com

Check out the listings under “Classes” above and come join us!

May Fashion Sewing Club Posted

Club sheets and garment photos have been posted. Thanks to all who attended. Show and Tell was awesome and inspiring. We’ve started having people walk out without paying so if you could make sure you do, that would be appreciated.

Tomorrow (Thursday) is Serger Club at Make It Sew. We have enough people to do both the 10:30 and 6:00 session. You can still sign up by calling the store-952-767-0701. The project is a zippered pouch using flat lock and optional coverstitch.

I’m a big fan of magnet pincushions so I thought the wrist magnet pincushions would be handy. Bottom line is: save your money!
I started with the Dritz version. The velcro rubbed against my skin so I took the velcro off and glued it to the top of my notions box.


Then I tried the slap bracelet version from Nancy’s Notions. The magnet kept sliding to the underside of my wrist so I put a piece of tape on the bracelet. But then I had to remember to take the bracelet off every time I tried on a garment. Many pins fell on the floor before I remembered!

Last but not least was the Gypsy Pin Pal. Sixteen powerful magnets that make it fold up like an accordion and propel any pins across the floor. It also took two hands to hold it open and velcro to my wrist. I haven’t figured out a second use for this one.

I’m going back to my magnet pin dishes next to each machine even tho they seem to be someplace else every time I need one 😛

Spool Racers

The past few months we’ve been collecting empty thread spools to be used by school kids for spool races. Here is a thank you and an explanation of how they are used. We are done collecting spools for now 🙂

Good Morning,

Thank you for your generous donation of thread spools. Here are a few pictures of some 6th graders with their creations, a close up of a spool racer, and a picture of a race. The blurry spots on the table are the spool racers – ha! This is a great end of the year engineering activity to reinforce the concepts of potential and kinetic energy. The kids were very excited to take their racers home and had plans to continue their explorations. Nice to know they’ll have something other than video games to keep them entertained on that first rainy summer day. Thanks again for your support!

Cheri Warmka
Science Specialist
Harriet Bishop Elementary



Thursday’s Club Meeting

Well, there was no snow on the ground yesterday! That’s quite an accomplishment when April’s Club was cancelled because of a snow storm. We had a great turnout for both am and pm meetings. And Show and Tell was awesome! The evening group had 100% participation. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank Cathy and Mary (Make It Sew and Treadle owners) for contributing the door prizes as that’s part of the fun. Speaking of door prizes, last month’s winning appeared this month as a finished tee! That’s a pretty quick turnaround.

Julia brought an American Girl doll dress that was machine embroidered. Several people wanted to know the specific name of the software (it traces the pattern pieces on the fabric while in the hoop). It’s Custom Keepsakes by Kathy Harrison. Julia has two collections-Gals and Dolls and Christening 2. Go to http://www.customkeepsakes.com

Amy, under the tutelage of Annette, made this beautiful First Communion dress for her daughter. Lots of dreams came true when she wore the dress. Amy’s husband said that sewing is the cheapest hobby because it took so long to complete. Who wants to burst that bubble?

And if you are mourning the end of this season’s Project Runway or if you never liked the fashion aspect/snarkiness of the show, check out the Great British Sewing Bee. Real life models, real sewing skills, construction, construction, construction (they even illustrate the process in drawings) and no adverts! You have to watch it on You Tube at this point but it was really easy and entertaining. Thanks for the tip, Cheri.

Looking forward to Club meetings at Treadle-

Two New Magazines


Just in case you want to find a sunny window and read a good magazine, the latest issue of Sew News and a special Fitting edition of Threads just hit the newsstands and have the Material Girls’ stamp of approval-our humble opinion, of course! And we are discriminating 🙂

Cute blouse idea, bag by Linda Lee,sashiko, pretty blouse details and then the ever relevant, sought after fit information. If only reading could make it sew (so)!

This and That

I collect tidbits here and there and must make room for new items before the old are forgotten-

We’ll be at Treadle on Saturday morning (10:30) for Fashion Sewing Club AND Beyond Basic Sergery (2-4:30). Great chance to further your serger skills, get inspired to sew for warmer weather-all in one trip!! Call the store to register-651-698-9690 for the serger class. Just show up for Fashion Sewing Club-no need to register-first time free!


Debbie and I both made spring jackets and while I was perusing Joann’s the other day I came across parachute cord which would make a great cording option for a jacket.


I solved the problem of putting a longer garment on my duct tape double! I had my garment on the double and sitting on a table but the hem was too long. I could hang it from a clothes pole but then I remembered I had a plant stand in the basement-bingo! It is skinny enough for a garment to hang freely and is about the right height. If you don’t have a duct tape double, we are wrapping at Treadle on Monday, April 29 and there are still 3 spots left.

Thursday am Fashion Sewing Club Cancelled

Old Man Winter is messing with us today! The reports of the roads sound pretty awful-Debbie would have to leave now to get to Chanhassen on time and we don’t expect any of you to spend that much time on the road. So we will be sewing by ourselves this morning instead of meeting at Make It Sew.

We will watch the weather and decide whether or not to meet tonight.

If you don’t see anything here at 2 pm we WILL meet tonight at Make It Sew. I’m keeping my fingers crossed 🙂

We still have Saturday morning at Treadle if that would work for you.

April Fashion Sewing Club and Classes

Opposites attract.

Debbie and I taught sewing to two groups of girls during their spring breaks these past two weeks. Wonderful girls, budding skills and lots of fun. At one point, Debbie looked over and noticed our personal collections of embroidery flosses that we had brought along for teaching hand sewing. She pointed out how much they reflected our personalities and I laughed till I had tears running down my face. Maybe it was the fact that it was also Debbie’s birthday or the last day of our classes, who knows-but it made us both laugh for a long time. Debbie and I truly enjoy each other’s company and we bring different strengths (and quirks) to the partnership. Is it obvious to you whose floss is whose?

Since we are getting so much rain, maybe it’s a good time to do some sewing before the good weather gets here. We have quite a few classes on the schedule for April. We are also teaching sewing and serger classes at Hancock in Southtown beginning this month. We will offer the classes through First Sewing which is the sewing machine store that took over the Bernina space but you will also be able to sign up on our website (give me a day or two to get the changes made). Since there are two of us to teach and we want to ensure enough students in each class, we are offering two classes in the same time slot. We also want to clarify that Sewing With a Pattern is a guided sewing time open to all levels so if you are an experienced sewist stuck on an certain technique or have never used a pattern, that would be your class to be repeated as often as necessary.

Hope you can join us for Fashion Sewing Club or a class!

April Fashion Sewing Club Dates:
Tuesday, April 9, 10:30 @Treadle Yard Goods
Thursday, April 11, 10:30 or 6:30 @ Make It Sew
Saturday, April 13, 10:30 @ Treadle Yard Goods

April Classes:
Streamlined Blouse, Tuesday, April 9 and 16, 2:00-4:00 @ TYG
Basic Serger, Tuesday, April 9, 6:00-8:00 @ MIS
Knit Skirts, Thursday, April 11, 2:00-4:00 @MIS
Beyond Basic Sergery, Saturday, April 13, 2:00-4:00 @TYG
*New at Hancock, Monday, April 15:
Learn To Sew 10:00-12:00
Basic Serger 10:00-12:00
Beyond Basic Serger, 2-4:30
Sewing With a Pattern 2-4:30
Learn to Sew 6-8
Basic Serger 6-8
Designer Tee, April 16, 10:00-1:00, @ TYG
Serger Club (napkins), Thursday, April 18, 10:30-12:00 and 6:00-8:00 @ MIS
Sew With A Pattern, Thursday, April 18, 2:00-4:30 @ MIS
Beyond Basic Serger, Wednesday, April 24, 10:30-1:00 @TYG
Eternal Sergery, (Knit Skirt) Wednesday, April 24, 2:00-4:30 @ TYG
Crash Course/Learn to Sew, Thursday, April 24, 10:30-1:00 and 6:00-8:30 @ MIS
Advanced Serger, Thursday, April 25, 2:00-4:30 @ MIS
Basic Serger, Saturday, April 27, 10:30-12:30 @ MIS
Project Runway Kids, Saturday, April 27,1:00-4:00, @ MIS
Duct Tape Double, Monday, April 29, 10:00-4:00 @ TYG

Spring Break Sewing Camp

February and March Club Meetings

Garment photos and Fashion Sewing Club sheets have been posted for both February and March. Both months were much fun and we want to thank all of you that attend. Show and Tell is always inspirational and just in case you need a little something to get you going, here are a few highlights-

Marge sports Claire’s original coat design for Hearts for Fashion show

Center for Pattern Design Spiral Top

The cutest undies a grandma could make!
Pattern by that *darn* cat

And, nope, I’m not making toddler underwear-yet 🙂

Happy Easter and happy spring sewing!