Please tell me I can do this

[ltlmrs]

When I was a little girl (eight or nine), my mother taught me how to baste and back stitch, gave me some scraps and I made a little pot holder quilt. I stopped sewing after that, except for minor tears that needed mending or buttons reattached.

I have a Singer 301A with the manual and in working condition but it needs to be cleaned. I've never used a sewing machine, let alone cleaned one.

I don't know how to read a pattern, let alone transfer it to fabric, cut it up and sew an outfit. None of the books I've looked at actually make sense to me.

I don't have money for classes or a professional cleaning of the machine. I do have a couple of books that are way too confusing. People who know how to sew and have promised me that they will teach me never have the time to actually do so (not blaming them, I know how it is!).

But, I want to sew. I want to make pretty outfits for Ladybug. I want to make some aprons and skirts for me. I want to be able to make dolls and stuffed animals and stuff for our home.

I'm afraid that I can't do it. It just seems too overwhelming, too much to learn.

Anybody been in the same boat? Where did you start?

[Ellien C]

You can do this. Start with something simple - a pillow or a placemat, or even some napkins that you won't need a pattern or directions for.

Crawl - walk - run. You first need to develop some basic skills - threading your machine and sewing with it. Cutting out fabric. Then you can progress to more complicated things with patterns.

You can buy some "canned/compressed" air and just look at your machine at the parts that have lint built up. Open the covers and parts that open and just clean-out the lint. That's a good start. Personally I don't oil or deep clean my machine. I do blow out the obvious lint. I take it in every couple of years for a good cleaning and tune-up.