Wednesday, February 2, 2011

More Big Brother Feats

I've been making some progress on getting things done in the sewing room this week. My mother needed 4 pairs of her soft, warm, pants hemmed. These are perfect for a housebound elderly person to wear in the winter. Not only are they warm and comfortable, they are easy to change and wash easily. The only problem is that even the petite sizes are too long for my mother. She isn't that short, but manufacturers are making them extra long these days, I guess.

I had been procrastinating on getting the pants hemmed since they all needed to be cut off and hemmed and for some reason I couldn't make myself get started on them. Saturday night I couldn't sleep, so I got up and thought I'd hem just one pair of the pants.

Big Brother not only has a snap on quilting table, you can remove a section of the machine to make it have a free arm



This allowed me to put the pants leg on the free arm which made hemming much easier.



Then I decided to try a different stitch. The machine has 60 stitches, some of which are called utility stitches. One of the utility stitches is an overcasting stitch. Using it encases the edge of a seam, sort of like a serger. I wondered how it would look for hemming stretchy,knit pants.

It turned out great! When I compare the hem of the pants before and after I hemmed them, my hem looked just as good as the manufacturer's.





It was so easy and fun that I ended up hemming all the pants before going back to bed Saturday night.

Then when I did go back to bed I still couldn't sleep because I was so excited about getting the pants hemmed and nobody was awake to tell it to!

9 comments:

Granny said...

I'm so glad you're enjoying your new machine. I love my old Brother machine and actually use it more than my newer Elna. The hem on those pants looks great. I'm sure your mother will be glad to have those warm pants to wear. That's the type I wear at home all the time.

Anonymous said...

Hi Debbie,
I spend more time dreading task than it takes to just do them.My new machine has lots of stitches too.I just need to figure out how to use them all.
You did a great job.
Elizabeth

Rita said...

Deb,
What a good way to spend a sleepless night. It is fun to know that you were able to hem them all and do such a good job with your new machine with utility stitches. I watch for your blog everyday. From one of your last posts I could also drink sweet tea everyday. I had to cut out the habit too but oh how good it tastes sometimes. Have a great day!

kim said...

This post made me giggle, I can imagine you sitting up in bed and waking hubby to tell him about the wonderful sewing experience you just had and how fantastic your new brother is...........would he have minded I wonder, lol.

I think sometimes we put off little sewing jobs thinking they're going to be time consuming or annoying to do.........must remember this and next time I can't sleep I may pull out my sewing machine and seam a couple of napkins...............job outstanding.

florrie x

Denise said...

Nice job, you and your "Brother" do great work together.

Auntie M said...

You might have had no one to share your good news with on Sat. night,
but your mother was thrilled when you showed them to her on Sunday, I bet!! Good job!

You must love your new Brother.

auntie M

Joyful said...

The hem looks great. It's so nice to have a machine that does what you want it to and more, isn't it?

Little Penpen said...

Good job!! I wondered how people hemmed pants on a machine... now I know.. I have to have a new machine. :o)

Rhonda said...

Thanks Debbie....just the incentive I needed. I have a pair of hubby's pants to hem and needed a kick to get started. I may just try this stitch.

Blessings.
Rhonda

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