New equipment

The Treehouse sees a coming and going of gnomes, elves and pixies, but a recent arrival has made such an impact on life here at the Treehouse that her existence cannot not be mentioned here. Admittedly, ‘recent arrival’ is not that recent per se, as I wanted to make sure I knew her well enough to be able to properly toot my horn about her here. So without further ado: It’s about time I introduce you to my new sewing companion and/or workhorse.

I have a brand new overlocker!

I owned an old overlocker before, which I inherited from my grandmother. However, it was quite an old and broken machine, and even though I spend many a day trying new things I never got it to work properly… or, at all, to be honest. I took me quite a while to realise and admit that it wasn’t going to work and that I had to give up on it. I spend a couple of weeks reading up and researching new machines to see what was out there. I didn’t plan to buy one for a while, but I wanted to have enough information for when I saved up enough for a frivolous sewing escapade.

Now I know you are thinking  “If you didn’t plan to buy one WHAT is that brand new overlocker doing on your sewing table?” Good question! I had nothing to do with it’s arrival and am just as baffled as you. I received her as a  Graduation/Christmas/Yay-you-survived-a-year-of-Big-Things gift from my boyfriend. He hadn’t said anything about it, and I only noticed something was up when there was a huge cardboard box on the dinner table instead of the spaghetti I was expecting. I couldn’t believe it when I opened the box, back in December. I couldn’t wait to get to work on it, my Seda Dress was the first thing I’ve made with it.

It is surprisingly easy to use. You wouldn’t believe what a difference an actual working machine makes! The insides are colour coded, and it comes with a very clear manual. The treading of the machine is still the most tedious part, but it is made as doable as possible. Also, one of those neat things you never realise about overlocking: an overlocker trims the edges of your fabric, but what comes off, has to go somewhere, right? HAVE NO FEAR! A strange, fabric-trims-catching net-like thing is here! Really, this thing is surprisingly useful. 

It came with white thread added, but in addition I still had my grandma’s box spools of thread. Whites, blues, black, greys and the reddish brown you see in the picture. It feels great to sew with this machine. In comparison to regular sewing, this feels so very stable. I’m still learning a lot, but I feel quite confident working on it. I’ve worked it on different kinds of fabrics: woven as well as knits, and it makes such a difference! The finishing become a lot neater and the construction feels much more secure. I’ve started a new project recently (not telling you what until I’ve finished it!), and very happy with how speedy the process is.

 I hope everyone is enjoying their weekends. I’m so happy with this machine, now the only thing I need to really get sewing wardrobes full is someone to fix me a time-turner. Anyone?