With Halloween over, the season of making is here. I’ll give you some tips on getting ready.

I recently spent more time looking for items in my sewing room than it would have taken to complete the task at hand. Plus, I found something I’ve been looking for since spring. 

Here is what I do, ideally starting much earlier than October, to get ready for holiday sewing and embroidery.

Clean Out Your Sewing Room

•          If it doesn’t belong there or bring you creative joy, get rid of it.
•          If necessary, empty the room and put everything away as you go through the excess.
•          If you run out of time, throw like items in boxes or plastic totes. At least they will be located together and not strewn throughout.
  

Organize Essentials

•          Get all of your stabilizers in one spot.
•          Notions should have their own home.
•          I separate and label my Christmas and other fabrics.
•          Do you have enough batting on hand?
•          Don’t forget about scraps. Even scraps of stabilizer and batting come in handy in a pinch.
  

Take Inventory of Needs

•          Are you running low on stabilizers, threads, zippers, or other items necessary for your embroidery? Now is the time to remedy that and not at 1 a.m. before your deadline.
•          The earlier you know your needs, the more chances you will have to get them on sale.

 Wind Lots of Bobbins

•          Have a couple of spare minutes? Wind a bobbin or two. Better to do that now than have to stop and wind them when you are in the middle of a project.

 Cut Stabilizers (and other pieces) Ahead of Time

•          If you know what projects you would like to make, you know what hoop you will use. Cut the stabilizer to size for each project. While you are at it, do the same for your fabrics. That means saved time. You will also have more room to work because the stabilizers, fabrics, and batting will not be cluttering up your creative space.
  

Make Kits

•          I generally make several of the same items as gifts, like zipper bags and ornaments, so I use an assembly line technique. Make kits for each project. Include the fabrics, thread, trims, etc. as well as a copy of the instructions. Plastic zip bags work great for this.
•          Make a folder on your computer to place the files you will be using. Having designs you need in one place will eliminate wasted time searching for them.
  

How do you get ready for holiday sewing?

Debbie SewBlest