Fabulous Fundamental - The Sew Easy

Whoo hoo! Today we have a double-double (for all you Tim Horton fans!!!) - a Roving Reporter post from Lynnette Parent and a Fabulous Fundamental on the Sew Easy tool. This hot tool is a must-have in a scrapbooker and cardmaker's toolkit. Read onwards to read Lynnette's article.

I've always loved the look of stitching on layouts but have never had the urge to pull out my sewing machine and give it a whirl. I thought it would be way too much hassle to deal with my very heavy machine. And what if, after spending hours on a layout, I wreck it by sewing crookedly?!

Then I saw the Sew Easy. I immediately thought this simple little tool could finally be what I was looking for.

I went whole hog and purchased the handle, seven heads, extra needles, the pad and the red thread package. I gave it to myself for Christmas :-)

Here are a few things I've figured out:

- It is very easy to keep a straight line with the heads. I had thought it might be tricky but it really isn't.

- The heads are very easy to change and they lock in securely.

- You can use each head for at least 3 different looking stitches - very cool.

- You should use their custom mat as it keeps the points sharp. And the mat is over 12 inches long so you can go end to end on your layout without needing to move it.

- With some paper, if you push too hard, you make a crease and with others, if you don't push hard enough, you won't perforate the paper. It takes a little practice.

- Bazzill doesn't perforate well.

- I've been using up old embroidery floss (3 strands at a time). The Sew Easy thread looks nice too.

- You can use a pen instead of thread to do the "stitching".

On this layout I drew pencil lines with a ruler and used the simple single stitch head to punch the holes. I found it fairly easy to lift the head up and place it down again at the corners so I could match up the stitches.

I used the scalloped edge head for this one. As there are TWO layers of Bazzill here, there was no way the holes were going to perforate all the way through. I used the head more to MARK the placement of the holes and then used my piercing tool to actually make the holes. It only took a few extra moments for this step.

I finished the scallop off by putting a brad on each point.

Here is a card I made using the starburst head. I didn't NEED to use the piercing tool but it is easier to sew if the holes are larger.

 Another very simple card.

With this layout I just wanted a touch of stitching that would blend with the colours of the photos. I found it a little difficult to get the holes to mark on the plaid paper AND the cardstock and had to go over it twice. I also had to use the piercing tool as there are two layers of cardstock.

This time I wanted to see if I could easily follow a curved edge. I traced the heart and then used the simple stitch head. It was a little harder to stay right on the pencil line but in the end I think it turned out great. I did each side of the heart differently so you can see how it looks with the stitches open and closed.

When I took the heads out of their packaging I kept each cardboard insert as they have samples of the different stitching you can do with each head. I put the heads in a little tin and keep everything together with an elastic band. I am considering purchasing the new case they came out with though.

Chloe Hill came up with this VERY innovative way to store her Sew Easy and Brad maker. I think it is so cool. If I can find a place in my scraproom I may do this!

All in all, I think the Sew Easy is a great investment and a tool that you can use over and over. They recently came out with 8 new heads and all kinds of new threads so I can see where my scrapbooking dollars will be going!