About a year after I got my first Embellisher, I went to DC to see an old friend and her 12 year old daughter, Sydney.  My friend wanted me to help her choose a "real" sewing machine as a present for Sydney.  Sydney had been working with a kiddie machine for some time and was really interested in sewing.  We went out and bought the new sewing machine for Sydney.  Her mom wanted me to show Sydney how to use her new sewing machine.  Before I did that, though, I wanted to show her my Embellisher.  Well, to make a long story short, Sydney had a ball making things with the Embellisher and I had to show her how to use her sewing machine on another day.  So, if you have children or grandchildren or might-as-well-be children (like my relationship to Sydney), think about exposing them to your needle felting machine during the summer when they are out of school.  You will be amazed at what they do.  But, you need to make sure that they are safe.  Although there is no guarantee about safety, please use these common sense tips to protect the children who use your machine and to protect yourself as well.

 

First, make sure that the needle guard on your machine is installed and properly adjusted.  You want the needle guard to be close enough to the fabric that it does not bounce and far enough away that the fabric moves freely under the needle.  I usually adjust my needle guard every time I begin a new project.  With the Embellisher, you do this adjustment using the blackish knob at the top of the machine close to the needles.  Most of the other machines' needle guards are adjusted using a screw on the needle guard.  You may need a screwdriver to adjust it and also may need to do it from the side or the back of the machine.  It is a bit inconvenient to do this every time you start a new project, but it is really worth it because it both protects your or your child's fingers and it also helps to minimize needle breakage.

 

Second, always check to make sure that your needle holder is firmly attached to the machine.  Particularly if you move your machine around or if you have used it a lot, the needle holder can vibrate loose.  If it gets too loose, it will fly off, break all of the needles in the holder and may also break the needle guard as well.  (Ask me how I know!!)  I also usually check to make sure all of the needles are tight if I have not used the machine in a while.

 

Third, polar fleece (which is really cheap) works well for kids.  So do novelty yarns of any fiber content.  Quilting cottons don't usually give you as good results since most of them are printed and you get a muting of any color that you use.  Acrylic felt squares are also excellent for kids and for new users.  Experiment with punching from the front and from the back.  You can really use any kind of fabric that you want to create a project, BUT if you are not using wool fibers, then you need to add some stitching to the project since fibers other than wool are not as likely to stay attached as wool.  The reason is that wool has scales on the fibers that attach to each other and get "permanently?" tangled.  If you don't want to use any stitching, then you can use wool roving in the way you would use glue.  Put it between two non-woolen fabrics to help hold them together.

 

Fourth, stay close at hand as the child is working with the needle felting machine.  Help explain to the child that at first, they should move forward and backwards over the foundation fabric.  Tell them to move the foundation fabric SLOWLY and run the machine FAST.  (Kids like running the machine fast.)  Also, tell then that it is OK to just stop running the machine anytime, but to stop moving the fabric FIRST.  Kids seem to get the feel for these machines much faster than people who have lots of sewing experience.  They don't assume that the machine will work in the way that a sewing machine does and they just are able to absorb things so fast.  Sometimes kids will not want you to get to close, but you do need to be close at hand.  The needles in these machines are VERY sharp and can really hurt if they hit your finger.  Disguise your oversight with lots of praise and the kids are less likely to complain.

 

Fifth, regarding foundation fabrics for things like purses.  I like medium weight denim best for when I am making purses.  It works well with light weight fancy fabrics (cheap polyester lining material and things of similar weight), quilting cottons (batiks are great because they are dyed instead of printed), silks, wool roving, silk roving, Angelina (OH!  DO KIDS LOVE GLITZ OR WHAT?), etc.  Also consider making a trip to the local thrift shop.  It is a great place to find both foundation fabrics and fabrics to punch into the foundation fabrics and you can get things pretty cheap.  Take your child with about $10 and you can get quite a bit to work with (at least here in SC.)  I love to get old silk blouses often for about $1.  I wash them based on color and then cut out the seams.  Another great cheap foundation fabric is washing machine felted 100% wool sweaters that is NOT SUPERWASH and NOT MACHINE WASHABLE.  Check my website for instructions on how I felt these sweaters.  When using the machine felted sweaters, I suggest that you use Size 38 STAR needles and that you make sure to properly adjust the needle guard.  I find that GAP and OLD NAVY sweaters felt in the washing machine and the results are wonderful.  Don't ignore the Men's department.  I have found some cool silk shirts there and the sweaters are usually larger.

 

Sixth, start a photo album on the yahoo group for your child or post photos of your child's work in your album.  I would LOVE to see your children's work.  Remember that it is not too soon for the kids to start making Holiday and Birthday presents.

 

Seventh, HAVE FUN.