Sewing as Therapy

Finished size approximately 5" wide X 8" tall.

I recently finished stitching up these "use them for whatever" small drawstring bags. They are meant to be gifts for two special people at a local Vet clinic who compassionately cared for us as we said goodbye to our precious little Miss Trixie cat just a few weeks ago. They helped us through a very difficult time with great deal of kindness and I wanted them to know how much I appreciated all they did to help. 

I included a custom made card and a book mark for the caring Doctor and the kind veterinary assistant. I've already told the story of how Trixie came into our lives, the joy she brought us for sixteen years, and the unfortunate day we had to say goodbye HERE in another post.

Yes, I still shed tears and miss her terribly, but I wanted this post to highlight the helpful way sewing can help us work though heartache. I believe keeping our hands busy making things of beauty has a healing effect.

I also know that one way to combat being absorbed by our own feelings is to do something for others. Have you found yourself feeling comforted by finding a way to focus on someone else? Mind you, I'm not saying you should stuff your feelings, ignore them, or neglect taking care of yourself by prioritizing others. After all, if you're cup is empty you having nothing left to give to others. We all need each other! But I think filling your own cup gives you ample extra to dish out to others.

The opportunity to spread joy and happiness to others via a hand-crafted gift is really something unique for those of us who sew. Agree?!? While we all appreciate a store bought gift, receiving and giving something made with TLC is truly special! In the hope of inspiring you, let me tell you more about the little gift set I put together.

Finding the right fabric for the drawstring bags was step one. Would you believe this adorable kitty print scrap was buried in my stash. I didn't even remember having it. I followed a basic method for making a self-lined pouch that I developed for a blog post previously published HERE. Hoping it could be used for something like sunglasses or treasures and trinkets, I enlarged the size, making it a bit wider and a bit taller.

For the drawstring, I found some 100% silk ribbon I had been hoarding and after comparing it to the poly ribbon I also had on hand I said to myself "what am I saving this for?" Then I put the poly away and cut into the silk.

In similar fashion, I found scraps of real Ultrasuede I hung onto for years and decided it would be perfect for the name patches. Even though my machine itself has a multitude of fonts, embroidery software is usually my go to selection for lettering. I've found that I have far more options for sizes and software fonts have good underlay stitches that help them sew out well on all manner of fabrics.

For the name patches I used the Cursive font from my *DiME Word Art In Stitches program. I love the way the software gives me a pop up window telling me both how small and how large I can successfully stitch individual font styles. I chose this one specifically, not just because it was pretty but because it's all connected and looks like real hand writing. It came out beautiful on the patches.

The greeting card features a really special font from yet another software program I have called BES Blue. It's a product that comes from Brother but saves to all common home formats so it's useful for everyone. The paw print font is something I've never seen anywhere else. By the way, over the years I developed my own way to make embroidered greeting cards. 

While I do sometimes use designs made for direct stitching on card stock, most of the time I create my own combination design, stitch on stiffened felt, and then attach to the blank card with straight stitching on the sewing side of the machine. I love the neat look it has from both the outside and the inside. You're welcome to explore my method with this Free tutorial HERE. I'd love to know if you give it a try!

Last but not least, I included a book mark in the set. In the above picture you see the back side of the book marks. Since this is a free standing lace type of design it was important to wind a matching bobbin for each color change. I also found more suede scraps that would look good on both sides. This is a Dakota Collectables Lace Themed Bookmarks collection #970345. They're fun and easy to make and there's something for everyone in this collection. The collection includes instructions for this type of stitch out.

Making this set gave me something constructive to focus on and imagining the smiles on the faces of the gift recipients helped me to smile as well! When's the last time you created something in your sewing space and found it to be soothing to your soul? Let me know. I'd love to hear about it in the comments below :-)