A new sewing machine, and prettying up our garden summerhouse

A few days ago I completed a project which I'd been meaning to get to for quite a while (years in fact...) - I finally made some little curtains and fabric bunting to decorate our summerhouse! I wrote earlier in the year about my plans for this summerhouse, and I'm so pleased with how it is looking now.

I was recently very kindly given a sewing machine by a friend's Mum, and a quick lesson in how to use it. I've always been a bit terrified of sewing machines, despite gaining my "Sewing Machine Driving Licence" back in secondary school. I don't understand at all how they work, and they worry me when they go too fast, as if they are going to speed off out of control.

I knew that I wanted to get to grips with it though, and I decided that some simple bunting and curtains would be good practice for sewing lots of straight lines. I started with the fabric bunting, and used a template and tutorial that I found here - How to Make Reversible Fabric Bunting. Although I didn't attempt bias binding to attach the flags, I just sewed them straight onto a piece of ribbon - baby steps! They are attached to the summerhouse with cup hooks at the top and drawing pins at the ends.

I know that they will fade as they are exposed to the elements, but they were so easy to make that I can see myself making many more sets over the years! I hope that the fact they are double sided will mean that they last a bit longer than if they were just cut from the fabric. The fabric that I used came from some fat quarters that I received to review a little while back and a cheap bright pink pillowcase from Asda!

For the curtains I purchased some new fabric in Hobbycraft. I spent ages choosing, not wanting to spend too much and yet not really liking the cheaper fabrics. The fabric that I chose cost £6 per metre, I bought two metres and had plenty left over, and I'm really pleased with it. To hang the curtains I used cheap net rods at 99p each from Dunelm, with holders that screw directly into the insides of the window frames.

Again, I know that the curtains will fade over time, but they were so easy to make that I don't mind making more in a couple of years!

I was so pleased with how well I got on with the sewing machine. With the help of the instruction manual I was able to change the thread on the top spool and rethread the machine, wind some new bobbins, and insert and thread those up as well. My seams were even reasonably straight. It's definitely given me the confidence to try out some more simple sewing projects!