Sewing with the Brother SQ 9050

Earlier this year, I have presented a nice sewing machine – the Brother SQ 9050 - to purchase if you considered sewing.    In the midst of packing and unpacking due to a move that never happened, homeschooling, doing the accounting for our business and reviewing products, I knew I had to make another post for the Brother SQ 9050 and present a project that I have done.   At first I thought to make a dress for my daughter… but I quickly put it aside as it has been YEARS since I sewed something.  So I thought of making new placemats for our dining table.   After visiting the local fabric store, I was a bit discouraged as we were tight with our finances (voluntary) and to make 12 placemats would have been too expensive at this point in time.    I didn’t know what I could do as a project with the machine… 

Not too long ago, I received a Maplelea Girls doll to review and giveaway.  Léonie entered our house and I wondered if I could find ideas to make clothes for this marvelous doll.   Turns out that there are numerous ideas on the internet if you take the time to search.   Being on Pinterest I just had to type American Girls pattern to find a wealth of ideas.    I quickly make a board titled Couture-Maplelea Girls Clothes and pin my heart away.   I had found a project that wouldn’t take too much time and will bring joy in my little girl’s life.   I decided to make some clothes for Léonie.  

Since it has been years that I have touched a sewing machine, I needed an easy pattern.   I found the perfect fit for me with the Make Twirls for Girls which gives you a step-by-step instruction on making a wrap-around skirt for an American Girl/Maplelea Girl doll.   

So one afternoon, I carefully installed the sewing machine in my office and proceeded to follow the instructions to make the dress.

My first step was to prepare the pattern so I can cut the material I wanted.   If you look at the instructions for the skirt at the link provided above and keep a close eye on my picture below, you will see that I made a huge error.   I forgot to place the pattern on the folded piece of material so I ended up with two small pieces instead of a big one.   I quickly “repaired” my problem by sewing the two pieces together.    Then I realized that I needed another color to make a double-sided skirt.  So I quickly went to Wal-Mart to get a piece of red material in order to have two colors on the skirt.   

The second step was to install some Velcro on both section in order to be able to attach the skirt around the waist of the doll.   Here I have black sticky Velcro that we had purchased in the US earlier this year.

Here’s the two pieces that I needed to sew together.  So I place them one of top to the other and slowly proceeded to sew them.

It took a bit of time but I am glad that there are three speeds on the sewing machine.

The final product – a sweet wrap-around skirt for Léonie.   Let’s see how she looks in it.

Then I proceeded to make some thighs make out of a knee sock.   I found some black sock at Dollarama near my house and decided to try it out.

The process is quite easy if you follow the instructions.  Cutting the foot part, stitch in the middle of the sock and round the feet, and then cut in the middle to separate the legs.

And voilà!

Léonie with her new double sided skirt and black thighs.

This sewing machine is amazingly quiet and easy to use.  If you are a beginner or a more advance sewer, I think this machine will be a great machine for you.     I had a little issue the first time I tried to fill one bobbin with the tread but that was mostly my fault because I had missed a step.   Once I realized the error I made and corrected it, it work perfectly well.     The machine has three speeds which is fabulous because you can start slowly at first and speed up the process when you feel more at easy with sewing something.    I see the numerous possibilities with this machine and I dream of becoming more gifted in sewing clothes for Léonie the doll and my children.  

Now I realize that I hadn’t explored all the possibilities with the Brother SQ 9050 as it allows you to do numerous stitches while sewing.   I am looking forward for discovering the machine more in the months to come.   Now that it is sitting on my craft desk, I am planning to use it more regularly.

The Brother SQ 9050 is an amazing machine to my point of view.  I am planning to make other pieces of clothing for the doll.   My next projects will be t-shirts, other skirts, and a PJ for Léonie.   I also want to try to make a skirt out a the legs of an older pair of pants of Jasmine.  Then I will consider making a bathing suit and a dress for the doll.   I am having fun planning my future projects and I know that this machine will help me to do so.

If you have a person in your life who loves to sew or someone who would love to learn, the Brother SQ9050 is perfect for everyone.   It can do numerous projects including quilting which I hope to explore one of these days.

The Brother SQ 9050 is available exclusively at a Wal-Mart near you or on amazon.com.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Citoyen Optimum for sending me Brother SQ9050 in exchange of two blog posts. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.