(ARA) - It’s that most wonderful time of the year. Doorways are decked out with banners and bows, twinkling lights edge the rooftops and all through the house everything from baby bibs and bath towels to tablecloths and throw pillows sports a holiday motif. No, it’s not Christmas -- yet. But hot on Santa’s heels, Halloween is second only to Christmas as the largest decorating holiday of the year, says the National Retail Federation (NRF), the world’s largest retail trade association.
According to the NRF, 55.8 percent of consumers plan to celebrate Halloween and they are continuing to do it in style, decorating their homes and yards with a Halloween theme. With that in mind, the sewing experts at Husqvarna Viking are urging consumers to dust the cobwebs off their sewing machine and stitch up a few fun, fast and easy projects to celebrate the season.
Nancy Jewell, publicity director for the Swedish-made sewing machine company, points out that a terrific selection of Halloween-themed fabrics and the advent of computerized sewing and embroidery machines make it easy to duplicate those trendy ready-made table linens, door banners and pillows that fill the store shelves.
“Most of these projects require only the most basic of sewing skills. All you really need to know how to do is stitch a straight line,” explains Jewell. Embroidering those cute little ghosts, black cats and pumpkins on sweatshirts, bibs and towels is a snap. Machines like the Husqvarna Viking Designer I let you simply touch a button and the machine sews, all by itself. Hundreds of Holiday designs are available via the Husqvarna Viking On-line Web Shop (www.husqvarnaviking.com) or through your local retailer. Simply select, click, download to a floppy disk and sew. What could be easier?
So this Halloween, why not dabble in the creative arts? The experts at Husqvarna Viking offer these suggestions for Halloween decorating -- all requiring only a minimum of stitch witchery. But beware, once you fall under the spell of sewing you may find yourself cooking up a bewitching spell to get one of today’s easy-to-use sewing machines.
* Fun fabric bags are fast replacing plastic pumpkins and pillowcases as the receptacle of choice for toting home lots of candy. Making your own is incredibly easy. Fabrics like sparkle felts, ric rac trim, variegated threads in autumn tones and a few decorative stitches add to the festivities. The best part, this simple to make bag is very forgiving so you don’t have to be an expert. Plus, you can sew in reflective tape to keep your little ghosts and goblins safe. For detailed instructions on how to make a fabric bag, visit www.husqvarnaviking.com
* Bring the creatures of the night into your house by suspending soft sculpture bats from fishing line. Cut bat shapes from black felt or fleece and stitch two pieces together, leaving a small opening on one side. Stuff with fiberfill and sew opening closed. Decorate finished bat with fabric paint and pens. Use a needle to thread fishing line through the top of the bat.
* Use glow-in-the dark threads to embroider creepy spider webs (Husqvarna Viking’s Holiday Embroidery disk has a great one) on a black fabric cut to fit your table. Or, sew a covering from glow-in-the-dark fabric for a trick tablecloth
* Decorate the doorstep with an easy-to-make patchwork pumpkin, courtesy of The Home Sewing Association; instructions and materials list can be found at www.sewing.org.
* Greet trick-or-treaters with a friendly ghost door decoration made with Butterick Pattern 4312 (www.butterick.com). The site also offers a pattern for an easy-sew Halloween banner, pumpkin centerpiece and runner.
Armed with your bag of sewing tricks, you can create great decorative Halloween items for your home in little to no time and without spending a ghoulish amount of money.
Halloween Scares Up an Interest in Sewing
