#i have my mom's old machine but i don't know how to sew lmaooo

[myownworstenemyyy]

Sleepover!!! Wooo. Could you give me a Headcanon about Frankie and his girl who loves sewing and embroidery. My mum got me into sewing and I love doing it cause it reminds me of her ♥️

i know this is a week late, sorry my love! also, I'm so excited you’re into sewing! my mom was also into sewing and painting and woodworking and all that stuff but i didn’t have the patience or talent for it like she did 😂 anyway, i hope you enjoy the read! it ran a little long so i added the ‘read more’ thing lol 🥰😘💜💜

Frankie didn’t discover your love for sewing until the two of you moved in together, when you lugged a vintage leather case through the front door of your new apartment. “What is that?” he’d asked, curiosity clear on his features. You’d beamed at him, “It’s my mother’s old sewing machine. She taught me how to sew with it.” The way your face brightened as you told him about all the things you’ve made using that very machine made his heart swell and he couldn’t resist pressing a soft kiss to your lips, but you didn’t mind the interruption one bit.

he helped you set up your own space in the living room with a decent-sized crafting table that was sturdy enough to hold the heavy machine (”seriously, what is this thing made of? pure iron?” he’d grunted when he placed the object onto the wooden surface)

you’d spend a good portion of your free time at that table, sewing pieces of material together to make simple things like little jewelry bags or pillow cases - even whole articles of clothing - either as gifts or for your own use. it was obvious you had a knack for creating something beautiful and downright impressive out of a simple piece of cloth or any material really. 

sometimes Frankie would sit on the couch, pretending to watch TV when really he was watching you and admiring the way your fingers effortlessly guided the material under the rather terrifying needle as if it were the easiest thing in the world. 

and on more than one occasion, you would be hunched over for hours at a time until Frankie would gently place a hand on your lower back, suggesting you take a break for a while or at least stand up and stretch your back. he knows all about physical pain from being in one position for too long - all his years in the military made sure of that (ie, having him doing reconnaissance for hours on end) 

you’d offer him an appreciative smile, though one time you were so caught up in the task at hand, the light pressure of his hand on you made you jump and your finger nearly got caught under the sewing needle. he didn’t stop apologizing until the two of you were lying in bed later that night and you had to physically shut him up by pressing your lips against his (which led to, well, you know 😏). 

needless to say, you made a point of taking frequent breaks after that and it’s only when your hands are clear of the plunging needle that Frankie puts his hands on you, massaging the knots in your shoulders and neck while he leaves a trail of kisses along your exposed skin.     

then one day, as your well into making a Halloween costume for your niece, the machine just...stops. It’s been stuttering every now and then for the past couple weeks but you didn’t pay it much attention - the thing was over 50 years old after all. But this time it didn’t start back up again. You unplugged and plugged it back in several times, even changed the needle and thread (though you knew that was pointless and had nothing to do with the actual power source of the machine).

and when Frankie came home to see you curled in a ball on the couch, crying into one of the throw pillows, his chest caved in and he immediately ran over to you and dropped to his knees as he brushed the hair out of your face, “What happened, corazón? Talk to me,” he pleads when you reach for him and continue to sob into the soft material of his flannel shirt. 

and when you quietly tell him that the machine broke down for good, his heart clenched painfully in his chest because he knew how much it meant to you - it was the only thing you had left that belonged to your mother, and now you’d never be able to use it again.

later that night, as you lay in a deep slumber after an exhaustive and emotional couple hours, he called his cousin (who he knew had gotten into sewing some years ago) because he wanted to buy you a new machine as soon as possible. he knew it wouldn’t hold the same value or emotional significance as your mother’s machine, but he couldn’t bear the thought of you giving up something you loved so much. He knows all too well what it’s like to lose little pieces of yourself throughout life and if he can do anything to mitigate that sense of loss in you, then he won’t rest until it’s done.

the next day, you stayed in bed until well into the afternoon - it was the weekend anyway, so you could spend all day in bed if you wanted to. Frankie had left earlier that morning, claiming his cousin needed his help with something and that he’d be back in a few hours. you’d nodded your understanding, barely lifting your head from the pillow as he kissed you goodbye.

eventually, your bladder forced you to get out of bed and when you walked back out of the bathroom, you found Frankie sitting on the edge of your shared bed, his expression unreadable as he got to his feet and made his way over to you. “How you feelin?” he whispered as he pulled you into his arms but left enough space between the two of you so he could look into your eyes without the brim of his ball cap hitting you on the forehead.

you’d shrugged your shoulders and tried your best to give him a small smile, but it wasn’t even close to the way your face normally lit up when you were happy or content. He hummed in understanding and planted a gentle kiss to the side of your head before pulling away and taking your hand as he said, “I wanna show you something.”

and when you spotted the brand new sewing machine sitting in the place of the old one, your confused expression instantly went slack, “You...how did you-” your words trailed off as you walked closer to the table where it now rested. it was a pale blue color, a complete contrast to mother’s faded yellow one, which you noted was nowhere in sight. 

“My cousin helped me pick it out. it’s even the same brand as your mom’s was - is - just the modern version of it, obviously.” he rubbed the back of his neck as you turned to face him, a look of awe and gratitude gracing your features. “Oh, and i put your mom’s machine in the hall closet. We don’t have to get rid of it, if you don’t want. Maybe i can even get someone to look at it? i’m more familiar with cars and stuff, but i’m not exactly a professional mechanic. i’m pretty sure i know a guy tho-” you cut off his rambling with a kiss and he immediately falls into sync with your eager movements.

you pull away moments later, your cheeks wet with grateful tears as you whisper, “thank you. it’s...it’s perfect.” he lets out a breath of relief and crashes his lips against yours once more.

you didn’t actually get to use the new machine until the next day, since the two of you kept each other busy for pretty much the rest of the night 😉

~~~~~~~~

corazón - love

HC tags: @hiscyarika @bestintheparsec @aerynwrites @haildoodles-writing @lovingtheway

[howelljenkins]

oh yeah i have more for anon lmaooo (also thanks for mentioning I had no idea my asks were off) imo any project you can do on a machine you can do by hand but you will most definitely want to practice getting straight lines and even spacing before doing any big projects. chalk is good for this as you start practicing, use a ruler and the line will help a whole lot until you start being able to see by eye when the stitches go wonky (and it rinses off). kal is totally right, get a thimble asap you will poke your finger especially while learning, they're also right about losing the needle you will set it don't for .5 seconds and then find it a week later in the bottom of your foot. A great first small project would be a pin cushion bc it's a great habit to get into right away as you start sewing to leave every needle/pin in a cushion. also I would say when starting out handsewing be mindful of the scale/size of the finished product, big things take a long time and require a lot of accuracy to look good but at the same time, too small and it's also difficult to make with accuracy -- take it from 7 year old me learning how to sew by making barbie clothes. oh and make sure while your stitching to keep and eye on your thread, you don't want it to get tangled on itself or your hand from the up and down motion, and you want to pull each stitch tight, but not too much or you'll have a bumpy hem/stitch line and with cheaper threads you can possible rip the thread by pulling to hard. tools I absolutely recommend are a seam ripper, mistakes are inevitable and using scissors runs the risk of ruining the fabric, get good quality fabric scissors (and do not use them for anything other than fabric and thread ever I used to get in trouble for this as a kid but unfortunately mom was right it makes a difference), mega packs of needles that have various sizes/thickness of needles in them (the bigger ones are easier when starting but leave bigger holes so make sure not to use them on delicate fabrics), on a similar vein keep a fridge magnet near buy to hunt around for dropped pins, and then lastly totally not necessary but I think for some things they're better than pins, those lil sewing clips but regardless of if you use clips if pins make sure you have them and many of them, when handsewing even moreso than machine fabric slips and shifts. I think also all my recommendations for starter projects work well here too, mending holes, hemming/hemming around a curve like in a scrunchie or stuffed animal, pillows (I made so many while learning how to sew my barbies were sleeping in luxury), simple clothing (things without too much gathering or embellishments like tank tops/tube tops, circle skirts, scarves/head wraps/infinity scarf etc), small decorative/hanging quilts, lap/couch quilts (don't start with something that needs to span the width of a bed until you feel you've got an eye for when the stictches are out of alignment), you can also do the simpler patterns like I mentioned before but make sure to read instructions carefully and to look into what hand stitch is best to use for whatever specific machine stitch they ask for. oh and because this got long again so why not say more, keep in mind that the timeframe for completion is much longer for handsewing so sometimes it maybe best to start the winter project in may so you know you can use it when finished and please check in with your body, are you sitting hunched over the project, does your neck hurt from looking down, when's the last time you stood up and stretched, and finally does your wrist hurt at all; all good questions to ask yourself routinely while working anyway idk when to stop talking lol happy sewing

^