The Puyallup WA Sewing & Stitchery Expo is fondly known as the biggest sewing party in North America. As a Pacific Northwest resident, I have the privilege of attending and usually teaching each year. The special events at the show are always incredibly fun, too. This year, I had a really paw-riffic time making a pet bandana for my Terrier at “For the Love of Pets”, an event sponsored by Babylock, FreeSpirit and Coats and Clark! “For the Love of Pets” was a fun sewing event that benefited local organization The Humane Society for Tacoma & Pierce County. Humane Society volunteers were on hand to answer any woofy questions about their work. I love that this volunteer was ready to sell the “shirt off his back” to support the cause, too. (Note price tag on sleeve!) Paw-ticipants donated $5.00 to the Society and then chose a pre-cut, colorful, pet bandana to sew for their fur baby. Thanks to the generous sponsors all materials, including FreeSpirit fabric, were provided. Babylock sergers threaded with donated Coats Surelock Thread were ready for edge serging. My Terrier, Rosie, thought this was a fabulous idea and sent me with strict color instructions. So I made sure that I chose a pre-cut print pet bandana with a little purple to match her collar and leash. My friend, Fonnell came with me that day and chose bandanas for her fluffy puppies, too. With our $5.00 donation we received a raffle ticket and the chance to win a cool, pet-friendly prize package. I didn’t win, but I’m sure whoever did was thrilled! Fonnell and I had a barkingly fabulous time serging rolled edges around our bandanas. And, of course, since we’re sewists, there was a lot of great chatting, too! After our rolled edges were done, we stood in line and waited for our chance to have our puppy’s name machine embroidered on the pet bandana. Babylock staffers were ready to do the work using Mini King spools of Coats Trilobal Polyester Thread. I love how those who sew create and enjoy community wherever they go. That was the best part of this event! As we stood in line for embroidery, we began to talk about our pets with our fellow sewists. We shared info on breeds and ages and enjoyed lots of giggling over funny pet-tastic stories. Through the magic of smart phones, the pictures came out then and I had a wonderful time getting to know Sebstian, Bubba, Zeke and Zach and their moms! Thread was a huge part of this wonderful pet bandana event and it made me want to know more about the Coats threads that were donated. I was astonished to find out that Surelock Serger Thread comes in 24 gorgeous colors. And, you can purchase Polyester Trilobal Thread in over 145 colors. Wow! But, then we’re talking about Coats and Clark. And if anyone knows what we need in thread, it’s Coats! Click here to explore more about Surelock, then click here to learn about Polyester Trilobal. You can download that amazing thread chart at the bottom of the page after you click! I am personally so appreciative of the supportive businesses in the sewing industry who sponsor events like “For the Love of Pets”. It’s a valuable experience of shared joy and community for participants and we get to try out products that may be new to us – like Babylock sergers and Coats Surelock and Poly Trilobal threads. Definitely a win-win for all of us who sew and Rosie the Terrier (who loves her versatile pet bandana) agrees!
