September is National Sewing Month and a great opportunity to create something new this year for everyone on your D.I.Y gift-giving list.

Both the Art and Literature and Science and Wellness departments at Parkway Central Library have many informative how-to titles to help make your crafting ideas a reality.

You may already have the crochet, knitting, and sewing tools to start. Believe it or not, you probably even have the fabric, you just never thought to look at items no longer in use as sewing materials. Take that sweater you accidentally washed and shrunk and make a mittens and scarf ensemble. Fabric from your local thrift store can be repurposed into unlimited gift ideas. Think lounge pants, hats, gloves, shawls, makeup bags, laundry bags, belts, capes, shrugs, lap blankets, wall hangings, and quilts of all sizes—the list is endless. Browse the following titles in our catalog for more inspiration!

Are you a fledgling sewist and your sewing machine is still in a box in the closet? Time to take it out, park it on your dining room or kitchen table, and rev it up to make any one of the items from over 600 titles from our collections. Remember, you can always place a hold on the title and pick it up at your neighborhood library.

Another fun and functional item you can make is a tote bag. The everywhere bag for shopping, the gym, work, and of course for all of the wonderful library books for all of your D.I.Y gifts this year! You can make it from anything that can be cut into two squares or rectangles. Personalize them by using an article of clothing you no longer wear or a colorful flat bed sheet. You can even make the same bag for several members of your family. The handles can be made with old belts or taken from another bag you no longer use. Or you can use an old keychain lanyard if they are an inch or wider to cut into two for sturdy handles.

Don’t forget our electronic resources—we even have digital crochet and knitting magazines!

For those of you who already started earlier this month, bravo! Start in September and you’ll be done by November!

Send us a pic through our Instagram pages (@art_freelibraryofphiladelphia, @lit_free_library, and @freelibrary_sw), we can’t wait to see what you make!