Level: Beginner - Advanced

Jewelry Design Diagrams
Download and print out these PDF files to use when designing your jewelry.

• Dramatic Angled Brooch
• Articulated Bracelet
• Toggle Brooch
• Rouleau Coils

Janome Supplies Required:

• Janome CoverPro 1000CP
• Any Janome Serger
• Any Janome sewing machine
• Optional: Memory Craft embroidery machine and appliquè design
• Satin Stitch Foot F
  Red/Gold Jewelry
• Janome Embroidery thread - Red
• Janome Metallic Gold thread
• Janome Overlock thread (#004 Yellow, #005 Sunflower)
  Silver/Teal Jewelry
• Janome Embroidery thread - Teal
• Janome Metallic Silver thread
• Janome Overlock thread (#183 Pale Gray, #190 Gray)

Fabric and Notions Required:

• Red/Gold Jewelry
• 1/4 yd. sheer red fabric
• SulkyÆ Puffy foam, 2mm red
• Silver/Teal Jewelry
• 1/4 yd. sheer teal fabric
• SulkyÆ Puffy foam, 2mm blue or green
• Water-soluble stabilizer
• Variety of beads, buttons, or charms
• 1 1/4" brooch backs in gold or silver
• Gold or Silver parrot clips
• Circle and square quilting templates
• Thread Stand
• Regular polyester machine thread to match fabrics
• Schmetz #80 EL needles for your CoverPro
• Beading needle
• Hand sewing needle
• Fabric marking pens

Note: Use parrot clips if you want to make an individual pendant, or transform your brooch into a pendant when preferred.

Coverstitch Fabric
This is one of Anne's signature techniques and forms the basis of the 'bling' in all the jewelry. Anne made both gold and silver Coverstitch Fabric as well as a combination of both threads for more interest.

Single color fabric

1. Set up the CoverPro 1000CP for a wide Coverstitch.
2. Thread both needles with Janome Overlock thread and the chain looper with Janome Metallic thread. Hint: Metallic thread may twist on itself, therefore using a thread stand behind your serger will minimize this possibility.
3. Cut a 24" length of water-soluble stabilizer.
4. Place water-soluble stabilizer next to the feed dogs of the serger.
5. Starting at the right side outer edge, stitch the long side of the strip. Line the foot against the edge of the stabilizer.
6. Continue stitching until 8" from the end of the strip.
7. Bring short edge of strip to the piece you are stitching, lining up both short edges and overlap.
8. Continue stitching. Your right needle will enter the left side of the previous row of stitching. You will return to the starting position and have formed a circle. Be sure to slightly offset your stitching. Hint: The needle should be covering a scant amount of the previous row of stitching. Do not fuss too much about ensuring you get your rows absolutely perfect as this actually makes your "fabric" more interesting in this application.
9. Continue to stitch "in the round" until you end up at the far left side of your stabilizer.
10. Remove fabric from under the presser foot.
11. Cut your circle of fabric and lay flat.
12. Do not wash stabilizer out at this stage.

Two color fabric

1. Set up the CoverPro 1000 for a narrow Coverstitch (left or right) or a chain stitch using the middle needle. Note: Anne chose to use the chain stitch only for a very fine embossed effect.
2. Thread the CoverPro with alternate Janome Metallic thread in the chain looper and with coordinating Janome Overlock thread in the needle/s. If you used gold, change to your silver or vice versa.
3. Work loosely curved rows of your preferred stitch from either the front or back of the Coverstitch fabric. Both will give a slightly different finish and add more visual interest.
4. Cut your circle of fabric and lay flat.
5. Do not wash stabilizer out at this stage.

Serger Rouleau

Inside Information: While some of you may know this as "spaghetti straps", I find this reduces the use of a great technique because people only associate it with lingerie. Rouleau is the original term for this technique and embraces a much wider range of applications.

1. Set up your Janome serger for a Rolled Hem.
2. Thread the needle and lower looper with Janome Overlock thread and the upper looper with Janome Metallic thread. Hint: You may choose to blend another serger thread here as Anne did in her sample.
3. Cut a fabric strip 1" wider than the desired finished width.Serge a Rolled Hem thread chain approximately 6"longer than the length of rouleau you require to edge your jewelry. Do not cut the thread chain as it needs to be continuous.
4. Bring the thread chain to the front of the serger.
5. Wrap the fabric around the thread chain, keeping the thread chain as snug as possible in the fold of the fabric, the raw edges toward the cutting blade.
6. Serge down the raw edges, trimming away approximately 1/2" excess fabric, without snagging the wrapped thread chain, creating a very narrow tube.
7. Gently pull the encased chain to turn the rouleau through to the right side.

Forming Jewelry Base

1. Set up your sewing machine for Ordinary Sewing.
2. Thread the needle and bobbin with regular polyester thread to match your fabric.
3. Attach the Satin Stitch Foot F.
4. Select a Zigzag stitch.
5. Using your circle template, trace and cut out a medium to large circle on each of the following, Coverstitch fabric, Puffy Foam and three circles from the sheer fabric.
6. Layer them as follows, from the top: Coverstitch fabric, sheer fabric, Puffy Foam, two layers sheer fabric.
7. Sew around the edge of the five layers to hold them together.
8. Thread the needle with Janome Embroidery thread.
9. Once you have all the layers secure, reduce the stitch length to 1.0 and sew around the edges two or three times until the edge is covered.
10. Wash out the stabilizer thoroughly and place your jewelry bases on a towel to dry.
11. Add rouleau bands around the outside of the base. Increase the stitch width to catch the rouleau and the edge.
12. Tuck the ends to the back of the base at the beginning and the end, securing with a few extra stitches before trimming.

Designing your jewelry
Now that you have prepared the basic ingredients for your jewelry, it's time to play! You may notice that not all of your rows are connected fully, allowing for a much more organic (natural) feel to your jewelry and adding a lot of visual interest. This is not a problem as the stitching is for decorative and not structural purposes.

Red/Gold Jewelry

1. Pinch a tuck into your jewelry base, experimenting until you find a design that pleases you. Pin in place.
2. Stitch the tuck into place.
3. Thread your beading needle and start adding pearls, sequins and beads to your heart's desire.
4. For the Pearl Encrusted Brooch: Take a deep tuck in the base and fill with a variety of pearls in a range of sizes.
5. For the Gold Bead Tendril Brooch: Let the rouleaux trail off the edge of your brooch. Add extra rouleau if you want to add extra beads. Thread beads along the tendrils and knot the ends to prevent the bead slipping off. Tie loose loops back through themselves for a 'drop' effect with more visual interest.
6. For the Crystal and Rouleau Embossed Brooch: Tuck the ends of some of the strands of Coverstitch fabric back on themselves around the edge of the brooch before applying the rouleau edging. Take extra rouleau and concertina them to the top of the brooch. Stitch in position at the sewing machine. Add simple crystals to finish your brooch.
7. For the Sequin Drop Brooch: Play with the circle shape before edging it, cutting a smooth piece out. Stitch two or three separate rouleaux around the edge before applying a variety of sequins held in place with a matching seed bead.

Teal/Silver Jewelry

1. For the Dramatic Angled Brooch: Make your jewelry base a long right angle triangle and cut into three separate pieces. Machine edge and then add rouleaux, leaving a space between each section. Add extra rouleau accents, applying a selection of silver beads and crystals. Try on your garment before you stitch your brooch back on the back to maintain the creative angle.
2. For the Articulated Bracelet: Make a long rectangular jewelry base and cut into four smaller rectangles. Add a continuous rouleau along either side, extending it at the beginning and forming a loop at the other end, referring to the diagram. Cinch the edging together between each rectangle with a bow made from a separate rouleau tie, adding a silver bead if preferred. Add beads to the 2 loose ends.
3. Toggle Brooch: Make two isosceles triangles for your jewelry base. Add rouleau or perhaps a rolled hem down either side and across the base, leaving the thread tails long. Roll from the base to the point, thread the tails through the toggle from one end, hanging loose at the other. Attach some beads if you prefer. Offset the toggles and stitch together before attaching the brooch back and optional beads.

Anne's Tips

1. If you prefer, make your jewelry base and at your Memory Craft embroidery machine, embroider an appliquè design of your choice. Cluster a few small designs together for a quick adornment. Add beads and sequins for a quick brooch: however, you will generally not have any dimension in this method.
2. When creating your jewelry, ask yourself:
   • Is this to be a subtle elegant piece or a striking abstract piece?
   • Do I have something to wear it with now or do I have to make a garment to showcase my new art work?
   • Do I want a single piece or do I want a collection?
   • Will it be handled, as your admirers just want to "see" it with their hands?
   These questions may determine the materials you use: for example, if your jewelry is likely to be touched by your friends (let's face it, textiles just seem to cry out "touch me"!) or in my instance, by many students in classes or trunk shows, ensure your materials are more robust and can take all the admiration. The Pearl encrusted brooch is a good case in point-extra stitching will hopefully prevent you getting down on your knees to retrieve errant pearls in the middle of an important event.
3. Some considerations for your jewelry, decide how large you would like your jewelry, taking your body size into consideration. If you are petite, an oversized design may not really work for your proportions, however, it may work on a separate scarf. Conversely, if you are more generously proportioned a tiny design may not work on its own, but can work in a grouping.
4. Practice first with a piece of paper, placing it where you would normally wear your brooch to determine a suitable size or grouping for yourself. When you are happy with your design, stitch your brooch pin to the back or add your Parrot clip to hang as a pendant.
5. Stand back and admire your creations: innovation, great threads and simple techniques in a recipe for contemporary Wearable Art. What more could you want? Enjoy the pleasure of wearing or giving your Baubles, Bangles and Bright Shiny Beads and the satisfaction of knowing you have added to your jewelry collection by creating it yourself.