Add interest to your quilts with improv paper pieced borders! These fun borders are a wonderful way to learn paper piecing! They can also be made more colorful by dipping into your scraps bin for a scrappy look!

Learn how to make Improv Paper Pieced Borders with Janome Maker Annabel Wrigley!

Decorative stitches can be used in so many ways! These stitches are often kept for special occasions and not utilized in everyday sewing and almost never in quilting. Janome Maker Eliane from Patchwork & Poodles is going to show you how to to use a few of these stitches to create lovely quilting with ease!

If you are just starting to quilt, this is a great way to get comfortable with handling the feel of the quilt when quilting. For the more experienced quilter, This can be your go-to when you need that fast finish for a gift or service quilts! No matter what the case, you will be thrilled by the results you can achieve with this method!

Hi, I’m Eliane from Patchwork & Poodles! I’m a quilt pattern designer, which means I make a lot of quilts. I also primarily quilt all of these at home on my Janome MC6700P machine.

While straight-line quilting is a fast way to finish a work in progress, I found myself bored of quilting the same way all the time. If you’re in the same boat, read on! You’ll find three decorative stitches you can use in your quilting, and none of them take more time than normal straight-line quilting! 

The Set-Up:

You’ll need to put your walking foot on your machine and mark some lines on your quilt. I like to use a Hera marker to mark my lines, but tape, a chalk pencil, or a water-soluble marker works well too. If you’d like to see more information about marking a quilt, watch Eliane's video:

. 

VI recommends that your marking lines serve as a guide for the edge of your walking foot instead of your needle. This makes it easier to follow. Luckily, all three of these stitches are pretty forgiving, so even if you end up going a bit crooked, no one will notice!

Tips for success:

• Practice on some scraps first to see what you like.  You can vary the width of the stitches for a wider or narrower design to suit the quilt you’re quilting.

• Go slow! You should always stitch slowly with a walking foot, and this is no exception. If your machine can regulate speed, set that up so you’re not tempted to press the pedal to the metal.

• Gently guide your quilt, don’t force it through the machine.

The stitch widths and lengths provided below are a great starting point. Start there and then play around to find your favorite combination!

Three-Step Zig-Zag:

Three-Step Zig-Zag on a Zippy Quilt

This fun stitch creates a wide zig-zag that is made up of multiple individual stitches. This one adds a really nice crinkle effect when the quilt is washed and adds a playful touch to any quilt. Vary the stitch length and width until you like the results. Just be sure that your individual stitches aren’t too small!

Stitch: 011

Stitch Width: 7.0

Stitch Length: 2.5 

The Serpentine Stitch:

The Serpentine Stitch on Summer Glow Quilt (Free Pattern!)

The serpentine stitch adds quilted waves to your quilt and is a good one to use if you want to soften a very angular quilt. Vary the stitch width to create a wider serpentine stitch. This is also a great stitch to use for water/ocean-themed quilts.

Stitch: 096

Stitch Width: 9.0

Stitch Length: 3.0

The Scallop Stitch:

Scallop Stitch on Etoile Quilt

This stitch is probably my favorite as it is so versatile. You can create the scallops right side up to look like lace or ocean waves, or upside down to look like clouds. 

Stitch: 111

Stitch Width: 9.0

Stitch Length: 2.5

After you try this method, be sure to take photos and share!   

Welcome Back to the Janome Rainbow Quilt Block of the Month designed by Janome Maker Carolina Oneto!

This month we will make our fourth block. The Dutchman's Puzzle is a classic design that first appeared in the late 1800s. Return of the Swallows or Dutchman's Wheel are two names for this block. About 1895, the term Dutchman's Puzzle was first used by the Ladies Art Company, a mail-order quilt pattern company. The pattern, titled Wheel, was first published in the Ohio Farmer in 1894.

The Dutchman's Puzzle Quilt Block is so much fun to make! It's a basic block made up of pairs of Flying Geese blocks at its heart.

A larger triangle (the goose) is surrounded by two smaller triangles in this surprisingly simple block. Typically, these blocks are designed to be twice as wide as they are tall.

It's critical to choose fabrics with sufficient light-dark contrast.

Remember that all the blocks will have a finished size of 12” so that means the unfinished size will be 12 1/2

Fabrics:

White background

· Two 8” square

Light blue

. One 8” square

Dark blue

· One  8” square

INSTRUCTIONS:

Make Half Square Triangles (HST) 8-at-a-Time

• Place (1) White and (1) blue square with right sides together (you will work with two pairs)
• Draw a line diagonally corner to corner.
• Sew a line 1/4” apart from the drawn line, in both sides.

• Cut the square units in both directions and then diagonally, corner to corner.

Press the seams and trim the block down to 3.5 inches square.

• Arrange your HSTs in the correct layout
• Using a quarter-inch seam allowance, sew together in rows. Join all rows, using a quarter-inch seam allowance.
• Press your completed block and trim it down to 12.5″ square (if necessary).

And that’s all! How easy was that block? Sew simple!!!!

 I hope you enjoy this new block! And don’t forget to share it!

• If you are just joining in, please be sure to make Block One, Block Two  and Block 3 on the Janome Blog! 

After you finish your block, please be sure to share a photo on your social media! We love to see what you are creating! 

Janome Sewing Classroom on Facebook

Instagram

Pinterest

Twitter

Be sure to use the hashtags:

#janomemakes + #rainbowquiltBOM2021 also, tag @janomeamerica and @carolina_oneto!

We can always depend on our Janome Makers to come up with fantastic projects to make for ourselves and for others! Jessee created the most adorable little monster! You can make one or an entire rainbow of cuddly friends to brighten your day! You will learn how to sew with minky, how to create their sweet quirky faces using in the hoop embroidery, and best of all, bring joy to all the people you will be making them for in your life! 

Hello! Jessee here from Art School Dropout with another super cute embroidery project! 

This time around though we’re making something that is perfect for these trying times and a great gift to send to a loved one. Hint: It fits perfectly in a Priority Mail envelope!

I'm calling them the Awkward Hug Monsters. They are fluffy monsters with the most awkward smile you ever saw and short floppy arms that are just waiting to hug you. 

The best part about this project however is that most of it is done IN THE HOOP! (Just pretend I'm saying that in an announcer’s voice). I'm serious though, the only part not done in the hoop is making the arms floppy, stuffing it, and sewing the hole shut. I love projects like this.

We have a bit to cover though, so let's get started...

Recommended Supplies:

• An embroidery machine with at least a 230x300mm hoop (I used the Janome MC15000)

• 1/3rd yard of plush fabric for the body. (I used Shannon Fabrics Cuddle 3 for all of my examples, but other minky and fleece would work well too)

• 1/8th yard of plush fabric for the belly

• Small piece of white fleece or felt for the teeth (or any color you want)

• Polyfil Stuffing

• Embroidery thread in Black for the eyes

• Embroidery thread in a coordinating color for the stomach, lips, toes, etc.

• Thread that matches body fabric for stitching the arms and body shut

• Scissors

• Tear-away stabilizer

• Temporary spray adhesive (I used Odif 505)

• Water-soluble stabilizer

• Embroidery File 

• Optional Supplies:

• Duckbill applique scissors

• Rotary cutter

• Cutting mat

Now that we've rounded up all of our supplies, let's get started. 

First things first, we need to get comfortable with the materials we are using. Plush fabric isn't like wovens or knits. It has a nap, and if sewn in the wrong direction it just doesn't look right. So what I do is I figure out how I want the plush to lay by brushing it back and forth until it looks like this...

This shows me which direction the nap goes. I want it so the plush basically goes down like a waterfall. I keep this in mind when cutting and when adding it to my hoop.

Once we have a handle on the nap, you will need two pieces of the main body color cut at 10x12.5 and one belly piece cut at 2.5”x4”. As shown below.

You'll notice a bunch of tiny plush dust on the edges, which is totally fine! Just shake the piece out a bunch and vacuum it all up later. It won't hurt you.

Now it's time to prep the hoop! Normally I'd use a sticking-backed stabilizer, but since I'm using a larger hoop, and I wanted to keep the cost down, I opted for some medium-weight tear-away stabilizer instead. Just cut it about an inch larger than your hoop and place it inside, without any fabric, the way you normally would.

Then spray the backside of one piece of plush, while still keeping an eye on which way the nap goes, and place it centered in the hoop. For the MC15000 and the GR Hoop, I had my nap pointed towards the right to go along with the embroidery file. 

From here you will load up your machine with the Awkward Hugs Monster embroidery file, thread it up with the first color and hook up your hoop!

Special Note: Please make sure that your Stitch Stop is on for this project! We need all that extra trim time to make this as professional-looking as possible.

So the first set of stitches will be the outline of the belly. This file is set up to just place a piece of fabric on top of this stitch outline, let it do another outline, and then trim before it does an applique stitch all around. 

As you can see from the above photos, I haven't added any Water Soluble Stabilizer on top yet. I know this is a big NO-NO for plush fabric, but I promise you I have my reasons!

So after the belly is stitched on, you'll want to add the teeth. This is a multi-step process that will go back and forth, so don't worry that you have colored zig-zag stitches all over your pretty new fleece teeth.

Side Note: I do not recommend using plush fabric for the teeth. I tried this in the first prototype and my daughter said it made it look like it had multiple rows of teeth and really “creeped her out”. Oops.

Once your teeth have been tacked down, now is the time to add the sheet of Water Soluble Stabilizer on top. I waited until now because of all the applique going on! If you had added it from the start, we would have several layers of the stuff by now. See where I'm going with this? Also, if you are new to plush fabric, you may be wondering why we use this stuff. Well. It's mostly to keep the nap of the plush down so it doesn't get caught up in the embroidery designs and looks weird. It gives everything a nice clean look in the end! Well worth the extra step and cost.

From here just follow the thread colors in the embroidery file and everything should look like it does above. Yes, you will be switching back to that first color after the black thread, but it was really the only way to get that beautiful monster smile to shine.

When you get to this point, you can go ahead and tear off the Water Soluble Stabilizer. I know it's meant to be soaked off, but the embroidered parts are so dense, it just tears off. Way easier. However, keep the design in the hoop still since there is one more IN THE HOOP step.

While still keeping an eye on which way the nap is going, place the second piece of plush fabric we cut earlier down on top of your newly embroidered monster parts. Make sure it’s plush side down too. 

You could tape it in place, but I noticed it hardly shifts at all and I just keep an eye on it while the machine does the last outline stitches.

Once it has finished its laps around the body, you are ready to take the hoop off the machine and remove your inside-out monster! We are so close to being done!!!

Next, you will need to cut them out, leaving at least a 1/4” seam allowance, though I'd much rather it be 3/8”. Your choice if you want to live on the wild side. While trimming, you'll need to cut slits anywhere there is an indent in the design. I included photos with loads of arrows to show the best spots.

Now your monster is ready to be turned right side out! I found that turning the horns and arms first made it easier all around.

Look at that beautiful smile!

Remember, this monster is called the Awkward HUGS Monster, so we need to make sure these arms are ready for hugging!

To do so, just stuff each of the arms as much as you can. The using thread that matches the body, do a straight stitch through the arm, from the armpit to the shoulder, and then back down again. Locking the thread at the end. This allows for the arm to keep all its stuffing, and it adds a hinge! Repeat this for the other arm too.

Side note: I absolutely love “The Purple Thang” tool for stuffing plush figures. The square piece on the back grabs the Polyfil stuffing perfectly and moves it exactly where it needs to go!

After you perform the arm hinge surgery, you will want to stuff the entire thing as much as possible. You will be using way more Polyfil than you ever thought you would. It's crazy, but I promise it will help you get the best-looking monster in the end. 

Once your monster is nice and plump, you will want to stitch the open hole closed using a ladder stitch. If you don't know what that is, I highly recommend looking up videos. It is the best stitch ever for closing up plush toys and for adding darts when needed.

Technically at this point, you are finished...

BUT, I suggest one more thing! Place your monster flat on a hard surface with your palm on its stomach. Now move your hand around clockwise like you're kneading bread, and then do it again counterclockwise. This helps distribute the Polyfil a bit more and gets you a less clumpy monster. No one wants a clumpy monster!!!!

Ok, NOW you're done!! Woohoo!! Congrats! 

If you are anything like me though, you may keep adding to your monster family! Each time trying out different threads and color combos. This is completely normal and encouraged. So please try out that weird holographic thread you bought 6 years ago but never tried, or that variegated pink and purple thread that just collects dust! You never know what the outcome will be and this is the perfect project to test it out.

P.S.: If you do make your own Awkward Hugs Monster, please share it with us or hashtag it #janomeawkwardhugsmonster !! We would absolutely love to see them.

After you finish making your sweet monster, please be sure to snap a photo and share! 

We don’t want to miss out so be sure to tag:

@janomeamerica

@jessee_artschooldropout

And hashtag:

#janome

#janomemakes

Are you ready for Summer?  With the warmer weather approaching, it is a great time to add some fun details to your wardrobe with Janome Maker Janelle Marie! 

In this walk-through, Janelle will show you how she drafted her strawberry blouse from her Sloper (also known as a pattern Block). It’s a relatively quick project that doesn't require much fabric. This covers how to expand the paper pattern to create a new shape, adding new seams, creating folded ruffles, how to add shirring, ruffles, and extra fabric for buttons.

This whole pattern begins with a custom, well-fitting Sloper. A base on which it is infinitely more easy to draft a pattern than to start from scratch. You will need to have one of these already but if you do not, no worries! There are many great guides on how to do so. I drafted mine following Kim Dave’s YouTube tutorial. In the below photo you can see my sloper as well as some of the things you will need:

-Sloper/Bodice Block

-2 yds main fabric (I used 1 ½ cotton but if you want to pattern match you’ll need more)

-2 yds Single fold Bias tape (I made mine from the red and white checkered fabric shown but premade is fine)

-Approx. 6x14” Mid-weight Fusible interfacing (I happened to have black but any color is fine as it’ll be completely hidden)

-4-5 buttons

-Fray check

-Sewing machine and appropriate needles for your fabric

-A serger is helpful but not essential

-Iron and ironing board

-Fabric chalk/marker

-Pins or clips

-Good quality thread (Gutermann or better)

-Shirring (elastic) thread

-An empty bobbin

-Muslin or large scrap fabric for your mockup

-Ruler and Curve/Fashion ruler

-Scissors or rotary cutter

-Tape

-Pen, pencil, tracing wheel

1. Trace your front sloper onto a new sheet of paper with bust darts closed.  You want the excess fabric that comes with leaving the waist dart open. Once traced, bring in the shoulders about 1.5” (.75” on each side)  and drop the neckline 3”. This is where a curved ruler comes in handy to get nice, smooth lines. 

2. Next, you want the top of the underarm seams to be a 90-degree angle so drop it about ½” and extend the side out about ½” until you get a 90-degree point. Measure from your waist to where you want the bottom of the shirt to end on you and add that measurement plus 1” to the bottom of the front. 

3. You are going to repeat this process for the back without closing any darts. Bring in the shoulder to match the front and drop the back neckline approx. 2”. Extend the underarm out about ½” and lengthen the side seam to match the front.

4. Once you make those changes, cut out both the front and back pieces. Align and tape the shoulders to check that the lengths match and that the neckline and arms make smooth transitions into each other. Adjust accordingly and separate.

5. Align and tape together the side seams. Check that the lengths match and that the arm opening curve is smooth. If you want the front or back to be longer than the sides, leave it as is. If you want the bottom hem to be parallel, make those adjustments now. Separate.

6. Now it’s time to make a mock-up (or toile) and check the fit! Trace the pattern onto your muslin, making sure to mark where the waist is. Use a basting stitch and contrasting thread color to assemble. Don’t worry about finishing the arm/neck holes and hem nicely. Cut those areas at the line, leaving no seam allowance. Also, don’t worry about adding extra fabric for the button closures. Just sew up the back as if there is no opening. You should still be able to slide it over your head. After the sides and shoulders are sewn, try it on without turning it! It should sit comfortably but not tightly.

7. I ended up dropping the neckline another inch and widening it out slightly. Use a pen or marker to make your adjustments directly onto the fabric if desired. Then mark the vertical line you would like your ruffles to emerge from on the front and back. Going a little wider at the top and bringing them in closer together towards the waist helps create the illusion of a smaller waist, which is how I placed mine. Once this is marked, take a ruler and measure how wide you want your ruffles to be at the shoulders, shoulder blades, and at bust. Mark measurements and placement onto the fabric. Mine was 2” at the shoulder, 1” at the bust, and shoulder blades. Mark your waist if it does not match the one previously marked and decide how wide you want your shirring to be. Mine was 1.5” wide

8. Once all of these markings and measurements have been made, remove the mock-up and undo the front, back, and shoulder stitches. Lay flat. Use your curve ruler to make the newly marked lines smooth and elegant. Mark the to-be-shirred section at the waist clearly. Tape your paper pattern together at the sides, lay your mock-up on top and transfer the changes using a pencil and/or tracing wheel. Cut along the ruffle lines to create 3 pattern sections. Front center, side, and back center.

9. Now, if you are happy with your mock-up, it's time to cut out your real fabrics! We will start with the ruffles. On your pattern, measure the length from your front waist to your shoulder and then from your shoulder to the back waist. These together are the length of your ruffles. But, in order to make them, you know, ruffle, multiply that number by 1.75 or 175%. That is the length of fabric you will need to make each of your ruffles. To figure out the width, take your widest ruffle measurement (mine was 2”), add ½” for seam allowance and multiply it by 2. Mine totals 5”

         Length                                                  Width

(Desired length X 1.75)   by   (Desired width + seam allowance) X 2

10. With a clear plan as to how all of your pieces are going to fit onto your fabric (I like to draw a little map as shown below), cut out your ruffle strips and fold in half, right sides facing out. Mark where the shoulder seam, bust, and shoulder blade points will meet (initial measurement x 1.75) and mark their widths. Draw a smoothly transitioning line between the points, with both ends tapering to 1”. Cut off excess on raw edges, leaving the fold intact. 

11. Iron flat and use the gather stitch to sew two even, parallel lines of stitches ¼” and ⅖” away from the raw edges, leaving several inches of thread at each end. I like to use two different colors of thread for my bobbin and top threads to help differentiate the ends. While holding the bobbin threads, push the fabric together to create the ruffle. Match its length to the measured length of the bodice slits and tie off threads to hold in place. Put aside.

12. Layout your bodice pieces onto your folded fabric. Front center on the fold. Back next to it with several inches of space next to the center back (where we will add fabric for the buttons). Place the side piece below these both. Trace all pieces and onto fabric using chalk or erasable marker/pen. Make sure to mark the waist section to be shirred and any other connection points.

13. With the back piece on the fabric and traced, extend the center back 2.5”. End the extension at the top of the shirred portion as that will be a straight seam. This will become the button panel. Add seam allowances to all except the center edge of the extension and cut out. It should look like the far right image below:

14. Next, we are going to add some interfacing to the button panel. Measure the length of the newly added button panel including seam allowances and the width from the original center backline to the raw edge. Cut out two pieces of interfacing with these measurements. Lay your back pieces on your ironing board with the interfacing in place and press. Flip and press again. Fold over ¼” of the vertical center back raw edge and press. Repeat for the other side. 

15. Gather your shirring thread, an empty bobbin and a whole lot of patience. To wind your bobbin, put the end of the shirring thread through the hole of your bobbin and wind it with only enough tension to make it lay smooth. It shouldn’t be stretching at all. Try and wind in evenly back and forth so there are no center or side bumps. Fill in as much as you think your shirt will need. I wound mine just over half full. Pop it into your machine or bobbin case and thread it as normal. On mine, I had to hold the bobbin in place and pull with some tension to get it to go through the final curve of the bobbin holder. Thread the upper thread as normal, using a color that matches your fabric. Use this to pull up your bobbin thread and leave several inches of tails. Your machine should be set to a straight stitch. Depending on how much you want it to gather, that will determine your stitch length. The longer the stitch, the more it will gather. Mine was set at a length of 4.

16. Practice a few times on a scrap of fabric to make sure your settings are right. It will not look like it is gathering much at all until your 3rd or 4th row so do several rows. Do NOT use your automatic thread cutter or the elastic thread will spring back inside your machine. Always leave 3-4” of tails. Once you are happy with the settings, begin on your actual pieces on the markings you made. Backstitch at every beginning and end of a row to hold your shirring thread in place. I would recommend not cutting the threads after each row but instead turning and continuing while still backstitching at each beginning and end. Sew rows approx. ¼ - ½” from each other depending on the look you want to achieve. I sewed 7 rows ¼” apart. If they are not gathering as much as you would like, use your iron to steam the shirring a little until it contracts. Do NOT touch the iron to the fabric or thread or your thread could melt. Finish all 5 sections.

All of your pieces should look like this:

17. After you are happy with all of your shirring, it’s time to assemble! Start by connecting the shoulder pieces of the front center and back centers. Sew, serge (if desired), and press backward. Next connect the shoulder portions of the side pieces to themselves, forming the complete armhole. Sew, serge (if desired), and press backward.

You should now have three separate pieces and two ruffles, like this:

18. Begin adding the ruffles by first sewing the front center and front of the side panels together to just above the shirred waist. Sandwich one ruffle strip between the front and side piece, aligning the bust, shoulder, and shoulder blade mark you previously made. Pin together until you reach the bottom of the back of the shirt. The ruffle should end just above the shirred waist at the back. Repeat for the other side. Sew these pieces together with a basting stitch and check to see if you are happy with the placement. If everything is ever, sew with a straight stitch, serge, and press (avoiding the shirred waist).

19. We are nearing the finish line! Now it’s time to finish the neck and arm openings with some bias tape. I made mine with checkered cotton to give it a pop of color but using premade is absolutely fine! Measure and cut the needed lengths to go all around the neckline to the very edges of the stabilized button panel and the armholes with an overlap of at least an inch. Pin the bias tape to the neckline, making sure the crease closest to the edge lands exactly where you want your neckline edge to be. Straight stitch along that crease.

20. For the armholes or any closed circle openings, I like to begin pinning the bias tape under the arm with the tip folded over towards you. That way, when the end of the bias tape is pinned in place, it holds the fold in place and when you turn it, there are no raw edges showing. Again, pin the bias tape where the crease closest to the raw edge is exactly where you want the opening to be. Straight stitch along that crease. Trim off any extra fabric that extends past the bias tape.

21. Fold over, iron and pin the bias in place. With the bias tape pinned in place, topstitch it in place. You can use a straight stitch ¼” from the edge or a decorative one like I have.

22. Sew and serge the back center from the top of the shirred waist to the bottom raw edge. Serge entire bottom edge and fold up and under ½-1”. Iron and pin in place. Use the stretch zig zag stitch to finish.

22. Now for the final step! The buttons! Fold in the vertical raw edges of the button panel ¼” and press. Fold up the bottom edge of each panel ¼”. Fold them in again until that same vertical folded edge touches the edge of interfacing and slightly overlaps it, hiding it. Sew a straight line ¼” from that double folded edge. Pin both panels in place, one on top of each other, and mark your desired buttonhole placements. I did 5 total. Unpin and use your machine to sew buttonholes to match your button size.

23. Fray check each sewn buttonhole and iron to dry quickly. Cut open your buttonholes, pin panels in place again, and use your removable pen or mark to mark where each button needs to be placed. I like to run the pen up and down the buttonhole and then determine the halfway point of the mark. Measure between each button placement to check if they are even. Use your machine to sew your buttons on by hand. With your button panels buttoned-up, pin the bottom edge of your outermost button panel and sew it in place! Viola! You're done! Step back, ignore the tiny mistakes we all make, and breathe in your accomplishment! Pop it on and give yourself a hug!

After you finish making your amazing top, please be sure to snap a photo and share! 

We don’t want to miss out so be sure to tag:

@janomemaerica

@seams.come.true

And hashtag:

#janome

#janomemakes