Welcome Rachel to our Janome Maker Team!

We’re thrilled to have Rachel Barnes as a new Maker here at Janome! She brings a unique perspective to sewing apparel and other fun projects! 

We sat down with Rachel to get to know here a little better. Here are some highlights from our conversation:

Rachel’s Bio

Rachel Barnes’ professional background is in Design and Mechanical Engineering. After 11 years of working in this industry, she switched gears to start a family and enjoy time at home with her children. Through this transition (in 2013) she came back to her love of sewing. She enjoys pattern construction and making garments for herself and her family. Her love for all things textile spans out into spinning fiber into yarn and knitwear design.

Rachel’s love for Janome started with her first sewing machine as a college graduation gift. Although she enjoyed learning to machine sew in 7th grade Home Ec, she got more into personal garment sewing years later. Her skills in the area of technical precision led her to sewing pattern testing in 2015. She has worked with multiple designers and companies to offer technical editing for sewing patterns.

You can read more about Rachel’s creative adventures on her blog, Oak Blue Designs, or Instagram account under the name Oakbluedesigns. Rachel currently sews on the Skyline S7 and Airthread 2000D Serger machines.