CLICK HERE to read my complete tip sheet on the Wonders of the Walking Foot.

Tips for preparing and stitching a quilt with decorative stitches:

• Begin with quality needles and thread. The smoother the thread, the prettier the stitch will be. A sharp needle such as a quilting needle (11-14) or a jeans needle (12-14), work well with cotton threads. A sharp needle pierces the fabric cleanly and evenly.
• Set machine for a slow, even speed. It will take longer to stitch from end to end but that’s okay, relax and enjoy the process.
• Use batting that is thin and firm. Warm and Natural is a good choice. Flannel is also a good substitute when you want to use decorative stitches. Be sure to wash and dry the flannel and make sure it is throughly pre-shrunk.
• Unless the quilt is very small you'll need to baste before stitching. Here are a few methods.

1.) Hand baste or machine baste with traditional thread, or water soluble thread if the quilt will be washed when completed.
2.) Use fusible basting spray. 
3.) Pin baste with long, flat pins such as flower head pins, OR quilter's safety pins.

• Make sure your entire quilt is supported by quilting in a table or cabinet with an insert, or by using a machine specific extension table. If the quilt falls away from the surface while you are quilting, the weight will drag the quilt down and possibly cause distortion of the stitches. Do WHATEVER you need to do to fully support the entire quilt. This is true even if your quilt is the size of a wall hanging.
• It is easier if you select stitches that do not exceed the 7mm width of the throat plate. Some of the wider (multi directional) decorative stitches will work but they require more practice to sew. It can be difficult to stay straight for lengthy sections with these super wide stitches. 
• You may get the better results by setting presser foot pressure slightly less than standard.
• Consider using a water soluble "fibrous" stabilizer to further “beef up” the fabric for decorative stitches to form properly. Another good water-soluble stabilizer is sold in a liquid form. The brand name is Perfect Sew®. 
• Experiment with increasing stitch length and width to allow the stitch to flow more freely across the fabric.
• Be careful when crossing seams. You may need to stop when you reach the seam, lift the presser foot to smooth the fabric, and then start again, making sure the foot lays flat on the fabric layers.

Did you learn anything new from this post? If so, please let me know in the comments below.

Feeling stuck when it comes to choosing a color scheme for a new project? Are you wanting to impress a friend with a gift but you're unsure of a good mix of colors? When in doubt consider designing with a classy, yet somewhat subtle tone-on-tone color scheme. If you are in making a gift, and you know your friend's all time favorite color you are good to go and ready to sew!!!

Take a look at the collection of fat quarters and trims in the photo above. They melt together with a soothing color scheme, yet they include just enough contrast due to the varying shades from one purple based color family.

When planning a machine embroidery project you may fall in love with the elements of a design yet the colors are all wrong for you personally, or for the intended project. Has this ever happened to you?  For me it seems to be a common occurrence. The artistic Floral Decorative design shown above happens to be one of my all time favorites. However, the color combo just doesn't mix with anything I have.

What do I do if my fabric is blue?!? Tone on tone to the rescue! By selecting embroidery thread colors in soft shades of blue the design takes on a whole new look! 

In pink . . .

And in green . . .

Same exact design, same amount of color changes, but a whole new scheme with a mix of light, medium, and dark shades of the same color. Of course you can also minimize the amount of color changes by repeating one or more colors in the design. This is especially easy to do when you are working with shades of the same color.

It's hard to go wrong by stitching a medley of similar colors. You could examine your original design and replace lighter areas with light colors and darker areas with darker shades. If you have the option to change thread colors right on the screen of your machine you can preview and make changes before you stitch. Yet another option is to use computer software to make and preview changes.

Perhaps your machine has an option to automatically rearrange the colors or even create a different mix of colors on your behalf. Take a look at the two butterflies below. Same design, but two totally different butterflies emerge using an option called Color Shuffle™ with a specific selection for tone on tone, also known as gradient, for the new color scheme.

This quick change artistry is accomplished in a few simple steps. Note that the original design has seven color changes. Remember that you can minimize colors by repeating them, using using less colors overall.

In the first step color shuffling option is accessed from Edit mode by touching the color palette icon and then selecting the color shuffling option.

​Color Palette Icon

The option for tone on tone (Gradient) and the desired number of colors becomes available. This is also where the number of colors can be minimized if you wish. I left it at seven.

After selecting a specific color spool for the color family, the machine magically provides many pages of options. 

Are you ready to experiment with tone on tone for a future project, or is this already a "go to" favorite technique for you? I'd love  to hear about your experiences. Please let me know in the comments below.

I know my readers have a wide variety of machine models with either manual or computerized buttonholes built in. Click on the super short video above and you'll see a computerized "one step" buttonhole in action on a Brother machine. I'll talk more about buttonhole set-up in a minute but first let me describe what you are seeing when you watch the video.

At the starting point the buttonhole sews backwards with a straight stitch, tracing the exact length of the buttonhole as determined by the button inserted at the back of the foot. Next, the same straight stitch is sewn forward, followed by the left "leg" of the buttonhole which consists of narrow zigzag stitches forming from front to back. The machine straight stitches forward, a bar tack forms at the front end of the buttonhole and then the machine stitches backward to form the right leg of the buttonhole with narrow zig zag stitches, and finally finishes with the bar tack at the back end.

What's important to note is that the zigzag stitching for both the right and left leg of the buttonhole form in the same direction, stitching from front to back. This prevents shifting that occurs when a buttonhole stitches out in a "box" formation, moving in different directions for each side. 

Notice how the button sits snugly in a slot at the back of the buttonhole foot. The spacing created between the white and the silver protrusions coordinate with the buttonhole lever mechanism on the machine, sensing the length. The buttonhole lever (identified with the red arrow below) comes in contact with these two parts and that makes the magic happen.

I think the sheen of the embroidery thread has a smooth look and mimics the old time silk buttonhole twist used for hand worked buttonholes in days gone by. In addition, embroidery thread is smoother than ordinary sewing thread. 

Take a look at the example below and you'll see ordinary sewing thread on top and embroidery thread on the bottom buttonhole next to the button. On the actual fabric sample the regular thread looks dull and the embroidery thread looks smooth and a little glossy. You decide what you prefer. 

I hope you found these tips helpful! If you have buttonhole questions or comments feel free to leave them below :-)

Have you noticed? Vintage is very much en vogue, tres chic, and making waves in the modern world of sewing! Particularly prominent lately are images, patterns, and books making headlines and taking us back in time with fashions and accessories from bygone eras. In this post I'd like to fill you in on a few blasts from the past that caught my attention recently.

Let's start with the 90th anniversary of Simplicity Pattern Company. If you visit the Simplicity site you'll see that they've been promoting a line of nostalgic images on everything from calendars, to tins, to notebooks, and more. It's fun to see these photos but it's even more fun to see some of the patterns reproduced into new patterns with modern measurements and pattern tissue complete with all the familiar markings for notches and other important information. 

I picked up a few intriguing options on a recent shopping trip. Take a look at the image above and you'll see three of my favorites. First there's is a set of sleeves from the 1930's, pattern 8506. I thought it would be fun to play around with these by adding them to a simple shell style blouse.

​Then a "folds flat" blouse for wovens from the 1940's caught my eye. View D of pattern 8593 looks fresh  and pretty with a yoke at the waist and a ruffle at the bottom. I think I have a piece of floral rayon waiting in the wings and perfectly sized for the yardage requirements.

This knit blouse takes less than a yard of fabric, has an interesting tutorial for putting it on, and looks like a real winner for travel and packability. ​Both of the blouses look like only an afternoon's worth of sewing time. Perfect timing on all three spring sewing and a wardrobe refresh!!!

While browsing the pattern book I came across one more "have to have it" pattern. Labeled as an authentic 1960's pattern, I first have to dispute the decade displayed on the envelope. You see, I remember buying this exact pattern and sewing the big shoulder bag from the tapestry fabric you see in the photo below. The year was 1977. Ahhh yes, I remember it well! 

It's quite a kick to see a favorite pattern make its way back into the pattern book. Talk about a trip down memory lane! I actually look but I didn't have the original pattern in my stash. Yes, I do still have some of my first patterns from the seventies carefully stored :-) The original pattern is not to be found but I did have that small remnant of the tapestry you see next to my new Simplicity 9553. This time around I want to make everything on the envelope, including the spats. Can you imagine the possibilities for adorning these with machine embroidery?

So how about you . . . do the nostalgic patterns hold any interest for you? Can you see yourself making any of these? I'd love to hear about your own favorite vintage patterns. Share your stories in the comments below!