On December 4th I had the honor of being interviewed on the Brother sponsored Sewing News Live show hosted by my friend Angela Wolf. It's a new monthly Facebook Live show with a focus on Brother products used by Brother brand ambassadors like myself, as well as sewing professionals who choose Brother as their preferred machine. The show lasted a full hour and I've posted the replay for you here so you don't need any connection to Facebook to watch. Click on the image below to watch the entire one hour show.
Note: Depending on your device, this video may take a few seconds to load. 

Thanks for watching! We covered a lot of topics on this show. Below you'll find a complete resource list with detailed information.

• We talked a bit about Wrapped in Embroidery, published by Designs in Machine Embroidery. In the show you saw some pictures of a few wraps. You can view all of the wraps HERE. Interested in learning more? CLICK HERE.

• The popular It's Sew Easy PBS TV show came up several times. Visit www.itsseweasytv.com to search for TV listings in your area, and be sure to watch the Free online show that airing each week on the home page.

• I touched on two of my favorite Brother accessory feet. The Braiding foot and the MuVit™ Digital Dual Feed foot.​ On the subject of the MuVit foot here is a list of recent and current machines compatible with this attachment:

The following machines include the MuvVit foot:

1. Luminaire Innov-ís XP1 DreamCreator VQ2400
2. THE Dream Machine 2 Innov-ís XV8550D THE Dream Machine Innov-ís XV8500D
3. Innov-ís BQ2450 with quilters bundle (Open toe, stitch in ditch) 
4. DreamWeaver VQ3000    
5. Innov-ís BQ3050 with quilters bundle (Open toe, stitch in ditch, ¼-inch guide foot, quilt guides, couching accessory)
6. DreamWeaver XE VM6200D

Note: The MuVit™ foot is available as an an optional accessory for DreamCreator XE VM5100.

Watch for a future tutorial on additional accessories for the MuVit™ Digital Dual Feed foot.

Faux Suede Coat made from Shannon Fabrics Cuddle™ Suede.

• This coat features couched yarn attached using the MuVit foot and couching attachment. CLICK HERE and you'll find downloadable instructions on the It's Sew Easy TV website .

• CLICK HERE to watch the entire couched collar video on my YouTube channel.

• On the subject of feet, we talked about the Brother Foot of the Month and Free Design of the month projects I currently design and produce on a monthly basis. These are on Stitching Sewcial, the official Brother blog.

• You saw pictures of the current Free Design project from Brother. You'll find the free designs and project instructions HERE.

• Gift ideas came up and I shared an information about a coaster and gift bag set from It's Sew Easy TV show 1506. HERE are the instructions.

• Angela asked me about embroidering on paper and I shared a bit about my favorite way to embroidery greeting cards. The complete tutorial is HERE.

• The subject of machine embroidery for beginners was discussed. Here's a video you may be interested in watching if you're new to embroidery, but I believe seasoned embroidery enthusiasts will enjoy this too. CLICK HERE to watch this on my new YouTube channel.

As you can see, we covered a lot of ground in this fast paced hour. If you have any other questions or comments I'd love to entertain them and answer anything I can. Feel free to Contact Me or leave a comment at the end of this post. It was a great talking sewing with so many sewing friends participating. Thanks for watching! I hope you enjoyed the show :-)

Update! CLICK HERE to watch this show and all archived
Sewing News Live shows on YouTube.

Have you seen the red denim jacket titled Western Flair in Volume 112 of Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine? If you have, then you know that machine embroidery is the focal point of the pretty pointed yokes. 

The jacket pattern I selected, Folkwear Pattern #242, inspired me to create a design combination to compliment the shape of the yokes on the front and back. I had fun decorating these yokes by mixing motifs from the design collection included in Wrapped in Embroidery. This group of classic designs has proved to be quite versatile as they've found their way onto many garments hanging in my closet! 

This article includes ideas and tips I think you'll find useful for designing your own machine embroidered masterpieces. You'll see exactly how the yokes were made and get a glimpse of the decorative stitching added to compliment the embroidery motifs. I like to think of decorative stitches as itty-bitty embroidery patterns. They are plentiful on the sewing side of the machine and compliment embroidery motifs quite nicely. Keep reading and I'll tell you more about these decorative stitches and how you can successfully stitch similar designs.

The diamond shaped stitch you see on the shawl collar and cuffs is from the Satin Element stitch menu on the Brother Dream Machine. These stitches are known as elongation patterns because the shapes can be stitched in five elongated sizes. The shape itself remains the same, whether it is a diamond, scallop, or geometric shape. However, the pattern is stretched out or "elongated" while maintaining the same density of the original pattern. You'll find these stitches in the decorative menu of many different machine models. They're actually quite common and have been around for a long time. I encourage you not to overlook them just because they're common. They can make an extraordinary accent on many different projects!

In the photo above you see an example of all five different sizes. 

Since these are made up of satin stitches the needle moves from right to left to form the pattern. If there is a high contrast between the thread color and the fabric itself you may notice a bit of fabric showing through the space between the stitches. While it's possible to shorten the stitch length you'll find that this also alters the size of the elongated shape. Today you'll learn mare about these stitches and learn a few tricks to get the look you want, maintain the size, and get a nice dense look on contrasting fabric.

First let's talk about some presser foot possibilities for successful stitching. The foot on the right is the "N" foot and this is the one the machine will tell you to use. It works fine but I prefer an open toe foot for these. Here you see a clear foot in the center and a metal version on the left. It's important to know that all three of these feet have one thing in common, they have a groove or a channel on ​the underside which helps the thickness of the stitch easily flow under the foot. It's also important to know that you never want to use the standard "J" foot for satin stitching. This foot is too flat and will surely get stuck on the stitches. The big red X is here to remind you to put this foot away while satin stitching.

You'll also want to add stabilizer for successful stitching. Here I added a layer of tear-way underneath before stitching the samples. It's important to know that this type of stitching should be done on a single layer of fabric. The collar and cuffs for the jacket were decorated before construction.

It's important to note that when the stitch is first selected the default size is (3). Touch the size key to scroll through and make a different selection. In the above photo you see the smallest size, size (1).

For the trim on the red denim jacket I wanted the diamond shapes to be dense, with good coverage on the high contrast fabric.

I started by selecting size (5), but I wanted the pattern to look like a size (3).

To achieve this I simply decreased the stitch length to 0.2. This shortens the stitch length but also shortens the actual pattern shape. The resulting stitch looks like a (3) and is also more dense, so it covers the fabric better and looks richer. Below you see an example of this combination of size (5) with a stitch length of 0.2. 

There is yet another way to achieve this effect and that is to switch to thicker thread. The sample below was size (3) stitched with 30 weight embroidery thread and no change in the stitch length. Be sure to use a size 14 embroidery needle with this thicker thread. Side by side these samples look nearly identical yet the results were achieved with two different methods.

I encourage you to experiment with these ideas. I'm hoping you'll find a way to use satin element stitches for some of your own special masterpieces. You are welcome to share your thoughts, questions, and ideas in the comments box.

P.S. You can see a blue denim version of this jacket when you click here to watch a repeat of It's Sew Easy TV episode 1008-1. You'll see additional sewing and embroidery embellishment techniques!

September is National Sewing month! Are you celebrating??? I know, I know, we celebrate our passion for all things made with needle and thread 365 days a year but it's nice to know that the art and craft of sewing is nationally recognized during the month of September. As the story goes, Ronald Reagan made the declaration in 1982. Thanks to the Sewing and Craft Alliance and the American Sewing Guild, sewing has been put in the spotlight for the whole month of September. You can read the full history HERE.

Here you see the exhibit list for the museum which includes a Fashion Timeline, with a collection of clothing that spans 200 years of styles and inventions that not only changed history but had an earth-shattering impact as far as clothing is concerned. If you are interested in further exploration you can view the timeline ​HERE.

The next display that sparked thoughts of quality resulting from careful sewing was the collection of Katherine Hepburn stage & screen garments, which included clothing from her own closet. Seems that many of the star status garments made their way into her closet as clothing she wore in everyday life. Known for her penchant for pants, each pair in the exhibit were utterly classic and obviously well-crafted with details like multiple rows of top-stitching at the waistband. 
 
​So how does all of this tie into modern day machines and the everyday sewing many of us enjoy on a regular basis? Well, straight sewing makes up a large portion of the seams we construct for garments, crafts, quilting, and home decor. The rest of this post is dedicated to highlighting some simple solutions to keep you on the straight and narrow when it comes to guiding fabric through your machine.

Let's start with the tried and true role that ordinary painter's tape can take. It's inexpensive for sure, and likely that you have a roll or two handy for household projects. 

For perfect placement of the tape I like to use a 6-inch square quilt ruler. Simply line up the tip of the needle with the distance you need on the ruler and then make certain it is level with the front plate of your machine. You can then place the tape along the ruler's edge with assurance that the tape will be equidistant from the beginning to the end. Use a longer ruler if you need the tape to extend in a longer line.

For another option, a pack of post it style sticky paper notes can be used to the right or left of the presser foot as well. This method is one that my quilter friends adopted long ago. Yes, there are "gadgets" you can purchase that do a similar job and they do have merit, but this idea works very well.

Speaking of quilters, if you are an avid quilter, or if you happen to own a walking foot you may already have the Quilt Guide accessory for your walking foot. Designed to fit in the small hole behind the walking foot, it also fits in the foot holder used for attaching snap-on feet. The red arrow in the photo above shows the exact spot for inserting this handy gadget. 

This next idea came as a result of necessity being the mother of invention.

I needed to stitch something using the free arm and wanted to be certain I could maintain the distance from the needle to the folded edge of my fabric for multiple pieces. 

Sewing a piece of colorful elastic into a band and slipping it onto ​the free arm gave me a simple guide to follow and proved to be especially helpful for a wide distance. Once again, you can use the quilt ruler to help align the band on the machine. You'll find a full tutorial for this option on the Brother Stitching Sewcial blog.

Depending on your machine and the elastic you use you may even be able to get the extension bed back on the machine like I did here. That gives you a flat surface so you can also use this for items that don't need a free arm.

Last but not least, you may own a machine that boasts the Sew Straight™ Laser Vision Guide option as an onboard aid to sewing straight in a variety of situations. This feature opens up a world of possibilities! Available on a variety of models, you can see how it works on a Dream Machine by watching this YouTube video. I could easily write six more posts showing how I like to use the laser guide. However, related to the topic at hand I'd like to share just one of my personal favorite ways to use this feature to sew an accurate seam allowance. CLICK HERE to download a free tip sheet on this topic.

I hope you found this information helpful. Feel free to leave your comments below :-)

In the 1500 series of It's Sew Easy TV I had the opportunity to showcase basic stitches that perform as superstars. Basic yes, but they deserve superstar status for the way they can make your projects look more professional. Watch the full video here to see learn more.

This new series of blog posts is designed to complement the video with additional information. This is the first in a series that celebrates basic utility stitches, beginning with the straight stitch and exploring ways to sew accurate seams.

Nothing in your sewing repertoire is more basic than a straight stitch!   Today we'll talk about seams and seam allowances.

The little "old fashioned" seam guide you see above has been around for eons. It's still one of my go to tools for sewing accurate seams. The one you see here is the Brother version but it's likely you'll find a similar one for most any brand of machine. What makes it so useful? Well, if you are anything like me, you've struggled to follow the engraved markings on the throat plate. Even when sewing a standard 5/8-inch seam it can be difficult to stay on the straight and narrow when following the groovy guides on the plate.  Sure, there are some new-fangled, laser guided ways to achieve accuracy for sewing seams, and I promise to cover some of those in the next post, but this guide is a generic quick fix that works great and is a one size fits all solution.
 
Simply screw it into the plate, set it for the distance of your seam, and then guide the fabric along the easy to follow raised edge as you sew from beginning to end. The fact that it attaches to the machine in front of a multitude of accessory feet provides visibility along with accuracy.

With or without the guide, coordinating the position of the needle in combination with the standard "J" foot is another way to sew accurate seams with the standard straight and zig zag foot. Again, you'll need to check your own machine, but many feet are identical to the "J" foot shown here.

A setting of 0.00 puts the needle at the far left.

This left needle setting  is the default position for most modern computerized machines. 

Changing the position of the needle for a straight stitch is a super easy way to sew an accurate seam. Simply adjust the needle using the width key and follow the edge of the foot as a guide. You can do this with any of the straight stitches shown boxed in red. Check your machine for your own personal options but in most cases this will include anything that sews straight, including a specialized basting stitch.

Here you see the setting for sewing a 1/2-inch seam by guiding the fabric along the edge of the foot.

I hope this has helped you find better ways to sew seams and use the ordinary but necessary straight stitch! Next time we'll explore a bit more, discover some high-tech ways to achieve perfect stitches, and delve into more utility stitches that make your sewing projects shine. Often taken for granted, mastering the basics and making full use of features built-in to modern machines can make basic tasks easier and more accurate. Stay tuned for more tips, tricks, and techniques to help you make the most of your machine!

Feel free to leave comments and tell me if this post has answered some questions for you, or perhaps sparked new ones!

The embellished white blouse in Volume 111 of Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine features delicate appliqués accented using tools found in My Design Center. Complete instructions for the project can be found in V.111.
 
Follow along here as I show you a few more details with options for creating projects that take advantage of this unique feature built-in to the Brother Dream Machine.

My Design Center is filled with creative tools for drawing and creating shapes, filling shapes with a variety of stitches, and includes drawing tools for adding fine details. The Premium PackII upgrade expanded these options even further, making it easier than ever to make unique embroidery designs right at the machine! Create completely new designs or add elements to existing designs using My Design Center. Your local Brother dealer will have more info on this exciting upgrade option.                   

For the blouse featured in V.111 I opted to add small accents to pieces of pre-printed fabric. I started by adding a fusible backing and then I stitched the flowers to the blouse as appliques, using a fine thread and a very narrow zigzag stitch. This technique produces a very soft, lightweight design that’s perfect for light weight garments.

Tip: If you want to make fusible appliques when you’re finished with the embroidered accents, I highly recommend Misty fuse.

​Place fabric in the hoop with a layer of stabilizer underneath. Touch the icon to scan the fabric in the hoop. Touch Scan>OK.

 The fabric image appears on the screen.

With the pencil tool highlighted, add lines by touching the line settings key. 

​Notice how the zoom feature helps you get close up for drawing on the screen. Increase the percentage, and then drag the box in the upper right hand corner of the screen directly over the section you want to work with.

I like to use the stylus to draw the accent lines. Remember that you can use the UNDO key at any time to delete your last step, or touch All Clear to begin again.  

Touch NEXT and then touch Preview when you’re ready to set the stitches. Note: the optional Premium Pack II for the XV8500D and XV8550D included new and updated features for this type of design work. Review the Brother Dream Machine II Operation Manual Addendum for the most updated and complete instructions.

Touch Set to go directly to the Embroidery mode to test your stitches. You’ll get the Uh -Oh, is this okay type message you see here. Basically, the machine wants you to know that you can’t go back once you go beyond this screen. When you’re working on an actual project you’ll want to save the stages of your work, so you can go back and edit without starting all over again.

The process for adding satin style zigzag stitches is the same as you see here. You’ll simply select the zigzag in place of straight stitches. You’ll see that there are other options as well. I suggest you start with simple applique shapes, simple stitches, and then move on to more detailed designs once you have played with this a little bit.

This season the designers are all heroes as they share techniques that will make your sewing nothing short of super!  

Save the day with quick sewing gifts; rescue vintage fashion with new updates or learn to master your machine.
 
Throughout the series Angela Wolf takes you on a sew-along with skirts, skirts, and more skirts!

I'm happy to be able to share a few of these with you now. You can click on the photos to watch three of these today!​

#1513 Growing Up a Star  

• Joanne Banko shows how to bundle up your baby with a hooded towel wrap with several variations. 
• Emily Thompson is back with leggings that are guaranteed to give your favorite little girl star power.
• Angela Wolf finishes up the skirt se-along with a  recap of and a final tip.

Visit www.itsseweasytv.com for TV station information and options for purchasing the entire series to view at your leisure and watch as many times as you like to edit.

Bag it! CLICK HERE for a great bag project.

CLICK HERE to watch.

Have you ever wanted to change button sizes on a pattern but you were unsure about repositioning your coordinating button holes? Changing a button size means changing spacing. Spacing from the edge is called the "stay." Take a look at the guide below and you"ll get details for how to measure and mark according to button size.

​Stay is the amount of space between the edge of the garment and where the buttonhole is placed. The stay usually equals the size of the button. However, you never go under ½- inch or over 1-inch.
 
Example:
½-inch button equals ½-inch stay
¾-inch button equals ¾-inch stay
1 ¼-inch button equals a ONE inch stay
¼-inch button equals a ONE HALF inch stay

Feel free to change button sizes and alter your button hole spacing to make both buttons and buttonholes coordinate beautifully.

Whether you're cutting patchwork pieces for quilts, constructing garments, turning out designer home decor, or crafting some other sort of masterpiece, it's likely you are measuring many times throughout the process. ​

Today's tip is to always use the same measuring device throughout your project when ever the ultimate in accuracy is important. If you look closely at the cutting mat, quilting ruler, tape measures, and seam gauge you'll notice slight differences between each of them.

When compared side by side the quilt ruler and the seam gauge would be virtually identical and a pretty close match to the cutting mat. However, if you were to switch between all four of these while trying to cut same size pieces you would get some minor discrepancies. While it may not show up  with short measurements the compound effect would surely be noticeable on larger pieces. Tuck this tip in your back pocket and remember it next time you reach for multiple measuring devices.

Measure twice cut once, but do it all with consistent measuring tools for happier sewing and more polished projects!

When is the last time you sat down to play with decorative stitches on your machine? Many decorative stitches are far prettier stitched in thread as opposed to an image in your machine machine manual or on the screen of your machine. Thread your machine and see watch as little flowers bloom and a myriad of decorative stitches come to life! I hope this little sampler will encourage you.

Here are some tips:

• Use a (sharp) topstitch needle on a firm woven fabric. I like to make samples on even weave linen purchased in the cross stitch department.
• Place crisp tear away stabilizer on the wrong side or fuse interfacing to the wrong side. I like to use Pellon Shir-Tailor and skip the tear away.
• Choose polyester decorative thread, same as used for embroidery for strong and colorfast thread on the top.
• Wind a matching bobbin, or use bobbin thread. For most stitches the white bobbin thread is ideal. As an added benefit you can stitch multiple colors without changing thread in the bobbin. See right and wrong side below:

In summary, it's wise to study patterns carefully. Experiment with different brands by making test garments from bargain fabrics. If you find a brand that seems to suit you it's wise to stick with that brand.

For many years I've been a fan of New Look patterns and I've found them to run very true to size. This means I need to be very honest with my measurements when compared to the pattern envelope. However, it also means I can be pretty sure of a good fit when I pick a size that's closest to my personal measurements. How about you? Do you have a favorite among the major pattern companies? Please share your own experiences in the comments below.

Ever get confused while cutting numerous strips of different widths? I seem to lose the line on my ruler and end up with a mixed bag of skewed sizes and strips that slipped. Now I make a point to place sticky notes along the line I'm using for my specific measurement. It's easy to move the paper and stick it  along different lines on the ruler for goof proof strip cutting.

By the way, it helps to have no slip grips on the bottom side of rotary cutting rulers. These TrueGrips from the Grace Company fit their own specialty rulers and all others too. These little circles are clear and very flat. They increase safety and make all your cutting more accurate.

I hope these little tips have been helpful. Soon I'll have all my strips cut and ready to sew so I can share them with you in a future post!

This short video shows how easy it is to stitch a blind hem on knit fabrics. Watch as the stitch forms with zigzag traveling stitches and one big zigzag stitch that bites into the hem.

The first step for a blind hem is to fold up the hem and press. ​

The blind hem foot, foot "R" is made to perfectly coordinate with the standard blind hem stitch or the stretch version. This foot has a blade down the center that is meant to rid along the fold of the hem so you stitches stay consistent. This foot is not adjustable. In this case the stitch is adjusted to "bite" more or less of the hem.

​Some machines have an adjustable blind hem foot and the foot is adjusted so the stitch bites more or less of the hem. Watch the video again and you'll see how the finished blind hem stretches along with the fabric.

Ideally you want the stitches to barely show or not show at all on the outside of the finished garment. Thicker or more spongy fabric hides stitches better than thinner, flat fabric. This example shows the blind hem stitched with contrast thread for better visibility. Choose a thread color that matches as close as possible so the stitches hide in the fabric and are barely noticeable.

Have you ever used the blind hem stitch for stretch fabrics? Do you have any questions about sewing blind hems? If so I would love to know . . . please leave your comments and questions so I can help.

Do you struggle with standard, ready to wear T-shirts that are too long? Or, do you like to make your own knit tops from soft jersey or interlock knits? In either case you may have found that thinner knits in particular are tough to tame when it comes to top stitching hems. Here is a tip for stitching a nice, neat, twin needle hem. Begin by gathering your supplies:

• Stretch twin needle, size 75/11
• Fine, sheer, fusible tricot interfacing - I like Pellon 135.
• Two spools of good quality polyester thread and a bobbin to match.
• Rotary cutter and ruler for cutting tricot strips and cutting a straight edge for T-shirt hem.

Plan for a 1-inch hem on the garment and cut a 1-inch wide strip of tricot to fit hem circumference, making sure to cut length of tricot on the crosswise grain to maintain a bit of stretch.

Fuse tricot to wrong side of hem, having tricot even with cut edge.​
Tip:The rough side is the fusible, "glue side" of the tricot.

Press up hem and mark raw edge with a pin.

Flip to right side and see where you need to position folded edge so both needles catch raw edge on the wrong side. Remove pin. See red arrows below.

Stitch slowly, keeping folded edge even with your guideline. See below for finished hem on right side. Note that sample is stitched with contrast thread for better visibility.

Have you ever tried this method? If not, do you think you will try it now that you have a little tutorial? Let me know in the comments below.

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 :-)