12 Days of Christmas

This  12 Days of Christmas song is stuck in my head.  It did get me to thinking of how many options, features, feet, and accessories I use on any one project I am making.  I feel I can use more than 12 things at one time to create my Christmas Project.

Start with your favorite Janome machine.  Mine is my Janome Horizon MC 15000 Quiltmaker machine.  I can do anything I dream up with this machine and all its features.

Remember to use the Janome bobbin cases and Janome needles that go with our machines.  These ensure that you get perfect trouble free stitching every time.

I started my Christmas project selecting my fabrics and sewing them together with a perfect 1/4 inch seam using my Janome 1/4 inch foot with flange.  The flange aligns your fabrics perfectly for that precise piecing you need.

I wanted to add text to my Christmas door banner so I used digitizing software to create the text.  I wanted my text to be a fill stitch as it will be handled a lot over the years and I feel the fill stitches hold up better than satin stitches.  I could also arc my text design in my software and then send it to my machine for stitching.

I chose a variegated thread to stitch my text.  I always look for variegated thread that has a color change about every 1 inch.  Any longer lengths of color on the thread and you can end up with stripes when you stitch.

I love using applique to speed up the process of creating a project.  I chose to use my embroidery software to create this Christmas tree, but Janome has the Artistic Edge Digital Cutter that is amazing and works well to create an applique for those of you who do not have an embroidery machine.  You can easily use the applique with standard decorative stitches to create the shape you want.

Use your decorative stitches features on your machine with your favorite F or F2 foot to stitch the edges in place.  I often stack stitches along the edges for a different look.  I use a lighter weight thread for the accent stitches on the top.  Those stitches just add interest and do not need to follow the outline of the applique exactly.  The F2 foot is my favorite as it is open toe and I can see exactly where my stitches are falling.

I placed heavy metallic threads on my tree using the Cording Foot.  This foot has guide channels to hold the thread in place while couching it down.  You can also use thick threads in the bobbin and create the lines with a bobbin work technique.  The choice is yours.

Buttonholes are not just for buttons.  There are several styles of buttonholes on your machine.  Use a decorative button hole to create ‘ornaments’ for your tree.  Use your standard sewing foot (no need for the button hole attachment foot), and scatter button holes across the applique tree for decoration. The center of the hole area is a perfect place for more embellishment.

Listed under the button hole designs category on your machine, you will see a button sewing feature.  This uses the ‘T’ foot to hold the button in place as you zigzag from one hole to the other to quickly sew on your buttons.  The rubber grips on the foot hold the button firmly in place.  If you don’t have this feature, you can simply drop your feed dogs and use the ‘T’ foot with a zigzag stitch that aligns with the holes (usually about 3.5mm) and sew on your buttons for decorations.

Even if you don’t have two standard button holes, the ‘T’ foot will still work by stitching into one hole and then off the side of the element and back into the hole.  This makes for quick and easy application of baubles that are meant to be hand sewn.

I used hot fix Sawarsky crystals to fill the little circular space of my decorative button holes.  You could easily use glued on shapes or glue that has sparkles in it to fill the space for more interest.

I used scraps of felt cut into squares to make presents to sit under my tree.  I used my F2 open toe foot and some different 9mm decorative stitches to sew down my felt and add interest to the boxes at the same time.  I then added ribbons to the boxes with the same foot and used various decorative stitches to adhere them in place.  We have hundreds of stitches on our machines and it is a feature we rarely use.  Experiment with different stitches for a unique look for your designs.

I wanted to quilt my door banner so I called up my free motion quilting options on my Janome Horizon MC 15000 Quiltmaker machine and noticed that I have several choices.  Each style/technique uses a different foot.  The machine tells me which foot I need to attach depending on the style of quilting I want to use.

I used all the different feet when quilting my door banner.  Those little QV and QO feet sure came in handy when I wanted to quilt closely next to my tree without bumping into the decorations there.

I used my embroidery machine to stitch out my label.  It was quick and easy to digitize in MBX 5 digitizing software..  Don’t forget, if your project is a gift or a keepsake, you will want a label to remember the time it was created.

Thank you Janome for all the features you build into your machines and the added products we can use to create the perfect project for the holiday season.

How many features, feet, and accessory products will you use to create your perfect holiday projects this year?