Successful sewing of fabrics of different textures and weights with Janome Acufeed Flex

Combining different colours and textures, for me, is one of my favourite parts of the whole creative sewing process.

I’ve been working on a number of projects lately that involve different fabric weights or a variety of different materials all together. I love to combine these different textures because it makes for a really interesting and unique finished project!

One of my most recent projects has been this Easter dress for my daughter. Because sometimes you just need a new Easter dress!

I purchased this most beautiful piece of tana lawn fabric which cost me more money that I care to admit to so I wasn’t about to make the whole dress out of this fabric but I knew it would make a lovely accent to a solid colour.

Tana lawn is a silky cotton that only gets softer with washing and use. But it can also be quite slippery to sew with. Especially if it paired with a heavier weight cotton, as was the case with this dress. I was worried that even with pinning it, it would move and shift, causing my seams to buckle and not lie flat.

When in doubt, this is the foot I probably use the most for these types of projects. The Janome Acufeed Flex ( walking foot) evenly feeds layers of fabric through the machine because it has foot grips on the top, which guide at the same pace as the feed dogs underneath your fabric.

Other tips for sewing with fabric of different weights and textures include making sure you use the correct needle. And when in doubt – always put in a fresh needle so it’s nice and sharp! Lately I’ve been working on projects that take me a few weeks at a time to complete so my rule has been that each new project requires a new sewing needle.

Look how beautiful that seam is!

Can’t wait for Sunday for my daughter to wear her new dress!

This is another project that I’ve been working on recently. Can you tell I love the colour purple!?!

This organizer involves vinyl, fabric, zippers AND clear flexible plastic.

This organizer keeps all my leads for dogs shows organized and I can see at a glance what I have on hand! Dog shows are my other life aside from sewing, baking, and home life!

I was worried about how I might keep all the different layers of vinyl, fabric and plastic together without slipping around but a few clips and my Janome Acufeed flex foot / walking foot and we were good to go!

Have you used fabrics of different weights and textures in your sewing projects? What are your tips for making sure they sew up with ease? Any Easter projects on the go?