Hand Style Stitches on the Janome Continental M7

One of the new features on the Janome Continental M7 is the addition of 52 new Hand Stitch Style designs. These stitches replicate the look of handwork so that you can add that “perfectly imperfect” look to your sewing or quilting projects. This Hand stitch designs are only currently available on the Janome Continental M7.

 

I love to do hand embroidery, but it can be quite time consuming so I was looking forward to experimenting with these hand-stitch designs on the Janome Continental M7.

To be sure that your Janome Continental M7 is set up properly to stitch out these designs, be sure to have your regular (zigzag) needle plate installed and use your F foot. Okay, once you’ve done that, the next thing you need to know is where to find these Hand Stitch Style stitches!

Regular (zigzag) needle plate installed

F foot installed, ready to stitch

On the main display screen, you’ll see an icon that looks like a leaf stitch next to the Sewing application (t-shirt) icon and when you click on it, you’ll be taken to the Hand Stitch Style display screen.

The Hand Stitch Style icon is circled in the above photo

You’ll now be able to see the 52 Hand Stitch Style stitches that can be used to give a hand-stitched appearance. Like other decorative stitches on the Janome Continental M7, there are options to mirror or adjust the length and width of some of these stitches, so, when you think about it, there are many more than just 52 stitches!

The mirror stitch option is activated for this particular Hand Stitch Style design.

There are 4 pages of these designs, so use the arrow buttons to scroll through the various screens so you don’t miss any choices.

You might think that these Hand Stitch Style stitches look the same as some of the decorative stitches on the Janome Continental M7, but they are definitely different as you’ll see!

I tried out a few Hand Style Stitches on the Janome Continental M7 to see how they would look. I used a variegated polyester thread as well as a cotton thread for these samples.

Hand Stitch Style #12 ready to go!

I was pleased to see that they did have small imperfections which made them look as if they had been done by hand.

Three different Hand Stitch Style designs

There are a few tips when working with these stitches on the Janome Continental M7:

• Use a stabilizer behind your fabric as you do with other decorative stitches to avoid that “not perfect” scrunched-up look.
• While I used 40-weight cotton and polyester threads to stitch out these designs, I also think that they would work well with a 30 or heavier weight thread (some designs might not work as well with heavier threads). You might have to adjust your tension if you do this.
• Always try out these, or any other decorative stitches, on scrap fabric before using it on your actual project. By doing this, you can change your tension, adjust the width or length of the stitch or add more stabilizer, if required, ensuring a perfect result when stitching onto your project.

I could see using these Hand Stitch Style designs for various items. I think they would add a nice touch on garments on hems, collars or cuffs, especially for children’s clothing. As far as quilts, I think that they would be perfect to embellish crazy quilts or on quilt-as-you-go projects. I could also see using some of these stitches if you like to machine stitch your quilt bindings – do you think that viewers might even think that you hand stitched them down with a fancy stitch?

For more information on the Hand Stitch Style stitches, refer to page 97 in your Janome Continental M7 manual.

Notice the Hand Stitch Style stitches on the crazy quilt!

If you’re looking to add some “perfectly imperfect” details to your next project, try out the Hand Stitch Style stitches on the Janome Continental M7.

Happy creating from Kim Jamieson-Hirst, a Janome Canada Artisan in Calgary, Alberta.