Having the right tools

I have mentioned in the past how unhappy I am with my Babylock Quest, well final straw was my inability to get decent buttonholes. My trial one would be great, maybe the first one on the shirt would also work out – then bam! It would all go wonky and I’d get very frustrated.

So I did the sensible thing, I traded in my machine.Now all my machines are Jukis.  This is a simple work horse, it lacks some features that I was very used to with the other machines – like the knee lift for the presser foot. Or the fact that unless I am making a decorative stitch, the needle stays right in the middle. It has the needle threader and thread cutter. Also a nice feature is that it locks in the stitches both at the beginning and end of the seam if I want to use that feature.  Since I bought this machine for garment sewing, yes I use this feature a lot.First thing I did was try out all the button holes. Just in the way it sews them I can tell this machine can handle button holes. Not sure I’ll ever use the one on the bottom left, but the others all looks amazing.Finally, I could pull out this wonderful fabric I bought at Road to California and make a very professional looking shirt.  I adapted this pattern a little for a better fit, this is the second time I’m using this one, I think it will be my go-to for button down shirts.On the blog Male Pattern Boldness, Peter describes binding the bottom of a shirt with bias binding. Peter really knows his stuff when it comes to shirts, he took a class at FIT.

I have been using glue when binding my quilts. I realized that it would work just as well in garment sewing, here is the glue well within the seam allowance. Here it is ironed down, so lovely and smooth, much better than pins.And here it is, sewn down. I love how accurate the stitches are, for some reason the Babylock just didn’t give me these kind of beautiful stitches. I know, no one sees them when I’m wearing the garment, but I know!Now that is a beautiful buttonhole.A feature I do miss from the Babylock is the special foot and stitch for sewing on buttons.  No worries, turns out that my standard zigzag stitch is the perfect width and by dropping the length to zero – I have the stitch I need. Right now I am using my embroidery foot to sew on the button. It is a little fiddly, but I will look and see if Brother has a low shank button foot – since their feet fit the Juki perfectly.  At any rate, it was still a lot quicker than sewing the buttons on by hand.I even sewed the buttonhole and button on the collar stand. Something I haven’t done in years, not that I ever button that one, but it does look more professional.I am very proud of how perfectly the fronts meet, practice does make perfect or at least as close as is necessary.Being the quilter that I am, I had to incorporate a different fabric, just for a little spice. On the sleeve placket as well as inside the cuff, if I roll up the cuff, it will be noticeable.Enough for a little peek-a-boo on the collar stand.This one is a winner, love everything about it, and with the new machine, my garment sewing mojo is back with a vengeance!