Tag: sewing accessories

JUKI Posts

JUKI’s Holiday Gift Guide

by sewinwithjuki1 Comment on JUKI’s Holiday Gift Guide

As the holidays get closer, we start thinking about those special people in our lives and what gift we will get them this year! If you have a quilter or sewist in the family, and you’ve been dreaming of getting them the perfect machine, follow along as we recommend our favorite devices depending on their project focus! From home decor creators to quilters and fashion garment designers, JUKI is here to help you find a suitable machine for your loved one this holiday season.

For the Fab Home Decorators

Buying the right gift for your creative friends can be difficult when you need help figuring out what to get them! So if you have a creator who focuses on home décor projects, we recommend our favorite home décor machine and accessories they would love!

If you’re looking to buy your loved one a sewing machine this holiday, the DX-2000QVP is perfect for home decorators! From decorative pillows to table runners and quilts, this machine can help them easily create their next project. Filled with sought-out features that beginners and advanced sewists will appreciate, like our JUKI Box Feed that moves your fabric for you, the floating button to prevent uneven seams, and comes with an assortment of presser feet that will help them bring their projects to life.

Does your loved one already own a DX machine? Then, upgrade their accessories kit and help them create new projects with a JUKI Creative Set! The Creative Set offers sewists a set of presser feet perfect for embellishing and adding decorative touches to their designs. This set includes pieces like the Applique Presser Foot, Cording and Embroidery Presser Foot, Pearl Attaching Presser Foot, Cording Presser Foot (for 3 Cords), Presser Foot with Guide, and Open Toe Presser Foot!

For Your Favorite Fashion Designer

Have a fashion designer in your life? Check out the Sayaka DX-3000QVP for their holiday gift! When creating fashion, designers are always ready to get creative and add personal touches to their work. With a machine like the DX-3000QVP, creators now have access to 351 stitch patterns, including beloved zigzags, 20 professional buttonholes, and four lettering fonts! They can bring their ideas to life with options like that while adding those personal touches they love.

The DX also offers a large workspace with a 12″ throat space for creating large projects like dresses, pants, and more. They’ll also enjoy a color touch panel where ease of use helps them change settings such as thread tension, presser foot pressure, pivot function, drop feed system, and automatic thread trimming with one touch. Add in free motion quilting, an Interchangeable Straight Stitch Feed System, and JUKI Smart Feed, and beginner and advanced sewists alike will love what they can create.

For sewists who have been dreaming of a serger, the MCS-1700QVP is the best of both worlds! Offering both coverstitch and chain stitch, this 3- and the the 4-thread machine is perfect for creating numerous projects like blouses, dresses, swimming suits, and athletic wear, thanks to how easy it is to work on stretch fabrics! In addition, strong chain stitch sections like waist seams and pants side seams become sturdier and cleaner.

If you’re looking to help them upgrade their sewing kit, we recommend our Invisible Zipper Foot and Double Fold Bias Binder! The Invisible Zipper Foot for the DX Series is perfect for adding that professional touch to their fashion pieces, where dresses, jackets, and even bags can now have a cleaner look. The Double Fold Bias Binder, created for the MCS machine series, can help fashion creators easily make straps for their camisole pieces or automatically fold the fabric to bind the garment edges for details like a neckline.

For the Quilters in Your Life

Quilters are always looking for more space to create! With the Miyabi J-350QVP, you can help them create a workspace that measures from 5 feet to 12 feet, where they can easily create quilts up to king size. In addition, this quilting machine offers features like our built-in JUKI SmartStitch titch regulator system, where quilters can produce accurate, precise stitching at any speed, helping them create beautiful designs and art. In addition, you can add Quilter’s Creative Touch 5 (QCT5) which allows you to easily design, lay out your quilt projects, and leave the machine to do the stitching for you!

If your loved one doesn’t have the space for a stand-up machine like the Miyabi J-350QVP, we recommend checking out the J-150QVP! The J-150QVP is the best of both worlds as it offers the space and free motion feature needed for quilting while also being a straight stitch machine that can help them complete their quilt in one space. Furthermore, with its digital screen, it is easy to change settings, the tension, speed, box feed system, lock/backstitch count, and more!

Finally, if your quilter already has their holy grail machine, check out JUKI’s newest quilting accessory! Our Free Motion Quilting Rings come in two sizes, 8″ and 11″, and offer creators the chance to add beautiful stitching with improved guidance by providing no-slip bottoms and using durable high-density polyurethane (HDPE) construction. Quilters tired of moving their quilt around as they add free motion quilting will love the ease of using this accessory the next time they’re creating!

For the Bag Creators

Finally, if you’re looking for the perfect gift for the bag creators in your life, look no further than the Haruka TL-18QVP! This single-needle, lock-stitch, portable sewing machine is built with industrial-quality sewing, helping creators with large projects create peace. No more fighting with the sewing machine because of heavy or thick material! This machine is equipped with our industrial mechanisms and features a float foot function that is great for many layers and thick seams that handbag-making needs.

Other features sewist will love about this machine is the brightness adjustment of the light and the drop feed for adding embroidery or free-motion quilting. In addition, this sub-tension unit ensures stitches are sewn with balanced thread tension and an automatic needle threader and thread trimmer!

If your bag creator has already found their perfect machine, help them upgrade their sewing kit with the Professional Attachment Set for the TL Series! This set of 3 presser feet and gauge is ideal for bag creators because it allows them to use more sewing techniques like working with leather and vinyl, attaching decorative piping and zippers, and working with a fixed seam allowance. The Hinged Zipper Foot is perfect for those narrow zippers they want to attach to your bag. A smooth foot will help them create using fabrics like vinyl and leather. The piping foot will help them easily create and attach pipping to their bags. Lastly, the swing gauge is used as a guide for the edge of the fabric when sewing with a fixed seam allowance.

We hope you find the perfect gift for your loved one this holiday season! Whether you’re choosing a machine or adding to their sewing kits, sewist and quilters alike will always love having new items for their sewing room. If you’re looking for help choosing the best gift for your friend or family member, contact your local JUKI Dealer; you can reach them by visiting us here!

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Quilting Basics with JUKI

by sewinwithjukiLeave a Comment on Quilting Basics with JUKI

Today we’ll go over some essential tools and presser feet you’ll need to create a quilt from start to finish. When we start a hobby, we might want to grab every item we see at the shops, so follow along as we share the important ones you should grab first!

Tools to Have in Your Kit

Rotary Cutter: Shaped like a pizza cutter, the rotary cutter is perfect for cutting out your fabric pieces. If you’re using patterns for your work, using a rotary cutter is an easy and quick way to correctly cut the fabric piece to the size and shape you need. These come in different sizes, ranging from small cutters that are great for tight cuts and a large one for big projects! For quilting, we recommend purchasing a medium-sized one.

Scissors: Besides your rotary cutter, ensure scissors are designated for cutting fabric. You want to keep these separate, so they stay sharp for cutting thread and fabric cleanly. So often, when we mix our scissors and cut items like paper, cardboard, or more, this dulls the blade, fraying your material in the long run when you use them.

Seam Ripper: Make sure to keep a seam ripper on hand for those mistakes! Advanced and beginner quilters benefit from this in their tool kits since it is perfect for fixing those little mess-ups.

Self-Healing Cutting Mat: Keep your workspace safe from scratches and find yourself a self-healing cutting mat! This will allow you to use your rotary cutter safely and can be found in many different sizes.

Fabric: Sewing isn’t complete without fabric! There are many options out there for quilters to choose from. You can choose to buy fabric by the yard or purchase bundles! We recommend sticking to 100% cotton. Choose from mini charm packs, jelly rolls, jolly bars, and more, depending on the size of the quilt you want to create and what form of designs you envision.

Thread: Like your fabric, look for a thread that suits your project, like 100% cotton for quilting. Look for options that are durable and not too cheap. Here you’ll want to find a thread that won’t birds nest on you in the creative process while sticking to your budget. For quilters, we recommend Aurifil! Like we use in our JUKI Studio when creating, Aurifil is 100% Egyptian cotton and comes in many colors, perfect for your project needs. We recommend purchasing neutral colors when you begin, like tan, white and black; this way, you can easily bind most of your projects without worrying about the thread color.

Pins and Pattern weights: When you want to keep your fabric in place, using quilting pins and pattern weights is a great solution! Use quilting pins when piecing your quilts to keep the fabric from moving, and use pattern weights when cutting out the fabric with your rotary cutter! These two accessories will make your cutting and sewing experience easy and help you create a professional finished product.

For pins, try and look for longer options, as this will help you hold the fabric better when sewing through those thick pieces, and they are also much easier to grab! You can also purchase safety pins, which come straight and curved for the finishing stages of your quilt process.

Rulers: Clear-gridded rulers are important in quilting because measuring correctly matters! Helping you quickly and accurately cut fabric for your project, rulers come in an array of size options suited for your needs.

Presser Feet for the Average Quilter

While your machines will come with presser feet, let’s go over some basic presser feet you should have on hand when quilting and what they’re for!

1/4″ Presser Foot

Essential for piecing your quilts together, the 1/4″ Presser Foot allows you accurately piece your quilts together quickly and efficiently. This accessory is perfect for when you’re piecing and don’t have time consistently mind the bottom measurements on your plate.

Walking Foot

A Walking Foot is basically used for putting a set of feed dogs on top of the quilt sandwich, working in conjunction with the bottom feed dogs, and evenly helping you pull your quilt through the sewing machine. Quilting with a standard presser foot on thick fabric or hard-to-feed material like the ¼” Presser Foot, for example, could lead to tucks and uneven stitches; this is why we use a Walking Foot!

Free Motion Quilting Foot

Want to add designs and texture to your quilts? You’re going to want a Free Motion Quilting Foot! With a Free Motion Quilting Foot, you will drop, or lower, your feed dogs and begin moving your quilt under the foot, free motioning the design yourself! While it takes practice using free motion quilting and controlling the quilt yourself, it can be an enjoyable and rewarding skill to learn!

We recommend checking out an Open Toe Foot when looking for your Free Motion Quilting Foot. With a small space left open on the presser foot, you’ll have a better eye on the needle and be able to easily create your designs!

Get To Quilting!

As you begin your quilting journey, research what tools you’ll need when creating! These listed are perfect for setting up your workspace and machine, so keep these in mind while you’re at the shop. If you’re an experienced quilter, what presser feet and tools do you think quilters should keep on hand? Let us know down below!