At JUKI we know how important it is to know your machine’s features and how to use them, so starting this year at JUKI we’ll be sharing monthly tips for creating on, and using, your beloved JUKI sewing and quilting machines! This month we’ll be focusing on the TL Series and its Automatic Needle Threader. Showcasing each step, and how the feature works, follow along below to view our Tip Video and breakdown.
Needle Up/Down Feature
The first step is knowing where your Needle Up/Down button is, and when to use it. Now the most important step to using your needle threader is, making sure the foot is in the down position (engaging the tension) and using your Needle Up/Down button to lower and raise the needle.
You’re going to start with having the needle in the highest position, before using your needle threader, so your machine can thread your needle.
Check out time stamp 1:42 to learn where you can find your Needle Up/Down button.
Threading Your Needle
Stopping right before the eye of the needle, we’ll be using our Needle Threader today to get our machine ready to create.
To start, your thread should be at the point right before needle-eye entry.
Next, we’re going to pull our thread off to the side and lower our mechanism all the way down. Now grab your thread and go behind that metal groove on the needle threader, and into the two grooves on the white piece of the mechanism, while holding your thread off to the side. Check out the time stamp 4:00 in our video about for an example of this section.
Now, when we raise the mechanism, you’ll see a loop formed with your thread on your needle. Once you see the loop, pull the thread carefully through the needle and to the right, completing your needle threading!
To learn more about the TL series visit our JUKI Home Sewing YouTube page here, or visit your local JUKI Dealer here.
Have questions about your JUKI machine? Let us know down below! We look forward to creating more JUKI Tips to help you bring your projects to life.
Happy New Year, JUKI Lovers! With another year around the sun, we at JUKI are so excited to introduce our new machines and accessories you can find this year at your local JUKI dealer. From sewing machines to accessories, follow along as we cover our new items and what they do.
New for Sewist
The MO-2800
Have you been looking to upgrade your serger? Check out JUKI’s new MO-2800! New and advanced serger users will love the new features and appreciate the ease of use. With features like our JUKI air threading technology, which allows you to thread your machine with the power of air and the touch of a button, and the automatic needle threader, you’ll enjoy the experience of serging like never before thanks to a quick and easy setup!
Sewists and quilters alike will appreciate the power of this machine and its ability to piece quilts or hem clothing beautifully, no matter the project. You’ll also be able to enjoy a new serger accessory! Our new Curve Foot was created to handle those curved portions of your material smoothly and produce beautifully finished seams, helping you create projects with a quality you’re proud of.
Provided with the patented Tweak with Adjustment (TWA, a JUKI exclusive), it is possible to easily correct excess thread and fabric curling during overcasting. This is just another step in how JUKI is here to help you create easily!
The MO-80CB
Update your sewing studio and skill by trying your hand at serging! With the MO-80CB JUKI overlock serger, advanced and beginner sewists can begin learning how to create. Thanks to its automatic rolled hem, differential feed, and free arm capabilities, garment creators can attach sleeves, hem pants, and more!
Work on building your own closet and updating your current wardrobe by re-creating your closet with the magic of serging! Whether you’re hemming old clothing or building new outfits from scratch using your favorite stretch fabric material, having a serger in your studio is the perfect way to up your sewing game and build your wardrobe.
New For Quilters
The MO-3000QVP
Introducing JUKI’s newest Air Serger, meet the Akane MO-3000QVP! Helping sewists like you sew like a pro, this new serger introduces features we haven’t had before. Features like a chain-off thread cutter, an automatic thread supply, a micro-lifter, and more will help you create with ease and raise our project quality!
Whether your focus is on garments or quilting, this serger will help you create those thicker and larger pieces thanks to the wider throat space! Additional features include a magnet needle tray, LCD screen, and the option to operate your machine by either hand or foot using the knee-lever or foot control.
Taking your serging to new heights, the Akane MO-3000QVP is an excellent addition to your studio space!
The Tabletop Fabric Frame
Now for quilters, JUKI has created its own Tabletop Fabric Frame! This frame is perfect for creators who work in small spaces and want to experience the joy of a long arm without committing to the space needed for a stand-up frame!
Offering quilters the opportunity to free-motion quilt on a frame that lengthens up to 48 inches wide and allows up to a 12″ throat space, you can comfortably create those designs you’ve been dreaming of. Above that, this frame is easy to store away and lightweight making it perfect to quickly get to work or end your project day!
Want stitch regulation? Check out the Sure Stitch Elite add-on! This LCD touchscreen addition to your machine will allow you to easily customize stitch length presets, handle speed adjustment, and give you an edge warning alarm.
JUKI Paddle and Quilting Rings
Whether you’re new to quilting, or an avid quilter looking for an accessory to help you create, our new JUKI quilting paddles and quilting rings are the perfect tools to keep in your studio!
Depending on your preference, these tools are great to keep on hand when it’s time to begin placing designs and free-motion quilting on your creations. Because of the non-slip grip material underneath these tools, they’ll be able to easily drag and move your quilt, helping you seamlessly move your project around your workspace as you free-motion quilt.
Also, due to the paddles’ size and the quilting rings comfort grips, these tools will help keep your hands and arms comfortable while free-motion quilting, helping you create more designs with less hassle and strain.
As we enter the New Year, keep up with JUKI for future new accessories and machines. Working on creating tools for sewists and quilters that you will love; we can’t wait to show you what’s coming up! Have you been dreaming of an accessory or machine feature from JUKI? Let us know in the comments below what future tool you want JUKI to come out with!
Are you excited about the holidays? We are! In today’s blog, we’ll share our top 10 stocking stuffers you can get for the sewist in your life! Perfect for our MO and MCS series, follow along as we share what’s new at JUKI and our top recommendations.
Clear Presser Foot – MCS
Focusing on multiple layers or sewing pieces where they need a clear view of their stitches? Then, the Clear Presser Foot is perfect for their next project! Since this presser foot is transparent, it helps them observe the stitches and fabric easily.
Easily keep an eye on the state of the fabric and its condition while sewing, and sew with comfort knowing they have a good eye on that stitch!
Double Fold Bias Binder – MCS
If they’re someone who enjoys creating apparel like tank tops and camisoles, the Double Fold Bias Binder is a great tool to keep in the kit! Seamlessly turn, bind and attach fabric strips to project edges in one step, helping them quickly create the perfect outfit for their next outing.
Belt Loop Binder – MCS
Create bracelets, finish belts, and belt loops, or create beautiful finished bags using the Belt Loop Binder! This presser foot automatically folds and sews with the coverstitch sewing and offers a tape size of 20 mm and a finished size of 10mm.
Curve Foot -MO
If they’re working on pieces with curved edges like blouses, dresses, or even capes, the Curve Foot is excellent at helping them create those clean and beautifully finished seams. Due to the size of the presser foot, they can easily make small turns compared to the wider ones with the standard presser foot. It’s useful for sewing tight curves on their apparel and home décor projects!
Elasticator Presser Foot – MO
Creating pieces like lingerie, swimwear, or even home décor like bed sheets can be done easier using the Elasticator Presser Foot! As it guides and stretches the elastic as its being sewn onto their apparel projects, the presser foot overlocks the edge of the fabric. The tensions can be changed on the machine with the roller clamping screw, and this foot can attach elastic tape with a width of 5 to 8mm.
Tractor Presser Foot – MO
If they’re working on apparel or home décor, the Tractor Presser Foot is an excellent addition to their tool kit! Using this accessory, they can smoothly ride up and down the multi-layered part of the material while preventing stitch skipping, perfect for attaching quilt pieces or creating garment projects like bathing suits.
Gathering Presser Foot – MO
For the gathered look on blouses and dresses, having a presser foot like the Gathering Presser Foot is great to have on hand! Easily gather the fabric as the user sews due to the foot’s shape, and stay away from slipping or sliding up and down the stitch line.
This accessory is helpful for apparel creators that like adding texture and design to their projects, like pillowcases, aprons, and more.
Piping Presser Foot – MO
Add a professional touch to projects with the Piping Presser Foot! By defining the edges or style lines of garment and house projects using the Piping Presser Foot, they can create projects pieces will think are store-bought! This foot helps sewists create projects with a more professional look thanks to the clean finishes.
This foot accessory is also great for adding that professional touch to quilts, cushions, and handbags.
Universal Blind Stitch Presser Foot (For Right & Left Needle) – MO
Working on some fun apparel? The Universal Blind Stitch Presser Foot is perfect for sewing a decorative flatlock! This stitch is ideal for their apparel projects because of its strength, commonly used in athletic wear. They can also create blind hem stitching, hide seams, or create beautiful texture on their blouses and add pintucks with this accessory!
MO Attachment Sets
If your family member or friend is a sewist who creates an assortment of projects or is a project focused on a hobby like quilting, checks out our MO Attachment Sets! These kits offer a versatile selection of presser feet that match the users’ needs depending on their sewing level and presser foot needs.
Practical sewing use and enjoy adding decorative stitching? Check out the MO Attachment Set 6pcs created for the MO-80CB. This set includes a Universal Blind Stitch Presser Foot (for right and left needle), Elasticator Presser Foot, Beading Presser Foot, Piping Presser Foot, Gathering Presser Foot, and Taping Foot. Perfect for a selection of projects, like apparel and quilting.
If they’re still building their skills on the MO overlock sergers, a set like the MO Attachment Set 3pcs is fantastic for beginners. Offering the Blind Stitch Presser Foot (for the right needle), Elasticator Presser Foot, and Cording Presser Foot, these pieces can help them start building their tool kit and works for both apparel and quilting projects.
For someone who’s practiced on the MO and is ready to test new skills like professional finished bags or piping on a quilt, check out the MO Attachment Set 6pcs. This set includes Blind Stitch Presser Foot (for the right needle), Elasticator Presser Foot, Cording Presser Foot, Beading Presser Foot, Piping Presser Foot, and Gathering Presser Foot. With these feet accessories in their arsenal, they’ll be able to go above and beyond when it’s time to clean up their project and complete a professional-looking end product.
Finally, if the sewist in your life works primarily on the MO machine, check out the MO Attachment Set 8pcs! With this large selection of presser feet options, sewists can easily create a versatile amount of projects, encouraging their skill growth! This set includes a Blind Stitch Presser Foot (for right needle), Universal Blind Stitch Presser Foot (for right and left needle), Elasticator Presser Foot, Cording Presser Foot, Beading Presser Foot, Curved Beading Presser Foot, Piping Presser Foot, and Gathering Presser Foot. With this set, they’ll be able to cover all the basics for creating a complete garment project.
We hope this helps you find the best stocking stuffer for the sewist who uses sergers in your life! From quilting to creating fashion to designing a home, having the right presser feet in your tool kit will make the next project more manageable. Which presser foot is on your holiday wishlist? Comment below!
As we grow our sewing and quilting skills, we sometimes wish we had more features, feet accessory options, stitch options, and more. It can be hard to decide when it’s time to upgrade our beloved sewing machines, but an upgrade may be needed if you face issues like needle breakage, your machine stalling on large products, or not having enough space to create.
Today we’re going to cover upgrades in JUKI. From our beginner machines to more advanced options, we recommend the best upgrade options depending on your current JUKI. Whether you’re a quilter, garment creator, or focus on home décor, creating is best done when your machine is ready to handle your projects.
Things to Consider Before Upgrading
Before you search for a new machine, sit down and think about what features, presser feet, stitches, and more you’ll want to use on your sewing machine. Keeping these notes in mind, you’ll be able to begin your search with a clear idea of what you need, and then you can focus on the more bell and whistle options that you want.
Workspace
Do you have a dedicated space for your sewing and quilting? Or are you commonly moving your machine around to create? An important thing to remember when shopping is your machine’s size and weight. For example, if you’re a quilter with a designated room, you can plan for stand-up or sit-down machine options with large workspace areas. However, if your workspace is your dining table on the weekends, consider a machine that can be easily moved and put away.
Features and Accessories
If you’ve been working on a simple beginner machine, chances are you’re working with a small number of stitch options and a few features. However, sewing machines are now equipped with many features and capabilities that can make your sewing experience fun and easy!
Depending on the type of projects you want, features like button sewing, zig-zag stitch, and more can help you build your skills and create professionally finished projects. If you enjoy quilting, finding a machine with a dual feed function can be extremely useful when creating, helping you enjoy the process better. If you’re a common user of heavy fabrics, you’d want to find a machine that offers durability and semi-industrial strength.
Completing a Test-Run
Don’t forget to try it out before your buy! If you can test-drive your dream machine options, you can see if you like the features, power, and size of a machine before purchasing. When we upgrade our sewing machine, we’re looking for one that will be durable and long-lasting, which means this can be an investment. Before purchasing, you want to ensure that the machine can handle your current and future project ideas while allowing you to learn new skills and techniques easily.
5 Features to Keep In Mind
Finally, before purchasing your sewing machine, we want to share five features we believe sewists shouldn’t live without! Making your experience easier, these features were created to help you create your projects easier and faster while teaching you new techniques.
Needle Down/Up
If you’re creating quilts, home décor, or even garments having needle up/down features can be essential in creating clean finished projects. By setting the machine, so it stops with the needle down in the fabric, you now have greater control and can turn or pivot the fabric you’re working on.
2. Automatic Buttonhole
Any project requiring a button can be completed faster and more efficiently with an automatic buttonhole. Machines that offer this feature usually come with a small variety of buttonhole options, allowing you to create pieces for garments, quilts, or decorations. Test-drive the machine before purchasing, test out the button holes to ensure you like the options available, and check out how easy this feature is to work.
3. Needle Position
While some sewists may overlook this feature, being able to change the needle position can help you achieve particular looks on your projects. For example, you can change the needle position from left to right if your machine has a zig-zag stitch. In addition, some machines come with multiple options for needle positions, like our DX-4000QVP, which allows you to quickly move the needle to the ¼ position with a tap of a button.
4. Automatic Tension
If you’re quilting or creating a garment piece, you know that changing tension between your project pieces can be a hassle and time-consuming when you first begin. A feature sewists appreciate is the Automatic Tension. Allowing you to switch between fabrics with ease, the machine will automatically pick up the tension it needs to be at for you to create your projects and lower the amount of work you need to do!
5. Dual Feed
Lastly, a Dual Feed feature is perfect for you if you’re a quilter. By allowing the fabric to feed from both top and bottom evenly, this feature can easily handle fabrics that shift or are bulky. So now, when you’re creating your family quilts, you’ll have less stress in dealing with shifty fabric or those thick seams.
Upgrade Recommendations
If you’re planning to upgrade your sewing machine, we’ve created a list below of machine recommendations depending on your current model. Whether creating quilts, apparel, or handbags, having the right features as you grow your skills will help you make those professionally finished projects you’re aiming for.
Suppose you’ve found more room to create and a designated space for your machine to fill, look into a sit-down or stand-up quilting machine! While a table-top quilting machine is perfect for many quilters, upgrading to a sit-down quilting machine will allow your projects to grow and flourish.
A sit-down machine like the J-150QVP offers straight-stitch and quilting like your TL-18QVP. This way, you can create your quilt pieces while working on other projects like your garment pieces and home décor. The throat space is larger on this machine as well! Now you’ll have a 12-inch spacious throat space and a 30″ x 30″ table where you can open optional leaves for even more room and easily create larger quilts!
For an even larger workspace, we recommend the J-350QVP! Like the J-150QVP, you’ll have a 12″ throat space for creating. However, your quilt space has just expanded immensely! You now have the option to convert your machine to a 5′, 7′, 10′, and 12′ frame. This frame will allow you to create quilts as large as king size.
If your focus is quilting, and you have a designated space in your home for your machine, we recommend checking out the J-350QVP Stand-Up! Upgrading from the J-150QVP to the J-350QVP will allow you to upgrade your quilt size and use new features like the Quilt Creative Touch 5.
The J-350QVP Stand Up offers options in 5′, 7′, 10′, and 12′ feet frames. From twin-sized quilts to king-sized, you’ll easily be able to free-motion quilt designs onto your quilts and enjoy the new digital aspect of quilting. Thanks to the QTC5 program that you can get as an add-on to your machine, you can now free-motion quilt with the tap of a finger.
The Quilter’s Creative Touch 5 is a user-friendly add-on that allows you to easily design and layout your projects using a Windows tablet or PC. Powered by quilt motion, the system will stitch designs onto your quilt with over 220 options. You can also master creating your designs and personalizing your quilts!
Creating apparel is fun and exciting, but it’s best when you have the right machine! If you’ve been working on clothing projects and notice you wish you had more stitch options.
Compared to the 70-HW, which holds 80 stitch patterns and five buttonhole patterns, the F Series begins with 106 stitches, including 16 professional buttonholes and three lettering fonts! Decorative stitches are a fun and easy way to add personality and texture to your garment pieces. Line your skirts, add them to your handbags or use them in home décors like table runners and pillows. The lettering options let you go the extra mile and personalize your projects!
Another bonus of upgrading your machine to the HZL-F or DX Series is the accessories available to you. Now you can use presser feet like the 1/4″ Guide Foot, Invisible Zipper Foot, Smooth Presser Foot, and more. These accessories will help your skills in garment sewing grow and allow you to test new techniques you couldn’t do on your other model machine before.
If you’re looking for a machine upgrade that goes the extra mile, we recommend the DX Series! Using a touchscreen, you can easily master the stitches and feature options on your machine. Beginners and sewists can enjoy the large selection of options available for decorative stitches, letter stitching, buttonhole options, and other features like needle positions and automatic tension.
The HZL-G Series is an excellent machine for a beginner sewist. Still, if you find your project skills outgrowing the capabilities of your sewing machine, we recommend upgrading to the DX series. While both sewing machines are computerized, the DX-4000QVP offers a 7″ touch screen that goes the extra mile for sewists testing new techniques.
While the G series offers excellent features like the automatic needle threader, free motion quilting, and powerful feeding for heavy projects, the DX offers these features and more that can ease the creation process. Now, with the DX series, you’ll be able to adjust stitch length easily, presser foot pressure, combine decorative stitching, and much more.
Designed to help you create everything under the sun, the DX series is perfect for the sewist ready to dive into their sewing journey! With the ability to make home décor, quilt, and sew garment projects, you’ll be able to excel in new techniques and project types while enjoying the ease of sewing due to the intelligent technology used in the DX machines. With features like a bobbin thread sensor and the visualization of stitches on the DX-4000QVP, you now have a concrete idea of your stitches and designs before creating.
Whether upgrading to a computerized or a stand-up quilting machine, finding the right one that can grow with you is crucial! It can be exciting to test our skills and create projects we’ve been dreaming of, so make sure to have the suitable machine and tools on hand when you need them. If you were upgrading your machine today, which one would you choose? Let us know down below!
To find a JUKI dealer near you, visit us here today!