Janome Sew Mini sewing machine

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Reported by Erika Martin

I'll be right up front and honest with you all. I bought my Janome Sew Mini sewing machine when it was on sale and had free shipping. I couldn't pass it up. I wanted a machine of my own, and the price was right. Besides, I saw what everyone else was doing with it and knew it would be a perfect fit for me. I was so excited when it arrived and was determined to use it right away, but I never got around to even opening the box and it sat in my closet for 2 years. I kept telling myself I would take it out and break it in, but it didn't happen until this past May when I needed to make a bridesmaid dress for a wedding I was in. Since then, I never put it away.

I realized that if I could make a satin bridesmaid dress with a budget-friendly, no-frills machine, then there was a lot I was missing out on in crafting possibilities. I bought fabric and started making capris and shorts for my daughter, and some swimming shorts for my husband. I've been tinkering and experimenting with it ever since, and it has a permanent place on one of the tables in my craft studio.

I want to show you some fun ways to use the machine on materials other than fabric.

But first, here's a great bunch of tutorials from GinaK on how to thread the machine, wind the bobbin, etc. I found that these tutorials were so much easier to understand than the little book that came with the machine. I tend to be a very visual learner, so seeing pictures of someone actually threading the machine made this a breeze the first time I used it.

Threading the Machine
Inserting the Bobbin
Winding the Bobbin
Stitching and Tension
Sewing a Zig-Zag Stitch

And here's a handy trick for those of you that use cone thread.

My mom, sister and I had a custom sewing business for years when I was in my teens. We had a couple of sergers and two regular machines. Because the sergers used cone thread and there was so much on them, it didn't make any sense to buy more spool thread to match the cone thread just so that we could use it in the regular machines. My sister came up with a great trick that enabled us to use the cone thread for both the serger and regular machine.

She took a ball point pen and pulled the ink straw out of it. She also removed the bottom cap of the pen. She then placed the empty pen casing on the spool holder and it instantly became extended enough to hold the cone thread on.

The key is to find the right pen size to fit onto your spool holder, but if you're like me, you probably have a million pens that are out of ink that you just can't bear to throw away, for some reason.


CARDSTOCK

Paper and cardstock are incredibly easy to stitch on. The Janome's needle holds up very well to card base weight (120 lb.) cardstock and can easily go through a few layers. The foot of the machine grips the cardstock just as well as it does fabric.

For my card here, I used the zig-zag stitch for a decorative finish around my stamped image. The zig-zag is my favorite stitch to use, as it gives a country-type of look and you don't have to be perfect with the stitch line.

The Janome has 3 different widths of zig-zag stitches to choose from.

I also used the machine to sew my buttons directly onto my card. Most times, I thread some floss or twine through the holes on my buttons, make a knot and then adhere it to my card with a glue dot, but I wanted to see how the machine would hold up to sewing a button.

(Stamp images from GinaK Designs)

With the larger button, I kept the foot of the machine up so that the button would fit underneath. I chose the zig-zag stitch that would allow the needle to zig-zag between the holes. Instead of running the machine with the foot pedal, I used my hand to turn the knob on the side to sew the button into place. It worked wonderfully! The smaller buttons were done by placing the foot onto the buttons so the stitch would go in tight.

When you're working with buttons on cardstock, use a little bit of adhesive to hold the buttons in place for the first couple of stitches. This will keep them from moving around.


CRAFT FOAM

I recently took part in Christy's Craft Challenge, which was sponsored by Craft Critique for the month of September. The challenge was to use the materials in the packet to make a butterfly for the Butterfly Project. When I saw the craft foam in the package, I was a little confused as to how I would use it since most of the stuff I've seen done with craft foam is what my daughter creates in her art space.

I knew I wanted to make some sort of hanging butterfly and that's when I thought about sewing the fabric onto the foam and use the foam as a sturdy backing.

I cut out a large, lightweight cardboard butterfly, and traced it onto the back of the fabric. I cut out the fabric, lightly adhered it to the craft foam and trimmed around the fabric butterfly. I put some fiberfill under the fabric butterfly, and then adhered it securely onto the craft foam. I used the zig-zag stitch to finish off the edge of the butterfly.


I added some small flowers (cut from the fabric) to hang from the butterfly, and sewed them onto the foam as well. I created a quick video to show how effortlessly the needle works with the foam.




When I finished my butterfly project, I headed to the dollar store that afternoon to pick up some more craft foam and then made a couple stops to pick up some quilting quarters. I'm addicted to using craft foam in my Janome now, and I'm planning to make a bunch of hangings of all different shapes and colors. Who knew craft foam could be so much fun for an adult?


RIBBON

Not that long ago, my sister made an adorable crocheted necklace and dangled buttons from it. As I thought about that idea in regards to my Janome (and considering the fact that I don't crochet), the idea to do a bracelet with buttons and ribbons popped into my head.

Here's a tutorial on how I used my Janome to make a fast, easy and cost-effective bracelet using just buttons, ribbon, a little bit of adhesive and the Janome machine.

Step 1: I started off by cutting a length of ribbon about 4 inches longer than the width of my wrist. I applied a little bit of adhesive on one end.

Step 2: I folded the end over and then stitched the end to secure it.

Step 3: I picked out some buttons to match (I was going for fall colors and chose the new Autumn assortment from GinaK) and used a large button for the closure. I applied some adhesive to the back of the button.

Step 4: I glued the button to the sewed end of the ribbon.

Step 5: I used the zig-zag stitch on the Janome to secure the button to the ribbon.
Step 6: I applied adhesive to the backs of the rest of the buttons and arranged them onto the ribbon.

Step 7: Using the zig-zag stitch, I worked my way down the line of buttons. I had to switch back and forth between different widths of the stitch to accommodate the different sizes of buttons. I also had to maneuver the buttons and the machine foot a few times to make sure I was getting the needle in the hole (so as not to break the needle on a button), but it wasn't much of a problem.

Step 8: I left a 2 1/4 inch end after the last button and adhered it into a loop, making sure that the loop just barely fit the large button that was first sewed onto the other end.

Step 9: I turned the loop over and applied some adhesive on the underside of the ribbon, where the ribbon crosses itself.

Step 10: I then folded the end of the ribbon onto the adhesive.

Step 11: I used the zig-zag stitch to sew the loop where the ribbon crosses itself.

Step 12: I slipped the large button on the other end into the loop I just created. All done!

This is such a fun accessory to wear and it's so minimal in cost. Great for little girls, or even big girls like me!

I am totally digging my Janome and one of the things I wish I'd done years ago was taken it out of the box right when I got it. I think of all the things I could have created during those couple of years... I guess that means I have to get started on them now to make up for lost time!

Pros:

• Great starter machine, especially for younger kids that want to learn how to sew
• Lightweight and easily moved
• Compact size
• Low price point, and you can sometimes find the machine online on sale and with free shipping if you do some searching around
• Has 8 basic stitch settings and reverse
• The bobbin is easy to wind, and the machine is simple to thread

Cons:

• There's no light over the foot of the machine, so it can be hard to see your stitches if you're working in a dimly lit area. I like to keep my Ott Lite handy if I'm working late at night
• Hard to find in stores, so online shopping for this machine is your best bet

Do you have a Janome Sew Mini? What have you made with yours? What kind of materials have you put through your machine with success?