A few months ago, the Janome Horizon 7700 joined me in the Serendipity Studio. A full review is for a later blog post but I can report that yesterday, for the very first time, I changed the settings from straight stitch to something else. That means I now have used two! of the zillion stitches available, as shown on the lid of the machine in this photo.
What prompted this grand exploration? Well I was all set to put a binding on my piece for the Twelve by Twelve Maverick Challenge when it occurred to me that a satin stitch/zig zag finish might be a better complement. What to do? I had already trimmed up the work to 20x12in so Terry’s Fine Finish using perle cord thread to create a firm edge wasn’t an option. Was I brave enough to just zig zag the raw edge? I pulled open the manual for the Janome Horizon; found the overcasting foot (Foot C) and the overcasting stitch settings and tried it out on one of the trimmings:
I have had bad experiences previously with machines chewing up soft edges with zig zagging but overcasting on the new machine with the special foot worked fine. I only went around the piece once and I selected a .75 stitch length so the coverage was not especially dense. From the multi-coloured back, you can see gaps in the coverage but, from the all purple front, the coverage is neat and tidy. Look out for the Maverick reveal on 1 October (US time).
Also see my listing of tutorials for Alternative Quilt Finishing Techniques and tutorial for Continuous Mitred Bindings Without Borders.
Gerrie says
That is nice. I am going to try it.