Brother Sewing UK

There are many ways you can make your own fabric on the Brother XV/Dream Machine and this is just one of them – using the Needlefelting attachment to embellish and even create your own fabric. Before I get into the detail of how you use this attachment, let me just put two common fears to rest! 1. Will it clog up my lovely machine with dust and lint? Absolutely not! As you can hopefully see in these pictures, all lint and dust produced during needlefelting is caught in the little box attached to the needlefelting plate, sitting snugly in the bobbin race (the bobbin case having been removed). The second picture shows the bobbin area after a couple of projects. Not a scrap of dust or lint to be seen! In fact, I would venture to suggest there is even LESS debris and dust than after a good session or two of machine embroidery. All you need to do is to clean out the bobbin area in the usual way – just as you would if you were doing machine embroidery. 2. Those needles look...

Baby Vest & Shorts with sample stitches panel   I’m a dressmaker, sewist and a seamstress, so the sewing side of the V series is an element that really excites me. I’ve been gradually doing more of my everyday sewing on the V7 and already been impressed by the quality of stitch it performs, even on the most unpredictable stretch jerseys.   I have also managed a successful customising job on a bridal gown, using many layers of slippery linings and corded lace, without fault and with great precision. Ultimately, I would love to up-cycle some cotton shirts I purchased from a charity shop, so I’ve been collecting various supplies. I have always wanted to try heirloom sewing, using traditional, typically hand-sewn sewing methods to create decorative finishes, but I have some new presser feet and needles so wanted to give it a go on my sewing machine. In my stash I have:  lace edging, insertion lace, 20 count cotton linen, 30 count cotton lawn, s...

One of the things I really enjoy is making bags of all shapes and sizes – from make-up bags to clutches to shoulder bags to handbags, I love them all. Up to now I have contented myself with using commercial patterns or buying 'in the hoop' designs – which I didn’t always like as I found them fiddly and wasteful. I had long admired ready-embroidered fabric in the shops, but it can be expensive. I was confident that with this fabulous machine I could reproduce something similar – or even better – and it would be exactly what I wanted. I began by embroidering a piece of fabric in the usual way – adding the design and free-motion quilting around it before taking it out of the hoop, cutting out the shape I needed and assembling on the sewing side. Here’s an example of a piece of piece of embroidered fabric cut from a larger piece I created using one of the in-built quilt fills. It worked but, again, a tiny bit wasteful if you are just cutting a shape from it. So I thou...

The Brother sewing and embroidery machine range is varied and covers all levels of sewing knowledge. With the release of the new XP1 Luminaire, many sewers are excited about the advanced technology that has been incorporated in to the modern machine – but some of these awesome features have been available on the V series for years, available with premium upgrades and accessories to give a first-class sewing experience. I often read posts on (UK) social media groups asking if anyone has purchased the upgrades and whether they’re worth the money, so in this article I will outline my favourite accessories and upgrade packages that are available and how they can help make the most of the intelligent, interactive features of the Brother V-series models. Premium Pack 1 [UGKV1] What’s in the box? 2 large embroidery hoops, positioning grids, CD, booklet What does it give you? 200x300 hoop and 200x200 hoop, 30 extra ...

I’m getting to know my Brother Innov-is V7, putting it to the test with the methods I use the most. It’s more than able to embroider and stitch decoratively on its own (there are more patterns than I’ll ever use!) but what about creating my own designs? I’m not referring to booting up my PEDesign 10 software – not yet, anyway – I need to know how it copes with something a little more freestyle. Free Motion Embroidery, Darning or Quilting; all different applications for the practice of dropping the feed dogs on your sewing machine and using your hands to guide the fabric in any direction, achieving a more fluid line of stitching. Professionally, I use this method for the application of delicate appliqué and lace hems to bridal gowns. It’s quick and easy to prepare the machine, which allows me to sew tulle, organza and chiffon with a more fluid technique than a straight stitch would allow. A personal favourite of mine is to create Freestanding lace, or use organza to create 3D...