Okay, so it’s been a few weeks since I did a blog post – I’ve been caught up with prepping Christmas items for my store
Plus, up until 2 weeks ago, my Internet was getting slower and slower and the connection kept dropping so became difficult to do anything online. I decided to switch to Virgin Fibre Broadband and I’ve had no problems at all since moving – and it means I can lose my landline too.
Anyway, I thought I’d start a series to talk about various tools that I use to make all my items, and this week do a quick run-down of them.
In this blog post I thought I’d do a run-down of each of my main machines, equipment, etc. and then over the next few weeks a more in-depth overview of each of them.
Sewing
My machine is a Janome QC 1600P
It’s classed as a semi-industrial machine, so can handle fabrics that I domestic machine may find a little difficult but not the best machine if you were working with heavy-duty fabrics and leather. There is an updated model which is the HD9
I also have 2 domestic Brother machines, I keep these mainly as the Janome is a straight-stitch only, so no zig-zag stitches, and also means I have a backup.
When I’m making clothes for myself, or when doing cotton linings on draw-string bags, I use my Overlocker/Serger which is a Brother 3034D. It’s not a heavy-duty machine but can handle basic knits and cotton fabrics. I also have various attachments for it for adding elastic and making ruffles.
Embroidery
I use a Brother V3 embroidery machine, which isn’t really designed for commercial use but it gets the job done. I’ve had it since 2014 but only started using it to its full potential over the past few months.
It’s a very popular machine but if I was to upgrade anything in my craft studio, then it would be to get a multi-needle machine.
I’ve only really skimmed the surface of creating my own designs; for that I use Embriliiance Stitch Artist.
Electronic Cutting Machine
I’m a Silhouette Cameo girl – I have the original machine and the 4 Pro.
I have had a Cricut in the past too but hated the software, still did all my designing in Silhouette Studio, and after a couple of years, it jammed and was never usable again.
They have recently bought out the Cameo 5, and something I’m interested in The Curio 2, but not all the tools are available for it yet so I’m holding on until I see it working to its full potential.
Sublimation
I use an Epson Ecotank with sublimation ink that I get from a UK ink supplier.
My press isn’t anything fancy, but I can adjust the pressure on it which you can’t do on some newer presses; to me, this can be the difference between a good result and a great one.
Resin Crafting
My newest craft so yet to make any items to sell from it, and I’m still testing different resins to find one that I like. I have just bought a Resiners Airless machine to remove bubbles from when the resin is mixed, but I’m still testing it out before I decide if I’m going to keep it or not.
Penguin and the Bee 