its sew easy

Hello to all my Allbrands friends!

I’m beginning to feel like Louisiana is almost like home away from home for me! Soon, I’ll be in beautiful Baton Rouge and I hope to see many of you at the ALLBRANDS.COM sold out Embroidery Garden Party. I’ll be there along with Angela Wolf and Reen Wilcoxon as we join together for two days of unbelievable embroidery fun!!! I know I speak for all of us in saying that we’re excited to see you all! We’ll stitch six fabulous in-the-hoop embroidery projects, make new friends, eat great southern food, and have more fun than a cowpoke at a western rodeo!

So, what does a rodeo have to do with an Embroidery Garden party? Nothing really, but I’m also writing today to remind you to watch the online version of the popular It’s Sew Easy PBS TV show. Episode 1008, aptly titled Stepping Out will air on the It’s Sew Easy TV website from now until noon on Friday, May 20th, 2016. The show begins with my version of a Rodeo Cowgirl Jacket. Watch the show and you are sure to see that I love western style clothing!!! How about you?

This denim jacket features embroidery designs from my book Wrapped in Embroidery along with built in designs from the Brother Dream Machine. Although the theme is classy, classic western inspired clothing, this segment is all about how to accomplish perfect placement with templates and create continuous border style stitching using a combination of high tech Brother embroidery innovations.

Would perfect embroidery placement on garments be a dream come true for you? Have you ever wanted to embroider from here to the moon and create continuous embroidery designs that are perfectly matched from end to end? Both of these embroidery challenges are possible on any machine when you know the tricks for precise placement.

On the show you will see me use the Brother Dream Machine to accomplish perfect placement with templates and stitch continuous borders by using a basting box and the Droplight® laser. If you own this machine you will love the easy, accurate methods presented in this show. In fact this process will work on many different Brother models. Depending on your Brother machine model, you’ll find there are many more ways to create the same effect.

So, what if you have a machine without these high tech toots and whistles. There is a solution for that! In the second chapter of Wrapped in Embroidery I outline three methods for perfect placement and stitching continuous, endless embroidery on any machine! You are sure to find one or more methods that work for you, no matter what level of capability your current embroidery machine has.

Now, why not make yourself comfortable and CLICK HERE to watch It’s Sew Easy TV episode 1008? In this show you’ll also be treated to an accessory lesson presented by Angela Wolf.

Enjoy the show and I’ll talk to you again soon. Until then, I wish you Happy Sewing!

Joanne Banko is a freelance sewing educator and a self-proclaimed sewing cheerleader. You can see Joanne’s online teaching segments broadcast on the popular PBS TV show, It’s Sew Easy, and online at www.itsseweasytv.com. She is a frequent contributor to Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine and author of the book Wrapped in Embroidery, available at AllBrands.com.

Visit Joanne at her Sewing and Embroidery website, www.letsgosew.com and on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/letsgosew

Hello to all my Allbrands friends!

Are you interested in watching another great sewing show this weekend on Louisiana Public Broadcasting station? It’s Sew Easy TV, Episode #907 airs on your local Louisiana Public Broadcasting station Saturday September 5th at 9:30 am. Visit lpb.org for more details. Of course many other PBS stations around the country carry this show as well. You can CLICK HERE to search for PBS stations all over the country.

The theme for this show is a Flashback to the 1950’s with tips and techniques for contemporary sewing enthusiasts. You’ll learn from Peggy Sagers how darts make a difference and flatter every figure with great fit. Next up you’ll be smitten with details found on darling little doll clothes when you see Pearl Krush make some eye catching small size poodle skirts.

Last but not least, if you’re crazy for couching I think you’ll enjoy my short segment featuring couched accents stitched with specialty accessory feet. You’ll find that couching is a technique offering lots of style with very little little effort. Chances are you have some assorted supplies for couching already in your stash. Just add an accessory foot suited for your machine to attach cords, yarn, and narrow braids with straight or decorative stitches that skip from side to side. You’ll see some examples of accessory attachments made specifically for couching below.

Your friends at www.allbrands.com can show you all the options available for your own personal sewing machine. There are many to choose from.

The proper accessory foot lets you swirl and twirl across your fabric. Sure, you can stick with straight lines too! Whatever you choose to do, these attachments allow for free form stitchery or precisely placed perpendicular lines. Take a look at how Brother Innoveye® technology assists in aligning trim as you prepare to stitch.

This is truly one of my all time favorite embellishment techniques. I used the braiding foot to add a little punch of purple to my Folkloric Fringed Wrap. Here’s a little tip for you, dental floss threaders work great for feeding trim into a braiding foot. Start with a bit of trim in and under the foot before you attach it to the machine. Smooth the tail at the back end and then make certain the trim flows freely through the guide.

I’ll warn you . . . once you get started with this type of surface embellishment it’s hard to stop. Before you know it you may have covered most of your entire fabric surface. But hey, that’s okay! Now you have an original work of art designed by YOU!

I hope you enjoy the show. If you have any questions or comments feel free to contact me. I’d love to hear your sewing success stories and help you with your sewing challenges as well.

Till we talk again I wish you Happy Sewing!

Joanne Banko is a freelance sewing educator and a self-proclaimed sewing cheerleader. You can see Joanne’s online teaching segments broadcast on the popular PBS TV show, It’s Sew Easy, and online at www.itsseweasytv.com. She is a frequent contributor to Designs in Machine Embroidery magazine and author of the book Wrapped in Embroidery. The book is available at AllBrands.com.

Tag: its sew easy

Machine Embroidery – Western Style (Guest blog by . . . Joanne Banko)

It’s Sew Easy – Crazy for Couching