Sew Sister: Bernina Activa 220

Showing posts with label Bernina Activa 220. Show all posts

Jaile Circle Skirt 2456

Jaile sewing pattern 2456 was pretty easy to use, plus sew. I should have used one size smaller to give the tiered skirt a much tighter fit. Unfortunately I sewed the rolled hem first (lesson to be learnt here). This made it impossible for me to take it in without losing the length of the skirt. You can't unpick my rolled hem without cutting the fabric, hence it's best to cut off. Because the person is tall whom I'm sewing this skirt for it would have been too big a sacrifice too lose some of the length. Also I never made the pants that go underneath so the length mattered...

I did lengthen the waist band slightly, and then doubled it as I did on the red skirt...Next time when sewing this skirt I certainly won't sew the rolled hem first. Also I think I won't double the waist band to attach to the two tiered skirt. This made the seam bulky because of the thickness of the Lycra.

Details:

Pattern: Jaile 2456, Download from Jaile
Fabric: 4 way sparkly wet look stretch Lycra
Cost: Around $30.00 per metre for fabric only
Size: AA (14)
Style: Pull on tiered circle skirt

A Cushion Cover Sruce-up

I've never been one to be afraid of colour I can live with it easily...If nothing matches in the house it doesn't worry me. So when choosing the fabric off-cuts to recover my cushions (the others went shabby real quick) my bright yellow walls didn't come into the equation at all.

Anyway I can't do much with the walls they have to stay yellow, my house is still not fixed from the Earthquake. So no renovating, or painting until the claims settled...Would you believe it's almost five years on and I'm still living with a broken slab etc. Very cold in winter...

I made the cushion covers envelope style with a sewn border around the edges...With no zips to sew it was a very happy sewing day. I must say the cushion covers with the invisible zips did not last. Too many pets and a dog that thinks it's a pony, not a Labrador that it was born to be, plus with little and big children all adding to the wear and tear...So basically I went back to my old style of making cushion covers, easy with no fuss. Washing these covers is a breeze because they just slip off.

From my experience, buying the most expensive material at $60.00 a metre is not good either when you find out that cushion cover fabric still falls to bits...I now settle for cheap, or buying fabric in the sales.

Sewing my First Jaile Pattern

Finally I have found myself behind the machine sewing....

This adult sized circular skirt was sewn up in an evening and I was very happy with the pattern. It fitted well. I did lengthen a couple of inches onto the waist/hip band and left the pants out...Perhaps I could have gone a size smaller for fit around the waist band though.

I had a few scraps left so I made little skirts for the girls in a size 4, that's the only pattern size fitted onto my left over scraps of fabric. A size 5 would have been better....The sparkly Lycra was a hit. I must say I enjoyed sewing the Lycra fabric it was a nice weight to sew. Sometimes Lycra can be tricky (well for me anyway).

Details:

Pattern: Jaile 3025, Download from the Jaile website.

Fabric: 4 way Sparkly wet look stretch Lycra

Cost: Around $30.00 per metre

Size: AA (14) for adult skirt

Size: H (4) for child's skirt

Style: D-Circular skirt

Fabric covered in small glittery dots...giving a wet look to it.

Simple Yoga Skirt

Put your sunglasses on this is so bright....eek! The pattern I used for this yoga skirt is from Jocole....I didn't have much fabric (it's a 4 way stretch) and it was a bit of a squeeze to cut out and keep the pattern matching. I finished off the hemming with a cover stitch.

Front of skirt

The fabric clings a bit it almost needs an underskirt...

I opted for the smaller band...

Reversible Slippers Ready For Winter

I'm using up scraps of Polar Fleece. I had a computer crash awhile back and lost all my sock patterns except for this one which I printed out. You can buy the Reversible Slipper Pattern on Craftsy.

The Sewing Lesson

Sewing lessons am I good at this? No, not really I was too impatient for the skirt to be finished. Watching my daughter doing all that gathering sent my head into a spin....Here is her effort, the Simplicity pattern we used is one I have used before and you can find it here.

Looks more becoming on than just hanging....

Small Christmas Bags

I think I need bows for my bags I'm making. Bows will make them look so much nicer. My fluffy wire stuff doesn't look too good...Oh well I'm off to the fabric shop. I guess I won't come out with just ribbon, there will be other treasures too...the joy of sewing!

French seamed the side seams and 2 thread rolled hem
on the top...

Organza Xmas bags...

Chef for a day

For the last couple of days I've been busy sewing a new Chef's outfit. The green spotty Chef's outfit I drafted and sewed a few years back (bottom pics). It's way to small now so I'm sending it over to the girls so they can have fun with it...

For the Italian Chef I drafted the apron and then used a DD ring for the joining of the neck strap. I'm not too sure what I'm doing with the waist ties yet. At the moment they are long enough to tie in the front, but I think I prefer tying them at the back. I don't think it matters much to the Chef though...

For the hat I used a free pattern over at YouCanMakeThis. I cut out the youth size and then embellished the finished hat by making a Italian flag.

The new Chef's outfit, I think he'll be making Pasta...
It's not pressed I forgot to do that before I took the photo!

Way too small now...

And a little to big for the girls...

Ha Ha said the Clown!

I've been busy putting this clown outfit together...Now three days later I have emerged from totally trashing the dinning room. I didn't clean up after my last project and there was fabric, scraps, and thread everywhere. Not to count all the pins embedded in my carpet, lucky I have a big magnet on the fridge!

I wasn't sure how I was going to make a clown costume, until I spotted this wonderful tutorial on sewing a clown costume over at sew mama sew. The style and design looked very simple and quick to sew. I envisaged that 'this will not take me very long'.

Well it took me a lot longer than I thought because I took a liking to putting circles on the clown pants. I had to sew them on using the blanket stitch setting on my Bernina Activa 220. It took me quite a while to do that...

My exciting moment though was finding these four large red buttons in my button jar. They were perfect for the straps but very tricky to sew on as they have such small shanks.

The sewing pattern I used was Simplicity 2037 (size S) for the clown pants. I just cut the pyjama pants legs much shorter. For the bands, straps, and bow tie I drafted a pattern. The attached straps cross over at the back of the clown pants and are sewn onto the back band. Buttons are then sewn on top of the straps and this helps hold them in place too.

For the bow tie I cut an oblong 16"x6" and a smaller oblong I think it was 5"x 3" out of the red satin. But measurements don't really matter for the bow tie. You can make it as large as you like or as small as you like. To attach the bow tie I hand sewed onto a red satin band which is then fastened with Velcro at the back.

Working it all out....but I forgot
to sew the striped pockets into the
side seams. I changed the tie to
a bow tie too!

Tracing out the circles and
cutting to size using fabric
fro my stash

Ready to press the iron-on stiffening
onto the circles

Placing the circles where I
want them

Red satin leg bands sewn on. I used
iron-on stiffening in all bands. As the
white fabric I used is fairly stiff it
helped to keep the box shape of the
pants

I top-stitched the pants in yellow
thread...

This is a bit of a squeeze perhaps I
should have used the Juki...

Sewing the heart onto the T-shirt

I knew these old buttons would
come in handy one day...

Making a bow tie out of
red satin

All finished there is boning in
the red waist band

Friday Ramblings...

This is a close-up view of the Bernina Activa 220 needle threader, it's all I could think about to post today..... But I've been so busy, I bought myself an old sewing table and I've been tidying it up (well wiping it out) and then putting all my sewing things in place.

I was so happy I found my button foot for sewing on buttons for my old Bernina 801, it has been lost for ages. Funny thing it was tangled and entwined onto another Bernina sewing foot. I was really pleased to find it as the generic ones (on e-bay) are slightly different to mine and a new one for the Activa 220 is so expensive...Lucky I didn't replace it!

Oh and I've had some excitement, I have managed to get some sewing machine feet for my Juki F600 in Japan. I just can't get them in NZ. My gorgeous little girls went on a holiday to visit their family and bought them online over there for me (much cheaper than buying from the U.S.A.)....When they bring them over to my house I'll post, they are all sick at the moment....

I actually like this needle threader I can use it. I get totally muddled up when I use the Juki F600 one...in fact I think I've broken it!

Twin Needle Twist

I have wanted to learn how to use a twin needles for a while. House of Pinheiro has a good post on using twin needles so I followed the instructions over there. I also looked on You Tube for a Bernina Activa to see if there were any tutorials on twin needles. Click here to view a video on using a twin needle on the Bernina Activa.

My first efforts were a total disaster 'practice makes perfect' right? I soon sorted it and all I needed to do was put both my threads through the same side of my tension disks. Once I did this my efforts were good....I think though I need to loosen the bottom tension a bit. But I'm not to sure how to do this though. More practice I think!

Twin needle sewing on the
Bernina Activa 220

Bernina Activa 220

I don't really use my Bernina Activa 220....just for mending. But I've kept the sewing machine set up so I can do some sewing. They say timing is everything..... the time has been right for me to finally appreciate this machine for what it is..... I've never been that keen on my Activa because I much preferred my mechanical version (this machine was my back-up Bernina). A sales lady talked me in to buying it when I was going to buy another Bernina mechanical. But anyway I'm giving it a proper run for a change. Maybe I'll take it to a sewing class or something this year.......

What I like about the Bernina Actva 200:
It's a not that much different from a Bernina mechanical machine. It has the same threading as my 801 and I can use the Bernina Activa's 220 bobbins in the 801.
I like that it's not a heavy sewing machine like the mechanical one.
I love the needle threader ( I still haven't got my head around the Juki needle threader).
I do love Bernina bobbin winders, very simple (My mechanical one is the best though, it cuts the thread while winding this one doesn't).
I do like that that the sewing machine has a handle and is portable, very easy to take to sewing lessons.
You wind the electrical foot chord underneath the foot pedal, very convenient.
I also like the simplicity of this machine it's pretty basic and robust.......
The machine has a needle up and down feature.
I like the bobbin is in the front underneath. I prefer bobbins this way (just my preference).
It has temporary stitch memory which is good too.

What I don't like is:
You only get five feet!
That it's computerized (just joking)
Nothing really I'm a Bernina fan......
It was quite expensive machine for minimal options when compared to sewing other machines....Bernina is always expensive!

It doesn't have an automatic buttonhole it is manual....

There is no table (this is an extra and it's clear plastic).

What I can't comment on is:
How good the machine is for quilting as I'm not a quilter. For constructing a garments it is perfect and easy to use, especially for a beginner sewer.

What would I like to get for this machine:

A magnifying set for better viewing when sewing.

A sew on button foot and the optional buttonhole foot in the manual.

Change the light for something much brighter.

Tips:
A good place to find Bernina bobbins is on e-bay or sometimes Trade-me as well. Generic feet can be bought on e-bay. I have the all in one Bernina feet which I got when I bought the sewing machine. I thought it was easier for me )i might lose the clip on feet)...But lately I have been thinking they might be a good idea too! If you want to personalise the facade of your Bernina Activia 220 you can buy skins for your Bernina here.