Today my youngest and I are excited to share our review of the Janome New Home Pink Sorbet sewing machine. We’re answering the question – Is the Pink Sorbet a good kids’ machine?
This post is sponsored by Janome Canada. I am a Janome Artisan and have been using Janome machines for many years – before they started sponsoring me. I love their machines and only recommend what I truly love. Thanks for reading!
First off – Unboxing this machine with my daughter was so much fun. She is so EXTRA *lol* – and was thrilled to open every package of accessories and see all the parts of the machine. Opening the bobbin case and removing the free arm. Peeking into every part of it, figuring out where the light above the needle came from. (Making sure to get out her handmade the sewing supplies and apron first!)
Normally I sew on a Janome Skyline S9 – an on-loan combination sewing and embroidery machine. I also own a Janome 2030 QDC machine. My daughter loves to sew as well and the bigger “fancier” machines sometimes feel like a lot for her to handle on her own.
Janome gave us the chance to check this one out and I’ll be reviewing this “Colourful Series” Pink Sorbet machine with kids in mind.
The Short(er) story:
This is a great beginner machine. I love Janome because they include diagrams for inserting the bobbin, easy bobbin filling locations and simple-to-thread machines. This one is no different.
It will grow with your child! As per Janome’s usual they have included so many accessories – perfect for a beginner to comfortable home sewer and allows your child to explore options beyond a straight and zigzag stitch, once they master those.
Lots of extras. This machine includes a zipper foot, buttonhole foot, and blind hemming foot. It also has four bonus feet I would have loved to have when I just started out – a gathering foot, 3-way cording foot, rolled hem foot and gathering foot.
Lots of stitches. This machine goes beyond straight and zig-zag, there are multiple stretch stitches for sewing knits and it even allows you to sew on buttons with an included darning plate.
It feels sturdy and is a great weight. This machine is easy to lift, but weights enough to be sturdy and stay in place while you are sewing.
My REVIEW: In general, I love that this machine is beginner-enough to allow your child to sew on their own, yet has enough features and included feet to let them explore and learn for many years. It is a great first machine that will grow with them until they are ready to invest in their own machine.
Kids aside, it is also great for a home sewist who would like to be able to do simple sewing tasks like mending, tailoring, and hemming – using those included feet! It is also great for simple quilt piecing, as you can see in this review by Ginger Quilts.
The Long(er) Story:
Once the machine was unboxed, we filled the bobbin, threaded the machine and inserted the bobbin. Since it lives in a fun bobbin case behind the free arm, my daughter made a very-8-year-old-esque unprompted tutorial video on how to install the bobbin for you all. It is not without its technical faults (read, check your manual too!) but it’s a good gauge for how simple it is to use the bobbin case! To test the machine, we decided to sew a simple drawstring backpack to take on our upcoming beach vacation. She chose all of the fabrics and the zipper colour and I sewed it on the Pink Sorbet machine. This included her specific instructions to use yellow thread in the bobbin and blue on the spool – this is her bag! The machine is very simple to use. It did everything I needed and the foot pedal is very responsive with a good speed. I got to use the zipper foot, free arm and (as usual, my fault!) I did get to test that the included seam ripper worked as well. *lol* She used the machine after school to sew a visual of the available stitches and was excited to try the bonus gathering foot as well. It was right before dinner, or we would have spent a lot more time playing with that one! Courtesy of Daylight Savings time – you get fun, darkish photos of her using the machine.
Summary:
Is the Janome Pink Sorbet a good kids’ machine? Yes, this is a great sewing machine for kids! My more detailed product review is above in the Short(er) story… But, as you can probably already tell we really like this machine. It’s cute and colourful and also really robust and ready for any beginner sewist to learn on. It has tons of stitches and accessories to allow for learning without the “stumbling block” of having to buy more feet to accomplish the latest tutorial you wanted to try. Hope that helps you make your decision! Let me know if you have any questions. I’d love to help answer them!
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Oh wow! It’s the first week of Project Run and Play Season 18, and I still can’t believe I’m a designer! Before we go further I’d like to take a minute to thank you for checking out this post. This contest is crazy fun for me (and super time consuming and nerve-wracking) and your support means a lot! It also means I’ll be posting here and on social media like a crazy person – and oh, so many photos in each post.
Please check out Project Run and Play to VOTE and also for the “official” version what I’ve done this week. I am writing different information here and on their site, and have reserved this post for back stories and outtakes, things I don’t have room to share on the PR&P site. You’ll also find large versions of each photo from the PR&P site and extras that won’t fit there!
I can’t say I wasn’t worried when I handed my daughters design sheets for this theme. They could pick any fabric, any design… Thankfully it all worked out in the end – Whew!
Both girls wanted pink, furry things – this made the photoshoot matchy and easy on the eyes! If you check out the drawings, you’ll see some blue, a headpiece and gloves and some bright pink, purple and red. I was immediately dismayed until my youngest told me the colours were only to denote the pattern – thank goodness – though, it was important to have a bright colour on the bottom of the dress. She later removed the headpiece in lieu of adding in the cape, and decided the gloves wouldn’t be comfortable… we now have one lonely tailored-to-fit gold glove here! We also had a little chat about how a heavy maxi dress hanging off of a halter neckline might be uncomfortable, and she switched it to straps.
About each project:
These designs were fun to play with, and we walked a very fine line between trendy, just-for-fun and wearable. I wanted to interpret the girls’ designs in a way that was true to their drawings, and still something that worked for them to wear on a daily basis! (Or at least to church!)
The Cape:
Starting a cape made fully of super-soft and furry Luxe Minky from Funky Monkey Fabrics and Bridal Satin is not for the faint-hearted! I read horror stories online about how hard minky was to sew, and with two slippery fabrics, I figured I was in for a fight. Not to worry! I loaded up the Skyline S9’s AcuFeed Flex foot (basically a souped-up walking/even foot) and plowed ahead, pinning every 2 inches or so. It was not terrible, YAY! The only time-consuming part was vacuuming the edges of each and every piece once they were cut, and before stitching. Then, of course, vacuuming my entire main floor!
I used the Oliver and S “Little Things to Sew” cape as a starting point for the design, (I made one here) and added a ribbon hanger to the back neck, for hanging and changed the hem drastically. The zipper was a closure request from my daughter. I wanted to add a large bow that tied under her neck, but she explained to me that it would be too hard to do herself – and, ever practical, she opted not to add it.
The bad thing? I understitched the entire hem of the cape (through the 5″ arm hole) BEFORE I remembered that I was supposed to shorten it by 4 inches. Luckily my friend was sewing with me at the time to get me through that!
I’m so glad I could make this for my little one. The Luxe Minky is absolutely soft and has a gorgeous texture. She loves dressing up, accessories and fun clothes and will totally wear this cape out all the time. It was well worth the time it took!
The Maxi Dress:
I knew this dress “had to” be maxi length, my youngest loves them because they make her feel like a princess. I started with Lexi’s Strappy Back Dress from Simple Life Patterns. It has such a pretty bodice shape, and the button back allows it to fit closely without elastic. We pleated the maxi layers, some to the side and some in the center – just because my daughter said to! Since I was determined to use up my stash, I started looking at the satin to see if there was enough. Amazingly, all of the fabric came from my stash except for the cream! I had the pink from a friend who didn’t use it in her wedding, the bright pink from a stashed remnant and just-enough floral from lining my faux leather Marmalade jacket.
Funny thing about sewing for kids while they are at school – my sewing notes are peppered with things like “Use Penguin nightgown for the length” and “Use cat sweater for sizing”. Fun times, then holding your breath until they can try it on is fun too!
The Sweater Dress
The infamous “Use Cat Sweater for Sizing” project. *lol* This was a pretty simple project based on the Camden from Hey June Handmade. I made sure to line the front bodice behind the fur and smooth out each seam so it would be comfy. The fur was a bit scary to sew into the top – but topstitching helped and cutting the fur out of the seam allowance first was key to getting a nice looking seam.
Oh, and I sorted out an awesome thing! I haven’t used Wooly Nylon in anything until a few months ago, and my kids were always breaking the threads of their handmade knit garment hems. I wound the wooly nylon onto a bobbin using my machine and it’s been great – no more broken seams!
The White Pants
Oh white pants… how I’m going to miss you! I can only imagine how quickly these will get dirty – but they are so cute with the dress it was worth it. They were simple to sew. I started with the Simple Life Patterns’ Tiffany’s Bow and Ruffle Leggings and added a jogger style hem band instead of the bows and ruffles. They worked out great and I made them using some stashed velour knit – probably from about 8-9 years ago! Amazingly it was the 4-way 75% stretch the pattern called for. #sewingwin
The Slouchy Legwarmers
Speaking of stashed fabrics, I think I bought the knit for these legwarmers around the same time as the white velour! I’ve wanted to make leg warmers out of it basically since it existed in my stash and was happy to use this contest as a reason. They are self-drafted tubes of fabric with clear elastic sewn into each end. My daughter has worn them to school almost every day since they were finished.
The Fur and Faux Leather Purse
This purse and the cape are my most favorite projects from this week! It was so fun to follow my daughter’s drawing. I’ve been saying I’d make her a purse soon and it was a great opportunity. She is so proud of and happy with her new purse, it’s great to make things that the girls love!
The bag is self-drafted and I had to summon all of my previous bag making knowledge to do it! The lining is interfaced with fusible fleece and I’ve used foam on the outer sides and gusset to help it keep its shape. I’ve had the short beaded handle for as long as the legwarmer knit and velour, so it was nice to finally use it! The long chain handle was wrapped with black vinyl and attached to a “lovely” black sequined purse (we now own) at the thrift store. The snowflake charms were packaged with flannel sheets we just bought for the girls, re-purposing at it’s best!
Whew!
You made it to the bottom of the post! You are a superhero! Thanks so much for reading. Head over to the Project Run and Play post to see all of the other designs and vote for your favorite! (Maybe me?!)
Aside from a clever play on the popular “Project Runway” series(!), it’s a fun sewing contest created 17 seasons ago. The series is run by Audrey of Skirt Fixation, who took over from the co-writers of Simple Simon and Co earlier this year.
Here’s a quick rundown – six designers compete to sew clothing for their kid(s) in a series of four themed weeks. Each week one designer is moved on, leaving the rest to continue. In the final week, 3 designers compete for the top three spots and prizes.
Here’s where you come in – each week, designers are judged equally by:
a celebrity guest judge
3 past PR&P designers
and YOU!
I’ll be posting a link to the voting each week. But, if you want to be ahead of the game, follow Project Run and Play on social media (Facebook, Instagram) or in your favorite blog reader so you don’t miss the post! Weekly designs will be up for voting each Tuesday at 7 am EST and voting ends on Thursday at 8pm EST. (Weekly winners are announced on Fridays at 7 am!)
You can also be a part of this season by joining the weekly Season 18 Sew Along link-up. (They have prizes there too!)
If you haven’t noticed, Pandas are everywhere. Literally. On bags, socks, shirts, notebooks, hairbrushes even! So I wondered “Where can I get me some of that Panda Love?” And then I recalled Kelly Panacci‘s latest fabric line “Panda Love” and my search was over. *lol, see what I did there?!*
Kelly graciously offered to send me some, and I needed to make my kids new lunch bags so these were born.
I wrote this free Insulated Lunch Bag tutorial for Sew Mama Sewwaaaaaayyyyy back in 2014. When I also made the lunch bags that my kids are (were?) currently using. So, they were really old – and despite washing them frequently – we really needed new ones.
This time I decided to quilt all three panels, instead of just the front, and they turned out so much nicer! The original bags were great – but that extra layer makes them feel very sturdy. The bags are lined with insulating material and rip-stop nylon, so they keep things cold and are wipeable between washings. We have had no issues with them in 4 years! Hooray!
A word about the fabrics? Kelly has a knack for drawing the cutest animals! And these pandas are no exception. Plus – the text print is so cute and has the best sayings. It’s so perfect to send to school with my kids, like a little extra love for them at lunchtime!
Last summer my kids went to sleep away camp for the first time. I was a bit nervous leaving them for an entire week, since they were 6 and 9 years old, so – being a sewist mom – I decided to make them a project.
Each of my girls received a personalized pillowcase with a glow-in-the-dark secret message. Every night when they went to sleep, the glowing message would say goodnight and that mom and dad love them. Made me feel much better!
This post is sponsored by Janome Canada. I am a Janome Artisan and have been loaned a Janome Skyline S9 sewing and embroidery combination machine as part of this program.
Today’s tutorial shows you how to incorporate a glow-in-the-dark message using a sewing machine with an alphabet function. (P.S. If you don’t have one, consider using the glowing thread to hand-embroider a message instead!) I added some embroidery as well since the Janome Skyline S9 can do that too!
There are so many uses for these pillowcases. Make one for….
a unique gift for your grandkids
a child in the hospital
your hubby while you are away traveling on business
a child who is scared of the dark
a fun surprise!
My lovely blog sponsor, Country Clothesline, provided the fabrics for this pillowcase. They have a gorgeous selection of fresh and pretty fabrics in her shop – think picnics and country gardens. My kids are debating who gets to use this pillowcase first as we speak! (Find links to the fabrics at the bottom of this post.)
It is best to follow your chosen tutorial, but, as a gauge – here are the measurements I used to cut fabric for my pillowcase. Each of these is cut across the width of the fabric from selvage to selvage – generally, this is about 42″-44″.
11″ band
2″ wide accent strip (will be folded in half)
27″ main fabric
STEP 1: Make the Accent Strip with Your Secret Message
Fold the accent strip in half and press. Add a 1″ wide piece of stabilizer to one half of it. This will be where you will place your glow-in-the-dark message.
Program the message into your machine. The Skyline S9 allows you to check your work, do it if you can to make sure there aren’t any spelling mistakes.
Measure the height of your text and draw a baseline with a removable marking device. Check which way the text will face as you stitch and align the baseline so the text is right side up above the fold of the accent strip. If you are centering the text on the strip, allow for a 1/4″ seam allowance at the top of the accent strip.
IMPORTANT: Press your accent strip well before you embroider on it! You CAN NOT press the glow-in-the-dark embroidery thread with the same heat you use to press the cotton fabric because it will melt. (Don’t ask me how I know, blergh.)
Use the baseline as a guide and stitch the message, starting about 1″ into the strip to allow for the pillowcase seam allowance. Continue repeating your message until you reach about 1″ from the other end of the strip.
Remove the spacing threads between the letters if desired.
Re-fold the strip. (Do not press on high heat! Test your “synthetic” setting and use a press cloth if you really want to iron it.)
STEP 2: Embroider the Pillowcase
When centering embroidery, make sure to take seam allowances and folds into account. Embroidery centered on the top front band will appear on 1/4 of the band fabric. (see photo)
Place stabilizer underneath and hoop your project.
I used two rose designs included with the Janome AcuDesign app and changed the colours to use similar colours to the fabric so I could envision the final product.
The AcuSetter app allowed me to send the design placements over WIFI to the Skyline S9, so the rose and the two vine sections would match up.
Embroider the pillowcase band as desired.
Step 3: Finish Making the Pillowcase
Follow your desired tutorial to finish the pillowcase. Insert the accent strip between the main and band fabric with the lettering facing the band fabric when sewing them together.
I used a french seam to enclose the raw edges of the pillowcase so they won’t fray.
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Thanks for reading Thread Riding Hood. Don’t miss a post – come #alongforthreadride!
I love the Canadian online fabric shopping scene! Over the past few years, it has grown by leaps and bounds, providing Canadian (and US and International!) shoppers with lots of variety and choice.
Today, I’m thrilled to be able to feature Lindsey from The Fabric Snob, chat about her shop and give you a chance to win a fabric-y giveaway! Plus, she’s provided a discount code for you to use in her shop. (P.S. This is the 20th Canadian Online Fabric Store interview we’ve had here!)
“It started with the search for the perfect diaper fabric for my newborn son, which was impossible to find in Canada. I realized there was a huge gap in the Canadian market for on-trend fabrics, so The Fabric Snob was born!
We also have a brick and mortar location. We are located in a small town, Riverton, in rural Manitoba! If you are ever out our way, please stop in for a visit, we would love to have you!” ~ Lindsey, The Fabric Snob
I had a lovely time shopping at The Fabric Snob. They have a huge shop including 60+ solid knit colours plus prints, french terry, and heathered knits, quilting cottons, fleece, minky, flannels, notions and thread! Plus a low Canada and US shipping flat rate of $9.99.
My order arrived super-quick with a washing sheet and bonus fruit snacks that, yes, I did share with my kids! Plus I got a swatch sheet for their huge array of knits – so I can properly match future orders. (Almost my favorite part of the order, besides the fabric of course! #fabricnerd)
Sherri: Why did you decide to start your shop?
Lindsey: I wanted something that I could do from home while being a mom, I LOVED sewing and was a self-professed fabric snob. Plus I have always loved working with technology. An online fabric store was the perfect fit!
Sherri:What is your favorite type of sewing project?
Lindsey: Clothing! I love being able to custom fit something to my body. But I also love the challenge of quilting projects!
Sherri: What is something coming up in the near future that you are especially excited about?
Lindsey: We are hoping to expand our apparel fabrics in a big way over the next few months, and we are also in the process of getting a long-arm to start offering edge-to-edge quilting services!
Sherri: Thanks, Lindsey!
Lucky us! The Fabric Snob is offering a discount at their shop until May 31, 2018! (One-time use, discount is not applicable to EverSewn Sewing Machines.)
Use the code THR10 to get 10% off your order.
The Fabric Snob is giving away the best kind of gift – a $50 gift card to use in their shop!
This giveaway is open to everyone worldwide, from today (May 17) until midnight May 24, 2018 (EST). Use the Rafflecopter widget below to enter – and if you don’t have Facebook to sign in with, use your name and email address. There’s a “click to enter”, no social media login entry too!
Thanks for reading Thread Riding Hood. Don’t miss a post – come #alongforthreadride!
Disclosure and Privacy Policy: Fabric Snob is a current blog sponsor. I contacted them to see if they also wanted to be interviewed. They provided fabric and a giveaway as part of our collaboration for this series. I won’t promote a shop that I do not love, and my opinions will always be my own. Thanks for reading!
First off – Unboxing this machine with my daughter was so much fun. She is so EXTRA *lol* – and was thrilled to open every package of accessories and see all the parts of the machine. Opening the bobbin case and removing the free arm. Peeking into every part of it, figuring out where the light above the needle came from. (Making sure to get out her handmade the sewing supplies and apron first!)
To test the machine, we decided to sew a simple drawstring backpack to take on our upcoming beach vacation. She chose all of the fabrics and the zipper colour and I sewed it on the Pink Sorbet machine. This included her specific instructions to use yellow thread in the bobbin and blue on the spool – this is her bag! The machine is very simple to use. It did everything I needed and the foot pedal is very responsive with a good speed. I got to use the zipper foot, free arm and (as usual, my fault!) I did get to test that the included seam ripper worked as well. *lol* 
She used the machine after school to sew a visual of the available stitches and was excited to try the bonus gathering foot as well. It was right before dinner, or we would have spent a lot more time playing with that one! Courtesy of Daylight Savings time – you get fun, darkish photos of her using the machine. 
