The idea of dressform that has no adjustments, but requires a cover which you use to compress it to the exact proportions you need, is unusual, but brilliant. Unlike other forms which rely on lightweight metal or plastic parts (that can break), this one uses a solid high density flexible foam. Adjust the cover (by sewing) to the exact dimensions you need, and slip it over the form. Initial setup takes a while, but once done, you can use it to your heart's content, without fear of anything breaking. My only concern is the method used to adjust the height. It is a dual diameter plastic or nylon collar. The wider end is attached to the rod at the base of the dressform and the floor stand slides into the lower/smaller end. Both ends are tightened with thumbscrews. So far, this hasn't proved to be a problem.
Janome Hemmer Feet (4mm & 6mm) for Horizontal Rotary Hook Models
List Price: $24.99
Sale Price: $21.60
Today's Bonus: 14% Off
I ordered this set of presser feet for my new Janome machine. I expected to receive Janome feet, as pictured, in the original packaging. What I received was two presser feet in a zip-top baggie, with a photocopied sheet of "instructions." Nowhere in the product information stated that some off-brand presser feet would be sent. I tried them on my machine, and they did not fit well. I went to a local store that sells Janome accessories, and compared them, and they are nowhere near the quality of true Janome feet, for nearly the same price. I requested to return the items, which I have to pay return shipping on. I am NOT pleased with this company, and will not be purchasing from them again. I will be purchasing all Janome accessories from an actual Janome dealer. Lesson learned.
Zipper Ease
I've owned this item for over 20 years and bought one for each of my three daughters from Amazon. My Zipper Ease stick is probably about half the size of the new ones. But an application to a stubborn zipper immediately fixes the problem. Every household should have one.
Dritz My Double Deluxe Dress Form
List Price: $237.99
Sale Price: $149.99
Today's Bonus: 37% Off
I attended school for apparel design, so I know that this form does not compare to the profesional wolf forms or superior model forms that range from 300-1000$.
Basically, if you are like me and have a symmetrical form and are relatively built like a dress form and are not intending to do a strenuous amount of sewing for professional reasons (unless this is to bide your time in the start up phase of a business), then great! You can probably go with one of the cheaper models out there.
However, remember that this model has a wonderful natural. more realistic hip section and mid section and separated leg area which makes it available for getting the hip area of pants correct. It also has a longer support pole, to keep your garment off the ground, or if you are tall. It is steam-able, rotates 360, and pinable. Remember to use a bra on the form that you intend to wear with the garment you are constructing. This will really help especially with strapless ensembles.
If you have a hard to replicate form, such as enlarged midsection, uneven shoulders, etc, consider a My Twin Dress form which is created to your specific body shape.
Otherwise, the my double deluxe works well enough for me.
Cricut Type Candy Cartridge
List Price: $34.99
Sale Price: $26.99
Today's Bonus: 23% Off
This is the first Cricut Cartridge that I have bought in quite awhile. I have a hard time paying so much money for cartridges that I may not fully use so when I found this one I was excited. I love that it has up to 6 fonts (3 fonts plus 3 shadows)! It is so fun, cute, and functional and definitely worth the money. I am a very selective cartridge buyer and I am completely happy with this cartridge. It is a great addition to my Cricut!
Singer Quantum XL-5000 Sewing and Embroidery Machine FS
I had high hopes for this machine. When I bought this machine (four years ago) I thought it would be fantastic to own one machine that would do both sewing and embroidery, and it's made by Singer! One of the reasons I THOUGHT this would be a great machine at the time is because it's updatable. Although it may be updatable, they have never created anything new for the machine and you would be just as well to buy the less expensive model that isn't updatable. Singer promised new and exiting changes and I'm sitting here with a machine that hasn't changed since I bought it and still only does what it did when they first designed the machine. They haven't even added stitch fills which my very basic Brother Embroidery machine had.
The two units (sewing machine and embroidery unit) are large and bulky and the sewing machine is very heavy. Also the machine is supposed to be able to do multiple hoopings for larger designs. I've never had a multi-hooped item turn out like I had envisioned. It could be operator error, but I have done everything they suggested.
There is a huge learning curve with both units, but Singer's Customer Support is great if/when you call needing assistance and can get through to a human.
There are some really neat built in stitches, but when I use the built in embroidery stitches (done without the embroidery unit) the designs wonder and are hard to keep on track. I draw guidelines with an air erase pen, but the foot travels everywhere while creating the design, so it's difficult to figure out where the design is going.
On the plus side, I do like the automatic thread changer for when you are doing embroidery, but the automatic bobbin rewind in the embroidery mode sucks. When you get near the end of the bobbin, the machine wants to wind a new bobbin, but in order for it to do that, it has to go out to the right hand side of your project and stitch off the remaining bobbin thread. NOT something you want to happen while stitching out on an expensive silk or any other project for that matter. Also even though the automatic thread changer is supposed to allow you to walk away while your design stitches out, you still need to hang close because it only changes to the next color.
Also, you need throttle the machine way down in order to get it to embroider properly and even then, you will sometimes have problems (birds nests on the bottom, tearing holes in your fabric).
They sold this unit as having an "automatic thread tensioner". I wouldn't call it that at all. You need to put in a sample piece of fabric and stitch out their tension "star". You have to manually adjust the thread tensions until you get the star to stitch out properly. (It's probably easier to do it the old fashioned way, stitch a straight stitch and check for loops.) Most of the time I have to stitch out their star about five or six "samples" before I get the tension right. And After I have the tension correct (according to their star) I sometimes still have problems with the thread tensions not being correct.
Something else I thought would be pretty neat, is they show their machine as being able to create a stitch that looks hand quilting. Nothing in their manuals or instruction books show how to create this effect. I was told you need to use clear bobbin thread, and mess with the tension, but it isn't an automatic stitch like they lead you to believe. I'm sure if you mess with the tension on any machine, you can eventually get it to the point it will make a "hand quilted" look stitch.
In conclusion, I've pieced together multiple quilts with my machine and created quite a few embroidered projects but I feel Singer really dropped the ball with these units. Knowing what I know now, I would not buy this machine.
The two units (sewing machine and embroidery unit) are large and bulky and the sewing machine is very heavy. Also the machine is supposed to be able to do multiple hoopings for larger designs. I've never had a multi-hooped item turn out like I had envisioned. It could be operator error, but I have done everything they suggested.
There is a huge learning curve with both units, but Singer's Customer Support is great if/when you call needing assistance and can get through to a human.
There are some really neat built in stitches, but when I use the built in embroidery stitches (done without the embroidery unit) the designs wonder and are hard to keep on track. I draw guidelines with an air erase pen, but the foot travels everywhere while creating the design, so it's difficult to figure out where the design is going.
On the plus side, I do like the automatic thread changer for when you are doing embroidery, but the automatic bobbin rewind in the embroidery mode sucks. When you get near the end of the bobbin, the machine wants to wind a new bobbin, but in order for it to do that, it has to go out to the right hand side of your project and stitch off the remaining bobbin thread. NOT something you want to happen while stitching out on an expensive silk or any other project for that matter. Also even though the automatic thread changer is supposed to allow you to walk away while your design stitches out, you still need to hang close because it only changes to the next color.
Also, you need throttle the machine way down in order to get it to embroider properly and even then, you will sometimes have problems (birds nests on the bottom, tearing holes in your fabric).
They sold this unit as having an "automatic thread tensioner". I wouldn't call it that at all. You need to put in a sample piece of fabric and stitch out their tension "star". You have to manually adjust the thread tensions until you get the star to stitch out properly. (It's probably easier to do it the old fashioned way, stitch a straight stitch and check for loops.) Most of the time I have to stitch out their star about five or six "samples" before I get the tension right. And After I have the tension correct (according to their star) I sometimes still have problems with the thread tensions not being correct.
Something else I thought would be pretty neat, is they show their machine as being able to create a stitch that looks hand quilting. Nothing in their manuals or instruction books show how to create this effect. I was told you need to use clear bobbin thread, and mess with the tension, but it isn't an automatic stitch like they lead you to believe. I'm sure if you mess with the tension on any machine, you can eventually get it to the point it will make a "hand quilted" look stitch.
In conclusion, I've pieced together multiple quilts with my machine and created quite a few embroidered projects but I feel Singer really dropped the ball with these units. Knowing what I know now, I would not buy this machine.
EK Cutterpede Tools, Scoring Blade Shuttle
I love my cutterpede, and it always works well for me. The scoring blade makes a really clean looking score on all types of paper. The only drawback to using this scoring blade is that it's a bit of a hassle to change it out and then change back to the regular blade when making cards.
