Brother Innov-is F560 Sewing Machine

 My review of the Brother Innov-is F560 Sewing machine 

I have just upgraded my sewing machine to this beauty. It is available from Jaycott.co.uk- just  click on this link for more information 

Brother Innov-is F560 

 The Innov-is F560 so simple to use even if you are new to sewing .

All the settings are displayed on an LCD colour touchscreen which I find to be an absolute dream - on my previous machine I was forever referring to the manual and I found that some functions just did not get used very often. Now I have no excuse. 

These are the basic stitches on the machine

From the touchscreen you can access all the stitches - 241 of them - and make all the adjustments you need. It is so simple. There is capacity to make a design using a combination of lettering and patterns and save them to a USB stick.

 

There is a very useful function on this machine, it has a square Feed Drive System which produces a very high quality stitch on all fabrics .

 It also allows the machine to sew all the way around a patch or pocket without having to move the fabric.  It is quite something watching your machine sewing a perfect square.

 

The handy storage tray holds additional feet and spare Bobbins 

The following accessories are included 

Zigzag foot “J” (on machine)

Monogramming foot “N”

Overcasting foot “G” 

Zipper foot “I” 

Blind stitch foot “R” 

Button fitting foot “M” 

Buttonhole foot “A” 

Needle set

Twin needle

Bobbin x 4 

Seam ripper

Cleaning brush

Eyelet punch

Screwdriver (large)

Disc-shaped screwdriver 

Horizontal spool pin

Spool cap (large) 

Spool cap (medium) x 2 

Spool cap (small)

Thread spool insert (for mini king threads) 

Spool net 

Knee lifter

Standard bobbin case

Foot controller

Accessory bag

Hard case

Grid sheet set

Operation Manual 

Quick Reference Guide

I am very impressed with the machine and how easy it is to use. I love the fact that everything is displayed on a screen , which again is easy to operate. The photograph above shows which folder contains the type of stitch you want to use ,simply tap on the icon and the folder opens to display everything inside it 

There are  five  fonts to choose from and ten  buttonholes 

Brother is the brand I always use and I highly recommend their products.

I also highly recommend Jaycotts.co.uk

 

The customer service is professional and friendly. If you are unsure of what exactly you are looking for then just contact them and help will be there.

They sell other machines from different manufacturers and at various prices so do visit the Web site and take a look 

HAPPY SEWING 

Angela

Sewangelicthreads 

#BrotherF560

#sewingmachine

#sewing 

Storage solutions , sewing room and other places.

 These are some of my storage systems both in my sewing room and the rest of my home. In pictures 

The OLISO-TG1600-SMART-IRON from Jaycotts.co.uk, Reinvented for Sewing and Quilting

 A review of the OLISO-TG1600-SMART-IRON 

From Jaycotts.co.uk 

Choosing your iron is as important as choosing your sewing machine. A good sewist will set the ironing board up every time she sits  down at to sew. 

Why is this important?  Put simply if you press every seam and every dart as you sew them you will end up with a far superior garment to one you did not bother to press as you went along. It is the different between Handmade and Homemade . Handmade is special, it is bespoke, and it looks and feels great to wear. A garment which is not put together with care will never look professional. 
It stands to reason that your iron must fulfill all the functions needed to produce a high quality garment, this one hits the spot totally - and more
You will have taken a great deal of time and effort choosing your sewing machine and as your iron is equally as important it makes perfect sense to choose a high quality iron too, 
Your iron is used just as much as your sewing machine so why skimp on quality? 

An easy way to embelish almost anything using The Circular Embroidery Attachment

Circular embroidery attachments from Jaycotts.

I do love machine embroidery but I appreciate that it is not for everyone for various reasons. I was intrigued therefore when I was browsing Jaycotts web site and came across these special machine feet.

These machine attachments are perfect for adding circular embelishing to clothing, table wear and anything else you can think of. They make beautiful quilts and make circular applique incredibly simple.
I also like the idea of circular pockets and felt coasters and tablemats.
This is the BROTHER CIRCULAR EMBROIDERY ATTACHMENT  (There is a video showing it in use on the above link.)

Setting up a Dress Form or Mannequin

Setting up a Dress Form

An invaluable tool for any dressmaker or Tailor - male or female - is a mannequin which is as close to your own body measurements as possible.
It makes fitting easier, and it gives you the opportunity to try different techniques such as draping.  The cost, depending on which model you purchase equates to a basic sewing machine, so they are not very expensive.

The dress form I have now is the Lady Valet Traditional Dress Form
But there are others including for men and for fitting trousers
Dress Forms from Jaycotts.co.uk

My review of Prym Pressing tools from Jaycotts.co.uk

A Jaycotts.co.uk blog post all about pressing 

What is your most important sewing tool? You might be surprised!

In this post I am going to demonstrate some of the pressing equipment by Prym which you can obtain from Jaycotts and I will show you why they are as necessary as your sewing machine when undertaking any sewing project.

What do you imagine the number one rule of sewing to be? Would you be surprised to learn that THE top rule for any sewing project is to press as you go. That's every seam, every time.
You would be amazed at the difference it makes to your finished garment, it makes all your garments look Handmade (Bespoke) not the dreaded " homemade"
And what is the number one rule in pressing? Its simple, don't rush.
Notice too that I used the word pressing not ironing.When you are ironing your iron is moving back and forth over the fabric constantly, with pressing the iron is set down and then lifted up before moving to the next spot.
Every time you sit down to sew get your pressing equipment set up before you start sewing so that it is easily available.  If you leave pressing until after you have finished sewing you will not produce a quality look to your garment.

So, let's discuss which products you need, and I do mean need. The basics are

• A good quality heavy steam iron
• An ironing board with a padded cover. Avoid the teflon coated covers as they reflect heat into the back of fabrics and can cause shine and problems with interfacings
• A pressing cloth 
• A Tailors ham and/or sleeve roll
• A sleeve board

My collection of pressing tools 

The Brother Adjustable Bias Binding Foot

A mini blog all about this incredibly useful and easy to use foot.

The Brother adjustable Bias Binder Foot

Labeks

Bias binding foot

Hong Kong Seams 

This is my favourite foot at the moment, I love the way it makes adding a binding to an edge so incredibly simple. I have had a binder foot before, but nothing so easy to use as this one, so if you want to treat yourself I really recommend ordering one.  The Brother adjustable Bias Binder Foot   is available from Jaycotts, the current price is £24.99.

If you are making your own bindings as I normally do then ensure that the finished width is between 5 to 20 mm. Any wider and it will not fit into the foot.

Once you have made or purchased your binding simply press it in half.

Feed the tape through the guide with the folded edge to the right. Then turn the screw on the foot and align the edge of the tape with the left side of the guage. You may also want to adjust your needle position so that the stitches are as close to the edge of the binding as possible. Don't forget to tighten the screw.

When you are happy then pull an inch or so of the binding through to the back .

Using the Fringe Foot to embellish almost anything

The Brother Fringe Foot

Label

Fringe foot

I was going to use this foot to embellish a dress but I changed my mind and want to decorate ithe dress another way, but I still thought it worth while demonstrating how to use this foot as I absolutely love it. I fully intend using it to embellish a Chanel type jacket where the fringing will look fabulous.

The foot I used is the Brother FRINGE FOOT  (Ask Jaycotts for other makes)
This foot is not only perfect for embellishing pockets, lapels, table linen etc but also sews tailors tacks in a jiffy. This is fabulous for tailoring projects when I want to sew tailors tacks down all of my seams, it is much quicker than doing them by hand. Ask me if you want to know how to adjust the settings for tailors tacks.
You can see that there is a raised bar down the centre of the foot which you need to  zigzag over to form loops which are then cut into a fringe.

It is so  easy to use. Snap the foot in place, select a wide zig zag stitch and select the settings. You need a very wide stitch but make sure that the needle position is such that it does not hit the metal foot anywhere. Try the stitch very carefully to make sure it is ok.
Then you need to select a very short stitch length because you need the stitches to be very close together so set the stitch length to about 0•6  then loosen your tension to 2 or 3.
Stitch a row of stitches  - or a pattern ( heart, flower, etc) and fasten off.

Then take your normal foot and a short straight stitch and sew the fringe down close to the top.
With your sharpest scissors snip the threads on the reverse and then using your finger nail loosen the threads on the right side
The fringing can be trimmed if necessary

You can make several rows or just one, you can make a frame for an initial or emblem, above all this foot is FUN so treat yourself to one and have a play with it, it is so very easy to create eye-catching and different effects with it.

There is a video on my YouTube channel showing you exactly how to use it, the link is here The Brother fringe foot if you subscribe to my posts by email.

Whilst you are in my page do subscribe. I fully intend making a lot more video's for you to watch as I think it is always much nicer if somebody shows you how to do something.

Don't be afraid to experiment with your sewing, there are a lot of different feet available to fit most sewing machines, doing something a bit different really adds to the fun of sewing and you will be surprised at how quickly you become expert.


For details of sewing machines, feet, or indeed anything sewing related do contact Jaycotts. They are extremely knowledgeable and friendly and enjoy explaining how to use their products.

Please Contact Jaycotts here or just give them a call during opening hours on 01244 394099

Thank you for reading this post

Angela


#sewing #sewingmachine #machinefeet #fringefoot #embellishing

The Brother Multi-Purpose Screwdriver

Introducing the Brother Multi-purpose Screwdriver

I love Machine embroidery on my Brother machine, but I have been having problems hooping my fabric and stabiliser .

This is a story about how a tiny gadget saved my sanity.

I  love machine embroidery, who doesn't, but  the results I was getting were so disappointing, all this puckering, it just doesn't look nice.