Use Those Decorative Stitches For Visual Interest!

Decorative Accent on Yoke of Arenal Top

Part of the enjoyment of Sewing your own Clothes is being able to add interesting touches to your Garments.

An easy way to add Visual Interest is using the Decorative and Other Stitches on your Sewing Machine!

I love the Visual Interest this added to the Arenal Top I recently made!

Even the most basic machine will have a few options.  Zig Zag Stitch alone could be really interesting just by varying the width and length of the Stitch, along with different thread colors.

Here are the various stitches my Janome machine has.  Some are purely Decorative. Others serve a specific purpose yet also look attractive enough to use in a Decorative way.

Stitch Options on My Janome

When sewing with Stretch Fabrics, use Stretch Stitches!  This will ensure the fabric will keep it's stretch factor.   If unsure which ones are, sew a sample on the fabric and give it a Stretch!

Have Fun by trying out different stitch lengths/widths and various threads on scraps of your fabric.  Soon one combination will catch your fancy!

Yokes with Decorative Stitches Sewn to the Front Piece

The Arenal Top by Itch to Stitch, has Yokes, which are the Perfect Place to add Visual Interest.

Once I had decided on a Stitch and Thread Combination, I added the Decorative sewing to a piece of fabric large enough to cut the yokes out of.  This way each side would match and it was easy to place the stitches exactly where I wanted them on the Yoke Piece.

It's amazing how a little of Visual Interest will take a garment from just OK to Terrific!

Using Decorative Stitches in this way also helps you save money!  Instead of buying a coordinating fabric to add visual interest You Make Your Own!!  And it helps use up leftover fabric too, since just by using various Thread Colors with a Decorative Stitch, one fabric can look great with many other fabrics!

So, start playing with the various Stitches on Your Machine! Be imaginative in where to add them! And Have fun adding Visual Interest to Your next Sew!

My Completed Arenal Top

Happy Sewing...