I am a quilter. Ask me to make a super complicated quilt and I am there! Over the past few years I've been dabbling in clothes making, but ask me to make a shirt with knit fabric and I'm laughing hysterically and running away. Knits are so scary to me!

One of my more intricate mini quilts.

Knits stretch, roll and don't stay where you tell them too. If I'm going to consider myself a well rounded sewist, however, I need to get over this fear. The best way to do this is to jump right in! I decided to make the Mimosa Scoop-neck T-shirt by Jalie Patterns. 

My Finished Shirt!

I was able to make this whole t-shirt with my Janome Magnolia 7034D serger and the brand NEW Janome CoverPro 3000 Professional! Using these two machines made the project come together in no time! Well, except for all the novice mistakes I made. Why did I choose a shirt with a curved hem for my first knit shirt? lol! It only took me 3 tries but I got it!

NEW Janome CoverPro 3000 Professional

Let's talk about where I used the Janome CoverPro 3000 Professional in making this shirt and the features that I love!

First up, the needle threader! This threader is amazing! It will thread ALL 3 needles. Just amazing! I have child sized hands so you'd think threading a needle would be easy for me, but it's not. I can only imagine how challenging it can be for people with larger hands, so the built-in needle threader makes the process so much faster and easy for everyone!

It's so quick and easy to adjust the built-in needle threader to thread whichever needle you need.
Thread the Left, Center and Right needle with the BUILT-IN needle threader!

When it came time to stitch down the collar, I was so thankful for the Clear View Foot, which comes included with the machine. I kept these stitches so close to the seam and being able to see through the foot made placing these stitches so much easier. 

Janome Clear View Foot provides increased visibility and is included with the machine.
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My favourite detail! Look at that precision!

Before starting to hem the sleeves I made sure to remove the extension table to expose the free arm. It makes going around the sleeve so much easier. 

I also set the Fine/STD (Standard) switch in the Fine position for hemming. The knit I used wasn't really lightweight, but in my test strip I did have some tunneling, which is when the tension is too tight for the fabric, causing the fabric to raise up between the needles. I switched to the Fine setting and it eliminated the tunneling in between the needles like magic!

Fine and Standard (STD) lever automatically adjusts the needle tension on lightweight knits without having to adjust the thread tension dial at the top of the machine.

By the end of this project, I already felt SO much more confident in my ability to work with knits! I can't wait to get to the level where I can make some of my own Activewear! The Janome CoverPro 3000 Professional comes with a Top Cover Stitch which is just screaming to be used on some Activewear! You'll see more of this in upcoming posts on Janome Life so be sure to Follow us. Check out the video on the NEW Janome CoverPro 3000 Professional on the Janome HQ You Tube channel.

The special Top Cover Looper creates a professional Top Cover Stitch quickly and easily in ONE step!

I'm so happy with how this shirt turned out! It is so much better than the first sweater I ever knitted. Just ask my cousin, she made fun of it so it was her Christmas Present that year! Lol!

Stitch On!

~AmandaBee

P.S. If you are new to CoverStitching here are 2 great resources to learn more: