Janice sewing on a JUKI industrial machine, a design is first cut in cotton toile to test it on mannequin, in the background
Here is a question to the new and experienced tailors out there. What brand of sewing machine is your favourite one?
I learned to sew on a child’s sewing machine. I wish I still owned it but when I was younger, I wasn’t thinking about the value my childhood toys might hold to me in the future.
It disappeared to where I do not know. After my mother died, traces of childhood from the old house were dismissed as quickly as my father sold the house.
When I lived at home I my mother taught me how to sew. The machine was set up in a nook off the kitchen. Ready-to-go made it easy to grab a bit of time here and there to work away on a project. I don’t remember what brand the machine was, I wasn’t aware of brands so any machine would do, it was possibly a Kenmore or a Singer but I really don’t remember.
My parents bought me a second hand machine to have in my residence when I went away to Fashion College. Industrial sewing machines and Sergers and industrial irons were available at the college but it was nice to have the convenience of a machine in my room for the weekends and evenings if I didn’t feel like going back to school to get work done.
My friend’s sewing machine across the hall from me was a Singer Featherweight, what one would think of as a classic granny sewing machine with gold filigree embellished on the black body of the machine. In spite of their decorative appearance, they were known as the workhorse of sewing machines and tailors still covet them for straight forward sewing projects, or to have as an extra machine for example, at the cottage, where one could leave today’s computerized sewing machine at home and still carry on with a project while away for the summer months at the lake.
Singer Featherweight
A Bernina 830 sewing machine belonged to another friend of mine in residence. Of all the sewing machines that my friends owned, it was one we could only dream about because it could do everything and they were expensive. Swiss made, known for even stitch balance, stitches never became a tangled bird’s nest underneath the throat plate. It came with beautiful presser feet attachments for specific sewing techniques and more sewing stitches to choose from over any of the others. The signature red carrying case held the machine along with a red box to hold feet and bobbins, a removable sewing table for free-arm sewing, a foot pedal to control the sewing speed, and the new knee-lever for raising and lowering of the presser foot, freeing the hands to hold the fabric in a specific position.
The parents of my friend across the hall bought her a Bernina 830 as a graduation present. My parents gave me luggage. They were preoccupied with my mother’s illness. She died suddenly the year after I graduated.
How many sewing machines have you owned?
At this point mine was just the second hand one, without any expectations of buying anything else. The year my mother died my husband thought we could stretch and buy a Bernina 830 Record, even though he was a Grad student and I just started my career. We found the best price in Ottawa, so we drove there from Kingston on a Saturday morning and bought one! It was the most wonderful gift I had ever received because Jim lived with my grief first hand while it took over my body physically and mentally. There is nothing that can be done but to wait it out. But out of love, he thought the machine could bring a bright spot for the moment and it was a show of support towards our future together. The machine that could do everything was what I started my fashion business with the following year. I did all the sewing in the first year from gathering to buttonholes, seam finishes, invisible hemming, sewing on buttons, stitches for knits, zippers, topstitching, special stitches for bathing suits, T shirt knits, and decorative trims.
Bernina 830 Record, ‘my machine that could do everything including grief therapy’ is c. 1980
Golden Sun and Silver Moon, design by Janice Colbert. Quilt detail image. 32″ wide x 37″ long. Cotton fabric, mother of pearl buttons, metallic tassels, machine quilted with cotton and metallic thread.
In the 90s, quilting was back in fashion. Quilt shops were popping up everywhere. I wanted to learn about this for weekend projects. I found that my neighbourhood quit shop, where I took my Bernina 830 for its annual servicing, was an excellent resource. ‘Quilters Quarters’ was having a contest. My Bernina was up to the challenge of free motion quilting with metallic thread. It was the first time I ever entered a quilt but I gave it go. I placed second for my original design!
Quilt back. Batik fabric, quit label.
Once we invested in the usual industrial machines, a JUKI for the universal or straight stitch and the Serger for finishing edges for my fashion design business, I still relied on the Bernina for buttonholes, and sewing on buttons, invisible hemming and a few specialty stitches. I hired a tailor once the orders were more than I could handle. Yvonne, with experience from the garment trade in Denmark, brought a lot of expertise with her, and could stitch anything that I could imagine. The Bernina was her baby too.
Janice at the worktable, Raw Silk is spread in preparation to cut her jumpsuit design
Thumbnail sketch, Janice Colbert Raw Silk Jumpsuit, side pockets, convertible collar. The front, sleeve cuffs and belt have mother of pearl buttons. Self fabric belt adjusts with buttons.
Janice Colbert, Prairie Blouse, detail image. Mother of pearl shoulder buttons, ruffled collar, gathered sleeve-cap, satin ribbon. Fabric, Challis.
Janice Colbert, two tiered skirt, detail image, satin ribbon. Fabric, Challis.
I just wondered what machines have you owned from past to present?
Twenty years later, in the early 2000s, my Bernina 830 Record was still full of life and running well. No complaints at all. The new trend was computerized sewing machines with machine-embroidery designs. I wasn’t computer savvy. My vision was in the other direction, the less technology the better. I was designing a lot of quilts and attended many workshops with two quilt shops in particular in Toronto.
The new machines caught my eye when I was buying fabric and heard about an information session coming up where a Bernina Rep would demonstrate all the bells and whistles. I was attracted to the machine because the new models could replace hand embroidery with machine embroidery that was easier on the eyes and hands and could be completed in less than 30 minutes to an hour or so, instead of days and weeks. I felt the many Alphabet fonts would be useful for embroidering things for fashion and cloth accessories for the home, but other motifs were copyrighted so I didn’t think I should use them in my designs. With a lot of deliberation my husband encouraged me to invest in an Artista 170 with better lighting on the sewing area, a larger worktable and more decorative stitches that included machine stitches that look like hand quilting.
Machine stitches that look like heirloom quilt stitches. Numbers 310 to 338.
Bernina Artista 170, my machine is c. 2000
My machines were put aside but not completely out of reach for many years while I completed a BFA in Drawing and Painting at OCAD University in Toronto. The machine embroidery aspect was used here when I produced some installation art that combined textiles with machine embroidery for my Contemporary Issues in Art course. My intention was to promote awareness about Fetal Alcohol Syndrome through art work. I was struck by some information I had heard on CBC radio about the brain injury to unborn infants that is caused by a mother’s drinking. In a world where we seem to to right anything, it struck me really hard to learn that the brain injury to the unborn is a life long disorder and is the leading known cause of preventable development-disability in Canada. With early diagnosis, children with FASD can receive services to help maximize their potential.
Assignments were due on a short turnaround time because the concept, process and direction of work was discussed in a Critique more than whether the work was polished. Time for that would come later in a studio practice.
At the time (2001) beer companies advertised a lot with their latest slogan.
I cut newborn-size nightgowns from cotton muslin. The beige colour was an intended connection to the artists canvas. The catchphrases I chose ‘this buds for you’, ‘the silver bullet’ and ‘out of the blue’ were machine embroidered on the muslin with pastel blue, pink and yellow thread. I sewed the gowns but left the side seams and hems unstitched to demonstrate the incomplete life the children were born into.
During critique the students felt it wasn’t clear that the gowns were for children because there was nothing to indicate scale, so it was hard to tell what size the gowns were representing.They also wanted to see the gowns hemmed and the side seams stitched closed.
I moved on to other assignments and didn’t have time to return to my project.
Artists 170 , embroidered textiles. for the home. If you have named your home, you can create custom textiles. In this case, linen tea towels for our our Key West cottage. Linen fabric, rayon thread.
Do you like the machine that you are using today? Is there a beloved machine that you regret parting with?
During Covid the limping home-sewing market had exploded. More folks were captive at home and wanting to go crafty. My project in 2020 was to return to sewing because it was something that I loved doing since I was small.
Twenty years later progressive technology outpaced the infant of computerized sewing machines, the Artista 170. The new machines were shockingly more sophisticated more expensive, and noticeably larger than anything before. It looked like hands-off sewing was available to anyone that didn’t know how to sew. Questions could be answered with video lessons—that made it seem like sewing experience wasn’t needed—the machine would do it all for you. People were in a race to buy sewing machines. We all worried about supply chains. I was able to buy the last Bernina 770 QE sewing machine from what was the last shipment in Canada from Bernina until who knew when?
B770 Quilters Edition and embroidery capable, my machine is. c. 2020
I was a little afraid at first of a sewing machine the size and weight of a small outboard motor. To name a few differences from the 170, the computer screen is larger, there are wider decorative stitches that make for more luxurious designer touches on projects, and larger embroidery hoops and the extended free arm is 13-inches long. The bobbin holds 80% more thread than standard bobbins, and the machine can read what foot attachment you have on the machine. This one was going to take even more time to figure out when all I wanted to do was sew. I was used to knowing where everything was on my old machines in a split second. I’m used to delayed gratification, I sat down and put in the time.
Width comparison of ornamental stitches: Bernina Artista 170 above, compared to Bernina B770 QE, see below
Ornamental stitches: Bernina B770 QE
While decluttering I came across the nightgowns from OCAD days. To become more familiar with all the embroidery stitches available on the B770 QE sewing machine could sew, I decided to finish them. My school project that was begun in 2001 on a Bernina Artista 170 was finished on the Bernina 770 QE. The side seams are stitched closed and the hems with embroidery patterns for children show more clearly that the gowns are for the nursery. The colour palette, drawn from the Bone China Bunnykins Tableware mugs, are included in the photos to indicate the scale of the twenty-inch long gowns.
Infant nightgown, ‘this buds for you’ Artista 170 machine embroidery text. Hemline with children’s novelty stitches, cars and caravans, B770QE, muslin fabric
Infant nightgown, ‘the silver bullet’ Artista 170 machine embroidery text. Hemline with children’s novelty stitches, turtles, B770QE, muslin fabric
Infant nightgown, ‘out of the blue’ Artista 170 machine embroidery text. Hemline with children’s novelty stitches, frogs, B770QE, muslin fabric
Here is a recent project combining the painting of the tumbling blocks or hexagon pattern with textiles and embroidery. The text was inspired by the Elizabeth Bishop poem ‘Manners’ where her grandfather says, “Say hello to everyone one you meet.” I added some further suggestions.
Wood towel rack and pegs. Acrylic paint, linen, rayon thread and machine embroidery. ‘say hello’, ‘hold the door’, ‘words heal’
Detail, linen, rayon thread, machine embroidery.
Forty years later, my older machines sew quality work a little differently. I return to the Artista 170 for projects and design files I have saved on that machine. The Bernina Record 830 is still with me. The machine can sew as good a buttonhole with the best of them.
Our last destination in Europe was Amsterdam, followed by a train to Hook of Holland to catch the ferry to Harwich and then another train to London. We arrived on July 1, 1983 for a two-day visit before flying home to Toronto. We took the Round London sightseeing tour. (July 1, “excellent tour” was my noted in my travel journal.)
I made this Christmas shirt that for my husband over 40 years ago.The heritage 1784 Viyella is the oldest branded fabric in the world. The strong but soft twill-weave fabric is a wool and cotton blend, 80% lambs wool and 20% Egyptian cotton. The fabric was the first and most natural performance fabric centuries ago. It kept one warm in cold temperatures and cool in hot temperatures. Modern technical fabrics offer this today. Viyella is known for cosy clothing styles. Designers with a vintage flair, for example Laura Ashley, were drawn to it. The original wool/cotton blend is no longer available. It has been reversed to 20% wool and 80% cotton unless you can find a vintage design like this shirt.
I don’t think I was missed; the kids were still enjoying the tree and the decorations, when I came downstairs with the skirt.
Two red sweatshirts were required. I shopped the stores to assemble the bric-a-brac. The craft shop had the bells, fabric paint, ribbon and glitter. I didn’t know if I could find unadorned old-fashioned sweatshirts in children’s sizes. If I came up with nothing, that would be the end of the project. Cotton Ginny had them in sizes XS and S.
Jingle Bells in green paint is hand printed on the front of the left sleeve. A sleigh bell dots the “I”.
I have been a doll enthusiast from a young age. The first one, a Suzy Smart doll from the 1960s, was on my wish list for my first Christmas in Key West. She sat in her school desk, dressed in a plaid jumper, waiting for me beside the Christmas tree. If you pulled a string, she could spell, add and recite. I received my first fashion doll when I was ten-years-old. She was a Christmas present from my uncle sent by mail from his home in California. I had not heard of Barbie and was delighted to receive his gift complete with a carrying case for her and all her clothes.
He wears a fresh cotton chef’s jacket with a cardinal print and polka dot kitchen pants. The cardinal is a traditional symbol of beauty and warmth of the holiday season. Ribbon suspenders are attached with wood buttons to the waistline. Rag-wool socks were cut to make the doll’s socks and the toque utilizes the red stripe. Black shoes are tied with silver threads. Django wears a black bistro-style apron embroidered with his name. The blue star, sewn with the utility-stitch, refers to a nautical flag he designed that travels with him, most recently to Copenhagen and Moscow.
Gray feather-weight corduroy walking short,
