This sewing machine, along with its cousins the Janome TM30 and Elna 450, have a “memorized” buttonhole feature. You basically program a 4-step buttonhole for the first buttonhole and the machine memorizes it. Every other buttonhole afterwards will be created automatically to match the first one. They’re okay. I simply prefer my buttonholes a bit denser.

The compatible accessories listed for these machines include the R (automatic buttonhole) foot and buttonhole stabilizer plate. I have those in my collection of sewing machine accessories! Yes, they do work with the Elnita EC30 and make a beautiful buttonhole (with some modifications).

Elnita EC30 Buttonhole Stitch Settings:
Stitch #17
W = 5.0
L = .3
Upper tension lowered to 3
Slightly finer thread in bobbin (60 wt) – same color as top thread

Before stitching, be sure to interface the fabric where your buttonhole(s) will be sewn. You will position your fabric BETWEEN the buttonhole foot and stabilizer plate. Place your button in foot R and snug it up just as you normally would to make a one step buttonhole. There’s no lever to tell the machine when to reverse direction, so you’ll have to watch and be ready to hit the reverse button when the moving part reaches the stoppers at the rear and front of the sliding track. To me, it’s actually easier to use this foot to make a buttonhole than the foot that comes with the machine.

Buttonhole length is measured top to bottom inside the the bartack ends.

How long should your buttonhole be? A general rule of thumb is to add 1/8″ to your button size. I prefer to add 3/16″. My 3/4″ buttonhole needed to be 7/8″ to 15/16″ in length. Guess what? It was!

SAVE IT!

Rather than discard it, save the card and register it with the gift card vendor using your address. Be sure to uncheck any boxes other than agreeing to terms & conditions when signing up.

This way, (1) you have a “valid” credit/debit card to use when signing up for something like a free trial that requires a credit/debit card number and (2) providers don’t have access to your checking account information. . Should you forget to cancel, no harm done.

My wireless provider, who has suffered multiple data breaches in recent years, decided in its infinite wisdom to remove the autopay discount if you pay by credit card. They want you to autopay using direct debit to your checking account or a debit card. Nope, you’re not getting my bank account info. Wanna pay by cash? These geniuses now also now charge a $5 “convenience” fee to pay with cash in person at a retail location.

Someone suggested using this prepaid debit gift card hack as a workaround to avoid the fee. I did. The company accepted my near zero balance debit Visa/MC and shows me as still eligible for the autopay discount. I’ll simply have to remember to go in and pay using my regular credit card a couple of days before the account does its autopay thing. We’ll see how well it works.

The dynamic duo appeared yesterday afternoon to make the coffee cozy project that was put on hold when they decided to experiment with markers, rubber stamps and ink pads instead at our last CraftLAB session. There’s just something about breaking open a new pack of Mr. Sketch markers!

Anyhow, there are a ton of free coffee cozy patterns available offering a variety of sizes, closures and embellishment options. I wanted something simple, so we adapted this pattern from Sew Simple Home.

My modifications:

1. Use fusible fleece instead of batting.
2. Start with 3 rectangles all the same size – 6″ x 13″ – one front fabric, one back fabric and one of the fusible fleece.
3. Before cutting out the pattern, fuse fleece to wrong side of front fabric. Quilt this section now, if desired.
4. When cutting out the pattern, layer as follows: pattern piece right side up, front/fleece fabric right side up and back fabric right side down. This way, your fabrics are mirrored and you only cut once.
5. For the hook and loop tape, we sewed the hard part to the left side on the top and the soft part to the right side on the bottom.

It took about 45 minutes start to finish with lots of playing around.

These coffee cozies also serve dual duty as makeshift crowns!

Keep stitching and crafting!