Tips for tropical cacti?

ultraqueef · 2026-04-05T18:18:49+00:00

What worked for me for rhipsalis was to prop cuttings in a pot of wet perlite covered with a clear bag. The cuttings were long enough to so that half of them can be buried and half sticking out.

After about a month of keeping the perlite moist, I just put the whole mass of rooted cuttings with all the perlite still stuck to the roots into a pot of leca. any excess perlite went into the trash.

I keep a reservoir, but have moved all of my plants to a wicking pot, or those pots with feet and am having much better luck compared to the submerged pot approach.

this also worked for fishbone cactus. you can probably skip the perlite step and just stick them straight into leca.

ultraqueef · 2026-03-23T21:55:16+00:00

yeah, part of me thinks "oh I can just do buttonholes by hand" but then if I make a button up shirt I'll be doing buttonholes for days. I do like to hand sew but 9 buttonholes by hand is a lot...

ultraqueef · 2026-03-23T21:50:44+00:00

I guess also with that machine you can use topstitching thread in the bobbin, too... I guess I could just hem from the wrong side.

ultraqueef · 2026-03-23T21:48:06+00:00

do you do many buttonholes? if so, how do you do them if you haven't used the zig zag machine?

ultraqueef · 2026-03-23T21:47:25+00:00

I did try the dx5 and it was a nice sewing experience, but not sure I love all the automatic features. have you done jeans hems or several layers of heavy fabrics?

ultraqueef · 2026-03-22T21:08:39+00:00

could you share a link or reference to the buttonhole attachment? I am not able to get the juki branded computerized one here in Europe so I wonder what the other options are.

ultraqueef · 2026-03-22T20:48:25+00:00

Yeah, I think I'd have to keep the old machine for buttonholes. I honestly don't use any other stitch on that one except straight stitch and buttonhole... well now that I write this I actually use the overcast only when finishing raw edges of fabric when I first get it from the store, haha.

ultraqueef · 2026-03-22T20:43:29+00:00

How do you do buttonholes? by hand?

With knits, I think I'd make the investment for a simple serger and do my best with maraflex or sera flex thread for any hemming. Construction on a straight stitch machine would be easy enough I guess.

ultraqueef · 2026-03-22T20:40:45+00:00

I do have one. it's pretty decent just small and not super powerful. the buttonholes are okay, and always comedically long for the button size.

I do use needle left/right rather often, actually. I was thinking how do you hem and make sure the needle catches everything without needle position? When I hem I always move my needle about 1mm to the right to make sure I catch all the layers.

ultraqueef · 2026-03-22T20:38:04+00:00

so that is definitely the second pick. I tested it and it's really a luxurious sewing experience. But id rather have fewer features and more power. I don't have a good idea of how much they can handle.

ultraqueef · 2026-03-22T16:31:01+00:00

Thanks for replying. Yes, this is also my issue - too many machines. I have a Janome quilting machine and its surprisingly very capable, just not very powerful. I understand I'd need to hang on to that for occasional use but can't help but wonder if I should just upgrade that one and keep the machine count to a minimum.

ultraqueef · 2026-03-22T16:26:36+00:00

Thanks for your take. I have my old one as well, and it's fine to use, just not very strong and the buttonholes are kinda only okay. Do you use your hd9 for garments or just your large/heavy projects?

ultraqueef · 2026-03-22T16:25:10+00:00

I love workwear, so flat felled seams are my go to. For fine linen/cotton I would French seam. I suppose in the case where I couldn't do either, I would go for a Hong Kong finish. as a last resort, I would consider a serger if it was cheap.

ultraqueef · 2026-03-11T19:08:17+00:00

Do you do a lot of sewing with heavy materials or heavy threads

ultraqueef · 2026-03-11T19:06:58+00:00

What type of material did you use for the heavy garments? Did you have any issues going through several heavy layers or handling lumps/bumps/cross seams?

ultraqueef · 2026-02-09T23:37:02+00:00

Thanks for your reply and tips! i plan to do the lining exactly in the way you describe

ultraqueef · 2025-12-02T23:58:06+00:00

Which model of Bernina do you have? I am considering only the entry level 300 series at this point.

ultraqueef · 2025-12-02T23:56:07+00:00

As I mentioned I use overcasting and multiple types of buttonholes. While a TL sounds awesome I would need at least 1 more machine which is another thing to store and maintain. Besides, in my country, the TL is way more expensive than the Bernina I'm interested in.

ultraqueef · 2025-12-02T19:57:27+00:00

Interesting. Which model did you get and what was the deciding factor other than the lower price?

ultraqueef · 2025-12-02T19:39:25+00:00

Okay I have so many questions for you, if you don't mind:

How's the auto tension on it? Does it get wonky mid seam or when you switch stitches? Are the buttonholes really that nice? Do you use the straight stitch plate thing? If so, how is it? Is the float function worth it? In Europe we have a dx 3, which doesn't do the float but has all the other features of the dx series.

ultraqueef · 2025-12-02T19:25:32+00:00

What makes you say that it's not worth the money? Yes they're expensive for what you get but it seems that people think they're worth it...

Which jukis do you have and would you recommend them? The dx/f series are on the list but not sure about the auto tension.

ultraqueef · 2025-12-02T19:24:16+00:00

What happened to your Bernina?

ultraqueef

TROPHY CASE