Needle up/ down feature and the IDT System, No pin piecing necessary
Create texture with thread painting and invisible thread Piecing a quilt with Floating Stitches Decorative and Constructive
T-shirt quilts 4 ideas for layouts that work!
Quilt a table topper for all seasons a fun applique project
Welcome to this issue packed with creative inspiration, practical tips, and the latest in quilting tech! Whether you’re a seasoned quilter or just starting your journey, we’ve got something special for everyone.
Ever thought about quilting for all seasons? Our feature project, a versatile table topper, will take you through the year with a fun applique that’s easy to print templates and perfect to sew using HeatnBond EZ Print Lite. And if you’ve ever wanted to add some artistic flair to your quilts, don’t miss our deep dive into thread painting—creating texture with invisible thread has never been so simple yet effective.
Texture is a big theme in this issue, and we’re sharing the trick to achieving it with double batting, along with how to master the art of applique for landscapes and cozy house scenes. Plus, we’ve got the scoop on how to successfully make t-shirt quilts using the right rulers and four fabulous layout ideas to make your quilt stand out.
Sewing machines are at the heart of every great quilt, so we’re spotlighting some of the best, including the PFAFF passport 2.0—an amazing travel companion that makes piecing projects a breeze. And for those who love to explore new techniques, our guide to using the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3 will open up a world of possibilities, from stitching in the ditch to Piecing- and patchworkin-the-hoop.
As you know, quilting is all about the details, and we haven’t forgotten the little things that make a big difference. From pinning your quilt just right to finishing touches like the blanket stitch and binding, this issue is packed with tips that will elevate your projects.
So grab your fabric, fire up your sewing machine, and let’s get quilting!
Enjoy the issue!
Cheerfully,
PUBLISHER, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF,
Carla A. Canonico carla@QUILTsocial.com
PUBLISHER, ADVERTISING SALES
John De Fusco john@QUILTsocial.com
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Carla A. Canonico, John De Fusco
BLOGGERS/CONTRIBUTORS
Elaine Theriault crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.com
Paul Léger paullegerquilts.com
Sarah Vanderburgh sewjoycreations.com
Robin Bogaert quiltingintheloft.com
GRAPHIC & WEB DESIGN
Carla A. Canonico carla@QUILTsocial.com
GRAPHIC ASSISTANT and SOCIAL MEDIA
Sondra Armas
Maria Corina Guillen
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WHERE TO GET YOUR COPY
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EDITORIAL
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©2024 QUILTsocial. All rights reserved. Issue 30. ISSN 2368-5913
No part of this publication may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.
All designs, patterns, and information in this magazine are for private, non-commercial use only, and are copyrighted material owned by their respective creators or owners.
6 Quilt a table topper for all seasons – a fun applique project
8 HeatnBond EZ Print Lite makes printing out applique patterns easy
10 How to applique houses and landscapes with HeatnBond
12 Create texture with thread painting and invisible thread
14 The trick to quilting for texture Double Batting
16 Making a quilt starts with choosing the right tools
18 T-shirt quilts – Quilting rulers that make the cut!
20 Pinning a quilt - It's the little things that count
22 Stay warm with a quilt made with Fairfield batting
23 T-shirt quilts – 4 ideas for layouts that work!
26 The PFAFF passport 2.0 | A great travel companion
27 3 features on the PFAFF passport 2.0 make piecing a project a breeze
29 Needle up/down feature and the IDT System | No pin piecing necessary
31 PFAFF passport 2.0 stitches for quilting and applique
34 The finish! Using the blanket stitch and binding the table topper
36 Stitch in the ditch quilting with the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3
40 Stitching out an embroidery design with the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3
44 10 TIPS: Using embroidery mode on the HV DESIGNER EPIC 3
48 Piecing a quilt with Floating Stitches | Decorative and Constructive
52 Patchwork-in-the-Hoop technique on the HV DESIGNER EPIC 3
materials
fabric
• 26” x 26” background cotton fabric (light blue sky as shown)
• scraps of fabric for applique (choose mostly solid colors and some novelty fabrics for sports balls, quilt, and flowers)
• 30” x 30” backing fabric
• bias binding 85” x 2½” length
• 2 – 30” x 30” of Fairfield Quilter’s 80/20 Quilt Batting (2 layers recommended)
One way to brighten any space in your home is by making this bright Circle the Seasons Table Topper ! Let me show you how. It’s an applique project and oh-so-easy with the HeatnBond Lite family of products. It includes scenes of winter, spring, summer and fall. This topper is made very dimensional with Fairfeld Quilter’s 80/20 Quilt Batting, some lovely Dress It Up buttons, GÜTERMANN Invisible Nylon Thread and other decorative notions. This topper is 26” in diameter and will fit on any shaped table.
There is also an opportunity to make it your own from your stash of cotton fabric and embellishments to match your unique decor. Be sure to download the free Circle the Seasons Table Topper original
thread
• GÜTERMANN Invisible Nylon Thread
• variegated threads (optional)
• embroidery thread, decorative threads, metallic thread (optional)
• threads to match fabric
notions
• paper scissors
• fabric scissors
• Kai 7000 KAI 7100 Embroidery Scissors (to cut tiny applique pieces)
• OLFA 28mm rotary cutter
• HeatnBond EZ Print Lite
• HeatnBond Lite Iron-On Adhesive Sheets
• 505 Quilt Basting spray (optional) or basting pins
• pencil
• black sharpie marker
• tape measure
• sewing clips for binding (optional)
• hand sewing needle for finishing the binding (optional)
• string or yarn (for drawing a circle)
• buttons from Dress It Up, lace, novelty fabric, embellishments (your choice to suit each season)
• push pin
• white freezer paper
• free pattern for the Circle the Seasons Table Topper
feet/machine accessories suggestions
• open toe foot for applique (optional but helpful)
• ¼” foot
• free motion quilting foot equipment
• printer
• iron
• sewing machine capable of doing a small zigzag or satin stitch and free motion stitching
Other supplies needed
I’ll show you how to draw a circle on freezer paper to make the perfect paper pattern for the background. You can use this method to make any sized circle in future projects. Plus, I’ll show you how to use your printer to easily print out applique patterns. It’s a magical way to do it with HeatnBond EZ Print Lite
instructions
1. Attach a 15” length of string or yarn securely to a fine-tipped pencil to make a pencil protractor.
2. Tape the freezer paper together to make a 26” circumference circle.
3. Find the center of the freezer paper, matte side up (there’s a shiny side and a matte side). Mark this center clearly.
4. Use a push pin to pin the string from the pencil to the center of the freezer paper as shown in the following picture. You’ll need to adjust the string to about 13” to allow for a 26” circle.
Note: I pushed the pin into my laminate flooring in my studio. You can also use tape to secure the yarn to the center of the freezer paper.
5. Draw a half circle by holding the pencil taut and drawing from side to side. Draw a straight center line from edge to edge through the center mark.
6. Fold the paper in half, shiny sides together, on the center line and cut the circle out on the drawn half-circle line.
8. After the freezer paper is temporarily adhered to the background, cut out the circle using the edge of the freezer paper as a guide. This will give you a perfect fabric circle.
Remove the freezer paper; the background is now ready for the applique pieces to be applied; set this aside.
Let’s print out the pattern with HeatnBond EZ Print Lite
1. Download the free original pattern for the Circle the Seasons Table Topper
2. There are 3 pages with this original pattern; you only need to print page 1, four 4 times.
3. Using HeatnBond EZ Print Lite ironon adhesive sheets, which come in 8½” x 11” sizes, insert them into your printer. For my printer, I placed 4 of these sheets fusible side up into my paper tray. I placed the printed-out pattern page 1 face down on the print screen and printed out 4 copies. I pressed print and my printer printed the pattern on the paper side of the adhesive sheets.
EZ -Print Lite comes in a package of 10 - 8½” x 11” sheets
TIP Test your printer to see which way it prints so you don’t waste adhesive sheets.
4. With the paper scissors, cut out all of the houses, doors, windows and as many of the other decorative applique designs on the pattern sheet that you choose to use.
5. Tape pattern pages 2 and 3 together, matching the Xs and trace the landscape pattern onto the matte side of the freezer paper (you may need a light box or light source). This will serve as a full pattern to use 4 times.
6. Leaving the pattern piece intact, cut out the traced freezer paper pieces individually and accurately.
Let's play with fabric and HeatnBond Lite Iron- On Adhesive to fuse all of the applique pieces for this project. It’s much like playing with a box of crayons except it’s with fabric.
1. With a quilting ruler, small paper scissors and OLFA 28mm rotary cutter, cut out the pattern pieces from the HeatnBond EZ Print Lite Iron-On Adhesive pattern sheets.
2. Choose the fabric for the landscape pieces for each season. If you have novelty fabric to include for the flowers, sports balls, and quilt, make sure to fuse the wrong side of these fabrics. Dig through your stash and be creative; look for different types of embellishments such as embroideries and buttons.
3. Using the freezer paper landscape pieces prepared in the previous article, fuse them temporarily, shiny side down, to the right side of each landscape piece.
TIP Fuse each seasonal section one by one.
4. Fuse HeatnBond Lite Iron-On Adhesive to the wrong side of each piece of fabric with a hot iron. For each section of the landscape, press for about 10 seconds; don’t slide the iron over the fabric pieces.
5. After the adhesive has cooled and shows that it has adhered to the wrong side of the fabric (it will look shiny), remove the paper from the HeatnBond Using the freezer paper as a guide, cut out the landscape pieces accurately and set them aside.
6. Choose the fabric for your houses, windows, doors, flowers, trees and clouds.
7. Using a hot iron, fuse the HeatnBond EZ Print Lite appliques, and glue the side to the wrong side of the fabric. Press only, do not slide the iron; count to 10 seconds at each spot.
8. Cut out the appliques on the line printed side of the HeatnBond EZ Print Lite Remove the paper from the fabric.
9. Audition the fabric and place the applique pieces on the circle background. When you’re happy with the design, press it down carefully without moving the appliques so that the pieces are all fused well to the circle background (sky).
TIP Before laying out the applique pieces, find the center of the background. I used a blue washout marker to section off quadrants of the background to help place the applique shapes.
It’s all coming together now. We have an understanding of the process of using the HeatnBond Lite Iron-On Adhesive family of products.
I’ll discuss making these raw edge appliques more complete, durable and beautiful with satin stitching using multiple colors and varieties of thread, and invisible stitching using GÜTERMANN Invisible Nylon Thread
1. Start stitching along the landscape lines using different colors to ensure that the topography of the landscape stands out. Set a zigzag width at about 1.5mm, and length at approximately 0.5. This will vary from sewing machine to sewing machine and personal choice based on the person sewing. It’s important to do a test sample on a double-layer scrap of fabric so you get a satisfactory satin stitch.
TIP Use an open-toe foot to easily see the satin stitch as you sew.
2. Use various thread colors, some to match and some to add detail or shimmer, and satin stitch most of the details. Use embroidery, metallic, iridescent and variegated threads. The only limit is your creativity and you can have fun creating with this step.
3. Use GÜTERMANN Invisible Nylon Thread for very tiny details such as tiny leaves for the fall and spring, tulips, flowers, the quilt and sports balls. I used a very small zigzag (1mm length x 1mm width). Invisible thread is hard to see and is great on small appliques as a bigger thicker stitch and thread can overwhelm the fabric and look clunky.
TIP When using invisible thread, I recommend using a thread stand separate from your machine, if possible. Using a thread stand helps to reduce the upper thread tension so it doesn’t pull up bobbin thread, and to lower the upper tension.
4. I lowered my feed dogs and used a free motion foot to thread paint the clothesline and the swing set. I also thread-painted details on the pumpkins, winter tree and snowflakes.
Quilting day with Fairfield Quilter’s 80/20 Quilt Batting. We’re adding lots of texture to the 4 seasons with extra batting. To top it all off, I’m adding even more dimension with decorative Dress It Up buttons resulting in a really interesting and creative Circle The Seasons Table Topper
1. Lay your backing fabric on a hard surface making sure it’s at least 30” wide, and tape it to the surface so that it’s smooth but not taut. Place the backing right side down to the surface, and the wrong side facing up.
2. Cut out two 30” x 30” pieces of quilt batting, layer them together, then lay them centered on the backing.
TIP Quilting with 2 layers allows for more quilting texture to show up, gives the quilt more dimension and shows off the quilting work more effectively. Two layers of Fairfield Quilter’s 80/20 Quilt Batting is the perfect product for this.
3. Place the newly stitched table topper right side up on top of the quilt batting.
4. Use a basting spray or quilting pins to baste all layers together.
5. Once the layers are basted together, trim all layers, leaving about 2” of batting and backing around the quilt top to allow for quilting sprawl. It’s ready to quilt.
6. Insert a free motion foot and lower the feed dogs on the sewing machine. Using a thread to match or blend with the background and backing, start quilting in the center around the clouds, keeping the stitches close to the edges. I moved on to the houses next and quilted close to all the stitching lines, and then on to all the smaller details. Once the details were complete, I added texture to the sky with wavy lines and swirls. I quilted the sky differently for each season to deliberately depict the weather and quilted the landscape lines last to show off hills, valleys, fields, grass, and snow.
7. After you finish quilting, it’s time to trim and bind. The quilt should measure about 25” in diameter. I used approximately 85” x 2½” of bias binding in a solid navy cotton fabric for my binding. I recommend sewing the binding to the front, folding it, and clipping it towards the back. I then hand-slip stitched the binding to the quilt backing. You can also machine sew the binding.
8. I sewed on Dress It Up buttons to all seasons – delightful daisies for summer, oak leaf for fall, snowflakes for winter and butterflies for spring.
This Circle The Seasons Table Topper project was so much fun. Be sure to download the free original pattern and give it a try if you haven’t already. It looks great on a round table but you can use it on any shaped table. I had so much fun with my stash of solid fabric, HeatnBond Lite, Dress It Up buttons, Fairfield Quilter’s 80/20 Quilt Batting and GÜTERMANN Invisible Nylon Thread. Look for these products at a quilt or sewing store near you. This is a great creative outlet during a wintery time when there’s always hope for other gorgeous seasons!
Paul Léger
tools and notions used for this quilt
Part of spring cleaning is looking in our closets and dressers to see what we want to keep and what we want to let go of. Some clothes will be donated, but sometimes, some of my shirts find their way into a special pile I keep to make quilts. Used T-shirts work great too!
T-shirts make great simple and quick quilts. With enough T-shirts, there’s no limit to the size of a quilt. I’ll be working on a lap size quilt that measures 48” x 48”.
materials
fabric
• assortment of T-shirts
• Fairfield Quilter's 80/20 Quilt Batting - 229 x 274cm (90” x 108”)
thread
• GÜTERMANN Cotton 50wt Thread 250m - Ivory notions
• Hemline Gold 45mm Rotary Cutter
• Hemline Gold 45mm Rotary Cutter Replacement Blades
• Hemline Gold Thread Snips
• Hemline Gold Plastic Headed Pins (Black)
• Hemline Gold Magnetic Pin Dish
• Hemline Gold Quilters Clips (Pack of 30)
• Hemline Gold Retractable Tape Measure
• Hemline Gold Quilting Hand sewing Needles (Pack of 10)
• SCHMETZ #4026 Chrome Jersey Ball Point Needles90/14 - 5 count
• Sew Easy Square Ruler – 12½” x 12½” (31.75 x 31.75cm)
• Sew Easy Square Ruler – 15½” x 15½” (39.3 x 39.3cm)
• Sew Easy Quilting Ruler - 14” x 4¼” (35.6 x 10.8cm)
• Heirloom Double Sided Cutting Mat - 24” x 36” (61 x 91.4cm)
• HeatnBond Woven Fusible Interfacing - Soft White55.8cm x 22.8m (22” x 25yds)
equipment
• Oliso PRO TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron - Turquoise
The other important items we’ll need for this project are T-shirts. How many? It all depends on how many T-shirts are ready to be put in a quilt, and to some extent, what the desired size of the quilt is. To make this quilt, I didn’t have enough T-shirts of my own to make my desired themed quilt. I put out a call for used travel or sewing-themed T-shirts. Thank you, Margo Clado, Charlene Jackson and Brandy Maslowski (aka Quilter on Fire), for their generous gifts.
For this quilt, we need 16 squares. However, as some of my T-shirts only have a little symbol or maybe just a word across the T-shirt, I used a total of 18 T-shirts.
The task in this article is getting the T-shirts ready – it’s easy.
Use the Hemline Gold 45mm Rotary Cutter and the Heirloom Double Sided Cutting Mat - 24” x 36” to cut up the T-shirts. Start by cutting off the sleeves followed by the shoulder seams.
Cut out the seams on both sides of the body of the T-shirt.
The last two steps for here are easy ones.
Separate the front of the T-shirts from the back. Some T-shirts have designs on both the front and back, put those in one pile. T- shirts with no designs on the back, put in another pile.
Using the Oliso PRO TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron press the front of the T-shirts.
It’s not complicated but may take a bit of time.
With the help of the Heirloom Double Sided Cutting Mat - 24'' x 36'' (61 x 91.4cm) and my Oliso Pro TG1600 Pro Plus Smart Iron, I’ll explain how to cut the designs from T-shirts to make usable squares or rectangles like these.
After you press the T-shirts, it’s time to start cutting.
Note: The unfinished squares for this quilt will be 12½” x 12½” and the rectangles will measure 6½” x 12½”.
My process for making a quilt out of T-shirts is a bit different from making a quilt using quilting cotton. Please read the entire article before starting.
When you cut a T-shirt, the edges will roll a little or a lot. To help with that, I start with the Sew Easy Square Ruler - 15½” x 15½” (39.3 x 39.3cm). The first square I cut is always larger than what I’ll use in the quilt; that’s because of the curling of the edges of the fabric and centering.
Center the 15½” x 15½” ruler on the T-shirt.
Cut a 15½” x 15½” square.
After the ruler is in place, cut along all four sides.
Cut on all four sides of the ruler.
Measure to ensure the height falls within the desired size.
When the T-shirt design is wide and narrow, I measure it using the Sew Easy Quilting Ruler - 14” x 4¼” (35.6 x 10.8cm) to ensure it’s less than 6” tall.
Place the 15½” x 15½” ruler on the T-shirt and center and cut a rectangle measuring 8¼” x 15½”.
After all the squares and rectangles are cut from the T-shirts, it’s time to move on to the HeatnBond Woven Fusible Interfacing
Why the need for interfacing? Because T-shirt fabric stretches and the edges curl, using interfacing stops the stretching and curling to make sewing the squares together a lot easier.
Cut 14½” x 14½” squares and 7½” x 14½” rectangles. The quantities needed for each will depend on how you cut the T-shirts. For my quilt, I need 12 squares and eight rectangles.
Center the 14½” x 14½” HeatnBond squares and 7½” x 14½” rectangles on the wrong sides of the T-shirt squares and rectangles. Following the HeatnBond directions, press into place.
After all the HeatnBond interfacing pieces are pressed into place, center the Sew Easy Square Ruler - 12½” x 12½” on the front of the T-shirts and cut them into 12½” x 12½” squares and 6½” x 12½” rectangles.
With all the squares and rectangles cut, the work is done. These three rulers made it quick and easy, and are musthaves for any studio.
We’ll sew rectangles to make 12½” x 12½” squares, then we’ll combine all the squares to make our lap quilt.
We’ll need the Hemline Gold Plastic Headed Pins. I’m using the black pins for the contrast. If working with dark fabrics, then I’d use the white Hemline Gold Plastic Headed Pins
Match rectangles right sides together and pin them on the edge where the seam will be sewn.
Note: Make ¼” seams.
Two important tools to have close to your sewing machine are the Hemline Gold Thread Snips and the Hemline Gold Magnetic Pin Dish. Why? The thread snips are handy to have close by as there’s always a need to cut threads at some point during the sewing process. With the magnetic pin dish, the pin can simply be dropped in the dish instead of ensuring the pin is properly pushed into a pin cushion. I also noticed that I’m dropping fewer pins on the floor using the pin dish.
After the seams on the rectangles are sewn together, press the seams open to help reduce bulk.
Two rectangles have formed a square.
With the rectangles now paired, it’s time to put the quilt top together. There’s no right or wrong placement of the blocks. It helps to place the blocks on a design wall and play with the placement until you’re happy with the design.
For the next step, it’s a personal choice whether to press the seams open or to press them to one side. Since T-shirt fabric is thicker than quilting cotton, my preference is to press all my seams open.
With four rows of four squares sewn together, the lap quilt top is completed.
We often overlook the smaller tools needed to make a quilt. That’s why I featured Hemline Gold Thread Snips, Hemline Gold Plastic Headed Pins, and the Hemline Gold Magnetic Pin Dish. These tools are very useful when quilting.
It's the little
The backing is ready, and I just need to baste the quilt. The batting I’m using is the Fairfield Quilter's 80/20 Quilt Batting229 x 274cm (90'' x 108''). I like the warmth of this batting in a quilt.
To quilt, you need needles and thread. Since this is a T-shirt quilt, I’m using SCHMETZ #4026 Chrome Jersey Needles90/14. The tip of a jersey needle is more rounded than a universal needle and is designed to push the fabric fibres apart without cutting them, preventing the knit fabric from laddering or running after stitching. Before I decide what color thread to use for quilting, I look at the over all quilt top. Even though this quilt has a few white blocks, I’m using an ivory-colored thread because I think it will blend better. I’m using GÜTERMANN Cotton 50wt Thread 250m in Ivory
Because I’ll be using this quilt a lot, I’ll do very easy quilting on it. Easy quilting is what I opt for on most of my quilts; ones I know will be well-used.
I use the Sew Easy Quilting Ruler - 24'' x 6½'' (61 x 16.5cm) to mark where my quilting lines will be. This step only takes a few minutes. In my case, if I don’t mark, my lines would look more like waves.
After I’ve made the initial quilting lines, I’ll add other quilting lines that will go through the sides of the blocks. Once the quilt is quilted, you’ll get a grid effect of approximately 4” x 4” squares.
Now that the quilting’s done, it’s time to add the binding. I used the Hemline Gold Quilters Clips. I enjoy using them as they are easy to open and they apply a nice pressure to hold down the binding.
With the binding on, the quilt is completed and ready to be used.
Proper needles and threads are always underestimated. Get quality needles and thread such as the SCHMETZ #4026 Chrome Jersey Needles - 90/14 - 5 count and GÜTERMANN Cotton 50wt Thread 250m - Ivory to complete your quilt.
SCHMETZ Chrome Jersey needles and GÜTERMANN Cotton 50wt thread
For the fun of it, here are a few more layout options for T-shirt quilts.
Same width, different lengths
This quilt was made for my friend Jean. Jean wanted a quilt that was wide enough to wrap around him and long enough to tuck his feet under while sitting.
For this quilt, I used blocks of similar widths, but with random lengths so there’d be little to no seams to match. Then I played with the layout to get similar length columns. I only had to do a little trimming at the bottom of the quilt.
If you don’t have enough T-shirts for the size of quilt you want, consider adding lattice between every block.
In these two quilts, I used regular solid-colored quilting cotton. Yes, you can use regular quilting cotton with jersey fabrics. It’s something I often do. I also added cornerstones using fabrics from the T-shirts. Some of these cornerstones were from T-shirts which only had little pocket-size designs on them.
There are two ways I use to figure out how wide to make the lattice strips. The first is simply to make a decision based on how wide I want the quilt to be. The second is by using my Sew Easy Square Ruler – 6½” x 6½”, and placing it on top of the logo to see how small of a square I can cut. Once I know the size of the square, I can determine how wide to cut the lattice strips. The lattice strip lengths depend on the size of the blocks.
3
Instead of lattice, put a border around each block. This method is a great way to use fabric strips that may be in your fabric stash. By the way, this is a beautiful photo of the quilt taken by Gerry Allain.
4
Using a long vertical block
Sometimes, the design on a T-shirt is too small for a large square, and too big for a small cornerstone. When this happens, place the Sew Easy Quilting Ruler - 24'' x 6½'' (61 x 16.5cm) on the motif and see if you can cut a rectangle with a vertical orientation instead of a horizontal one. This is another fun way to use a T-shirt rectangular block.
This is what a quilt looks like with blocks of different sizes and different fabrics.
Note: The darker of the two large center blocks was made from a heavy poly/cotton mix fabric, similar to what heavier sweatshirts are made of. I used HeatnBond interfacing on the back of the poly/cotton fabric.
I hope you enjoyed this quilt project and are inspired to create your very own T- shirt quilt with the easy and innovative ways presented in this feature.
And, remember…your quilt project will go nice and smooth when using quality tools and notions such as Hemline Gold 45mm Rotary Cutter, Hemline Gold Thread Snips, Hemline Gold Plastic Headed Pin (black or white), Hemline Gold Magnetic Pin Dish, Hemline Gold Quilters Clips (Pack of 30), Sew Easy Square Ruler – 12½” x 12½” (31.75 x 31.75cm), Sew Easy Quilting Ruler - 14” x 4¼” (35.6 x 10.8cm), Heirloom Double Sided Cutting Mat- 24” x 36” (61 x 91.4cm).
Paul Léger paullegerquilts.com
Sarah Vanderburgh
I love getting to sew with other quilters. My quilt guild has a monthly sew day which I look forward to, packing up projects and sewing supplies to take with me. I’m so happy to have the PFAFF passport 2.0 because it is the perfect size for on-the-go convenience. I’ll share some of the features of the passport 2.0 and make a project using this machine from start to finish.
The hard case makes it easy to protect the passport 2.0 on its journey. There’s a space at the top of the case for the handle to stand up making it easy to carry this small machine, even up and down a full flight of stairs.
There’s also an opening at the top of the case to store the foot pedal and power cord. It’s so convenient for transporting and easy to remember to bring those precious parts home with you at the end of the day!
This machine has many of the features that I rely on to quilt with ease and to enjoy the process including electronic features which are all right in front of you when you are sewing. I’ll share more about them as I use this machine to make my project.
One function I like on the front of the machine is the grey sliding speed lever. It’s easy to find when I need it as I tend to adjust my speed frequently between piecing, quilting, and winding bobbins.
The PFAFF passport 2.0 comes with several accessories which make it possible to complete a project without having to purchase additional feet. There’s also a lot of storage in the accessory tray with two separate spaces to keep things organized. As a quilter, I always put the buttonhole accessory in the back of the tray and keep my presser feet, bobbins, and small tools in the front. I like to keep all my tools with the machine, so I don’t misplace them. There’s still room left to add a thread spool or two to bring to sewing days as well.
Of course, a new machine comes with a manual and it’s always a good idea to read it. One thing I discovered by reading the manual is the location of the switch to lower the feed dogs. This is important information because you must lower the feed dogs to remove the bobbin case when you want to clean it. You’ll see in the photo below that the accessory tray is removed to locate the switch which is on the back of the machine. Now you know too!
LED lights brighten the workspace directly around the needle which means I can sew any time of day and anywhere I can plug in.
I have been pleasantly surprised with all of the features the PFAFF passport 2.0 machine has for quilters. Now it’s time to get the fabric out and start creating!
’When it comes to piecing you need your sewing machine to work with you and not against you.
I’m making a project from start to finish on the passport 2.0. I’ll show you 3 features on this machine that piece a project with precise seams. PFAFF machines have some amazing features and I’m happy to report they are included in this model too.
Presser feet markings
This machine comes with 5 different presser feet that will sew up to 70 stitches included in the machine!
There are different types of markings on the feet that help you sew accurately; the red markings can help align fabric at the edge of the foot and show measurements like 1/8”. There are indents or grooves on the 0A foot that are ¼” from the needle on either side.
Bobbin case markings
The passport 2.0 has a quarter-inch marking on its bobbin case too. Combined with the presser foot markings, these 2 features make it easy to keep an eye on that precious spot.
Original IDT System
The feature I love most about PFAFF is the Integrated Dual Feed System (IDT). It’s part of the machine and connects to the back of select presser feet to guide the fabrics evenly under the needle. Here’s a photo of it at the back of the machine not engaged. It’s the black part you can see behind the presser foot.
The IDT System can be easily pulled down to click into the back of the presser foot. It only connects on certain feet for forward stitching. On the passport 2.0 when you press the ‘i’ button the screen shows the required presser foot and a little dot in the bottom right of the screen if you should attach the IDT System. It doesn’t stay on the screen without touching the button, but you can see what it looks like in the photo.
Here’s the system clicked into the presser foot. I also found this video so you can see it in action - What makes it so perfect? PFAFF Original IDT System
The project I’m making relies on accurate seams as most quilting projects do! Here are the fabric requirements so you can join me.
materials
fabric
• 4 - 18” x 22” fabric (fat quarters) for quilt top in summer colorssee mine on the left
• 3 fabrics for flowers:
• minimum 4” square dark purple
• minimum 5” x 10” light or bright purple
• minimum 2½” square yellow
• ½ yd of backing fabric
• Inspira Fusible Fleece batting
• 5” x 17” piece of HeatnBond Lite thread
• sewing thread - light color
• quilting thread - to blend into fabrics
I’m cutting the quilt top fat quarters so that later I can sew. From each fat quarter cut 5 strips 2½” x 22”.
Reserve 1 strip of each fabric for binding.
The passport 2.0 has the features for precise piecing that will make putting this project together a breeze. Find your fabrics and get ready to make a quilted project with me!
There are even more features that make it easy to sew and enjoy making a project on the passport 2.0 and I’ll share them as I sew.
Pieced strips
Start by sewing the fat quarter strips in two sets of two fabrics. I’m sewing the light blue and light green strips together, and the white print and striped green strips.
Sewing strips is the ultimate test of accurate piecing. One more feature that’s available on the passport 2.0 is the start/stop button. It’s located right on the front of the machine near the needle above the reverse button. The start/ stop button lets you sew without using the foot pedal. It’s great for sewing long strips. I also use the needle up/down button to keep the needle lowered into the fabric when I stop sewing. It’s like having an extra hand when sewing! I’m thrilled to find this feature on the passport 2.0.
Thanks to the needle up/down feature and the IDT System, I didn't use any pins when sewing my strips.
Not everything is automatic on this machine. I must admit to having strong nostalgia for the manual presser down and up lever. It reminds me of my very first sewing machine and I’m really enjoying it. The well-lit sewing area, thanks to LED lighting, is a nice modern upgrade though!
Cut into units
Before pressing the strips open, cut into 2½” units and then press to the darker fabric.
Assemble four patches
I’m sewing all my rows in the same way so that the final top will look like four patches. Sew four units end to end with alternate fabrics touching. Repeat to make six rows.
Each row should measure 2½” x 16½” long.
Row units laid out for piecing
Assemble rows
Next, I’m sewing two different rows together to make a unit 4½” x 16½”. I’m making six of these units.
Two rows of different prints to sew together
Remember I’m using the IDT System to feed my strips evenly under the needle. I’m still not pinning here!
To make the quilt top, I’m sewing these units together reversing the direction every other unit to make the four patches appear. I’m making 3 of these units.
I keep sewing accurate straight lines with the passport 2.0 to complete the quilt top. Next, I take the three units and line them up on my cutting mat so that the green stripe/white print rows are facing each other.
Then I piece them together to complete the quilt top. It should measure 16½” x 24½” inches.
I didn’t press as I went except for making the initial rows. At this point, I’m pressing the seams all in one direction before assembling the quilt sandwich. While I think my fabric colors already speak to summer, I’ll add applique flowers to this top as well. But that’s coming up next! For now, I put the passport 2.0 to the test piecing accurate seams to make the top for my summer table topper project.
I’m so happy with how the table topper is turning out. At this point, I’ll add an applique flower to each end to emphasize the summer theme. I’ll get the applique ready, and the topper quilted. I’ll try out even more stitches on the PFAFF passport 2.0 including a surprise one I wasn’t planning on.
There are a lot of flowers to choose from to add to your quilt top. I went with the happy-looking pansy
Use templates provided to cut flower shapes from the HeatNBond lite.
Fuse the flowers in place
I’m placing a pansy at each end in opposite corners. When it comes to stitching around the applique you can choose to do it now or as part of the quilting. I’ll quilt this topper and do the applique second because it’s a small piece and there isn’t a lot of applique. It’ll also make the flowers puff up a little bit more than if I did the applique first.
I chose to use some fusible fleece for batting to avoid pinning. When I got out my package, I discovered I needed to piece together the batting to make it long enough. No problem - the PFAFF passport 2.0 has a stitch for that!
It has several stitches that would work but I chose a favorite - stitch 08. To set the stitch on the passport 2.0, press the number buttons - including the 0 - and the stitch will show on the display.
Then by pressing the information (i) button you find out which presser foot to use. For this stitch, it’s presser foot 1A and the display also indicates to engage the IDT System when it shows the dot.
I used the needle up/down button and the start/stop button so that I could focus on keeping the batting pieces lined up under the presser foot.
Prepare quilt sandwich
I’m ready to layer the backing, the batting and the quilt top to fuse the layers. I laid the fusible side against the backing fabric, fused in place, and then sewed 1/8” around the edge of the quilt top to secure the layers.
For the quilting, I’ll try one of the serpentine stitches on the passport 2.0. Wavy quilting adds texture and is more interesting than stitch in the ditch. I used the start/stop button to let the machine do all the work. I keep the long seam lined up under the presser foot and enjoy watching the topper come to life with the quilting. I use the needle/up down button too so if I can stop to check my alignment without worrying about moving the quilt top.
The passport 2.0 has every stitch I needed to do all the jobs, including the surprise of piecing my batting together to make it bigger. I’m feeling confident that my summer table topper will be a great finish for the season.
It’s a beautiful day to applique! I know I don’t do it very often, but my table topper needs a little something special Wind your bobbin
To sew with different color thread, first I’ll need to wind bobbins in matching thread colors. Bobbin winding takes place on the top of the passport 2.0 and is easy to do following the guidelines for threading. When you push the bobbin lever to the right to start the process the display changes to show SP. It will flash while in place and will stop when the lever is pushed back over to the left. This is good to know because the lever can get pushed over while traveling with the machine - so when you see SP flashing you know how to fix it and you won’t need to run to your manual! The machine will also beep at you to let you know you can’t sew and then maybe you’ll check the bobbin lever :)
Stitch the applique
I like to use a blanket stitch and the passport 2.0 has two options - stitches 26 and 27. They are the same but mirror each other. I’m using yellow thread to stitch around the bright purple section of the flower and stitch 26. This stitch requires presser foot 1A which has a red guide mark right in the middle. I turn the quilt top as I stitch so that the raw edge of the applique is always lined up with the red guide mark. Then I know my stitch will sew on the edge of the flower fabric. It takes some patience on tight curves, but I know the edge will be covered.
I’m using yellow thread around the yellow dot and stitch 27 so that the little lines radiate away from the dot. I think this will give the center of the flower some visual interest.
With the yellow stitching done on both flowers, it’s time to switch to purple. I won’t need very much in the bobbin and I’m already thinking of ways to use up these bits of colorful threads I’m winding for this project.
Then some green for the leaves and the applique is done. I like how this stitch looks.
With the applique done it’s time to trim the excess sandwich layers from around the table topper and then add the binding. I’m sewing the binding on by machine starting on the back. My binding is scrappy using a 2½” strip of each background fabric that we cut and set aside in the first article. After I make my binding, I check that it will be long enough by laying it out around the edges of the table topper. If it doesn’t go all the way around with a few inches extra I sew on another strip before starting. One of my fabrics was a little bigger than a fat quarter so I’m okay but you might need one more strip. Laying it out also helps me plan where to start sewing the binding to avoid having my joining seams land at a corner.
binding the table topper
Lay out binding to check for amount and to avoid seams on corners
I pin my binding in place one side at a time. You’ll see in the next photo that the LED lights make it easy to keep track of what’s going on directly at the presser foot, so I keep my eye on the pins and the corner coming up.
Here’s a closer view showing how I keep the ¼” groove lined up with the outside edge of the layers. The layers move smoothly together under the needle thanks to the IDT System.
With the binding sewn onto the back, it’s time to fold it over and pin it in place on the front. I double fold for a fuller binding, since I use such a wide binding, and start pinning where my ends joined. Usually, I only pin the first bit and then stop when binding to the front, but because of the small size of the topper, it was easy to pin around the whole top, folding each corner into a mitered point as I went.
I almost used the blanket stitch to sew the binding to the front and you could too. I decided I wanted a quicker finish and that the stitching detail wouldn’t add to the overall look of the piece. Maybe another time. This time I used the regular sewing stitch 01.
I lined up the inner folded edge of the binding with the left red marking on the presser foot. The mark is 1/8” away from the needle and works as a perfect top stitch guide. Using the needle up/down button I easily turned the corners and finished sewing the binding onto the table topper.
Of course, I tried the table topper out under the machine too. It looks cute!
I really enjoyed sharing so many features of the PFAFF passport 2.0 with you. I’m very happy with the choice of quilting stitch, the blanket stitch on my applique and having a beautiful table topper!
Sarah Vanderburgh sewjoycreations.com
It's great to be back and share more great features and techniques using the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3
I've wanted to use quilt patterns from the Quilt Block Wizard (mySewnet Embroidery Software) on a quilt. So, in this feature is the perfect spot to use the fabulous positioning techniques on the DESIGNER EPIC 3! It sounds like fun, so let's get started!
I pieced a quilt top using solid fabrics. The squares are 8½", and I made the quilt five by six squares for a quilt that measures 40½" x 48½". You can make your quilt as large or small as you wish. Don't start with a large project if you’re new to quilting on your embroidery machine. We want success, which happens with smaller projects that don’t take as long to complete! Once you understand the process and see how easy it is to manage a quilt on the embroidery unit, you can decide whether to do a larger one.
I planned the square size to work with the Quilters Metal Embroidery Hoop 200 mm by 200 mm or 8" square. I like to use busy prints for my quilt backs. No one will be the wiser if there are any ‘flaws’ in the machine quilting!
Next up was to prepare the batting. I have loads of batting scraps, and I found two pieces to join to get the appropriate size.
TIP Label your batting scraps before you store them so it's a breeze to find pieces of appropriate size without opening them up and measuring each time.
I’ll join them with a wide zigzag stitch. I was using the Straight Stitch plate for machine embroidery, so I switched to the Decorative Stitch Plate for the zigzag. Imagine my surprise when I removed the stitch plate to find this!
It's common to find bits of thread in the bobbin area, especially around the cutter. Be sure to check it occasionally to keep it clear. If the buildup gets too much, it can cause issues.
I chose a regular zigzag but went for the widest setting, 9mm, on the DESIGNER EPIC 3. Playing with the options is always a great idea – how wide is 9mm? The more times you see it, the better you'll be able to judge for future projects.
I ensured there was a straight edge along both pieces, and I butted them to each other and started to sew. You may need to trim the edges if you don’t have a straight edge. Ensure those pieces feed evenly, or you'll have a wavey seam. There’s so much room to the right of the needle and loads of room to work; it was a breeze to feed both pieces evenly.
To make it easy to keep the seam directly in the center of the zigzag, I used the Adjustable Stitch in Ditch Foot for IDF, which has a guide in the center. It’s now super easy to keep the two pieces of batting together and have the seam in the center of the join.
Here’s the 9mm zigzag. It's a beautiful stitch and probably didn’t need to be that wide, but I’m OK with it as I know for sure that both pieces are well secured.
What I like even more is that the join is flat along the entire length of the larger batting piece. That makes it easy to baste the quilt layers together, as I won't fight with a wave.
Now that I have the three pieces (top, batting, and backing), it's time to baste the three layers together. There are several basting methods, and I won't go into too much detail. I often use my ironing board to lay out the pieces for small items like this. Then, I press the three layers together on the front and back using my iron and steam. When using the ‘friction’ method, it's a good idea to constantly check that no tucks appear on the back of the quilt. Checking for ripples or tucks is a good idea, even if you use another, more secure basting method.
I plan to stitch along all the seams in the ditch and then do embroidery on each block. My thread of choice for the in-theditch quilting is fine (80-weight) for the top. One of my favorite colors is taupe, which blends into most fabrics. I used a 50-weight piecing thread for the bobbin, and I had a couple of partially wound bobbins, so I used those.
I’ll use the same foot for the in-theditch quilting – the Adjustable Stitch in Ditch foot for IDF System. The guide in the center is perfect for running along the high side of the seam allowance, allowing me to stitch reasonably quickly and still conceal the thread in the valley of the seam allowance.
Since I'm starting and stopping off the quilt, I don't have to worry about anchoring the ends of the stitching. If I needed to, I could use my Tie-Off function on the DESIGNER EPIC 3 or a shorter stitch length at the beginning and the end of each stitching line.
Let me demonstrate how easy it is to stitch in the ditch on this quilt. Instead of stitching around the squares, I’ll stitch the vertical and horizontal lines. One of the issues with quilting is dealing with the bulk of the quilt. What we want to do is reduce the footprint.
Even though I have a lot of space on the DESIGNER EPIC 3, I don't want to maneuver the quilt more than I have to.
Start by laying the quilt on a flat surface.
Fold the outer edges into the center row or the line closest to the center. This simple step has dramatically reduced the footprint of the quilt and the amount of fabric you have to manipulate.
Then we're stitching this line of quilting at the sewing machine. Can you see how I've folded the quilt into an accordion style to reduce the size of the bulk further? And yes, I'm quilting with my embroidery arm. I measured the distance between the hoop clip and the needle, which is 20". That's HUGE!! I quilted the entire quilt with the embroidery arm, and as long as you’re not banging into the embroidery arm, I find there’s loads of room to quilt.
As you’re quilting, the sewing machine shouldn’t have to labor to move the quilt under the foot. So, I often hold the quilt against my chest and not in my lap. Then the quilt feeds down under the needle, rather than having to be pulled up, which can cause the stitch length to shorten and the sewing machine to work much harder than it has to.
Once I complete one vertical or horizontal line of stitching, I fold the quilt in the opposite direction and do the same thing, so I'm more or less stitching a cross on the quilt. These two lines help to stabilize the quilt in all directions.
I can start stitching in rows or columns. Starting the stitching from four different directions prevents any skewing of the top. See the diagram below.
Because the sides of the quilt are rolled or folded, I can simply unroll and unfold the edges to move to the next row. I never get to the end, pivot, and stitch in the opposite direction. That can cause ripples, and you need to pivot the quilt. Cutting the thread, bringing the quilt to the front, and starting again is much easier.
It's super easy to keep those stitches hidden, more or less, and you can go at a good pace.
This is what a good stitch-in-the-ditch looks like. You can see the stitches if you look closely, but that's because we're looking up-close. You won’t see those stitches from a distance, but they secure the quilt layers.
Even if I goof and don't get the stitches quite in the ditch, it's not that noticeable.
What does it look like on the back? Let's take a look. Wow, that's pretty impressive stitching. I don’t see the top thread on the back nor the blue thread on the top. That's a beautifully balanced stitch!!! You can use the JoyOS Advisor to select HEAVY Woven to help with stitch length and tension.
I want to show you what I meant earlier by not having tucks on the back. Because those quilting lines will intersect, you need to ensure there are no tucks at those intersections.
Starting in the center with a horizontal and vertical line that intersects more or less in the middle makes it easy to keep moving any excess backing to the outer edge. I often take the quilt to the ironing surface after every line of stitching, especially at the beginning, and press the excess out. Of course, that's a bit cumbersome with a larger quilt, but then I’d baste the quilt more securely at the start.
If you end up with a tuck, it's better to know before you get too far so it’s easy to remove some stitches to fix the tuck or rip out the entire row. But that's better than ripping out all the quilting and starting from scratch.
You’ll see some fullness between the lines, but that's OK. As I add my embroidery quilting, that fullness will get evenly distributed.
Here's the finished quilt with all the in-the-ditch quilting complete. I LOVE it, and it took very little time to join the batting, put the three pieces together, and finish the in-the-ditch quilting. With the speed and ease of the Adjustable Stitch in the Ditch foot and the large space on the DESIGNER EPIC 3, it was super easy and fast!
I’ll use quilt block designs created in the mySewnet Embroidery Software to embroider a motif on each of the 30 blocks in the quilt. We’ve got a lot of work to do, so let’s dive in!
I’ve done loads of machine embroidery over the years (can you believe I’ve been embroidering for over 25 years?), but I’m relatively new to quilting with my embroidery machine. Let’s say that I learned many things during this process.
The first step is to open mySewnet Embroidery Software and find the Quilt Block Wizard (CREATE tab). This tool is available in the Gold and Platinum levels of the software.
What I love about the wizards is that they're so easy to use. In this case, I enter the shape and size, then go to the quilting style page, pick a style, select the options, and before you know it, you can send the files to the DESIGNER EPIC 3 to quilt! It’s so easy!
When I open the Quilt Block Wizard, I have five quilt block style options, and a handy picture on the right-hand side gives you a visual.
I chose the option Filled Quilt Block, No Inner Shape, and once I touched Next, I got a screen with selections. It was easy to select the shape (square) and the design size (190mm by 190mm). I could also change the angle, but that was unnecessary. Like I said, I’m not having to do any ‘work’. I simply tell the software what I want.
When we get to the Select Fill Pattern screen, there are many options for the quilting style. Within each of those categories, there are additional options – how far apart you want the lines of quilting to be, the length of stitch, angles of the stitch, the type of stitch, etc. It’s all menu-driven, so you can simply select your choices! You get to preview the design on the screen, as shown below, before you commit to a design. I played with these quilt designs in the past and learned a few things, which you’ll see later.
Within mere minutes, I chose my design and sent it via Wi-Fi to DESIGNER EPIC 3. Remember to log into your mySewnet account on all your devices (DESIGNER EPIC 3 and computer) to transfer files. In the beginning, I found this a bit challenging, but now? It’s so easy! Occasionally, you get disconnected from your account, so if something isn’t working, check whether your account login is connected.
As easy as that, the design for the quilt block is on the Embroidery Edit Screen on the DESIGNER EPIC 3.
I’m using the Husqvarna VIKING Quilters Metal Hoop 200 mm by 200mm, so it’ll be easy to hoop the quilt. I could use a traditional hoop, but it can be challenging to hoop the three layers in the two-part hoop. I love my metal hoops.
There are centering notches on the metal hoop, so once you have registration lines on the quilt, it’s easy to match (by touch) the registration marks with the notches. My design is almost as large as the hoop, so there’s little room to play with the design in Embroidery Edit.
Note that some pictures are not necessarily in order, or I might switch from one color to the next. I put them in the order that best illustrated my process. I used a quilter’s ruler and a white chaco liner (my favorite marking tool) and marked one block at a time.
Registration lines on the quilt block
Place the basted quilt on top of the hoop. Ensure you’re hooping on a flat surface. I recently watched a dealer who’s been in the machine embroidery business for longer than I have, and he went to a flat surface to hoop. Don’t cheat on this process. I’m using my finger to feel for the notches on the metal hoop.
Once the quilt is positioned more or less in the correct spot, add the magnets, and you’re ready to stitch. I could only use seven magnets as the top of the block doesn’t reach the top of the hoop. That’s OK. It’s securely attached, and I’ll watch it as it stitches.
As you move from Embroidery Edit to Embroidery Stitch-out, a menu will appear on the screen confirming embroidery stitch-out settings. You can turn off this screen, but I think it’s crucial; you should look at all the options before moving into Embroidery Stitch-Out I removed the Deluxe Stitch System, which I always do when working on a two-side embroidery design (such as quilting a quilt). I also shut off all the thread cut options, so I’ll manually trim all the threads, which keeps the back looking much tidier.
I moved into Embroidery Stitch-out mode and connected my hoop to the embroidery arm.
There are several ways to check the position of the design within the stitching area. I explained Scan Hoop before, and this is easy to do if you check out the Hoop Options (Embroidery Edit mode) tab at the bottom of the screen.
The Scan Hoop option under the Hoop Options tab
I’m using the Hoop Position to check my hooping skills. This tab is in Embroidery Stitch Out
Then, if I’m off a bit on the placement of the quilt, I can easily reposition it by removing a magnet and shifting the quilt.
Using the needle to check for the Center Position with my registration lines
Then I touched Start. The hoop went to the starting position, stitched a couple of stitches, and then stopped for me to cut the thread tails.
And things were going great. I did have some difficulty with this, but it was so operator error that I’m almost embarrassed to tell you. But I’ll go into more detail in the article that follows when I can give it the proper space it needs. Let it be a lesson to us all!
Here’s the completed design. One block is complete; there are only 29 more to stitch!
Obviously, I had to embroider the blocks along the edge of the quilt, where the edges are loose when in the embroidery hoop. I babysat the embroidery to ensure the edges didn’t go wonky and everything was fine. However, we all know the rule of machine embroidery – it’s OK when you sit and watch it, but if you walk away, those edges mess up! I would never leave this to stitch without watching it unless the edges were more secure.
And how was the tension on the back? Considering that I didn’t change anything, and I was using 30-weight cotton on the top and 40-weight rayon on the bobbin, I think the tension was pretty impressive, although the top was a tad loose.
I played with the tension a bit, resulting in another operator error issue. More about this in the next article. Giving us so much flexibility is fantastic, and even though it leads to some frustration, the best way to learn is by trying!
The 30-weight cotton was quite ‘linty’, and that’s a whole story to tell you later.
The colored blocks in the quilt run on the diagonal, and I chose an all-over block design for each color, but I used the same variegated thread for each. In total, I chose six different patterns. I’m halfway through, and here’s what the quilt looks like. I love the effect of the various patterns and the variegated thread.
I had a few ‘design challenges’ to deal with, and I was thrilled each time something came up. It was a puzzle to solve because my choices caused every issue. However, I’m super thrilled with the quilt. The first one is always the hardest, but now that I’ve worked out those issues, the next one will be a piece of cake!
I must say that the larger embroidery space on the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3 was a dream to quilt on, and all the tools within the embroidery machine were excellent. And I loved how easy it was to create the patterns in the mySewnet software.
I love being able to quilt a project using the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3. For people who are hesitant to go down the free-motion quilting path, machine embroidery is a great way to add fabulous texture to a quilt.
I always tell people they can’t learn by watching or reading alone. It pays to sit down and play! As I mentioned in the previous article, I haven’t done a lot of quilting with an embroidery machine, so as I played around with my quilt, I learned many things! There wasn’t enough space to highlight all the learning, so I’m sharing all my tips here. Some tips aren’t new to me, but putting them all in one place is good.
Here’s the list of things I learned about quilting with an embroidery machine. I highly encourage you to make a small quilt so you can experience these things and learn from them! While learning by doing can be scary, I think it’s the only way to learn and, more importantly, remember!
Let’s get started!
1. deLuxe Stitch System
I love the deLuxe Stitch System on the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3. However, when I’m in embroidery mode and working on a project where the stitches will show on the back, I get better results when I turn the deLuxe Stitch System off. Why? It’s an excellent feature for handling delicate threads, like metallic and invisible, but it brings too much top thread to the back and gives it a rough texture.
Also, note it’s common to use a running stitch when quilting in embroidery mode, so it isn’t necessary to use the deluxe Stitch System (unless you’re using delicate threads). The Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3 tension system defaults to the traditional tension system when doing a straight stitch!
My rule is to turn off the deluxe Stitch System when embroidering items where the back will be visible. Do not forget to experiment to find the best solution for your chosen fabrics, threads, design, and final look.
To turn it off, you’ll find a toggle in the Embroidery Stitch-Out Settings Menu, which pops up when you move from Embroidery Edit to Embroidery Stitch Out.
Here are some tips for working with metal hoops, which I love! They make hooping a thick project or something that won’t fit into a traditional hoop a breeze to secure.
• Using a large pair of scissors around the metal hoop isn’t such a good idea. Why? Because the scissors keep getting attracted to the magnets! OK – that’s good to know and easy to fix!
• These magnets are strong, so keep your fingers from getting pinched between them, as it can hurt!
• Do NOT leave the magnets on the top of the metal hoop. A flocked surface on the top helps with hooping, and leaving the magnets on the top can cause the flocked surface to flatten. Store the magnets on the underside of the hoop or separately.
• Using a maximum of eight magnets on any metal hoop is recommended. The magnets increase the weight on the embroidery arm. I’ve never had an issue with needing more than eight magnets.
• Do not place the magnets close to the embroidery stitch area. If you don’t pay attention, it’s easy to position them inside the embroidery stitch area, and you don’t want the embroidery foot to touch the magnets.
My favorite marking tool is a Clover white Chaco Liner, which can produce a thick line. So, depending on the style of the Chaco Liner and how you hold it, your center reference lines can be slightly off. But also, be careful not to mismark the lines. I goofed on this one, but it was apparent that I was not in the center of the block. It was easy to rub the chalk away and draw a new line.
Be careful when placing the registration lines on the quilt. If you pieced an accurate 8” block, by the time you quilt it with stitch in the ditch, as I did, it may no longer be 8”. So, check the measurements when you’re marking. Notice that I’m marking with the ruler slightly less than 4”. Ensure the chalk line is right beside the ruler, which depends on how you hold the Chaco Liner.
4. Support the quilt
My quilt is small at 40” x 48”. Depending on your setup, it’s usually easy to support the quilt on the left and the back of the embroidery machine, but what happens when you need to have the bulk of the quilt in front? Trust me, if your embroidery design is directional, this is a real possibility – ask me how I know! Set up a table, an ironing board, a chair, or something else to ensure the entire quilt has solid support on all sides. Your embroidery arm can become damaged if you use it to support the quilt.
5. Be careful the project doesn’t fall into the hoop You don’t want to touch START, walk away, and return to find the project has fallen into the hoop. Depending on the size, you can use the Metal Hoop Fabric Guide Set (if you’re using a metal hoop) or secure the project somehow to prevent the project from falling. Be sure that whatever you use won’t catch on the hoop. Better yet, if the part under the machine is bulky, it’s best to stay and babysit it!
6. Watch the orientation of the quilting motifs
If your quilting motif is directional, hoop the quilt so the design always stitches in the same direction. You can also use the Rotate Tool in Embroidery Edit to compensate for that.
7. Thread and needle woes
I’m working with a 30-weight variegated cotton thread, which is very linty and challenging. As I was embroidering, the lint built up around the needle bar and would fall off in clumps onto my fabric. I had to be careful, otherwise the lint would get caught up in the stitches, making it hard to remove.
After every block, I used a small brush and cleaned the area around the needle bar, eliminating the lint from dropping onto the quilt.
Also, ensure the needle and thread match each other. This thread needed a TOPSTITCH 16 to prevent shredding and breakage. Perhaps it's not the best thread for a first attempt at quilting a quilt.
8. Watch the embroidery arm during calibration and operation
OK – I know better! When I turned on the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3 to start embroidering, the pop-up message to calibrate the arm showed on the screen. That’s the cue to ensure that nothing is near the embroidery arm. The arm slightly touched my power tower. Oops. Thankfully, it wasn’t something that could spill or damage the arm. I’ve since moved the power tower in this photo, but be careful!
That threw the calibration out of whack, and my center needle position was off.
I restarted the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3, ensuring nothing was close to the embroidery arm. And now, when I checked the center needle position, it was back where it was supposed to be. You’ll find the Center Needle position in the Hoop Position tab in Embroidery Stitch Out Mode.
9. Watch the tension
I attempted to tighten the tension up a smidgen when I saw the top thread slightly poking through to the back of the quilt.
This was NOT a good idea as it created havoc with the 30-weight cotton thread shredding and breaking MUCH more than it had previously.
So, I backed the tension down to the default setting.
When you start to use heavier threads for various projects, it’s a good idea to play with this without being in the middle of a project. The more you become familiar with these basic concepts of needles and thread combinations, the easier your quilting will be.
In the previous photo, there’s a box around the thread tension. There is no box when the default settings are selected as in the next photo.
I take full responsibility for this, but I’m glad it happened, as I’ve wanted to experiment with it. The hoop size is 200mm by 200mm. I set the design size to 190mm by 190mm for the first set of blocks, ensuring I’d have some room around the motif within each block.
I forgot this step for the second block set and set the design to 200mm by 200mm, providing little room for error in the piecing and the motif's placement. Some of the perimeter stitching didn’t quite go in the ditch, but overall, I was pretty impressed with the outcome.
I’m not sure I’d do this again, as it can be challenging to get everything precisely pieced and lined up so the perimeter stitching went exactly in the ditch.
So, while this wasn’t my intention, it was a great experiment! See what I mean? Learn by doing!
It’s probably better to make the design slightly smaller, so you’ll see the edge of the embroidery motif in the block rather than trying to hide the surrounding stitching in the ditch. You get a bit more room for error. I’m learning all about design placement, and while there are great tools on the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3, it also depends on your piecing accuracy!
And there you have it – ten things I learned about quilting a quilt using the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3.
All ten of these tips were game changers in the successful quilting of my quilt. It’s easy to forget how some of our seemingly insignificant choices can make a difference in the final project.
And it shows that when my dealer told me over 25 years ago that many of the issues I’d experience would be related to needle and thread combinations or operator choices, he was correct!!
I hope that helps you make wise decisions when quilting a quilt with your embroidery machine.
The release of the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3 was an opportunity to add a brand-new stitch category called Floating Stitches. They are unique because you can use them for decorative purposes or construct seams.
The satin stitch motifs ‘float’ on the project's surface, hence the name Floating Stitches. There's a connecting thread hidden on the back, regardless of which method you use.
I've had this project cut out for a while, and I figured since I was chatting about quilts in this feature, it would be the perfect time to get it out and sew it together.
So, let's get started!
Since I was using a Floating Stitch (with a larger seam allowance), I planned to cut the sizes of the pieces as I sewed. It's best to keep the piecing simple when constructing a project with Floating Stitches - no curves or half-square triangles. You can, but it will take a lot of time to perfect the technique, and there are many other better block options. I chose a log cabin block with white on one side and green on the other.
I cut the strips to 2½". You'll also need a decorative thread for the top (40-weight embroidery thread) and a matching thread (50-weight cotton) in the bobbin. The recommended foot is the Decorative
If you've never used Floating Stitches before and have no idea how to use them, guess what? In the JoyOS Advisor, you'll find a tutorial on the two styles of
Floating Stitches. How easy is that?
You'll find a supply list (they’re different for each technique – the joined stitches do not require a stabilizer, while the folded ones do) and step-by-step instructions, including videos. So, if you need to refer back, it's easy, and the JoyOS Advisor is very patient!
Notice there’s a second tab beside the instruction tab. It's called Content, and touching that tab takes you directly to the Floating Stitch menu, which is a
brilliant feature, and I use it all the time!
I decided to cut the pieces as I went rather than use strips of fabric, which is another method to construct a log cabin block. I also decided to sew each seam separately rather than chain piece. Although I could’ve chain pieced, I preferred having each seam begin at the start of the stitch sequence.
I programmed the right side of the Husqvarna VIKING Multi-Function Foot Control for Stitch Restart. It makes it super easy to always start at the beginning of the sequence instead of where the sequence ended with the
previous seam.
I held onto the top and bobbin thread to prevent the thread from nesting at the beginning of each seam. While the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3 has scissors, I often don't use them because I prefer a bit of a tail on the top and bobbin that I can control. It's what you get used
to, and this is one of those times when my ‘old school habits’ come through. The seam allowance we're using is greater than the standard ¼", as the floating stitch is wider than a straight stitch. You can change the width and
length of the stitch, but I chose to use the default settings.
I used the edge of the Decorative Stitch Foot B as the guide. Actually, I used the opening for the feed teeth as the guide along which to place the edge of the
Here's a closer look; you can just see the edge of the opening at the side of the presser foot.
Here's the back of my first seam. I confess that the white fabric I chose was perhaps not the best for this project as it was thin, and there was little stability to support the Floating Stitches. However,
precut the individual pieces as I knew they’d be slightly shorter than if I had used a straight stitch.
I added another piece, and this is what it looks like on the back. Again, you can see that there was room for a smaller seam allowance, but I'm OK to have
it worked out just fine. I could’ve also taken a smaller seam allowance, but this works for me.
When you open it up, this is what it looks like. Wait! I don't see anything!
That's because you need to give the fabric a bit of a pull, and VOILA – there are the Floating Stitches!!!
Once I pressed the seam, I measured the length needed for the next piece. I didn’t
the extra support. You can see the connecting stitches between the blocks of satin stitches.
Here's the first of three rounds on the log cabin block. I love the look, and what a fun way to dress up a project. I need to
be more cautious when pulling the fabric open as I see a few puckers in some areas, but that won't be noticeable in the long run.
When making a log cabin block, I like to check the size after each round to ensure the seam allowances are consistent. I used a square ruler to check, and
everything looked amazing.
Instead of the block being 6½" if I had pieced it traditionally, it's 6". That works for me.
I'm off to add the next round. I debated whether to change the thread color at this point and whether to opt for a different floating stitch. There are 23 Floating Stitches on the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3. I decided it would look more cohesive if I used the same thread and stitch, but you could go wild!
The unfinished block measures 13", much larger than I imagined. But then, I didn't consider the block size before I started.
I was to make 16 blocks, but the quilt will be larger than I needed, so I opted to make a wall hanging with four blocks, and I'll use the other 12 in another small quilt.
Here are some of the other Floating Stitches. I already have ideas for more projects! I did these with the folding
method, and I didn't have the correct foot then, so the connecting stitch wasn't always in the proper spot. Hence,
you see a bit of a crease between the stitches.
Here are my four blocks. Isn't the effect of the Floating Stitches fabulous? It adds a lot of pizzazz to the quilt.
Or should I arrange the blocks this way? I prefer this layout as the lines of Floating
Stitches are more visible and create a pinwheel effect in the center. I'll join the blocks using the same thread and the Floating Stitch. I'll have to find a fabric for the border. Maybe I don't need a border, as the dark green frames the piece.
Here's a quick peek at how to use the Floating Stitches strictly for decorative purposes. Fold your fabric in half with the right sides together. Place a small strip of Tear-A-Way stabilizer under the fold.
Use the Adjustable Stitch in Ditch Edge Joining Foot for IDF (Integrated Dual Feed). It has a guide down the center of the foot and a large opening to use with decorative stitches.
Stitch along the fold, keeping the fold of the fabric against the guide, which will prevent the connecting stitches from stitching on the fabric. It's so easy to do with the Adjustable Stitch in Ditch Edge Joining Foot.
Here's what the Floating Stitches (folded) look like on the wrong side when stitched.
I use my Husqvarna VIKING Applique Scissors to trim off the excess Tear-A-Way.
Here is the Floating Stitch (folded). I've learned not to crease the fold, even with your fingernail. If the crease is too great, it's challenging to remove. I used a finger crease with the top two rows, and the crease is still there after multiple ironings. So, it is best to fold the fabric and hold it in place, but don't crease it.
Here's a tip for adding a border to your quilt. Stitch the sides (or top and bottom) to your quilt using a Floating Stitch. When adding the two remaining pieces, start with a straight stitch until you get to the part that touches the main part of the quilt. Then switch to the Floating Stitch, and you're good!
Wow – there are so many amazing things you can create or decorate using Floating Stitches on the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3. Yes – this stitch takes more time and thread than if you stitch with a straight stitch, but this is our hobby! We should be enjoying the process and getting the most use of our valuable sewing tools, like the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3.
I’ll play with patchwork in the hoop, a technique for piecing or quilting in the hoop.
The first step is to gather the supplies. I’m making a hot mat, so I first need to get some UNIQUE therm fleece with a heat-resistant layer to protect table surfaces.
I went to my scrap box to find some orange scraps. The hot mat is a leaf shape; these colors remind me of fall. I need some 50wt thread for piecing and 40wt embroidery thread for the final stitching.
I’ll need an appropriate-sized embroidery hoop (260mm by 200mm) and some Whisper Web Mesh stabilizer. I’m using a legacy hoop on the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3, so I’ll also need the hoop adaptor.
If you have no idea how to do patchwork in the hoop, guess what? Start by accessing the JoyOS Advisor and go into the Embroidery techniques. Have you noticed a recurring theme in this feature? If you don’t know how to do a specific technique or even if you only need a list of supplies for that technique, the JoyOS Advisor is full of information.
Here’s part of the tutorial for Patchwork in the Hoop. It’s so easy to access this information!
Instead of using a design in the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3, I’ll search the mySewnet Library. I can search the library directly from the Embroidery Edit screen. Log into your mySewnet account, where accessing any of the over 9000 files is a breeze, using the search functions.
Here’s a tip when you get into Embroidery Stitch Out. There are many stitching lines in this design, and looking at the screen with all those lines is intimidating because you have no idea what line will stitch out next.
Open up the Color Block Options and select Ghost Mode. All the stitching lines remain on the screen, but only the one in the current Color Block shows up in color on the screen. The remainder of the lines are ‘ghosted’. This feature is invaluable for Patchwork in the Hoop, and I use it all the time for any of my embroideries.
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Let’s get our stabilizer hooped, so we’re ready to go. The Whisper Web Mesh (cut-a- way stabilizer) makes the perfect base for building the project sections in the hoop. It’ll remain in the project. I’ve also attached the hoop adapter to the hoop.
The first color block will stitch the placement line so we know where to position the therm fleece. Once the fleece is secure, the next Color Block stitches the placement lines for the remainder of the fabric pieces.
It’s time to add fabric. I’ll place the first piece as indicated on the Embroidery Stitchout screen. I’ve used a strip of fabric, which I’ll cut off in a minute. Ensure the piece is large enough to provide seam allowances.
The next color block will stitch the fabric in place. I’ll use my Husqvarna VIKING Applique Scissors to trim the excess fabric. Again, be sure to leave excess for seam allowances.
Place the next piece of fabric face down. This step would be impossible without using the Ghost Mode to show me where to position it. The following Color Block will stitch it in place. Flip the fabric so the right side shows, and the next color block will secure it.
The next color block will secure it in place. Trim the excess away, leaving seam allowances.
Continue those steps until the fabric covers the entire leaf. That was so easy! It didn’t take long, and all I had to do was add fabric, hold it, and trim!
This particular design is a project-in-the-hoop. The next color block will secure a backing fabric, and the final step will be quilting. I use painter’s tape to secure the backing to the back side of the hoop. Ensure the tape is well secured, or it’ll roll up on the embroidery unit.
I switched from piecing thread to embroidery thread. Since this is a two-sided design where the stitches will show on the back, I wound a bobbin with a matching 40-weight thread.
Some steps will differ depending on how the design is digitized, so this is one example of the patchwork-in-the-hoop technique. After stitching the tack down stitch, I checked the back to ensure there were no tucks or other misadventures.
Then I let the final color block run, and here’s the finished embroidery. It’s fabulous, and I love it. Plus, it was super easy. I need to trim it and add the binding. I’ll try using bias tape, but I won’t finish it for this feature.
The technique was so easy that I also created a green leaf. I’ll make my bias binding for this leaf to try a different method. You’ll need bias binding because of the curves. You can refer to this tutorial for bias binding. Because there are a lot of curves, I’ll cut those strips at 2¼”.
I was having fun with this embroidery technique, so I tried one of the blocks in the Content section of the JoyOS Advisor. The log cabin block has a different style; the ‘sewing’ stitch is a top stitch. I found the crazy patch in the mySewnet library, which uses decorative stitches on the seams. There are many ways to make patchwork-in- the-hoop projects, and now I want to try more.
I also found a block with templates, so you can pre-cut the shapes to make this technique much faster. Hmmm – this gives me an idea. Why can’t I take those templates and use my digital cutter to cut them? OH! My mind is reeling with the possibilities!
The possibilities are endless!! Wow – there’s so much I want to create and so many new techniques to try. I need many more hours in my day to try them all!
It’s been so much fun trying different ideas with quilting with the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3. The more I discover about the Husqvarna VIKING DESIGNER EPIC 3, the more I want to use all the fantastic functions and tools! I hope you enjoyed the projects, and perhaps you even learned a thing or two. I know I certainly did!
Thanks for following, and have a great day!
Ciao!!!
Elaine Theriault
crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.com
Coaster 1 Paperless Piecing
Coaster 2 Machine Embroidery
Coaster 3 Machine Raw Edge Applique
Coaster 4 Hoop Applique
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