2 ways to wind the bobbin on the Designer Jade | 35

We've spent the entire week getting to know the Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35. It really and truly is a beautifully designed sewing machine. However, it's way more than just a pretty sewing machine - it sews beautifully as well.

Today we're going to have a look at winding bobbins.

Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35

Winding the bobbin from the horizontal thread position

A well wound bobbin is critical to getting a nicely formed stitch and good tension. If the thread on the bobbin isn't tightly or smoothly wound, the tension will likely be out of whack. We know from my discussion about tension yesterday that there's no point in sewing if the tension isn't right.

As would be expected, bobbin winding mechanisms are different for every sewing machine. The Jade | 35 is no exception. I actually had to get out the User's Guide, read the section on winding bobbins and study the diagrams.

Let me tell you that I LOVE this system for winding bobbins and it was well worth my time to read and learn the process.

On one of my older sewing machines, there's just ONE guide for the bobbin thread when it's being wound. There are times when that thread will pop out of that single guide and the tension is a mess and I have to rewind the bobbin.

There's no danger of that happening on the Jade | 35. There are four guides that the thread has to go through before it goes through the tension dial for the bobbin winding. Hmmmmm - I'm afraid to look, but maybe this has been my problem all along with my own sewing machine. I more than likely didn't read the manual on winding bobbins and have probably been doing it wrong all these years. I better dig that manual out and have a look.

All that to say that I was very impressed with how the bobbins were wound. Yes - it's quite different from what I'm used to and yes it was fiddly to figure out, but that perfectly and tightly wound bobbin  is certainly worth the price of a five minute learning curve.

Winding a bobbin on the Jade | 35

I did learn something that wasn't in the manual. And this is a very important tip. I've touched on it in prior posts about other Husqvarna Viking sewing machines. When I was sewing, I was using the same brand of thread, but the spool was much fuller. I was using the big spool cap - there's a picture further on today to show you that set up.

I wanted you to be able to see the path was taking, so I used black thread to wind onto the bobbin. Notice that the spool is almost empty. I popped on the large spool cap, threaded the machine for bobbin winding and pressed START/STOP to wind the bobbin. SNAP - the thread broke. What? So I repeated that process, pressed START/STOP and SNAP - the thread broke again. OK - first time may have been an error in the threading process. But I double checked - everything was fine. Second time you know there's a problem. I changed the thread cap to the smaller size and notice the position of the thread cap - the flange is pointed outward from the spool of thread. This time when I hit START/STOP - that bobbin wound with no further issues.

So if you think - 'oh those silly little thread caps aren't that important', they are very important!  Should you be having difficulty with thread breakage, this is one more area to check. I have noticed in other situations that the amount of thread left on a spool can affect things like the tension as well - so put this on your list of things to check when threads break.

And here's my perfectly wound bobbin. My spool of thread finished before the bobbin was completely full. But that bobbin was beautifully wound - nice and tight.

Note in the picture below - I took the bobbin off the bobbin winder. I wanted you to see that my spool of thread was empty and see the bobbin at the same time.

Perfectly wound bobbin

Winding the bobbin through the needle

You can also wind the bobbin through the needle.

My preference is to wind the bobbins from the horizontal position, but sometimes when I'm in a hurry and need a bobbin right away, I'll wind my bobbin through the needle.

Very important to remember to bring the thread under the presser foot to take the pressure off the needle. The presser foot is stronger than the needle. Make sure you're using a metal presser foot when winding bobbins this way.

The thread is under the presser foot when winding a bobbin through the needle

On the front of the Jade | 35, you can see two metal bars at the top and bottom of the function panel. Those metal bars protect the sewing machine case from scarring by the thread when winding the bobbins. Thread is very fine and at a high speed can cause grooves to form on the case. The metal bars prevent that from happening. There's a metal guide at the top as well to guide the thread into the bobbin when you are winding bobbins.

In the photo below - you can see the larger spool cap is being used. The spool caps can be used in either direction depending on the size of the spool of thread and how full it is. There are two spool caps - a big one and a small one. If one doesn't work (and you've tried it in both orientations), then try the other size - again in both orientations.

Metal bars protect the sewing machine case when the bobbin is wound from the needle

Large and small spool caps for the Jade | 35

Tips for winding bobbins

No one likes to run out of bobbin thread, but let's face it - it's going to happen. Since I use the same color thread for all my piecing, I like to wind four bobbins and keep them handy. When one gets empty, I have a new full one to pop in. My rule of thumb is use four bobbins and then change the needle and clean the lint out of the bobbin case. Good sewing machine maintenance goes a long way to ensuring that your sewing machine is always ready and will provide you with a good tension for many years. 

The other tip is about using invisible thread in the bobbin. If you choose to use invisible thread in the bobbin (personally I don't like it in the bobbin - there are many other options like bobbin weight polyester threads). But if you do wind a bobbin with invisible thread, reduce the speed of the sewing machine during the bobbin winding process. Also, only wind the bobbin half full. A lot of pressure occurs when winding the invisible thread and I've seen it happen where the bobbin will snap from the pressure or it will become so compressed that you can't remove the bobbin from the bobbin winder.

Needle Threader

Normally I don't touch needle threaders. It takes me a long time to get used to using it and I'm lucky  to be able to thread the needle by hand. I know - sometimes it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks!

But I was changing threads a lot and I thought to myself "why not try the needle threader?" So I did. And you know what? It worked perfectly the first time and every subsequent time! Sometimes the hook is hard to get into the eye of the needle, but this hook just popped right through, grabbed that thread and the needle was threaded before I knew what was happening. I LOVE this needle threader.

Using the needle threader to thread the needle

There you have it - a good overview of the Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35. A beautifully designed, feature rich sewing machine that also has embroidery capabilities all in one nice reasonably priced package. 

There just isn't time in a week to describe all that the Designer Jade | 35 has to offer. We've already seen that it sews beautifully, but stay tuned because we're going to explore its capabilities in applique, quilting and embroidery the next time around. Stay tuned! Have a great day! Ciao!

2 more tips for sewing success with the Designer Jade | 35

Welcome back! I'm pretty excited about everything I've seen on the Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35. Today, I've got a few more features to show you including another small, but well designed element.

Let's dive right in and have a look at the SET menu.

Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35

SET Menu

The most important option in the SET menu is the top tension. 

Whenever I teach a class and we talk about tension, I hear so many people say "I have auto tension so I don't have to touch the settings".

ACK - it's so important to learn about tension and not be afraid of those settings!

While tension tends to be a bigger issue with quilting, I've seen too many quilts where the tension for the piecing has been off. It's a shame to spend all that time on a quilt that isn't going to last because it wasn't stitched properly. Check back to this post about tension - you owe it to yourself and your quilts to do some experimenting so you can really appreciate how to fix the tension on your sewing machine.

Now if you start off using a good quality sewing machine like the Jade | 35, the chances of having an issue with the tension are going to be greatly slim. However, there will be times when the thread/needle combination may require that you adjust the tension.

For instance, using a finer thread on top usually requires a looser top tension. Always do a test run on a sample and see what the tension looks like. And keep an eye on the tension as you're piecing. Make sure those stitches are secure!

The default setting for the fix and the cut functions is set to on. However if you do not want them - you would simply turn them off in the set menu. I tend not to use the cut feature - I'm so used to not using it (GASP!) that I turn it off manually when I start to sew, but it would make more sense to turn the function off in this menu. It's just a question of habit!

I know that I'm a minority here - people just LOVE the cut function.

There's also an option to set the width of the twin needle if you're going to work with one.

SET Menu - screen one

The next set of options in the Set Menu include the Stitch Width Safety, an audible alarm (beep), the contrast in the graphic display and the language for the menus.

SET Menu - Screen Two

The Stitch Width Safety is a really good feature. Let's say that you want to use that Quilter's 1/4" Piecing foot that I love so much. If you set the stitch width safety to on, then the needle will NOT move from the center position. Rememer the Quilter's 1/4" piecing foot has a single hole for the needle. So if you were piecing and now want to do applique, you would have to change the settings for the Stitch Width Safety and at that time, you need to remove the Quilter's 1/4" Piecing foot. 

You also won't be able to use a twin needle when the Stitch Width Safety is on. In the example below, the Stitch Width Safety is not selected and there is a solid line outlining the box for the Twin Needle. 

Stitch Width Safety is off - Twin Needle option is available

In the photo below, you can see that the Stitch Width Safety is ON and the box for the Twin Needle is dashed meaning that I can't select the Twin Needle option.  

Stitch Width Safety is on - Twin Needle option is not available

The Stitch Width Safety is currently set to on. Now I'm trying to select another stitch that's not straight stitch. In the example below, I'm trying to use a zigzag (2:05), but the sewing machine will only use a straight stitch. It won't go into the other stitch when the Stitch Width Safety is on.

What a very useful feature and will prevent accidentally breaking a needle which isn't good for the sewing machine or the operator.

Straight stitch is the only option with the Stitch Width Safety on

Threading the sewing machine

There are nice clear diagrams right on the body of the Jade | 35 that show me how to thread the sewing machine.

In the photo below, I can see how the thread is supposed to come off the spool (from the front) so that it will feed nicely through the thread guides. It doesn't get much simpler than that.

Great threading diagram - easy to match your thread

The other thing about threading the Jade | 35 that I thought I would mention is when you're using two spools of thread as for a twin needle.

You can see below that there are two different spools of thread on the sewing machine. I always worry about those threads getting tangled up.

Jade | 35 is threaded with two threads

Not so with the way the spools and the thread guides are positioned. They are quite separate from each other and there's no danger that the threads can get tangled.

A very nice design.

Well positioned thread guides prevent thread from tangling

What do you think? An entry level sewing and embroidery machine that has so many wonderful features. Features for safety, features to make sewing easier, features to help you explore new fabrics and techniques. And the stitches are so beautifully formed. Wow - I'm impressed!

I'll be back tomorrow with some more stitch samples. Stay tuned for that. Have a great day! Ciao!

7 exceptional features of the Designer Jade | 35

Welcome back. I hope you're as excited as I am by the Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35 sewing and embroidery machine.

This sewing machine is priced perfectly for someone who wants to have access to an embroidery machine, but doesn't want to spend a ton of money. The bonus is that the sewing machine is loaded with features and functions that you would find on a high end sewing machine.

Today, we're going to have a closer look at a number of the features of this machine and I promise, I'm going to tell you how it sews.

Let's have a look...

Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35

Exclusive Sewing Advisor

To fully appreciate the Exclusive Sewing Advisor, let's have a look at the settings when I choose two different fabric types. The weight of each (light weight) and the sewing technique (seam) remain the same.

In the examples below, you can see the selected options in the top right hand corner. A1 corresponds to the buttons on the Sewing Advisor - A = Woven Light and 1 = Seam. In the second example, the selection is D1 where D = Stretch Light and 1 = Seam.

In the top left, you can see that the size and type of needle recommended changed from a 70 regular needle to a 75 stretch needle.

The stitch itself changed from 1:01 which is a straight stitch to 1:02 which is suitable for stretchy fabrics.

The tension was lowered from 4.2 for the woven to 4.0 for the stretch.

The presser foot pressure went from N to 2 - the lower the number, the less pressure and you don't want too much pressure that will distort the stretchy fabric.

The speed remained the same, but notice that the stitch length went from 2.0 to 2.5 and the needle position also changed from the center to -3.5 which means that the needle went to the left of the center position.

Imagine if you had to make all those changes yourself. I'm not sure that I would even know where to start or that I would remember half of those adjustments. You're a quilter and you're thinking you would never sew stretchy fabrics - what about fleece? Yep - that's stretchy. And there's the option of different fabric weights as well which comes into play when we're quilting or sewing multiple layers in a bag.

There are lots of places where this feature is a must for the newbies and the experienced quilter alike.

Sewing Advisor settings for Woven Light - Seam

Sewing Advisor settings for Stretch Light - Seam

Speed Control

Check out the picture above and you can see in the bottom left hand corner that there are five bars. These are the indicators for the speed control levels. There are five levels - in the example below, the speed is set at the lowest level.

Having five levels is fabulous. For normal piecing, I would keep the level at the top speed. But when it comes to applique, decorative stitching, and free motion quilting - I would be playing with those levels to get a speed that I'm comfortable with. If the sewing machine is going so fast that your project is out of control, that's not good.

What level you use is totally personal and you may start out at a slow level and find yourself wanting to increase as you gain confidence in that particular technique. Trust me - you won't want the machine to go faster than level five.

Speed control at it's lowest setting

Stitch Menus

There are five different stitch menus. Menu One is Utility stitches, Menu Two is Quilt Stitches, Menu Three is Satin and Heirloom Stitches, Menu Four is Decorative Stitches. The Fifth one - is Saved or Programmed Stitches that you created.

In total, there are 120 built-in stitches, plus two alphabets complete with upper and lower case and symbols and the fact that you can combine any of the stitches and functions to create your own combinations means there are endless possibilities.

Let's not forget that you can change any of the stitches by changing the stitch width and length. Oh yes - you could keep yourself occupied for a long long time as you try everything out.

Stitch Menu selection

Built-in Alphabets

There are two built-in alphabets. These are selected by one of the buttons on the front of the Jade | 35. Once you're in the menu, you can spell out your words. A push of another button on the front of the sewing machine will take you to the lower case screen and a second push will take you to the number/symbol screen. Use this button to toggle between the three screens.

I thought I would give them a try and stitch something out.

Capital Letter selection screen

Notice the changes that occurred on the Graphic Display. The tension was decreased to 3.6, the symbol next to that is recommending that I use stabilizer, I manually decreased the speed so I could better control the stitching.

You can see the length of 159 is the length of total stitch out and the width (or height of the letters) is 5.5. I can change the size of both, but I need to be careful that I don't distort the letters or make them so dense that it causes a problem for stitching.

 

Lettering sequence waiting to begin stitch out

As I do the stitch-out, the letters move on the screen so I can see the progress. In the picture below, you can see that the lettering has moved from where I started.

Lettering sequence stitch-out in progress

The alphabets are a form of decorative stitching and I like to use the START/STOP feature on the Jade | 35 for all decorative stitching. I get my project lined up and then push START/STOP which means the sewing machine will stitch on its own - I don't have to use the foot pedal. If you leave the speed on the highest level - it really stitches FAST. That's why, I usually drop the speed down a notch or two.

The other feature that I use for decorative stitching is the STOP function. This function tells the sewing machine to STOP after the stitch sequence (or the programmed stitch) is complete. You can program this function into the stitch sequences you create or you can manually use the feature.

I just love it! Many stitches are very decorative and it's hard to know exactly where they start and especially where they end. How are you going to stop the sewing machine right where it should? That's where the STOP feature comes in very handy. It takes all the guess work out of stopping at the appropriate place.

STOP function is selected

Now that I have those stitches programmed, let's see how it stitches out. Oh - it doesn't work if you aren't paying attention or trying to do something else at the same time. Yes - you have to hold onto the work. I laugh because I'm always telling my students that and then I don't follow my own advice. So I had to do it again! This time, I marked a line with chalk that I could use to guide the edge of the presser foot along.

Much better results when I did it right!

A reference line for a straight row of stitching

Oh yes - paying attention is a must. This is also why I like being able to change the speed level - at the high speed, I just can't control this kind of stitching.

Otherwise - the stitching line isn't so straight!

Graphic Display feedback

There are many messages that will pop up on the graphic display to give you feedback - usually because you're trying to do something that won't work. This is way better than getting a beep. A beep means something isn't working, but if you don't know what - it's pretty hard to fix.

Whether you're programming stitches, doing embroidery or regular sewing, these pop up messages provide valuable feedback in solving the issue and getting back to sewing.

I was sewing in a group with the Jade | 35 and someone accidently disconnected the power cord. I wasn't at the machine at that moment, but when I got back, I had a pop-up message asking me to "raise the needle". That alerted me that something had changed and I was able to put my settings back in and continue sewing. Without the alert, I wouldn't have known the power went off and I would have continued without changing my stitch length which wouldn't have been pretty - especially when I found out. The pop-up message saved the day!

A pop up message

Mirroring stitches

The ability to mirror stitches is FABULOUS.

Now some stitches don't need to be mirrored. Have a look at the stitch below - it's symmetrical so even if I choose to mirror the stitch - the end result would be pretty much the same.

But look at the sequence of photos with the asymmetrical stitch and you can see how the stitch changes when I mirror side to side or end to end.

Being able to see the changes in the stitch on the graphic display before you stitch them out saves an enormous amount of time.

A symmetrical stitch

An asymetrical stitch

Stitch is mirrored end to end

Stitch is mirrored side to side

Stitch is mirrored end to end AND side to side

Stitch Quality

Yes - all these functions are good, they save time, and they make life easy when you want to sew a project, but how does the Jade | 35 perform?

Here's how much faith I had in the abilities of the Jade | 35. I took it to a five day sewing retreat. I had never sewn anything on it - I had only taken it out of the box. I did not take another sewing machine with me.

Let's just say that I was impressed. I sewed for five days straight on the Jade | 35 and not once did I wish that I had brought another sewing machine with me.

The first thing I noticed is that it's quiet. I love that - a noisy sewing machine is very annoying when sewing is supposed to be relaxing. The other thing I noticed was how well the feed dogs fed the fabric under the presser foot. The Jade | 35 just took everything I had and fed it through like it was nothing.

The quality of the stitch was amazing. You can see here on my flannel project how even and beautifully formed the stitches are. Note that I drop my stitch length down to 2.0 - ALWAYS. (check out this link to see why that smaller stitch length is so important). The default stitch length is 2.5 which is great for general purpose sewing, but for quilting - a shorter stitch length is preferred. It prevents the seams from coming apart especially when we're strip piecing.

Even going over the lumpy seam allowance, there was no change in the quality of the length of the stitch which is a very good sign.

Perfectly formed stitches

There you have it - the Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35 is full of fabulous features that you would find on a high end sewing machine. These are features that make your life as a quilter so much easier. And the Jade | 35 has a beautiful stitch which means that all your projects are going to look spectacular.

Tomorrow we're going to have a look at some of other settings on the Jade | 35. Yes - there's even more hidden under the hood! Have a great day! Ciao!

Stellar features of the Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35

Welcome back! The Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35 was full of surprises yesterday - everywhere I looked there was another storage compartment. Isn't that design amazing?

I bet you're saying that there are a lot of buttons on that sewing machine and they look intimidating. Once you know how those buttons can make your sewing experience loads of fun, you'll appreciate how amazing the Jade | 35 truly is.

Let's have a look...

Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35

I'll be covering the functions all week. Today is a quick overview of some of them. We definitely want to get some sewing in as well because it's one thing to have a feature-rich sewing machine, but I know you're asking "how well does it sew?" I'm going to leave you hanging on that one - for the moment.

Below is a close up of the function buttons on the Jade | 35 so you can refer back to it to see the placement of the various features that I'll be chatting about.

Function panel and graphic display

Sewing Advisor

The Exclusive Sewing Advisor is on the right hand side of the function panel and is a fabulous tool. By selecting the type of fabric that you're going to work with and then choosing the sewing technique, the Jade | 35 will automatically select the best stitch, the stitch width and length and the thread tension for you.

The column of buttons on the left hand side (A - G) allows you to choose the type of fabric - you can choose between woven or stretch (knit). You can also choose the weight of fabric from light, medium or heavy. In addition, you can also select the vinyl/leather option.

This is a fabulous feature and for those who are new to sewing, this takes a lot of guess work out of starting to sew. Or if you're like me and do a lot of work with woven fabric, but need to sew some knits from time to time - then I don't have to figure out how to set the machine. I simply choose the fabric type and let the sewing  machine take the guess work out of the equation.

Not only can I select the type of fabric that I'm working on, but I can also select the sewing technique that I want to do. These are options 1 - 7 in the right hand column. I can choose a regular seam, overcast, seam/overcast, baste, blind hem, hem and buttonhole. Again if you're like me - I don't use some of those techniques every day and I would have to stop and think about how to set up the sewing machine. With the Exclusive Sewing Advisor - I just touch a button.

Remember, the Exclusive Sewing Advisor is just that - it's an advisor. It's like having a teacher at your side. If you feel that you need to make some adjustments to the settings - you would prefer a longer stitch width or length or feel the tension is off a bit - you still have the option to over ride the choices, but the Sewing Advisor will get you started and that is worth a lot!

Exclusive Sewing Advisor

More Functions

There are a lot of buttons in this next section. When you get started, the most important buttons to remember are the light grey buttons on the left hand side. The 'OK' button selects any of your choices on the graphic display and the arrows are navigation arrows to help you scroll through various menus.

I would have preferred to see the embroidery buttons a bit more separated from some of the other features, but then I haven't used the embroidery unit yet and many of the function buttons do double duty when the embroidery unit is attached so it may make logical sense that they are positioned where they are.

I'm just to tell you what the features are for now, and over the course of my review, we'll be having a more in-depth look at the features so you can really understand what the Jade | 35 is capable of.

The two buttons that look like the needle is hopping (how technical is that!) are to use with the embroidery unit - that allows you to step through the design one stitch at a time. I know - it'll be much clearer when we get there. The two buttons with the spools are also for use with the embroidery unit and allow you to step through the embroidery design color by color.

The bottom row of that section has the mirror end to end and the mirror side to side - we'll touch on those tomorrow. They are great features - you'll love them. I recently worked on a sewing machine that didn't have that feature - oh boy - I was practically doing gymnastics as I wrangled my project under the presser foot to get the stitch going where I needed it to be. The middle button is used to rotate designs when in the embroidery mode.

In the grouping on the right hand side, there are more options when using the embroidery unit like selecting a different hoop size, information about the embroidery design and the bottom button in that column is for checking the corners in embroidery mode.

The button with the tools on it is exactly that - allows us to make some changes to the default settings, there's a menu for selecting stitches (top right hand side), the next two are for the built in alphabets and lastly an option to program your own stitch sequences.

The power in these buttons is enormous. As I walk you through how those functions work, you'll be amazed.

When getting started with regular sewing, the only button you need to remember is 'OK'.

Function buttons on the Jade | 35

This next set of buttons is right over the sewing area. I should mention that the buttons in the left column do double duty when the Jade | 35 is set up in embroidery mode. But I'll cover those when we get there.

On the left is the needle stop up/down with an indicator light. While this feature is useful for sewing, it is an absolute necessity for applique and free motion quilting. This feature will become your best friend.

The STOP button is great when doing decorative stitching, although it has other uses. Let's say that you want to stitch only one sequence of a decorative stitch or you want to end your line of stitching at the end of the stitch sequence. Use the STOP button to do that.

The FIX button ties off your line of stitching. I love to use this stitch when starting a line of applique stitching or quilting. If sewing seams that require an anchor stitch at the beginning or the end - this is a great feature to have. What requires an anchor? Y seams or mitering corners. We'll get into that a bit more later this week.

The CUT function will cut your thread at the end of a line of stitching.

The buttons on the right are 10 commonly used stitches. Rather than go through the stitch menu, they are very handy. Just push the button to select the stitch, then you can adjust the length and width to suit your project.

More function selections

This next set of functions is directly above the needle and allows me to control the speed of the sewing machine. The START/STOP function allows me to start and stop the sewing machine without the use of the foot pedal. Notice how it is conveniently located above the needle. And the U-shaped button is the reverse.

More useful function buttons

I think this is just a personal thing, but once I get the sewing machine set up - I like to sew with that lid closed (provided my thread is in the horizontal position).

Once I set my stitch length and width, needle down, I can close the lid on the Jade | 35 and still have access to the important functions that I need - like the FIX and CUT buttons, the START/STOP and the reverse button. If I need to change something, I flip the lid up.

Most people I know sew with the lid up. Do you sew with the lid flipped up?

Important functions are still available with the flip lid closed

Graphic Display

The graphics display gives you all kinds of information. Not only do you see the number (1:01) of the selected stitch, but you see the visual stitch, the speed level (bottom left), the length and width of the stitch, the tension setting and much more!!

And, any messages (thread breaking, empty bobbin, etc.) will pop up on the screen. The pluses and minuses at the bottom allow me to change the length and width of the selected stitch. The ALT button has to do with applique and we'll touch on that another time.

Obviously the garbage pail is delete!

Graphic Display

Needle plate

This is a small detail, but I love it. There's a red line on the plastic bobbin case cover indicating the 1/4" seam line.

Notice how that line matches up with the front edge of that Quilter's 1/4" Piecing foot. It's interesting to note that this foot doesn't come with the Jade | 35. But I discovered this foot last year and I now have many of them - one for each sewing machine and a few spare. There's NO need to move the needle right or left any more. You have a single hole for the needle to pass, the front edge of the foot is narrow to give you the 1/4" guide and the back part of the foot is wide so it sits on the feed dogs and helps guide the fabric. Can you tell that I love this foot?

1/4" seam line marked on the bobbin case cover

The needle plate also has numerous markings or guides on both the right and left hand side of the needle to assist you when sewing various projects. 

Numerous markings on the needle plate

Room to sew

One of my must-have features on a sewing machine is a decent space to sew. Yes - I can add an extension table, but if I don't have to that's even better.

I have sewn a lot on the Jade | 35 with NO extension table. There's loads of room in front of the needle to line up your seams and it has worked perfectly. I measured - there is 3 1/2" in front of the needle and there's 3 1/2" to the left of the needle.

The beauty of this is that I can pack my foot pedal and my power cord in that gorgeously designed storage box. Load the machine into the car and not worry about taking anything else. No table needed.

I even sewed borders on a quilt with the Jade | 35 and there were no issues with space. If I were going to be doing free motion quilting, then I would want more space on the left hand side but for piecing - the amount of space is perfect.

Ample sewing room - no extension table needed

Built-In Stitches

There are four menus of built-in stitches. Menu One is Utility Stitches which are outlined in great detail in the User's Guide. I seriously recommend that EVERYONE read this section in the guide. I learned a lot by reading that page. Menu Two is all the Quilt Stitches, Menu Three is Satin and Heirloom stitches and Menu Four is Decorative Stitches.

The variety of stitches within these four menus is huge. There isn't much you can't do. And did you check out Number 39 on Menu 4? It's the bicycle stitch. I didn't think they would put it on this sewing machine, but they did!!! That means I would be able to make my personalized tags. Check out the tutorial for those.

Keep in mind the first 10 stitches aren't listed on the lid as they have their own function button on the front of the sewing machine.

Stitches in Menu 1 and 3

Stitches in Menu 2 and 4

Spool Holders

The Jade | 35 comes with the standard spool pin which can be used in either the horizontal position or the vertical position. There's a second spool pin which allows the use of two different threads.

Main spool pin and auxiliary spool pin in vertical positions

Thread in horizontal position

Presser foot pressure dial

On the left hand side of the sewing machine, there's a handy thread cutter and also a dial that we tend to ignore. That dial is the presser foot pressure dial. I'm going to do some exploring this week with that. But for normal sewing no need to touch!

Thread cutter and presser foot pressure dial

USB Port

And on the other side of the sewing  machine, in addition to the hand-wheel and the sockets for the power cord and the foot control, there is a USB port for loading embroidery designs.

USB port

Wow - so not only is the Husqvarna Viking Designer Jade | 35 a well thought out sewing machine from the design aspect, but it's packed with features that are found on much higher priced sewing machines.

Imagine you're looking for a new sewing machine. Imagine you're looking for one with embroidery capabilities and you don't have a big budget.  Hmmmmmmm - SANTA!!!!!

All kidding aside - the Jade | 35 is pretty jam packed with features. I know you want to know how it sews. More details on that tomorrow, but if I were you and looking for this type of machine, I'd start writing that letter to Santa! I was impressed and I'll tell you why tomorrow. Have a great day! Ciao!