Machine stitch a crazy patch potholder

The PFAFF Performance 5.2 is the perfect machine for creating projects that combine precise piecing and decorative stitches. Yesterday's post featured the built in patchwork program that makes piecing lots of similar sized seams quick and precise. In this post we'll make a crazy patch potholder to use as a sampler to try out all the crazy patch stitches included on the PFAFF Performance 5.2.

Crazy patch potholder

PFAFF Performance 5.2

There will be several close up photos of the Color Touch Screen in this post. The screen is right at eye level when you're at the machine and easy to use. 

Bin of Northcott Fabric scraps

Making potholders is a great way to use up scraps. Using scraps from one project ensures they'll look good together in this project too! I'm using leftover Northcott fabrics from my Wish Upon a Star for Spring quilt project.

You'll want to use mostly strip or string pieces to make the potholder. The finished size is 10" square so I picked out pieces that were between 1½ to 3" wide and started with the shorter pieces, saving the longer ones for the outside piecing.

 

 

Materials

approximately ¼ yard of scrap strings or strips from 1½ to 3" wide and 2 - 11" long

10½ x 10½” piece of batting

10½ x 10½” backing fabric

 2½” x 45” binding fabric (could piece from your scrap strips)

 thread that contrasts with fabric to showcase crazy patch stitches

Straight stitch needle plate and ¼" quilting foot

I set the machine up with the straight stitch needle plate and the quilting foot to sew the strips together.

Order to add pieces to center

Start building a crazy patch from the center out. I cut an angle into the center green piece to add some visual variety to the layout. I added pieces in the order numbered in the photo above, making sure that the fabric being added covered the full edge of the piece beneath.

First round trimmed.

Next I trimmed the patch square and decided to add another angle.

Trim excess seam allowance.

Be sure to trim away excess seam allowance as you go. In this photo I trimmed away the blue fabric beneath before pressing the seam of the purple fabric. For this project I simply pressed the seam to the piece I added each time.

Sewing without pins.

At this point I just want to mention how I was sewing this patch together using some of the features of the PFAFF Performance 5.2. As you can see from the photo I was chain piecing as I made this block (I can never sew just one thing at a time!)

I used the knee lift to raise the presser foot so I could keep my hands on the patch and keep my two layers lined up as I laid them out under the needle. I don't pin when using PFAFF machines because the IDT system keeps my fabrics feeding together evenly under the needle.

One more piecing tip here: put the piece you're adding to the patch on the bottom. It's not so much to make sure the fabrics feed evenly as to watch your seams as you sew to keep them laying flat.

Completed crazy patch top

Continue adding pieces around the center until you reach the desired size, in this case it's 10½" square.

Now it's time to layer the potholder top with batting. For me that means I need to make a piece of batting big enough by sewing together scraps. Guess what?

There's a presser foot for that!

Bridging stitch

According to the manual, this is a bridging stitch and can be used as a decorative stitch, as well as for joining quilt batting. 

Presser foot 1A

I lined up the edges of the two pieces of batting under the long red line in the center of presser foot 1A. Easy peasy!

Layer the crazy patch potholder top with the batting, trimming batting to the same size. I didn't pin mine together because the patch is small enough to manoveur without shifiting the layers. Plus the patch really sticks well to the batting;)

Now it's time to try out all the crazy patch stitches!

Quilt stitches category

There are seven categories of stitches - inside the second category is where we'll find the crazy patch stitches.

First screen of crazy patch stitches

There are 21 built in crazy patch stitches in the Performance 5.2. Press the down arrow to view the second screen.

Second screen of crazy patch stitches

Reading the screen.

There's so much information right in front of you on the Color Touch Screen. These three things are what I look at after selecting a stitch:

I look at which presser foot to use with the stitch - all of the crazy patch stitches use foot 2A.

The use of a stabilizer is also recommended. In this case I'm considering the batting as stabilizer - some of the stitches will not stitch out as nicely because of the thickness of the batting. You could use stabilizer instead of batting on this step, then add the batting after you're done stitching.

I also look at the stitch starting position - it's indicated by the green plus sign. I use this to think about where I want to position the stitch on my potholder seams - in most cases I want the stitch to go over the seam, not beside it.

 

Presser foot 2A

I changed to a light blue thread and started to stitch out some of the crazy patch stitches. I lowered the machine's stitching speed by pressing the button and then I used the Start/Stop button to sew. This lets me keep both of my hands gently guiding the fabric as many of the stitches include the needle moving back and forth on the fabric. A tap on the foot pedal stops the machine.

Changed stitch width

It's possible to customize the built in stitches on the Performance 5.2. In this case I made the stitch skinnier to change the scale of the design. It's fun to change the stitches to fit a space!

Density of stitch changed.

For this stitch I changed the density so the stitches could be seen in a small space. The machine will let you know when you hit the limit of changing the size in either direction - it will make a beep! 

Both width and length of stitch changed.

For this stitch I changed both the width and length. Now I want to keep it to use again later - and I can! Touch the menu at the top of the right sidebar which will open a screen with numbered boxes. Select a box and your stitch will be saved in it.

Personal menu

When you want to use the stitch again you'll find it in the 7th category in the stitches menu. From there you touch the files and . . .

Stitch in personal menu

... there's your stitch! I plan to use this one when doing machine embroidery.

Okay, back to the potholder. We're close to done! Keep selecting, customizing and stitching until all the seams are covered.

All seams covered

Trim the batting the same size as the potholder top - this should be close to 10½ " square.

Layer the backing fabric, right side down, under the batting. I didn't pin the layers together, but you can.

Prepare your binding strip; it should measure at least 45" in length. I used a leftover binding strip cut 2½ " wide.

 

Attaching binding with quilting foot.

I switched back to the quilting foot to sew the binding on - the red guide lines make it easy to stop at the right spot at the corners. When the front red line is at the edge of the potholder I know that I'm at the ¼" seam mark.

I sew using the Needle down button and no pins - the IDT systemis my partner in getting the layers fed evenly through the machine. At the corner I touch the Needle button again to lift it then use the Presser foot "up" button to remove the potholder and turn the corner.

Sewing on the binding.

This photo really shows how much space there is between the needle and the side of the PFAFF Performance 5.2. It also shows the binding being sewn to the front of the potholder by machine. I could have done the traditional method of sewing the binding to the front then the back, but I thought it would be fun to add a few more seams of crazy patch stitches!

Crazy patch stitches potholder

The crazy patch potholder is complete! The PFAFFPerformance 5.2 is an easy machine to operate and full of creative opportunities. The precise piecing and decorative stitches make using this machine fun from the beginning of a project to the end.

Make quick work of piecing with PFAFF's Patchwork Program

Sometimes in order to make a quilt you need to sew together a lot of pieces. In yesterday's post, I unboxed the new PFAFF Performance 5.2 and got it ready to start sewing. One of the built in features included on Performance 5.2 is the Patchwork Program. This post will show you how the program works and maybe inspire you to start a scrap quilt!

288 Patches ready for piecing

288 patches ready for piecing, 288 patches - can you hear me singing? So glad I can use the Patchwork Program on the Performance 5.2 for this step!

This program is on other PFAFF models as well and honestly, I didn't really get what the big deal was before. It's rare for me to sit down and sew a lot of pieces at once so I tried the program before and wondered why it was a feature. Until now. Enter the Patchwork Olympics put on by the Temecula Quilt Company during this summer's Olympic games. They featured this beautiful patchwork quilt made of four patches that decrease in size across the quilt. A lot of four patches!

I was completely smitten and hooked. I knew I was going to somehow keep up and make this quilt happen. I cut out and finished the first set of patches with no difficulty. But this step - 288  2½" squares to make 72 four patches - this step overwhelmed me. I realized this was the perfect opportunity to try out the Patchwork Program.

Straight stitch needle plate and ¼" quilting foot

When I unboxed the Performance5.2, I switched to the straight stitch needle plate and the ¼" quilting foot. I also made sure to engage the IDT system with the presser foot - this will help your pieces move under the needle together.

Patchwork Program icon engaged

Press the second icon in the sidebar inside the Color Touch Screen. This will open up the programs menu. Touch the middle icon in the opened screen to engage the Patchwork Program. The Patchwork Program icon will have the green light around it lit up when engaged.

Two pieces ready to be stitched

Stitch together two pieces to start the Patchwork Program. Be sure to stitch the full length and not stop and start again as you get near the end - the length you sew at this point will get programmed into the machine by pressing the reverse button after you sew it. Then press down on the presser foot to set the program - the machine will transfer the length you just sewed into a single stitch.

Stitch program engaged

You'll know if you did it right when you see the Stitch Program icon is now engaged! Notice the "x28" between the plus and minus icons? That's the number of stitches you just made - add one or take one away to adjust the programmed length.

One more step before you press the "Start" button and start sewing all the patches together: change the machine speed.

Machine speed pop up

Long touch the Speed control button to open it on the Touch Screen and adjust the machine's speed. I like to turn it down for the piecing so that I can keep my fingers moving at a comfortable speed and see what the machine is doing - maybe you can work a little faster than me!

Start Stitch button location on Performance 5.2

Now I'm ready to start piecing all those patches! Would you believe that it took me less than an hour to sew them all using the Patchwork Program; it probably could have been quicker if I wasn't taking the time to match the fabrics!

I'm pretty sure it took me longer to iron them all :)

Two patches finished

The next step was to sew these together into four patches which I did using the Patchwork Program; I simply programmed a new stitch length. You can see the results in a progress photo on my blog. Hopefully by the time you're reading this I'll have finished the next step of making lots and lots of four patches with 1½" pieces!

PFAFF Performance 5.2

I'm feeling confident that the PFAFF Performance 5.2 can handle any piecing challenge I give it. The Patchwork Program has convinced me that I can start making more scrap quilts - quickly and precisely too!

Unboxing PFAFF's Performance 5.2

I couldn't wait to unpack PFAFF's new Performance 5.2 sewing machine and I wasn't disappointed! This is the first of a week of posts revealing some of the superb features that make quilting with PFAFF a creative pleasure. It was all I could do to write these posts - I wanted to quilt instead! Take a look at the new Performance 5.2 fresh out of the box.

PFAFF Performance 5.2

The Performance 5.2 is a sturdy machine with a modern look. Can you see the stitching design on the front by its name? I really like this look and the dark navy background is a dark, but neutral color in a quilting space. 

Stitch categories inside the lid

Next I flipped up the lid to see all those stitches! I have to admit, it's the first time in a machine I've really looked at the stitches on the lid. I think the reason I looked is the dark background that makes the stitches easier to see. The stitches are organized into numbered categories which will make them easy to locate inside the machine's menu too.

Remove styrofoam before using the machine.

It was clear that I would need to do some additional unpacking once I had the machine out and on my table. There was a printed paper with a diagram of the machine and a red warning locked under the sewing needle. It was obvious I needed to deal with the warning now or when I turned on the machine! There was an additional piece of styrofoam inside the base of the accessory tray to remove - easy peasy. It also reassured me that the machine had been well secured in transit!

Accessories and manual for Performance 5.2

Unpacking includes checking to make sure all the accessories listed in the manual match what's in the box. I have to admit that I do love the knee-lift, not that I use it all the time. It's a great accessory when doing certain patchwork sewing and you can easily remove it when it gets in the way; I remove it when I'm quilting a quilt.

Presser feet and straight stitch needle plate

My favorite accessories for doing patchwork are the straight needle plate and the ¼" quilting foot, both of which are included with the Performance 5.2. Put these two on the machine and see how precise your piecing becomes!

There are a lot of other presser feet including two for buttons (one you plug into the machine and isn't shown in the photo above), a zipper foot, and feet for doing the fancy stitches. It's easy to change the feet too - you simply pull down to remove a foot and push up to attach a different one. 

Front controls on Performance 5.2

After checking out the accessories it's time to sit down in front of the Performance 5.2. I still love turning on a PFAFF machine and how bright it gets when the LED lights come on. And all that space! 

I like having both the touch buttons on the left and the PFAFF creative Color Touch Screen on the right, directly in front of me. Having the touch screen at eye level makes it easy to make changes while I'm stitching. The icons on the dark border around the screen are also touch sensitive.

Stitches menu

Inside the stitches menu you can go through the different categories of stitches to select the one you want to use. From the right sidebar you can select one of 4 fonts inside the "A" tab, or go into a folder of saved stitches - so you can find favorite stitches quickly! The bottom icon lets you access stitches saved on a USB key - the port is on the right side of the machine by the power button.

Stitch categories inside menu

Click on the Essential Stitches button to open up a more detailed menu. From here you quickly find the stitch you're looking for by clicking on a specific category. Remember the categories are on the lid too!

 

Machine settings menu

The machine settings menu includes the lock screen option and the calibrate touch screen option. The lock screen option is useful when quilting; using it means that accidentally pushing a button or on the touch screen won't change your current settings - which has happened to me when I'm quilting! 

I tried out calibrating the touch screen. I think this will be useful when creating your own stitches - yes you can do that on this machine too - to maintain the accuracy of the stitching out of designs. I used the stylus included to calibrate the screen and followed the onscreen directions.  

Sewing settings menu

These are the default sewing settings when you turn on the Performance 5.2. To change a setting you touch it to either check or uncheck the box or to open the setting for further options.  

Needle plate and standard presser foot

The Performance 5.2 comes ready to sew with the standard presser foot attached. I'm eager to start doing some patchwork piecing so I decided to change to the straight stitch needle plate right now! 

Removing the needle plate.

There are no screws involved in changing the needle plate on PFAFF machines! Simply use the included screw driver to pop the plate out of position, then the plate will just pull away from the base. There are actually two little slots along the back edge that you put the plate into before pushing it into place. What's nice about having tried out a few PFAFF machine models is that some of the basic tasks are the same from machine to machine. It makes it easy to feel comfortable exploring the features and getting the machine set up to sew.

I'd like to point out that this photo was *staged* so you can see the screw driver in place - I removed the presser foot before taking off the plate. It's easy to do that too, just pull down on the foot to remove it. It's good to have the needle in the "up" position when removing the plate - or you might even be changing it at the same time to suit your next task.

Straight stitch needle plate and ¼" quilting foot

The straight stitch needle plate is ideal for piecing as it helps to keep the fabric on the machine bed and not in the needle hole, for example when you are starting to stitch a new piece. 

The ¼" quilting foot does what it says - it works as a guide to keep your quilting seam allowance at ¼", but all the little red marks on the foot are also ¼" guides. These help at corners and when quilting beside other lines of stitching on a project. I've used them to help me reverse and get into the right position too.

 

IDT System engaged.

The ¼" quilting foot also works with the PFAFF Integrated Dual Feed (IDT) system. The  IDT system works with several of the presser feet included with the Performance 5.2 to ensure even feeding of two fabrics through the machine. To engage the system you pull it forward and it clicks into an opening on the back of the presser foot. Not all of the feet work with it - the machine's touch screen displays when to use it - but those feet are usually doing fancy stitches or ones that require the machine to go in reverse. 

Now that the machine is set up for piecing I'm even more eager to get started. But first I'll have to wind some bobbins!

Thread in needle thread guide

You can wind the bobbin on the Performance 5.2 without unthreading the machine! A handy feature to save time and get you back to sewing quickly. I noticed this feature while reading through the preparations section in the manual - there are a lot of detailed explanations and diagrams to help you set up your machine in there!

So, I tried it. In the photo you can see the little thread guide where you bring the thread back up through the machine - you only need to unthread the needle, not the whole machine. The thread guide is for using twin needles which you can do on this machine (twin needles aren't included in basic accessories though.) The winding worked - it did seem to go slower than the traditional method of winding. It might take a few more tries to make this way feel easy!

Bobbin winding pop up

Once you move the bobbin into position for winding a pop up comes up to let you change the speed of the winding - I always slow it down! Then you touch the icon to make it go. 

PFAFF Performance 5.2

At first glance the PFAFF Performance 5.2 is an easy machine to get to know and use. Now I'll spend some time reading the manual to see what features to try out first. I can't wait to start stitching!