Playing with the Brother NQ3500D's built-in decorative stitches

I'm having a blast playing with the Brother NQ3500D - it’s not often I get to just sit and play on the machines. I'm discovering, though, that reviewing a machine is comprised of equal parts poking buttons, trial and error, and (gasp!) reading the machine’s instruction book. While developing yesterday's post, Brother NQ3500D makes custom embroidered quilt labels easier than ever, I found most of the tools and buttons very intuitive. Today, however, some tools were new to me and I had to look them up in the book. Brother actually produces really good user manuals, so that part isn't a hardship...

I wanted to explore decorative stitches and techniques today. Machines these days boast so many built-in stitches, yet I so often hear, “I never use them.” Sewing and not using your decorative stitches is like cooking and never using any seasoning!

Embellishing is my second-favorite sewing pursuit and I feel that small-scale samplers are a wonderful way to stash-bust and experiment with all kinds of stitches, techniques, and threads without being overwhelming. And with samplers, less is not more - the more filled with stitching it is, the more beautiful the result. The book Stupendous Stitching by Carol Ann Waugh is a wonderful inspiration for this, and you'll definitely see her influence in the final results of the sampler I’ll begin here today. By Friday, I’m going to turn my creation into a slim case for my reading glasses...

Bust a small bit of your stash

Here's a quick list of materials if you'd like to follow along and create with me: 

• cotton fabric backed with HeatnBond (Non-Woven Craft Weight Fusible Interfacing)
  to use as a base (I used a 6" x 7” square of a very subtle print to show off the stitching, but suit your style - everything from solids to wild prints can work beautifully!)
• applique scraps to coordinate, backed with HeatnBond (I like their Light Weight)
• an assortment of decorative threads and couching yarns
• a bobbin filled with your regular sewing thread
• flannel or soft cloth for lining (an eyeglass-cleaning microfiber would be even better), backed with HeatnBond 

NQ3500D exploration time

I showed you the stitch panel under the machine's top cover on Monday; here’s the home sewing screen where we can access all of those built-in stitches.

On the NQ3500D's sewing home screen, the blue stitch area hosts utility stitches, and the orange area is populated with decorative options.

I decided to start with applique. This way I can use some coordinating scraps of fabric to set the tone and colorway of my panel. I sliced a piece of my fusible web-backed applique fabric into a few random curves and fused them into place. 

First up is to applique an edge down with a satin stitch. I chose and tested a zigzag from the first menu (1-10). I had to reduce my stitch length down to 0.1mm to get the coverage I wanted, and I’m not shy to tell you that I held my breath during the whole row thinking that it would jam with such a tight stitch. Nope - it fed beautifully and gave me perfect results! I then tried a random-width satin stitch (7-16) on another edge and discovered that the length and width settings were fixed - I couldn’t change them, but I really liked it as it was. The third stitch I tried was a feather stitch (6-4) straddling the edge.

Three different applique finishes: satin stitch, random satin, and feather stitch.

Now here’s where it gets really cool - and I get to show you that L/R Shift feature I raved about the other day.

Because stitch patterns execute in the center of a presser foot, aligning the applique edge to the obvious center guide isn’t practical - here you can see how the right stitch of the pattern is too far away from the edge instead of hugging it as it should (I used the open-toe embroidery foot to give you a clear view of the needle position).

By default, stitches locate in the center of the presser foot, not always the optimal location for easy guiding.

Offsetting it would really make life easier - and that’s what the L/R Shift feature does: it lets you move a whole pattern left or right by 0.25mm increments!

This is the manual adjustment screen on the NQ3500D - among other adjustments, here's where you can shift your stitch left or right.

I chose three stitches: a blanket stitch (10-20), one of the hemstitches (3-05), and a blind applique (1-34). I played with stitch length, width and that awesome L/R Shift to achieve just the look I wanted - and that blind stitch is barely visible - so perfect! The precision that feature offers me for edge work is fantastic!

Traditional and contemporary quilter's applique stitches: the nearly invisible blind applique, blanket stitch applique, and the angled blanket stitch

For the next little while I’m just going to play with stitches and try out the tools in the stitch screen and the editing screen. These screens offer some neat options; so let me give you a quick primer on what they contain, starting with the stitch screen:

The stitch screen makes the most basic but useful stitch tools conveniently available.

Most of the icons on this screen are self-explanatory; along the bottom row, however, we have from left to right:

• auto-pivot: I love this one! It’s an automated substitute for the knee lifter. With it highlighted, whenever you stop sewing, the needle sinks, the foot rises, and you can adjust your fabric direction. It’s so helpful when navigating curves and corners! I’m keeping it turned on for this project!
• auto-reinforcement: I use this a lot, but not in this post... we'll use it on Friday, though!
• auto-thread cutter: another favorite of mine that we'll employ on Friday.
• save to memory: developed the perfect stitch settings or stitch combination? Save it to memory to use again and again...
• image: this key shows you an enlarged image of your selected pattern
• edit/stitch switching key (this one gets you in and out of the editing screen).

Touching the edit/stitch switching key from here gives you this screen:

Additional tools to enhance your creativity are located on this editing screen.

Now this screen holds the stitch toys, which are well-detailed in the manual:

• free motion mode: this sets the presser foot height for free motion work (must lower feed dogs to use this correctly)
• mirror image: horizontally mirror image most stitches
• back to beginning: partway through a pattern and want to start over? Press this button!
• single/repeat mode: sew continuously or just a single pattern using this
• size selection: choose between preset L/S pattern sizes where available
• variable key: this one changes depending on the selected stitch; it can offer pattern elongation, density, or character spacing control
• step stitch keys: this key uses the sideways feed to shift patterns left or right

So now, after a couple of hours of playing with all of these goodies, I now have a nearly-complete sampler (I’ve left some room for tomorrow’s foray).

Whenever I tested a stitch setting I liked, I added it to my panel, aligning the edge of the presser foot up to a previous row of stitching to keep my spacing even. I’ve discovered how much I like the open-toe embroidery foot for this - I can really see where I’m going!

The scissors tool - the one I showed on Monday's post introducing Brother's NQ3500D is also a real winner in my book. Trimming is neat and tidy, and it really keeps the thread tails under control. My sewing area isn't nearly the mess of threads it usually is!

Nearly done - with just enough space to add in some truly original stitch options... tomorrow!

Some observations made while playing

• some menus seem to repeat patterns found in other menus
• some stitches don’t let you adjust the stitch length or width, and others have preset large and small options.
• the maximum speed seems to vary with the stitch pattern - some seem distinctly slower. The stitch quality is impeccable, so perhaps that’s Brother’s way of optimizing “quality control”?
• I fared better when using the foot control on some stitches - my steering was certainly more consistent when I could control the start, stop and speed with my foot and keep my hands on my fabric.
• a light touch on the fabric was all that was needed to steer around the curves. The feed dogs and presser feet are elongated on the NQ series for better control, and that's definitely evident in how responsive it is.
• the extra-large, sideways motion stitches are really cool, but trickier to steer. I did use one of them, but most were too large for this little sampler. 
• combining stitches from the decorative stitch menus is so very easy just select one stitch, then another. Can you find the combined patterns in the above picture?
• metallic thread posed no problem, even at full speed, though I did have to lower the upper thread tension significantly. Of course, I was using the supplementary spool guide as recommended.

So... if you’ve been playing along with me, you’ll now have an embellished panel, too - I hope you’ve left some room for a few more stitches, because tomorrow I’m going to show you how to create your own stitches in My Custom Stitch™. I might even have to add some couching, because I just love the look and texture of it.

I have had so much fun exploring these tools, and really enjoyed sharing them with you. If you have indeed been playing along with me, I'm sure everyone would love to see your creations. And until tomorrow, happy sewing! I look forward to touring another exciting facet of the Brother NQ3500D with you all!

Brother NQ3500D makes custom embroidered quilt labels easier than ever

Welcome back! I have a confession to make: I couldn’t do it. In yesterday's post, introducing Brother’s NQ3500D sewing, quilting and embroidery machine, I said I’d save embroidery ‘til near the end of the week. But I just couldn’t resist playing in the Brother NQ3500D’s embroidery mode last night... and I can already tell that this is going to be my most favorite part of the machine. I’m so excited about it that I just had to rearrange my original agenda and share my discoveries with you today, rather than later in the week.

So having poked around for a while (okay, extensively and into the wee hours), I’m already fancying myself an expert and want to create a little project with you. My inspiration comes from a quilt my mom made years ago for one of my daughters. It actually already has a label, but I’m going to borrow from her creativity here to show you how easy it is to create a custom quilt label by combining and editing text and designs, tweaking and playing until it’s just right!

First, though, I’m going to start by pretending some semblance of calm, and show you what the NQ3500D looks like with the embroidery arm attached. Two embroidery hoops are included with this machine, the one is just over 5” x 7” and the larger one is about 6” x 10”. Plenty of room to grow!

The NQ3500D with the embroidery module attached - all ready to embroider wonderful things!

I’ve already gotten ready to play: I wound a bobbin with bobbin fill and set it in the bobbin case, and I’ve hooped a stabilized piece of quilting cotton in the 5” x 7” hoop. I slid the hoop onto the machine and I just love how foolproof that is! No frustrating clips, just slide and latch.

The slide-on embroidery hoops of the NQ3500D are so incredibly hassle-free. Gotta love this!

The NQ3500D embroidery editing and customizing

The NQ3500D’s embroidery home screen shows its main categories of built-in designs.

By the way, the “D” in NQ3500D stands for Disney, and this is one of Brother’s line-up of machines licensed for Disney embroidery. Brother’s specs tell me that there are 173 built-in designs, and 35 of those are Disney designs! There are 11 fonts, 1 large monogram alphabet, 140 possible frame design combinations, and a USB key port for adding and saving your own designs, as well as a built-in memory bank to store your favorites. The NQ3500D reads PES and DST design formats.

The embroidery home screen is clean and uncluttered, offering unmistakable design selection options.

Browsing the built-in designs is really easy - even though the pictures are small, there’s a preview button that shows a close-up view.

The design preview button opens this full-screen view of the selected design, with the option to view the design in a particular hoop.

I can display my chosen hoop, the 5” x 7” on screen to give me some visual boundaries, and can even set the display to enlarge it to see it better. I think I’ve found the perfect design to complement my label.

Once it’s selected and set, you can see some of the tools that give this machine such great editing power.

The design editing screen offers lots of editing tools that easily let you combine and customize designs!

The ADD button lets me easily select more elements to really personalize my label. Text time! Among the 11 fonts, there’s an awesome array of character choices: upper and lower-case letters, numbers, punctuation, and accent characters. But entering them is a little cumbersome. I can’t see the whole alphabet on screen, so I have to use the scroll arrows to go back and forth to enter my message. I'd love to see this with a QWERTY keypad option - that would make text entry so much quicker! But I do like the “next line” key so I can enter all my text at once. That’s really neat! 

An example of the options available during text entry - the "return key" symbol lets you enter all of lines of text at once.

Once the text is entered, pressing the check button will let you see all of the text entered - a way of proof-reading. It's definitely handy; I ended up going back to make some corrections.

The Check button lets you view all of your entry on screen - a manual but effective spell-check...

Now, it’s time to play with the design. Because Brother lets you resize text after it’s entered, I’ve gotten in the habit of entering large strings of text in size small, then enlarging and rotating it to fit. After setting the text, I can see what the whole design combination looks like so far. 

After selecting the heart and sizing it down a bit (as with most machines, there are limited design-sizing options), I dragged it - yes, dragged - it down to the bottom corner! Drag-and-drop is such an easy way to arrange, and of course, there are still arrow keys for precision fine-tuning.

What’s even cooler here is the Font Edit button, which lets you change to another font style - without having to type it in again! So I’ve selected each line of text in turn, moved it around and played with the size and font style until I had just the look I wanted. I even replaced a line altogether because I changed my mind, and split another single line into two. All of the tools are intuitive and easy to use, so the learning curve is almost non-existent. The hardest part was making up my own mind!

My quilt label, after playing with several of the editing tools.

This one is almost ready to stitch, but before I do, I want to play with color. Of course, I can just use whatever colors I want during stitch out, but setting them now with the thread palette button lets me set my color choices and breaks on screen to remind me of what I wanted during the design stage, so I don’t make an oopsie if I get distracted while embroidering this out. Of course, after doing that I couldn’t resist a few more tweaks!

A final preview of my ready-to-stitch quilt label, arranged and colored to match my original vision.

Back in the editing screen, touching the pocket icon saves the design to the machine’s memory, or to a USB stick if desired. Edit End leads to the next step, a screen for adjusting to the overall position and rotation of the design. 

In this positioning screen, design elements are grouped and you can adjust the design's final stitching location.

The Embroidery button leads you to the screen that offers all of the stitching information and tools you need to embroider this out: stitch count, time, and color changes! By default, the color numbers were shown as the Brother brand thread color numbers, but you can change that in the machine settings to display a color name, instead.

The NQ3500D embroidering screen with all the necessary controls and info

There’s even a stitch control panel - the button is in the bottom right corner - that lets you back up or forward to a desired stitch, by 1, 10, or 100 stitches at a time - even a whole color! This is handy, of course, if you break a thread or want to re-stitch or skip a portion of your design.

This screen offers to-the-stitch control when backing up or forwarding your way through a design.

Embroidering out the final design

Watching this machine stitch out my design, I have to say that I loved that needle threader; it really makes multiple thread changes painless! And this machine is sooo quiet; I wasn’t the only one to make that comment while I watched this design come to life. I ran the machine during a class at work, and my students were impressed by its smooth, quiet operation.

Okay - the trial stitch out is complete, and I think it looks pretty great, don’t you? It's certainly good enough to be the real thing! I see I still have some thread trimming to do, but the machine did cut the thread at the end of every color for me.

The completed trial run hot off the press, so to speak...

The stitching time on screen predicted 19 minutes, and in reality it took about 30 minutes. Pretty much on target, considering that the stitching time calculation didn’t include the 8 thread changes my arrangement called for (better pre-planning my color choices could have dropped that down to 3).

All in all, I’m pretty excited about the possibilities the NQ3500D opens up. I understand that a lot of the features I explored can be found on a number of Brother’s newer embroidery machines, so I’m eager to explore more of their line-up.

I hope you’ve had fun exploring the Brother embroidery environment with me today. I can’t wait to play more! I do hope you’ll join me tomorrow... I’m going to delve into the decorative stitches on the Brother NQ3500D and I plan to create a stitch sensation! 

Introducing Brother's NQ3500D sewing, quilting and embroidery machine

I’m a complete embroidery geek and gadget-girl, so imagine my excitement when I was given the Brother NQ3500D from their Q-Series to explore and review! Opening a big box like this will make any day feel like Christmas - even the outside of the box promises fun with Disney's Mickey Mouse grinning at me! And I just know that this box contains so many nifty goodies that I’ll hardly know where to begin!

Unpacking seemed a good start - and after getting the packing materials out of the way, I laid all the accessories out on the table. Wow - definitely an impressive spread!

Everything that came in the box with the Brother NQ3500D.

So many goodies:

Aside from the machine itself and its embroidery module, the packing list includes 13 presser feet, assorted screwdrivers, spare needles plus a twin needle, an additional bobbin case, an extra spool holder, small scissors, a seam ripper, a thread net, an eyelet punch, a cleaning brush, four bobbins, and a slide on-accessory tray to hold most of these goodies, as well as a power cord, foot control, knee lifter, and a hard cover to protect the machine on trips to classes and retreats. For embroidery, it includes two embroidery hoops with their templates and a spool of bobbin fill, and a bobbin riser for using pre-wound bobbins.

I'll play with only the most basics today, but stick with me this week as I dissect and explore the accessories and features in categorical detail each day. I’ll save the best (for me, that’s the embroidery part) for near-to-last...

Take the Brother NQ3500D sewing, quilting and embroidery machine grand tour:

The NQ3500D is now set up in sewing mode, and I already like how bright and roomy it is - not as big as a long-arm machine but certainly more spacious than the average sewing machine. From needle to machine body it’s 8.3” (the brochure said so and I measured it just to be sure, LOL). The slide-on accessory tray is in place around the free-arm, enlarging the work surface even more and adding the benefit of handy, hidden storage for most of the sewing accessories.

Close-up of the NQ3500D set up for sewing and powered on.

I set about getting it all threaded - an easy enough task as I’ve played with Brother sewing machines in the past. Winding the bobbin is fast and simple - just follow the numbered path and diagrams. Winding the thread around the bobbin is a much easier start than poking thread through a little hole to get it going! (I actually wound with a lighter color thread, but am using red for this picture so you can clearly see its path.)

Ready to wind a bobbin on the NQ3500D

Setting the filled bobbin is as easy as dropping the bobbin into its case and drawing the thread through the threading slots. All that’s left to do down here is pop the bobbin cover on - you don't even need to draw the thread to the top to begin stitching!

Setting the drop-in bobbin couldn't be easier than this!

Threading the upper path is just as straightforward - and easy enough to do one-handed. But threading the needle is where the real magic happens: just press the threading lever and voila! Quick as a wink, the needle is threaded. Truly - if you blink, you’ll miss it! 

Brother NQ3500D - YouTube

Threading the needle on the NQ3500D is unbelievably FAST. Here it is, we've SLOWED it down for you. Watch as real magic happens: just press ...

via: www.youtube.com

Time to test out the stitching... slide in some cotton broadcloth and press the button on the front of the NQ3500D to lower the presser foot - I like this but I’m glad there's still a presser foot lifter lever at the back, too. I feel kind of lost on a machine without one. Of course, I like the knee lifter even better. I grew up using one, and I love the fact that I can lift and lower the presser foot with my knee. It keeps my hands on my fabric for added control (I like control!), and it’s great for pivoting.

Pressing the presser foot lifter button is one of three ways to lower your presser foot.

Okay, stitching already! A touch of my foot on the foot pedal and oooh, nice! Smooth and responsive! Pretty fast, too - the brochure said the NQ3500D sews up to 850 stitches per minute. That can be slowed using the speed control slider on the front of the machine for beginner sewists or delicate techniques.

The slider speed control on the NQ3500D can also act as a speed "governor"

Ease off the foot control and the machine stops right away with the needle down, my preferred setting. It anchors the fabric in place while I adjust my hold or let go altogether. That setting can be changed to stop needle-up, though, if you prefer.

I love the needle-stop-down setting! And I love even better that I can choose when to use it!

Unplug the foot control completely and you can use the start/stop button to sew; the slider I mentioned before lets you adjust the stitching speed as desired. It’s great to not have the foot control and its cord in the way if there are inquisitive children or pets around. Better yet, this button shows green when your machine is ready to stitch; touch it when it's red and the screen will tell you what you need to do to get stitching. 

Touch the green start/stop button to run the sewing machine - so convenient!

End off a seam by backstitching or lockstitching - both are handy buttons easily accessible above the needle. Pressing the “U-turn” button secures by reversing, while holding the “target” button sews three stitches in the same spot - a quilter’s favorite for piecing.

Securing options on the NQ3500D: backstitch for most applications, lockstitch for quilt-piecing.

What's not to love about the scissors button? Simply press it and the threads are drawn under the needle plate where they are neatly trimmed short before the needle is “automagically” raised, ready to begin another seam. No more hanging threads!

This feature - the trimmer - is such an amazing time-saver! How did we ever do without it?

Well, it took me long enough to sew just that single seam because I couldn’t help but play and explore the basics, but there truly is so much more to look at:

Inside the top cover is a chart of all the NQ3500D’s stitches. They are divided into categories, each with a numbered picture to make it easy to get to on screen. There are a total of 290 stitches - lots of choices for practical applications - including 10 buttonholes - and lots of decorative stitches. Add to that 5 alphabets and you’ll have many happy hours of playing ahead of you!

More than enough stitches to satisfy your practical side AND feed your creativity!

The touchscreen is kind of small, but even so, its color display is clear and easy-to-read. I really like how informative it is; among other things, it tells me that I should be using the “J” foot for the selected stitch, which is highlighted in blue. Along the top are the stitch width and length settings, as well as the current tension setting, at the end.  All of these can be adjusted by touching the very last button. And I'll bet you think I skipped the L/R Shift button... Nope, but that one is so cool you’ll have to be patient. I’ve got a great idea to show off that exciting feature in a day or two.

Along the bottom of the screen are some of my most favorite sewing features - watch for their applications on Friday. Yep - you’ve got to stay with me all week if you want all the good stuff!

The touchscreen has a crystal-clear display that more than makes up for its size...

Below the touch screen are navigation buttons to help you access the different stitch menus. Starting with the top left is the BACK button, then the LOCK SCREEN button, then the LEFT and RIGHT scroll arrows. Under that are the two sewing and embroidery HOME buttons, followed by the SETTINGS and HELP menu buttons. 

Clearly marked navigation buttons let you easily access all of the built-in features on the NQ3500D.

So far, I really like what I see! The NQ3500D is a solid, sleek-looking sewing machine that offers a lot of practical features and functions with a very user-friendly set up. I've only touched on the absolute basics, but in my mind I already decided on the areas I'd like to explore over the next four days:

1. Playing with Decorative Stitches: I like to play with stitches as embellishments, so that'll be a fun playground on this machine - there are lots to choose from!
2. My Custom Stitch™: this feature looks so cool! With it you can create your very own stitches! See a hand stitch you like? You can make the machine do it!
3. Brother Embroidery: I know I already mentioned that embroidery is my favorite. This machine boasts on-screen editing, and I can't wait to try my hand at this!
4. Practical Stitches and Functions: While it's fun to explore all the fun things a machine can do, it really does boil down to one question: how will it handle a sewist's every-day needs such as seaming, overcasting, zippers, buttonholes, etc. In other words... the final test.

Of course, I can't promise to do these in order! Please join me tomorrow and we’ll “play” together with the Brother NQ3500D!

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7 tips for sewing accurate seams

The week just seemed to fly by. I hope the post from yesterday has cleared up when and how to anchor your quilt seams. And I'm thrilled that I found a solution for my foot pedal!

Today, I'm using the Husqvarna Viking Opal 690Q to show you how to sew an accurate seam that is well pressed, with beautifully matched points and ends that meet. 

Husqvarna Viking Opal 690Q

Presser feet

Let's start by chatting about the presser feet. There are numerous styles of presser feet available for sewing a ¼" seam. When I first started to quilt, the one that I used is on the far left in the photo below. It had a handy flange on the side that is used as a guide for the fabric. There's a large opening in the foot, so you were able to move the needle to the exact position that you needed to get the correct seam allowance. 

 

Various ¼" presser feet for the Opal 690Q

As I began to sew on various models of the Husqvarna Viking sewing machines, I wanted to be able to transfer projects between machines and be confident that the ¼" seam allowance was consistent. I was looking for a foot that didn't require me to move the needle.

The presser foot, second from the right, came out and that appeared to be a good solution, although it had some issues with the foot being too narrow to engage with the feed dogs and caused the fabric to shift a bit. And so the presser foot second from the left came out.

I tried it. I was leery at first because by now, I'd been sewing with a flange as a guide for years and now no flange! It took months before I felt comfortable, but now I wouldn't sew without this foot. The edge of the narrow front gives me the ¼" seam allowance, the narrow opening means less movement (more accuracy) on my seam. I now have one on all my sewing machines and probably a spare one in the accessory box!

However I ran into a situation recently where I wasn't able to sew an accurate seam with that foot and I wasn't sure how to solve the problem. The strips that I was sewing were very narrow (¾") and the wider foot that I normally use was being pushed to the right by the seam allowances on the left. It finally dawned on me after I had ripped the seam out twice, that I could use that narrower version of the foot. I dug it out of my presser foot box, snapped it in place and I had a perfect seam allowance for those very skinny strips of fabric! Thank goodness I didn't give that foot away. Now I'm thinking that foot will be perfect for miniatures and other small items. I'm amazed that there's always something new to learn, almost every day!

Setting up the sewing machine for piecing

I deactivate the FIX function as I don't need it for chain piecing. I activate the Needle Stop Up/Down Pivot function. This function, in conjunction with the Sensor foot means that every time I stop sewing, the presser foot is going to raise about ⅛". This allows me to get my work right up to the needle. I change my stitch length to 2.0. And of course, I put on the appropriate ¼" presser foot. Now I'm ready to get started. 

Chain piecing is a good habit

There are two other things I do when I'm piecing. I always use a scrap of fabric (a leader) to start the line of stitching. Depending on the length of thread end through the needle, there are times when you start stitching and the needle will come unthreaded. It's frustrating and so I just avoid that by using the scrap of fabric. Alternatively, I could hold the top thread in my hand and start directly on my block pieces. I just find it easier to use the scrap of fabric to start. Simply place the middle of the scrap of fabric under the presser foot and start stitching. I don't care how it stitches on that scrap, but this works and no frustration. 

The second thing is that I chain piece as much as I possibly can. In essence, each piece is now holding those threads secure for the next piece and there is no danger of the needle coming unthreaded. 

I repeat these steps as  much as possible and there are days when I've sewn all day and not had to start a "new" seam.  And if I do, it's usually because my bobbin has run out. There are no long threads to clip off, it's easy to snip the block pieces apart, saves time, saves thread. That works for me!

 

The scrap of fabric (the leader) is securely holding the threads as you prepare to sew the first seam

How to sew an accurate ¼" seam

What I'm going to show you today, is very simple. I'm going to walk you through how I piece a block. I don't pin my seams. I find pinning is very inaccurate, it's time consuming and the pins and pin cushion are never in the right spot. I like power sewing - accurate power sewing. 

I won't go into any details about cutting, but an accurate block does start with accurate cutting. If the cutting is off, there isn't much you can do with the piecing and pressing to get the correct size. 

After the pieces are cut, I lay them out on a portable work surface. This prevents the pieces from getting mixed up by the time they go from the cutting table to the sewing machine, I place them on the work surface and I can immediately see if the pieces are laid out correctly. 

Block pieces are laid out ready for sewing

I line up my first two pieces of fabric making sure that the beginning edges are even with each other. 

Line up the leading edges of the first two pieces

Because the presser foot on the Opal 690Q has popped up ⅛", it's easy to get the leading edge of that fabric right up to the needle. I use my quilter's awl to help get things lined up. 

I was fortunate enough to be introduced to a quilter's awl many years ago. It's an absolute must for accuracy and using the awl instead of pinning saves so much time. 

It's cumbersome until you get used to it, but I love it!  If you have one, get it out and give it a whirl. Remember, it took me MONTHS to get used to that new presser foot and I'm happy I stuck with it. 

The presser is raised ⅛" making it easy to get the leading edge of the fabric right up to the needle. The quilter's awl helps to keep the two pieces from shifting.

I use the quilter's awl to ensure that the end of the seam is going to match up. If the ends don't match up, I'm going to have trouble when I go to sew this part to the next one. 

One error that many people make is that they just let their fabrics fall into place. If the ends don't meet, they haven't been taught that you need to ease in the fabrics to make sure they fit to each other. The reason they don't fit is inaccurate cutting, pressing or seam allowance.  As a result, you must make sure they are eased in or the block will be a big mess.  

Using the quilter's awl to ensure the two fabrics are lined up with each at the end of the seam

Once I've finished this section of chain piecing, I don't break the thread. I take that scrap of fabric (or another block) and feed that under the presser foot. 

The first part of sewing on the block is finished and now the leader becomes an ender so you don't have to "end" the seam

I take my pieced components and lay them back out on the portable work surface. Are the pieces in the correct orientation? If so, I can continue. If they did get turned around, now is the time to fix them before you press and sew the next seams. 

The sewn components are laid back out on the portable work surface

I press EVERY seam after it's sewn. Since the entire block is laid out on the portable work surface, it's easy to determine which direction to press so that the seams will nest against each other. 

In this case it was easy and everything was pressed to the red fabric. 

To start the pressing process, lay the piece out on the ironing surface. Take the iron and press along the seam that you've just sewn. This is called setting the seam. It warms up the thread and the fabric and makes pressing a whole lot easier, especially if there are points. 

Setting the seam by running the iron on top of the stitching line

This next step is very important and it's where a lot of people get confused. We determined that the seam is going to be pressed towards the red, so the red fabric should be on top. Once you've set the seam, flip up the red fabric and using the edge of the iron, gently press the red fabric away from the white fabric. You'll get a much better pressed seam if you press from the RIGHT side. By pressing from the right side (which is what people will see when they look at your finished quilt), you're able to eliminate any tucks, wrinkles or little folds.  If you press from the wrong side where you see the seam allowance, you get a great view of the seam allowance, but you can't see if any tucks or wrinkles are occuring along the seam on the right side. 

Trust me on this one - just give it a try. You'll be amazed at how the accuracy of your pressing improves. 

Press from the RIGHT side for greater accuracy (no tucks, wrinkles or folds)

I use steam. Nuff said!

 

The seam is beautifully pressed, no tucks, no folds, no wrinkles and it's flat!

Place the nicely pressed pieces back on the portable work surface. 

Rows of the blocks are pressed and ready for the next step

I'm going to start by sewing the top row to the middle row, so I flip the top row onto the middle row. I make sure the start end is nicely lined up. At this point, I don't care about matching the points or if the ends meet. 

The beginning of the two rows are matched up and ready to sew

I stitch about 1" and stop. (Using the Needle Stop Up/Down feature means that the Opal 690Q will stop stitching with the needle in the work so your project can't shift around.) Where you stop all depends on what distance you have until the first intersection. I want to stop so I have enough space to match up the intersection. If I have to do any easing, I need to make sure there's enough room to ease the fabrics without causing a pucker. There's no set rule on this and the more you do, the more you'll know where to stop to line up the intersections or to ease in the fabric if necessary.

Essentially this is one of those things you get better at the more you do. Don't give up - I promise, you'll be amazed at how this can speed up your sewing and improve your accuracy. Patience!

Stop about one inch from the intersection so you can line up the two seams

Since these two seams are pressed in opposite directions, they'll nest up very nicely to each other. I line them up and with my finger, I can feel if they're overlapping, not touching or lined up just right. 

Use your finger to feel if the seams are overlapping, not touching or lined up just right

Once the seam allowances are nicely nested against each other, I use my quilter's awl to hold them in place. I've seen other tools being used here - pins, bamboo skewers, seam rippers, and plastic tools. I like the quilter's awl because I'm aggressive! I've tried the other things and they're not strong enough, or too wide and can result in broken needles or they don't hold the two pieces of fabric firmly enough. The quilter's awl is the only thing that's holding those two fabrics together. I want the tool to be strong enough to withstand the pressure that I'll put on it. It's not white knuckle pressure, but enough to prevent the two pieces from shifting. The more you have to ease, the more pressure you'll need to prevent the pieces from shifting. 

Depending on the situation, I use the quilter's awl right up under the presser foot. If I've got a nicely matched intersection and I take the quilter's awl away before the intersection is sewn, the presser foot is going to shift the top piece - guaranteed! The quilter's awl is nice and skinny and will fit under the presser foot without danger of breaking the needle. Please, use this tool with caution when you're close to the needle. I have broken two needles in 18 years with the quilter's awl, so be careful. 

The quilter's awl is used to "pin" the intersection until it's sewn.

Once I've passed the intersection, I do the same thing for every intersection in that seam. There can be many stops and starts in that seam, but this process takes a lot less time and effort with better accuracy than it does to pin each intersection.

As I near the end of the line of stitching. I want those two pieces to be exactly matched and I'll line them up and then use the quilter's awl to hold them in place. 

The end of the two pieces are matched up

And there you have a very accurate block with two beautiful intersections. It doesn't get any easier than that!

Recently, I heard or read somewhere that if you want to make something perfect, don't choose to make it from fabric!

Isn't that just the best saying ever?  And it's true. We aim for accuracy but it's extremely unlikely that every block will be the exact size. A few wobbles here and there won't be noticeable and those wobbly edges are going to get buried in a seam allowance anyway. 

A nearly perfect 6 ½" block

Best of all, the above process is fast. Matter of fact, it's way faster to use the quilter's awl. If you pin, you have to line up the fabrics, you have to get the pin and place it in the fabric. As you're sewing, you have to remove the pin and put it in the pincushion. With the quilter's awl, you "pin" as you sew. It takes mere seconds and with the handy features of the Husqvarna Viking Opal 690Q, you'll be power sewing before you know it. 

Note: If there are no intersections to match up such as in a border, I do pin!

Thanks for spending the week with me. I've had a lot of fun, hopefully you have as well. And I hope that you're able to use one or two of the tips that I've provided. 

Have a great day!

Ciao!