Machine quilting with the strength of WonderFil DecoBob Prewound Bobbins

Yesterday, I machine-appliqued some pieces to the border of my quilt to frame and highlight the whole quilt top.

Today, although it’s not a thread normally used for quilting, and I'm not one to follow rules to the letter, I will use WonderFil’s DecoBob Prewound Bobbins to demonstrate yet another useful characteristic of this thread for machine quilting.

The wonderful colors of WonderFil DecoBob Prewound Bobbins

When using threads of different weights, you should always check your tension before sewing. Because you are sewing through 2 layers of fabric and batting, the thickness of combined fabrics is another reason to check your tension before you begin to sew.

I'm using WonderFil’s Fruitti thread in Hibiscus FT113 which is a 12wt thread. Due to the heavy weight of the thread, I must increase my stitch length to 3.

Using WonderFil’s Fruitti thread

After sewing a few lines of quilting, I checked the back of the quilt to ensure the tension was consistent.

Because I was using DecoBob as the bobbin thread, I thought it would be a good idea to check the tension from the bottom.

I was pleased to discover that even with the weight differences between the top thread (12w) and bottom threads (80wt), the stitching on the bottom of the quilt looked even and consistent.

Stitching on the back of the quilt

When quilting by machine the question often asked is: what do you do with the ends of the threads? I hide them the same way I do when I'm hand quilting. I thread a sewing needle and insert it where I machined quilted as shown in the following picture.

Hiding the ends of threads after machine quilting

After all thread ends are hidden, I then clip the ends off and that part of the project is complete!

Quilting threads hidden in the quilt

Now to finish the quilting.

The finished quilt

Check the full thread line that WonderFil offers. You'll find a thread for all your quilting needs.

WonderFil offers 23 different novelty thread lines ranging in weights from 100wt to 3wt in cotton, rayon, polyester, and metallic.

I hope you enjoyed learning about how to confidently use WonderFil DecoBob Prewound Bobbins for machine quilting, as well as for other sewing applications and techniques. These bobbins offer the strength and versatility that your quilting projects need.

Thanks for joining me this week and please come back next week to check out tips and techniques shared by another talented quilter!

It's written in the binding! Bind a baby quilt with baby's name

Yesterday, on QUILTsocial I showed you how great the Brother NQ900 is for piecing and machine quilting our Elephant Baby Quilt. Today, I'm going to use more of the machine's decorative stitches to sew down the binding and make the label for the quilt.

Brother NQ900

Making the label

Back in November on QUILTsocial, I shared with you my new favorite way of making fast and easy permanent quilt labels. On that label, I just hand wrote the information with a permanent marker, but since this awesome machine can embroider letters, I decided to use the same method but make an embroidered label.

When I first looked at the character stitches on the Brother NQ900, I thought that I would stitch each letter individually, for example, I would set the machine to stitch an "F", it would stitch, then I would set it for an "A" and it would stitch that letter. BUT, after reading the manual I realized that I can program up to 70 patterns or characters all at once!! So, using the stitch guide on the top of the machine, I programmed in the words "Welcome to the Family". You can see that on the LCD screen, the machine shows the last six characters that will be stitched, so you can check your spelling, and the foot that you attach, the "N" foot.

LCD display showing the character stitches selected

I drew lines on my label parallel to the folded edge, and used them to guide the machine as it stitched. The machine automatically stitches reinforcement stitches at the beginning and end of EACH letter, and leaves a thread in between the letters in the words.

The embroidered label

I used small scissors to snip the threads between the letters stitched with the Brother NQ900.

Snipping the threads between the letters

I pinned the label to the back of the quilt, as I showed in my QUILTsocial post last November.

Finished label

In order to use the decorative stitches on the Brother NQ900 to sew down the binding on the front of the quilt, I first sewed the binding to the back of the baby quilt, and then folded around to the front.

Folding the binding to the front of the quilt

Next, I selected a stitch to use for securing the folded edge of the binding. I decided on Utility stitch #68 which looks like one of the cross stitch designs. The LCD screen shows me to use the "N" foot.

Stitch selection for decorative stitches on the binding

After stitching that design for a while, I decided that I really wanted to use more than one stitch to go all the way around the quilt, so I checked out the stitch guide and picked Decorative Stitch #12 which looks like a snowflake.

More binding stitches

Here are the snowflakes stitched on the binding.

The snowflake decorative stitch on the binding

I kept stitching my way around the quilt, changing the stitch every six inches or so, when all of a sudden I thought - "OMG - why am I not stitching WORDS onto the binding???". Since I don't know what the new baby's name is going to be, I decided on the word "BABY" repeated over and over with a heart in between. Just think, if the baby had already been born, you could stitch his name, birthdate and birth weight on the binding. How cool is THAT??

Settings for the words stitched on binding

Here are the words that I stitched on the binding. I did find it a bit harder to keep everything lined up nicely when I was stitching the words, instead of just one of the other decorative stitches. But I found that if I stitched a bit slower and paid close attention it worked quite well!

"Baby" stitched on the binding

So my baby quilt is all done and ready for the new addition. And I enjoyed using the Brother NQ900 so much this week that I asked if I can make it a new PERMANENT addition to my sewing room. Yes, I loved using it so much that I asked if I can buy it for myself!! Funny thing is that yesterday I was telling Jean Boyd, and she said that she was thinking of asking them the same thing!!

Thanks for hanging out with me this week! I think Spring is finally on its way, have a nice weekend and I'll see you again in a few weeks!

The finished Elephant Baby Quilt

For trouble-free machine applique use WonderFil DecoBob Prewound Bobbins

Our WonderFil journey continues! Yesterday, I demonstrated how strong the thread is in WonderFil DecoBob Prewound Bobbins by making a foundation pieced block.

Today, I’m going to continue the project and machine applique using DecoBob thread.

WonderFil DecoBob Prewound Bobbins

After I left you yesterday, I made more foundation pieced blocks and made some nine patch blocks, assembled the blocks together, and added a 3” border.

The quilt top is ready for applique

I had a few applique ideas I wanted to try with this piece. When it came time to put my ideas into practice, sadly, none worked. Frustrated, I struggled to come up with a workable solution.

While trying to come up with a new idea, I found a piece of scrap fabric from another project and just tried it out for the fun of it. Wouldn’t you know it? It worked! I found the other pieces of scrap and voila, I had what was needed to complete the project.

Quilt top framed with an applique border

If you need a refresher on using fusible web, please check out one of my earlier blog posts on QUILTsocial.

To download the template for the applique border click on the picture below.

Before you start sewing your applique by machine, remember to place an embroidery stabilizer of your choice. I prefer a lightweight, tear-away stabilizer when working on applique.

Applique border template, click on the picture to download PDF

A double blind hem stitch secures the applique piece in place

Using a double blind hem stitch, applique the edge of the pieces to be attached. I used WonderFil 50wt Tutti Wood Rose #32 for the top thread, and a DecoBob prewound bobbin for the bottom thread.

As you can see both threads worked well together. The bobbin thread has the strength to bring the top thread down.

Applique stitching on the border

See how trouble-free it is to use  WonderFil DecoBob Prewound Bobbins as your bobbin thread when you machine quilt? 

Now that I’ve completed the quilt top, the next step is to quilt it.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post when I’ll complete this project using WonderFil threads!

Jumpstart your free motion quilting on this elephant baby quilt

Yesterday, I showed you how I used many of the decorative stitches on the Brother NQ900 to machine applique the center of our baby quilt. I really loved how each of the different stitches looked on the applique shapes!

Today, we're going to add the borders to the center panel!

The Brother NQ900

Piecing is a breeze!

The Brother NQ900 is great for piecing too! The ¼" quilting foot with guide is great for sewing accurate ¼" seams and the Thread Cutter Button is GREAT for when you're chain piecing!!

The ¼" quilting foot with guide

Adding the borders

1. From the inner border fabric (gray), cut 3 strips 1½" x the width of the fabric (WOF). From these, cut two strips that are 1½" x 24" and sew these to the sides of the inner panel. Press towards the borders. Cut two strips of the inner border fabric that are 1½" x 20" and sew these to the top and bottom. Press.
2. From each of your six border fabrics, cut one strip 5" x the WOF. Cut one section from each that is 5" x 15", and cut each of these in half to make two 2½" x 15" strips. Randomly sew these together end to end with a mitered join to make the binding.
3. From the remainder of each strips, cut 5" wide rectangles that range in length from 3" to 6". Randomly sew these rectangles together to make one long strip that is 5" wide.
4. From this long strip, cut two inner borders that are 5" x 26" and sew these to the two sides of the quilt. Press. Cut two inner borders that are 5" x 29" and sew these to the top and bottom of the quilt. Press.
5. From the gray fabric cut four strips that are 3" x WOF. From these cut two side borders that are 35" long and sew these to the two sides of the quilt. Press. Cut two borders that are 34" long and sew them to the top and bottom of the quilt.

Layer the quilt

The next step is to layer the quilt top with batting and backing. I used an adhesive spray to stick my layers together, but you could pin or hand baste if you prefer.

Quilt top with batting and backing layered

Prepping the machine for free motion quilting

When you want to free motion machine quilt, you need to drop the feed dogs on the machine so that they won't be trying to move the fabric in one direction when you are moving it another direction. The feed dogs on the Brother NQ900 are dropped by sliding the Feed Dog Position Switch located at the back of the machine.

Dropping the feed dogs

You also need to attach a machine quilting foot or darning foot. The quilting foot for the Brother NQ900 is great and makes free motion machine quilting super easy!

Changing to the quilting foot

Now that the quilting foot is attached and the feed dogs are down, the machine is ready for quilting!

All ready for free motion quilting

For the background of the applique design, I decided to do a large meander throughout. I'm so used to machine quilting on my Gammill that I'm a little rusty doing free motion on a home machine!! As you can see, my stitches are not all the same length, but as I tell my machine quilting students, developing skill in machine quilting is all about practice, practice, practice!! The large extension table on the machine made the quilting experience quite enjoyable!

Close up of the machine quilting

I did a little loop-de-loop design in the first narrow border.

Loops in the inner border

For the next two borders, I wanted to try out the walking foot on the machine. It was easily attached, and after I raised the feed dogs with the switch on the back of the machine, I was ready to try it out.

Walking foot

I decided to quilt straight lines across the diagonal of each of the blocks in the pieced border. The walking foot worked really well, but I did increase the length of the stitch so that it'd be closer to what I'd stitched with the free motion foot. The knee lift came in VERY handy for doing this border as I could raise the foot, swing the quilt around and not have to take my hands off of the quilt!

Quilting diagonal lines across the border squares

For the final border, I decided to just quilt parallel straight lines all along the border. The quilting guide on the Brother NQ900 walking foot was great for keeping my lines an equal distance apart!

Using the quilting guide on the walking foot

The quilting is done!

Now that the baby quilt is quilted, all it needs is a label and binding!! I really loved using the Brother NQ900 sewing machine to piece and quilt this baby quilt, and since taking the machine to the quilt retreat a couple weeks ago, I've been piecing like crazy!! I'm REALLY going to hate having to give it back when I'm done using it this week!!

Durable foundation piecing with WonderFil's DecoBob thread

So glad you’re back to learn more about WonderFil’s DecoBob Prewound Bobbins.

Yesterday, I wrote about how well DecoBob threads blend with fabrics. Today, I’ll share my experiences with the strength of DecoBob thread as I show you a quilt block that's done by foundation piecing.

WonderFil’s DecoBob Prewound Bobbins

Since we started the week myth-busting, here’s another myth I’ve heard: lightweight, thin threads like DecoBob are not strong due to their smaller size and weight. Let me assure you that it is strong. Its strength comes from the fact that it's a poly thread.

I thought that the easiest way to show you how strong DecoBob threads are would be to do a foundation-pieced block. To do this demonstration, I decided to use regular, everyday white paper that you can find in any home printer or copier. I also put DecoBob thread on a spool holder to ensure that the 80wt thread would show on the paper side of the block.

Note: Should you need a refresher on foundation piecing, you may wish to have a look at this QUILTsocial blog post.

Even stitches on a foundation piece using regular home copier paper

As for any foundation block, I reduced my stitch length to an approximate stitch length setting of 2.

I admit that I'm not gentle when it comes to removing the paper from a foundation-pieced block. It’s normal that there may be a little slack in the thread due to the relative thickness of the paper.

After the paper is removed, the stitching remains intact and neat.

Below is a picture of the foundation-pieced block I made using DecoBob’s80wt thread.

Foundation-pieced block

With DecoBob thread you can be assured of constructing a quality quilt block.

Now I’ll go back to the sewing machine and construct three more similar blocks to make a small quilt.

For the pattern for the above block, click on the picture below to download the PDF

I hope you’ll come back tomorrow as I continue my journey in the land of WonderFil DecoBob Prewound Bobbins!

Foundation piecing, click on the picture to download PDF

Eye catching machine applique with the Brother NQ900

Yesterday on QUILTsocial, I showed you how to prep and fuse your applique pieces to make the center of our cute baby quilt. Today, we get to use the Brother NQ900 to do the machine applique!

Brother NQ900 sewing machine

Let's select a stitch!

With 240 built-in sewing stitches, including 58 stitches that you can combine, it was hard to decide which stitch to start with!! Usually when I do machine applique, I use a blanket stitch because, let's face it, my home sewing machine has a limited number of stitches available. But, after seeing the decorative stitches that Jean used on her tablerunner last month on QUILTsocial, I knew that this machine was going to give me WAY more options!

The open top cover showing the stitch selection chart

So, I decided on stitch #25 in the Utility Decorative Stitches grouping. Once I made my selection, the LCD screen showed me what the stitch was going to look like, AND which foot I should use - the N foot as shown on the left side of the screen.

LCD Display for Utility Decorative Stitch #25

I loaded a gray variegated thread into the top of the machine, placed a prewound bobbin of DecoBob in the bottom, and I was in business. I loved how this stitch looked on the edges of the elephant!

Close up of stitching on the elephant

For the elephant's ear, I decided on a stitch that looked like a slanted blanket stitch - #12 in the Utility Decorative Stitches group. This stitch needed the same foot, so no need to switch it out!

LCD display showing settings for Utility Decorative Stitch #12

Here's a close up of the stitch done with Fruitti #FT02 which is a blue and yellow variegated thread. Doesn't it look awesome?

Close up of stitching on the elephant ear

Since I'm such a blanket stitch nut, I decided that I better try out the NQ900 blanket stitch too! This stitch is #20 in the same group as the above two stitches and again uses foot N.

LCD display showing the settings for Utility Decorative Stitch #20

Here it is stitched on the outside edge of the balloon heart. I used Tutti #TU30 for this stitch and really like how it looks on the green checked fabric!

Close up of stitching on the heart shape

After stitching down all of the edges of the applique shapes, the next job was to stitch the antennae of the butterfly and the string for the balloon. I used an erasable marking tool to draw these lines onto the background fabric.

The butterfly antennae drawn with a Frixion pen

I wanted to mimic the look of hand embroidery, so I decided on zigzag stitch #10. The LCD screen showed that I needed to change to foot J, so I did that and then loaded a black thread into the top of the machine. I shortened the width and length of the stitch by pressing the "-" buttons under the width and length indicators on the screen.

LCD display shows the settings for Utility Stitch #10 - zigzag

Here's a close up of the butterfly antennae - doesn't that look great?

Closeup of zigzag stitched antennae

In total, I used six different decorative stitches to finish the machine applique on the quilt. I quite like how the quilt is progressing and can't wait to start putting on the borders! Tomorrow, we'll add all of the borders, and we'll start machine quilting with the awesome Brother NQ900!

Completed stitching