Anyone tried quilting with an embroidery sewing machine?
 

I use my Brother Innov-is 4000D for free motion quilting, piecing and embroidery. I just have to remove the embroidery unit to sew on it (more comfortably)

I have also made quilt blocks using my embroidery machine, then quilt as you go to put them together, I quilted the blocks as a whole sandwich (top, batting, backing) then did the quilt as you go to put it together, it is now hanging up as my headboard in my spare room.

This is the front of the quilt,

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and this is the back, I used white bobbin thread on purpose to get that faded look on the back,
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I am new to the embridery machines but love some of the quilt blocks a person can embroidery. What I have been wondering is: does a person emb. the blocks and then put it all tgether or does a person put the pieces all together and then embroidery as part of the quilting process? I am not crazy about the" quilt as you go" method so want another way. Love to hear what all you have to say. Mary M

WOW, Carolyn!!! What a gorgeous quilt. Thank you so much for the information. In my research on embroidery machines, the "Brother" brand keeps cropping up. I have never used an embroidery machine, but am considering getting one.

Your quilt is beautiful! I love blue and white. The scallops add a nice touch too.

I have also embroidered the quilting on a quilt.....basically I pieced the quilt, batted, backed it, then before I bound the quilt I embroidered stars in the columns (it was a red/white/blue quilt) Basically, I hooped some tacky stabilizer, then laid the quilt on top, held it in place while it stitched, then moved it and repeated. It was a very long and tedious process, but it works. As someone else noted, you MUST use very open stitching, not the dense designs.

I have also embroidered blocks, then pieced, batted/backed, then stitched in the ditch (did a baby quilt like this) and it works well too, you can use denser embroideries. Mine was an applique monster trucks with minky wheels. Was adorable, but will caution, your blocks need to be small, if you are not quilting on them after the fact, due to batting requiring 4-10ins between quilting (depending on batting type).

I have 2 brother machines, the embroidery/sewing combo and a little one for piecing/classes. I have had no major issues with them. My mother uses babylock machines, they were a little too pricey for me. I would recommend if you are planning on getting one, take classes at your local dealer, they are invaluable to learning all the ins/outs of a machine

Thanks everyone! Good tips about using open designs for overall quilting. I have taken a few classes on machine quilting using a home machine and have books on the subject, but I have yet to practice. Read an article in a recent quilting magazine about using an embroidery machine, and this piqued my interest. I'm thinking an embroidery machine may be a good alternative to a more pricey long-arm quilter. There is also no room for a long-arm even if I could afford one.

Also, you are right, Carolyn about buying from a local dealer. Good place to take advantage of free classes, support, and service - not to mention helping the local economy :).

I quilted a lap quilt with my Bernina embroidery unit. I have a 440, and my largest hoop is approx. 6" wide by 10" high. The quilt top was sandwiched and spray basted. I hooped the quilt directly, with no stabilizer. I embroidered a 6" x 6" design in the middle of each 12" block. Then I outline quilted 1/4" inside and outside of each block. I used decorative stitches through the border - I friend has a Bernina that does 9mm wide stitches. I was not thrilled with the finished look however (6" in the middle looked too small) and in the future would not use this method for a larger than 9" block. If I had a Bernina 830 with a Jumbo hoop I could do a larger design to fit the 12" block better. I think I could use a Hoop-it-all but it would mean moving the quilt around to do different parts of the block. Since you hoop the layered quilt, you could just do whatever design you wanted anywhere. I used open "quilting" embroidery designs. You can get these in collections that are multi-formated for different brands of machines.

When I took a class in quilting with an embroidery machine, I did a table runner. I had a spray of leaves that I enlarged in my software to fill half of a 12" block, then I hooped the other half and mirror imaged the design. Then I just SITD around the block. I liked that one a lot better. I gave that one to my Mother or I'd post a picture of it.

Your table runner sounds lovely, Skyangel. Good advice about hoop size and embroidery proportion in the block. I just took a look at a bed quilt I had professionally long-arm quilted and the design filled the space (open design) of an 11" x 11" square. From what I've researched, hoop size is important, so I appreciate what you said about the Bernina 830. Now to find an affordable machine . . .

I have, but I decided I bought the wrong set of embroidery designs... In the future, I will only use closed medallion type designs. The ones I have are continuous line and I haven't really gotten the hang of rehooping to start them again. (Now, if you have one of those fancy machines with a camera, that isn't really a problem.)

Even when I did use medallions though- rehooping takes forever. The final product looks great, but I'm not sure if it is worth the time (especially because you are supposed to stay and supervise the machine while it embroiders)

I quilted a queen size quilt on my Janome 300, it was a open design in a 5x5 square there was SO much re-hoping it took a long time plus I had to stand with the machine to support the weight of the quilt, never again. But I do make medallion blocks, snowball of each corner and add them to a scrappy nine patch and get a lovely quilt, I can have the embroidery machine working while I am sewing.
Happy New Year to you all

Beautiful!!!

There are two kinds of designs for the embroidery machines. The designs that are more like traditional embroidery and the "single line" designs that look more like the quilting design. There are many disks of these designs. I have used these for a more traditional look for machine quilting. About 10 years ago I did such designs that were built into one of the machine brands. I don't know how long they stayed in their later models. One company refers to these as Dgitized Designs for the Home Sewing Machines and are on CDs these would work well with quilt as you go quilts. I have used them on crib quilts as the quilt must be hooped and might be difficult to hoop a large quilt although I have not tried. It has been my opinion that when the word embroidery is used we naturally think of more traditional embroidery and overlook the single line design option.

I have embroidered the designs on blocks and then used some of my built in embroidery stitches to quilt the layers together. My quilt is call "Crazy About Iris" and was accepted and shown in the AQS show in Des Moines last October. If you quilt using an embroidery stitch, chose a more open stitch that does not have a lot of back and forth motion. All three layers can shift. I practiced on scraps with batting in between.

I have used my machine to quilt...I found that depending on the design and what you want to quilt, it was much faster than traditional quilting....now mind you I have not tried anything but filling in blocks...lol The trick, I think, is the open designs as well a making sure the embroidery unit is not weighted down..I have read on another post that the way they use their machine and keep it from weighing down is to place the entire machine on the floor...Haven't tried that yet...

I have a brother Emb./sewing machine and have wanted to do this but was not sure about the backing-are you using the sticky stabilizer and when done picking the pieces out?

If your quilt is layered top, batting, backing, you really don't need stabilizer.

I did not hoop my quilt, so yes I had to use stabilizer. I believe I used a wash away tacky, or used a wash away with spray basting.

Someone else actually hooped theirs....in that instance, no you would not use stablizer

-never mind- reading comprehension is a good thing.

I've done it on a Pfaff 2170. I'll use the decorative stitches. I also have books of quilting designs. I can digitize, so I digitized quite a few and use them on patterned fabric for raggies. I've got the machine -it can work for me.

I have a huaqvarna viking ruby. For Christmas I made 7 quilts in 6 months and only used the embroidery machine to do the quilting. Good luck.

I have a brother se400 that is a combination embroidery/sewing. That's my only machine and it works fine. I just take off the embroidery attachment when quilting.

Everything shown here is wonderful. I took a class and did a small baby quilt, but it sure didn't look as great as these.

Quilting with the embroidery machine is great. You don't need a stabilizer at all. Embroidery Library has many designs for quilting on the machine. Try it, you'll like it.

I sure hope more is added to this thread as towhar method works the best for doing the emb. and quilting. The ones shown are really beautiful and want to have min look as good!

all the time

thanks I've wanted to do this but Scared to try it-May have to stand on my head to hoop it though

I have a Bernina 165. I've done tons of free motion quilting on it. Just remove the embroidery module and you have a top quality sewing machine!! Enjoy!!

I machine embroidered the entire runner on my viking

I quilted this on my Innovis. It was my first try at quilting using the embroidery setup. There are a lot of single stitch patterns available. Not so many for little boy quilts, but a lot of feathers, flowers, etc.

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I do it all the time with my janome 350e

I have a Janome 11000SE sewing/embroidery machine. The machine has built in embroidery designs for blocks that can be used with or without stipple background; and separate designs for all over stipple. Other quilting designs can be added with the software or purchased designs can be uploaded to the machine. In addition to the designs, the machine has an on board quilt layout calculator. Simply select a design, then enter the width and length of the quilt. The screen displays the number of times the quilt has to be hooped. The magnetic hoops that came with my machine make it easy to firmly hoop and easily rehoop. No basting or stabilizer necessary.
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What I have done on my embroidery machine is use the top and batting to embroider, then I assemble the quilt like normal. Then I stitch in the ditch to sandwich it all together.

I love your quilt. I love the colors and all the different techniques you used. Beautiful!

I have an Elna 8200 and have quilted 4 fixin to be 5 with my embroidery machine, I use the single pass designs. Re-hooping can be difficult--centering is not always good. Good Luck and can't wait to see your practice :-)

What gorgeous quilts! I have a Brother PE-770 and used that several times for quilting. I've also done denser designs as central features in blocks. There are so many different types of designs out there. Just look around!

I have a BabyLock Elegante and it works beautifully embroidering on a quilt. It is also my 'standard' machine to piece and do free motion!!

Yes, I quilted a design in the open spaces of a triple Irish chain quilt for my niece's wedding. It turned out very nicely. Don't hoop the quilt, just the stabilizer, pin it well and do a basting, or fix ( or whatever your machine calls it) stitch to anchor the quilt before you start. Be sure you have the fabric well supported, so the weight of the quilt does not affect the way the embroidery unit is working.

This is on my to do list for 2013! Thanks for the inspiration.