I used the serpentine on all the seams of a quilt that was pieced by hand by a young child, where the seams were sometimes too narrow and the stitches too long. It was something my SIL's family had saved so long they didn't remember who had made it, maybe from about the 1940's. I think the serpentine looked pretty neat and probably made the quilt more secure. They use it when the young grandchildren visit. One time I used feather stitches on a mug rug made from one inch squares. I sewed diagonally across all the squares, and I liked that look. I've made some small projects with crazy quilt designs. Other than that, I sometimes use the decorative stitches when sewing doll clothes or on pillow cases. I like having the variety, and you might as well find a use for them because all the machines with other good features also have the decorative stitches.

The only thing I use them for is to sew down the accent strip on burrito style pillowcases. I make special ones for holidays, birthdays, special interests, for our grandchildren. i don't always put one in, opting instead to just have the main fabric and cuff, but when I do put one on, I like to stitch the outside edge down so it stays flat.

I have used the alphabet stitch to put a special message on a project - either pillowcases above or in a border or on binding.

My Bernina is over 20 years old, and I'd replace it with another in a heartbeat if they had one that didn't include all of the high end bells and whistles. The shop where I bought it no longer carries any Berninas except the 300 level; they carry Juki's now, for just that reason. They've had many people say that they don't want all of that "stuff", they want a beautiful straight stitch.

I love having the option of using decorative stitches. I don't use them often, but they can sure brighten a project.

Don’t need many decorative stitches so why pay for them. Same story with my appliances, just the basic model that does the job, please. ( getting harder to find ).