Piecing stitch
 

I have a Babylock Ellegante sewing machine. Amoung the many stitches is a piecing stitch which places the needle a scant 1/4 inch from the edges of my regular presser foot so that a special 1/4 inch foot is not necessary. However, the backstitch function doesn't work with the piecing stitch. I 'm wondering if that's because you're not supposed to backstitch when piecing quilts? Is this true? If so, if you make a mistake in a small portion of the seam (flipped seam allowance, uneven seam, etc) how do you fix it? Do you take out the whole seam and restitch, or do you take out only enough stitches to enable you to correct the error and restitch only that portion of the seam.? If it's the latter do you backstitch at the beginning and ending of the corrected area to secure the stitching? I'm referring to seams that are connecting two rows of blocks or patches.

I start and stop before and after the current stitching line by about 1/2 inch, so for about 1/2 inch before the new stitching and after the new stitching there will be 2 stitch lines on top of each other.

This is how I do it. If you are really worried and can't backstitch, perhaps there's a lock stitch you can use.

That's how I do it too.

Look again at your piecing stitch picture on your machine. If it has 2 dots above it, it means you will sew in reverse when you hit the reverse / reinforcement button.

If it has just 1 dot above , it means you will only stitch a lock stitch when you hit the reverse/reinforcement button.

I don't see any straight stitch pictures with no dots above them.

Note that the reverse/reinforcement button is different than the start/stop button. Are you maybe forgetting to choose this when beginning to stitch?

I don't back stitch since I'll be sewing across all the seams. I do use a shorter stitch length.

I don't back stitch in piecing and overlap missed seams like the others. Never had a problem.

Generally, I don't worry about back stitching when making a block; short stitches take care of most of that.

However, if a quilt has many, many seams at the edges, then I will stitch around the 1/8th to 1/4 edges of an inch in from the edges of the quilt to ensure that it doesn't come apart.

That only had to happen once for me to learn my lesson.

I chain stitch when I piece and leave about 1/4” between pieces. When I cut them apart, I do not cut at the piece but so that there is a tail of a few stitches beyond. I feel this would be less likely to come apart. I also use a smaller stitch, like a 2 to 2.1 on my machines.

You can always do it "Old school". Stop stitching, take the stitch length to zero, take a few stitches, then return stitch length to original. This will secure the ends very well.

I also "air-stitch" between the units and leave a bit of a tail on the threads.

When I have to "un-do" - I usually remove the minimum number of stitches - I usually press to the side, so when I resew, this is what I usually do: (see illustration)

It does not look "pretty" from the back - but I avoid the wadding or puckering that backstitching sometimes causes by doing it this way.

After reading your reply I checked my machine and you are right. There is one dot above my piecing stitch icon. I had always thought that when I tried to backstitch when using my piecing stitch that it really wasn't doing anything...The needle would go up and down but I didn't think any thread was being used. I couldn't see any extra stitches in the seam. Then after reading your reply I looked closer using a magnifying glass. Now I can see tiny stitches wherever I had hit the backstitch button! Thanks so much!

I agree, I do that too. But I'm referring to seams that aren't going to be sewn across, like in the middle of a seam sewing two rows of blocks or patches together.

You are so welcome! That is a pretty fancy machine you have there. (I'm still using an old featherweight). It has the best owners manual I've ever seen (those from a foreign country---Japan, Swiss, Germany often leave a lot to be desired). But yours reads more like a sewing manual.. For example it shows how to make a dart, a felled seam, etc. Who would expect that in an owners manual? I saw an attachment to a foot that cuts/trims the seam while you sew....fancy, fancy. Give that Baby a hug, and happy stitching that perfect 1/4" seam (with no wadding bunched at the ends). Jane Q

I love my Babylock. I bought it 10 years ago using life insurance money I received when my husband died. I had wanted a fancy sewing and embroidery machine for a long time but couldn't afford it. Using my machine for embroidery and sewing quilts was what got me through the grieving process. I was still working up until two years ago when I retired, so up until then I didn't have much time, but now I am discovering things about my machine that makes me appreciate it even more! I do need to read my manual more, but have learned so much from the members of this board!

Me too and its never an issue with a tighter stitch

Janjanq, glad you learned something new about your BabyLock...this reminds me of a recent thread where quilter’s have shared their ah-ha moments about their machines. Happy piecing. : )