SusieQOH

Question- can a serpentine stitch be used in quilting something? As you can see I don't use my decorative stitches much!

GingerK

Yes it can SusieQ. I make mine as wide as possible and lengthen the pattern as well. I then use it instead of a straight stitched line. I have done crosshatched type designs on place mats and small quilts and it worked very well.

jmoore

This has been quite an informational thread...I honestly forget to use the decorative stitches for quilting small projects. I purchased my first Bernina this spring but with summer responsibilities and operating two businesses, I have not yet had time to play with it...have only pieced on it. Thank you for sharing your experiences.

SusieQOH

Thanks, GingerK!!

lindaschipper

I have the Janome 6500P...with more stitches than you can shake a stick at....plus alphabet fonts. I'll never ever use 99% of these stitches and wish I had bought a simpler machine. I bought it for the 9 inch throat space. maybe I'll trade it in in a different one!

Suz

One stitch on my Bernina 880 that I use often when top stitching binding, is the herringbone stitch. I use it on utility or everyday quilts that can withstand lots of washings. It holds up nicely and looks good.

tscweaves

My 2nd quilt was Storm at Sea and I didn't know how to quilt the 2 borders, so I put 2 needles and 2 different top threads in my Singer 401a and used a surpentine stitch. It was the first time I tried 2 needles and it worked great. I always forget about all of the stitches on that machine. I think now that I am quilting I will be putting it through its paces more often.

maviskw

Stitch #4 has sharp turns at each side, not the rounded turns as in the serpentine stitch. I have it on my Bernina and use it often, mostly for patching and darning.

llong0233

Many of us will never use all the features on our sewing machines. But since we're talking about decorative stitches, Nancy Zieman did a show on Doodle Stitching. Looks like lots of fun and easy to do. She uses various stitched to make art. If you are interested in seeing how she uses some of the stitches, here's the link to the YouTube video of her show.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUUa1C2UEB4

dms

Both of my Vikings have beautiful buttonhole stitches and a variety. They also have the serpentine stitch.