Julienm1

I was watching MSQC video with Natalie and she was using the decorative stitches on her DSM (domestic sewing machine)...not using a walking/even feed foot. I can see on the video it is a sandwiched block. Have you ever used dec stitches to quilt your quilt? Any tips on how to be successful with the process?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hcwz...Q6i6hO&index=1

platyhiker

I have seen a different video where somebody showed using decorative stitching for quilting, and she stressed the importance of testing out various stitches on a test piece (front, batting and back) before doing it on your quilt. She had test pieces about 14" square and would make a pass straight across, and then note down the exact setting with a permanent marker by the pass. She could get quite a few test passes on each square. She would play with the +/- setting on the machine to get the stitch looking good. Then, when she was ready to work on a quilt, she could look through her test pieces and see how the stitch would look and what settings to get that exact look.

JanieW

My experience was that some stitches will distort on a quilt sandwich when not using walking foot, even feed /dual feed. Like platyhiker says, you have to experiment.

My dealer told me that you shouldn’t use the walking foot or dual feed/even feed while going backwards so for some decorative stitches you need to go without those features. That’s when distortion can be an issue.

My machine tells me which decorative stitches can be used with the even feed. None of them go backward.

SuzSLO

Jacquie Gehring explains how to use decorative stitches in quilting in her book Walk. She also has a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf9LgT9IrBE

lynnie

i've used the long wavy stitch. i still can't figure out stippling.
i've been a hand quilter all my life, so quilting on a DSM was new to me.

pocoellie

Several years ago, I was quilting a wall hanging with decorative stitches, using my walking foot and some of the stitches would be fine, but others would be either shortened or elongated, I called my machine guy and he told me that a walking foot was designed to only go forward, so I switched to a regular foot and the stitching was better and not too many stitch problems, since then I don't do decorative stitches as quilting, but give it a try and see what you think.

quiltingshorttimer

some people do parts of their quilt with decorative embroidery patterns and then stitch together and then do "hidden" quilting to hold it together. Some of the big shows even have special categories for those quilts.

copycat

I have made mug rugs and placemats using decorative stitches with success. Thanks for the link to seeing decorative stitches in a quilt. I think it would be fun to do a block at a time and assemble quilt as you go style.

aashley333

I use the decorative stitches on my Bernina (830 Record) to stitch quilt bindings.

selm

I use decorative stitches to finish binding a quilt by machine using a walking foot. I have not experienced any distortion doing it this way even with stitches that go backwards a stitch or two.