In my previous post Sewing a Stitch Book With Decorative Stitches- Part 1
I wrote about getting to know my new BERNINA 790 PRO & making a stitch book to see all the amazing decorative stitches it can stitch out. Today, I’m moving on with Part 2, a deeper dive into this subject matter. Sewing a Stitch Book With Decorative Stitches- Part 2.
A Recap of Part 1
In part 1 the highlights of making a stitch book included:
- why sew a stitch book
- 100 to 600 menus
- how to make a stitch book
- understanding stitches in actual size, an amazing benefit
- familiarization with icons, menus & presser feet
- greater knowledge of working with a machine and understanding it’s potential
- stimulating creative thoughts regarding future projects
- supplies needed for making a stitch book
- sharing a video of how to make a stitch book:
Lessons Learned in Part 2 ( 700 to 2200 menus)
- The start /stop & speed buttons helped to keep the stitches consistent & improve efficiency
- The magic of the “i” icon for information about the stitch, allowing the sewist to mirror image the stitch, determine number of pattern repeats, triple stitch etc.
- Contrasting thread to fabric is an effective way to see the stitches and show off their individual beauty. For example, the orange thread with black fabric as illustrated below:
- Size of the fabric is important. For example; I recommend 6” x 10” pieces of stabilized fabric instead of smaller pieces of fabric because some stitches are large ( especially 9mm & multidirectional stitches). This helps to see repeats clearly
The Importance of Tension for Quality Stitches
- Some stitches needed less tension or more depending on the fabric used, thread type, needle & speed of stitches.
- If the bobbin thread comes up from the bottom and shows with the top thread, lower the tension number. Alternatively, if the top thread loops down on the bottom, increase the tension number. To see the adjust tension icon on the machine, see arrow below:
And There’s More
- Use light hand placement & pressure. Especially with multidirectional stitches, only a gentle required to guide the fabric, allow the feed dogs to form the stitch, see quilt stitches below:
- Recommended- draw chalk lines on the fabric for the guidance of stitches
- Pressure foot selection is important. Utilize the recommended foot & best results will be achieved. Most stitches require BERNINA Reverse Pattern Foot #1C.
- You will find hundreds of creative stitches that surprise you and the machine will stitch out
- As a tactile crafter and sewist, the making of this book is exciting
Labelling the Stitch Books
- Labelling your books/ binder is very important so you can find stitches quickly. As an effective way to label I used the machine font menu and stitched out a decorative stitched line under the numbers as shown:
- In addition, labelling the vertical end of each binder to find a particular stitch book quickly once they are stored on a shelf. As you can see pinking shears were used to make the label look tidy and intentional
Some Inspiration from Sewing a Stitch Book with Decorative Stitches
* Note: there are 8 pages of white embroidery, so many stitches
* Note – there are 6 pages of children’s stitches and a page of children’s stitches with sideways motion as shown below:
Be inspired to Make a Stitch Book With Decorative Stitches
I have concluded that making a stitch book will give you a reference of stitches to use for years to come. Recently, the making of this stitch book has inspired me to make many decorative stitch projects as shown :
If you wish to see more of my decorative stitching, head on over to my website Quilting in the Loft . Another great resource, this blog article at we all sew Make a Stitch Sampler Book
Sewing a Stitch Book with Decorative Stitches -Part 2 means I’m finished with this task. This was so much fun to do, it was time consuming however well worth the effort. As a result, I highly recommend that all new machine owners do it.
However, I want you to be the judge by stitching out your own decorative stitch book to discover the unique potential of your amazing BERNINA sewing machine.
Prepare to be amazed and happy stitching !
Robin
I got my 790 pro last year. I never thought of making books of stitches of everything the machine can do. I sew A number of different stitches on fabric backed with stabilizer and write down what the stitches And how I achieved them This is a much more comprehensive way to do it 🙂
Herzlichen Dank für´s zeigen.
I was wondering why use black fabric instead of white fabric?
Hi Sandra , it’s totally a personal preference , I love jewel tone thread and thought they would contrast well with black fabric . You could also use white or another neutral coloured fabric
Wonderful. Worth the effort! Thanks
Sure hope you get some time to try it and thanks for reading this post