Machine Embroidery Tutorial

Yay - my first ever video Tute, sharing one of my favourite ways to play!

I'd have liked to have covered some aspects in more detail however it got to the point where I either got what I had on YouTube or threw the camera & tripod out the window!

I'm no expert (there's plenty out there that are), this is a very simple explanation of machine embroidery, it's how I do it - I hope it helps & inspires you! 

The points I'd like to clarify & emphasize are;

Feed Dogs - need to be out of the way. With some machines you have the ability to drop them with the Feed Dog Control knob, others require a special plate that sits on top of the Needle Plate.

Presser Foot - I have always used the Darning Foot, it has a central hole where the needle goes through and a spring mechanism at the top of the shaft which allows movement when stitching.
Needle - Size 80.
Settings - Stitch Length at 0 and needle Centred.

Control - the saying, 'Slow Hands, Fast Foot' works, it is the secret to maintaining control over your design.

Second Theme

'The Ties that Bind'

  Love & laughter shared with family & friends give me direction & purpose.

 

This block was borne from my love of mens ties.

I use them a lot in REinventions.

What I did:

After choosing the ties best suited to the overall look of the Quilt,

 I over-lapped them, pinned them in place & cut them to size.

It took a bit of manouvering over a couple of days to get the block to sit mostly square - this was helped by filling in little gaps & finishing raw edges with some bias binding. 

I'm not sure how square this block will sit when stitched to it's neighbour however I'm prepared to have it overlap or likewise trim it back to fit.

The free machine embroidery is a work-in-progress.

Eventually I'd like the scrolly-flowery-viney bits to join up in stages - it was hard going, stitching over lumpy thick bits so I'll come back to it later.
Next time I would remove the interfacing from the ties which would get rid of some of the bulk.

 

 Overall I'm pleased - ties aren't the easiest things to get to sit straight and my machine embroidery leaves a lot to be desired however it says what I wanted it to say in more ways than one 

and besides what's a challenge if its not challenging!