Each year around the holidays – or more specifically, while I’m in the middle of the holiday sewing craziness – I lament about how infrequently I manage to perform the maintenance that I know my machine so desperately needs at this time of year:  cleaning and oiling!

First, the procrastinator makes an appearance:  ”Just one more bobbin.” or “When I’m done with this quilt!”

Next, denial sets in:  ”Wow, where are all these fuzzies coming from?  Must be this batting.”  or “Really, I’m sure that ca-chunk-ca-chunk-ca-chunking is just the dishwasher.”

But the dirty dishes are still piled up, and your projects continue to flow through the machine, one after the other.  And you don’t do it.  Or at least, I don’t.  Not nearly enough.

But there’s no excuse!  It’s so easy and takes about 3 minutes.  Below are the steps for you to do it yourself.  At least someone will be cleaning their machine, even if I’m not.

Cleaning and Oiling Your Machine

Getting started:  Unthread your machine and put it in the “needle up” position.  Turn it off. Find your brush and oil.  The ones pictured above came with my machine.

Step 1 – Approach:  Quietly, gently approach the machine in its native habitat.  Speak in soothing tones, so it doesn’t suspect anything.

Hunting for fuzzies.

Step 2 – Open the top:  Press open the stitch plate beneath the presser foot and remove it.

Woah, this could get ugly. See the fuzzies already trying to escape?

Run! Here they come!

Step 3 – Defuzzify:  Brush out all the fuzzies and gunk, bits of broken needles, toast crumbs, dog hair, extra threads, whatever else is stuck in there:

This can get a little messy, and it's hard to get into all of the nooks and crannies.

Step 4 – Appreciate:  Admire your clean machine top, and replace the stitch plate:

Clean and fuzzy-free.

Clean top with stitch plate.

Step 5 – Bobbin area: Open up the bobbin door, and remove the bobbin.  Clean out the fuzzies you can see.

Clean out what you can see. More detailed cleaning will follow shortly!

Step 6 – Release the bobbin hook: Now, release the housing that holds the bobbin hook in place. There’s a handy little lever on the top left of your machine to release it. Push this lever to the left to release the housing.    The housing will flop down:

Press the lever on the top left of your bobbin area to release the metal/black plastic housing. Not so conveniently for this tutorial, my thumb is covering it up.

Step 7 – Remove the Bobbin Hook:  Open the bobbin housing and remove the spiky part that sits on the right-half of the bobbin area.  This is called the bobbin hook.  It’s the part that rotates around the bobbin and makes stitches.

Remove the bobbin hook. Boy, I need hand moisturizer!

This is what it looks like up close:

Bobbin hook up close. I hear this item costs about $70. Treat it nicely!

Step 8 – Clean like the wind!:  Now clean out the hook and the rest of the bobbin area with your handy little brush so it looks like this:

Shiny!

Diversion! – Understanding the inside:  Small side trip! The bobbin hook sits inside the housing and “races” around in a circle while you’re sewing to make stitches.  The little track that it goes around on is called the race. Ultimately, this is the part that needs the oil on it.

The race - this is the part that ultimately needs to have oil on it.

This is the part of the hook that sits in the race.

There are two different ways to get oil onto the race.  Are you ready?  3, 2, 1…

Step 9 – Option 1 – Oil the Hook: 

The hook, getting a one-drop oil bath.

Step 9 – Option 2 – Oil the Race:

Oiling the race - One drop is all you need!

Place one drop of oil at the bottom of the race hook.

Please note: You only need to do ONE of the above methods.  You DO NOT need to do both.  When you’re done with your chosen method, the rest of the steps are the same:

Step 10 – Put Humpty Back Together Again:  Reinsert the hook into the race and close the housing again:

Clean and put back together.

Step 11 – Run the machine and listen to it purr:  As the hook turns in the machine, oil will be distributed along the race.  Run the machine without any fabric in it until the oil is distributed.  This saves you from the disappointment of getting a bit of oil on your project as the machine settles in to its new-found lubricated state.  Machine sounds better, doesn’t it?

Take your new tidy machine for a spin.

When should you oil your machine?

I’ve heard a lot of different things:  Every bobbin, every 3-5 bobbins, at each needle change, every day, never…  But my rule of thumb is usually the following:

1) After using up 3-5 bobbins.

2) When it start ca-chunking – sometimes the machine just sounds like it needs oil.  When this happens, I oil it.  It’s possible that it hits this mark after the 3-5 bobbin stage, and comes from my minor neglect, but I will deny this if anyone asks.

3) When Bernina tells you you should - Bernina will display a cute little oil can icon on the front of the machine after about 180,000 stitches, indicating that it’s time to oil.  Almost all the sewers I know oil more frequently than this, but it’s a good reminder to get once in a while, and it’s a cute icon, to boot!

What you shouldn’t do when oiling: Compressed Air

People say that compressed air is ok for the older mechanical machines that are not computerized.  However, most sewing pros I know don’t use compressed air on their computerized machines, for fear of blowing the dust into the internals of the machine and messing something up.  I’m not sure I buy it completely, but better safe than sorry!  I steer clear of it just to be sure!

Hope this little tutorial was helpful.  Happy cleaning!

Buttonholes seem to be one of the most scoured and studied aspects of a sewing machine when seasoned pros decide to get a new machine. Is the stitch quality good?  Are they easy to make?  Are they consistent?  If you sew clothes, its these types of finishing touches that make all the difference.  Many have asked me questions related to button holes on the Bernina 440 QE, and I’ve finally decided to put together a little button hole walkthrough for the curious! Hopefully this will answer some of the questions that have been put out there.  If not, please let me know – I’m probably going to do a little Q & A post in the near future.  Let’s hop to it, shall we?

Getting Started

First things first.  Reach into your handy accessory cabinet and pull out the Button Hole Foot – # 3A.  Can you find it in this picture?  It’s like a little Where’s Waldo search:

Isn't this a cute little hiding place for this strangely shaped foot? Cozily nestled among the... needles.

Let’s take a quick look at the 3A foot.  The basic anatomy is pretty simple.  It’s got what I’ll call a clear shoe with a little red mark that slides back and forth within the surrounding metal frame when you stitch your button holes.  The frame helps you determine the length you want your button hole.

Top view of the button hole foot.

Bottom view of the button hole foot.

Notice the black gear wheel that rides along the metal teeth of the foot. This is what moves the shoe back and forth as it creates a button hole.

There are two red bits you should be aware of:

These two red pieces are essential to creating the perfect button hole!

Now that we’ve checked out the parts, place the foot on the machine.

Put the foot on the machine, just as you would any other foot...

It’ll look like this when you’re done:

It's an odd looking beast, isn't it?

Now it’s time to thread the bobbin and the thread.  I was in the dark about this little feature until after I posted the initial version of this tutorial, but thanks to some great readers, I am now enlightened!  You thread the top thread like normal.  The bobbin, on the other hand, has a super secret little hole that you can thread for tighter thread tension throughout the button hole experience.  Looky here: 

The part that sticks out on the right is called the finger. It's got a little hole up there just for your bobbin thread to go through!

So, you thread your bobbin like normal, but then once you’re done, slide that little thread through the microscopic hole on the finger (the bit that sticks out on the right).  When it’s threaded properly, it’ll look like this:

Clever, isn't it?

The hole on the finger can be used for button holes and also for doing embroidery with the embroidery module.  Essentially, you can thread through the finger any time that you’d like the tension to be tighter.   

First thing I do once the foot is on the machine and the machine is threaded is to pull the thread down through the foot to get a nice clean start.  To do this, I hit the needle up/down button twice (needle down, then up again).  Then I grab the thread from underneath:

This needle up/down button is I think my absolute favorite feature of this machine. Simple pleasures, right?

Now slide something – seam ripper, scissors (closed, not open!), or a pin – underneath the foot and slide the threads out and to the back:

Now the top thread is through to the bottom of the foot, and the bobbin thread is pulled up and both are happily hanging out.

Making a Button Hole

Now we’re ready to get started!  Our trusty stitch card says that button holes can be done with stitches 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16.

Bernina stitch card. Look at all the button hole options!

I’ll be using number 11 for this tutorial only.  The rest of the button holes can be done just like the ones I do here!  Enter stitch number 11 on the machine by pressing the # [triangle] key and then the one key twice (#-1-1)

What would you call this... the Number Triangle button?

Once this is done, your screen should look like this:

The screen, as always, has some useful information.

Notice that it’s telling us to use foot 3A.  We’re done with that part already, so we’re ahead of the game!  Next, notice that the stitch length (the vertical 0 – 5 scale on the left) shows three dashes and ends up at the little squiggly mark between 0 and 1.  This is apparently the squiggly mark to indicate button hole stitch length. This little machine is so clever.   Finally, it’ll actually show you the shape of the button hole we’ll be making.

The left vertical part of the button hole image will be blinking, indicating which part of the button hole it’s ready to sew (or in progress of sewing).  We’ll come back to this diagram in a minute.

Now we’re ready to get the button in on the action after long last.  Find your favorite button that you’d like to make a button hole for.  The Bernina button hole foot only supports buttons that are 3 inches or less, since that’s the length of the foot.  If you have a bigger button than that, I’m afraid you’re out of luck!

Place your button on top of the foot.  The very top of your button should line up with the first red mark on the foot.  Careful!  If you have a small button, it’ll be easy for this to slide up past the red line.  It’s best to hold the button in place while you measure.  The little arrow on the bottom red slider should line up with the very bottom of the button.

The button, in its temporary home.

Now that you’ve got the bottom slider set up properly, you can remove the button from the foot and place it aside.  Its brief cameo appearance is this tutorial is officially over!  From here on out, it’s all button holes, all the time.

It’s time to place your fabric underneath the presser foot and begin stitching.  Begin and go slowly.  Here’s how this will go down:

• Begin stitching. You’ll notice that it will begin making little zig-zag stitches that eventually make up the left side of the button hole.

• The metal frame will begin moving backward as you stitch, moving the top red line (attached to the shoe) toward the red plastic slider arrow.

The red lines eventually meet up when the button hole is as long as it needs to be to accommodate the button of your choosing.

• Once the plastic red arrow is lined up with the red mark on the shoe, quickly hit the reverse button.  Go slowly!  This part can sneak up on you and can leave you feeling a little harried.

Hitting the reverse button as the two red lines meet tells the machine that you've reached the desired length for this button hole.

• This tells the machine that you’ve reached the desired length of the button hole and it’s time to finish the other sides.  Don’t worry.  The machine takes care of everything else from here!

• The machine will begin backtracking up on the right side of the button-hole-to-be and will continue to finish all of the remaining sides.

• The final side that it fills in is the bottom.  It will zig-zag in place for a while at the bottom and then come to a rest in the up position on its own.  This is similar to the motion when you end a repeat of any other stitch on the machine.

Please note!  You will know that the machine is done stitching when the graphic on the screen blinks the left vertical side again.  If it’s still blinking the bottom part of the button hole, you’ve got more stitching to do.

You’re done!  Your button hole is now complete!  Marvel at your work:

All done!

One Last Step

To realize the full potential of your button hole, you’ll have to open it up to make room for the button!  Take your trusty seam ripper, insert it carefully into the fabric, taking care to not get any of the thread, and gently run it up the length of the button hole to open it up.

Careful! If you're too quick here and catch the threads, this could mess up all of your hard work, leading to an unraveling button hole!

The Auto Feature – How to Make More Identical Button Holes.

Once you finish your first button hole, take it out, snip the threads, make sure the button fits, and admire it. But not for long!  We’ve got more work to do.

The Bernina 440 has the ability to make all subsequent button holes exactly the same length as the one you just created, using an auto-button hole feature.  You would use this if you were making, say, a shirt that had 5 or 6 identical buttons.  In theory, you could replicate the steps you just took, but there is room for error, specifically in terms of the timing in which you hit the reverse button to identify the length of the button hole as you are stitching.  Even though I know you wouldn’t make any mistakes, Bernina makes sure you can’t when you do your next button holes.  Here’s how it works.

You’ll notice that since you finished your first button hole, there is one key difference on the display.  The inside of the button hole graphic on the display now shows the word “auto” where it was blank before.  Check out the picture below to make sure yours does too!

The inside of the button hole diagram now says "auto," indicating that it's ready for more automatic button hole fun.

The “auto” indication means that the Bernina is ready to make more button holes just like the one you just did – exactly the same!  Little did you know it at the time, but when you did your first  button hole, you were actually programming the machine, telling it just how big you wanted the current and future button holes to be.  It remembered, and is ready to make more.

Now, when you place your fabric under the foot and begin stitching, it can be a hands-free affair, in which you just sit back and watch it create another identical button hole.  Brilliant!

This will happen for as long as you’d like to make identical button holes.  But what if you have a different vision, and all of the buttons on your shirt are different sizes?  How do you get rid of the “auto” feature?

Resetting the button hole programming

If you’re ready to move on to other button hole sizes, then you need to clear out the programmed size that you told the Bernina about previously.  To do this, simply hit the clear button (affectionately known as “clr” on the machine) to get rid of the auto designation and to start from scratch.

Clear out all memory of your previous button hole...

The “auto” will disappear, and you are free to start again with a brand new, differently-sized button and repeat all the steps from above.

I love this wee yellow button...

Threading Comparison

Since I was in the dark for a while about the best threading technique for button holes, I decided to see if the threading through the bobbin finger really made any difference or not.  Here’s my comparison shot:

Hmmm... What's the verdict?

I guess I don’t see a huge difference.  But the one on the right – not threaded through the finger – does look a tad messier, especially on the left side of the button hole.  For my novice eyes, I’m not sure I’d notice from far away!  Anyway, I figure I’ll still thread through the finger, since it can’t hurt!  

Troubleshooting Tips

My machine doesn’t make very nice button holes!

Eek!  I know how you feel.  I’ve had several attempts that yielded bad button holes.  Here’s what I changed to make it work:

• Try a different needle.  Either sharper, or thinner, or just plain newer. I often sew with denim needles for sewing heavier layers of fabric (they are larger, thicker needles) and these seem to make pretty terrible button holes.  See below:

Ick! The top two button holes are made with a denim needle (it was a pretty dull one at that...). Just not as delicate as one might hope, and the stitching didn't seem so even. The bottom button hole was made with a universal needle sized 70/10. Muuuch better!

• Thread type – try changing the type of thread that you make your button holes with.  I use thread designated for machine embroidery, and you typically get nicer, fuller button holes this way.
• Use a stabilizer – Try placing interfacing or wash away stabilizer beneath the fabric when you do your button hole.  More delicate fabrics need structure to be useful for housing button holes.
• Give the bobbin threading a look-see and see if you’re threading through the finger. 

It won’t repeat my button hole!

• If you turn off your machine after your first button hole, it will forget about your programmed button hole size.
• Don’t hit the “clr” button in between button holes.
• Don’t punch in the #-1-1 combo again after you make your first button hole.  The machine will stay on the button hole stitch for as long as you like.

Thank you all for your great suggestions on what to do with that AB green lotus fabric.  You have given me much inspiration for the next time that I venture to take it out of my stash!  I believe it may be destined for either a throw/lumbar pillow, or for a quilt of some kind.

Many of you asked about dimensions of the Bernina sewing machine cover that I made so that you could make your own.  Here you go!  These are approximate:

6 1/4″ D x 17 1/2″ W x 13″ H. 

It could be a little bit shorter – there’s a teeny bit of extra bulk at the bottom that I might eliminate if I were to make another one…

Here’s how I pack everything up underneath: I stash the foot pedal, with the cord coiled, inside of the space between the needle and body, I put the accessory cabinet onto the back, and I lean the plastic tray against the front.  All of this fits nicely underneath for a perfect Bernina package of joy!

Above is a picture of the configuration –  a delicious Bernina sandwich!  Have fun making your own cover.  If you do, I’d love to see what you come up with!  Feel free to post a link in the comments.

Update on 12/31/2008 – I’ve created a part 2 to this post that gives dimensions and shows how I pack everything underneath so you can make your own!

I’m seriously behind on my blogging. Life has managed to get in the way, and I think I’ve got an official backlog of posts waiting to happen, which feels good (I’ve been productive!) and bad (self-induced guilt for not blogging about it!).  This little number above I’ve had for about a month now.  My Bernina comes with a really sturdy and great canvas carrying bag, but ever since I got my super-huge craft table, I can afford the space to keep the machine out all the time.  Hooray!  Lest it get dusty, I chose to make a little cozy for the machine.

To make it, I threw together a bunch of scraps from the quilt for AJ along with some solid beige fabric from my stash. and sewed a box.  Then, some fusible fleece, a lining, and some out-of-the-package bias tape later, and I had my first-ever cozy.

Quick side note:  even though the beige doesn’t look so special, I’m so sad that this particular fabric is dwindling in my stash.  It has such a nice feel to it – kind of crisp and soft all at once, and not too firm… I’m not sure how to find more.  It was a random purchase long ago. It’s one of those I shudder to cut into, but only recently because I think I bought 6 yards of this long ago, and it’s taken a while to get through it.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand.  This guy is reversible:

Let’s talk about this side for a moment.  I have this Amy Butler fabric, and I think I’ve had it since the Lotus collection came out.  This fabric makes me crazy!  I instantly fell in love with it when it came out, but I can’t seem to figure out good ways to use it!  I don’t think it matches anything, even the other fabrics in her line that it’s supposed to match.  It’s like the red-headed stepchild in the Stashland, and is always too bright / too green / too… geometric (I never thought I’d utter those words!) to use anywhere.  So, it became a lining for this thing. And if you’re like me, you’ve already declared to yourself that you like the top version better.  And this, my friends, is why the green side will probably never see the light of day.

So – I still have some of this Lotus green left.  What should I use it with?  I know I could buy up some of the other AB green stuff within this line, but I’d love to hear some other thoughts.  Better yet, send some links to things you’ve made with it for inspiration!  I’d be grateful.

See Part 1 of this series here: Bernina Aurora 440 QE: Free-motion Quilting – Part 1 of 2:  Free-motion quilting basics without the BSR.

So yeah, I know… it’s taken me forEVER to finally post about the one part of the Bernina 440 QE that is probably the biggest selling point for this machine; the feature that makes people go nuts, shell out the big bucks; the feature that is apparently life-changing, amazing, and worth your first-born child, if not your entire precious quarter collection.  I personally have neither a first-born child nor a quarter collection, but given my limited experience so far with this glowing-red accessory, I might just be tempted.  Yes, I’m talking (finally!) about the Bernina Stitch Regulator, or BSR for short.

Of course, you can surely do free-motion quilting without this fancy little device… For basics on free-motion quilting and to see how it’s done without the BSR, see  part one of this two-part series. For those of you interested in learning specifically about the BSR,  I’ve documented my exploration of this clever little piece of machinery. I’m no pro yet, but hopefully my experience can help you if you’re considering this machine, the BSR, or just learning more about free-motion quilting!  Let’s get started to see how to make it all work.

What is it?

The BSR is an attachment to your Bernina sewing machine that will automatically regulate the distance between stitches while free-motion quilting.  It attaches just like any other presser foot, but plugs into the back of the machine for power. It senses the motion of the fabric underneath to know when to trigger the needle to go.  Not sure what free-motion quilting is?  To get some basics on the technique, see part 1 of this series.

The BSR comes standard on the Aurora 440 QE and the Artista 730.  You can use it on the Aurora 430, and Artista models 630, 640, 200 as well, but you have to pay extra for it.  All Artista models support zig-zag with the BSR, but the Auroras don’t.

Woah… it costs HOW much?

Yes, well, let’s just get this out of the way now.  This guy is expensive!  The going price for the BSR appears to be about 900 bucks/quid/greenbacks/big ones/buckeroos (yes, that much!) when not purchased with a machine.  Yikes!  That’s 3600 quarters, for those of you thinking about parting with your stash.  If you’re already starting to rationalize this purchase in your head, come talk to me.  I’ve got a lot of great reasons I can give you to convince yourself/your significant other about why you will deduct such funds from your bank account/your 401-K/your first-born’s second-born’s college fund, I’m a pro at such things.  Maybe seeing it in action here will be enough to convince you it’s worth it.

How do you use it?

Step one: Remove from adorable foam housing.

Behold the BSR in its natural habitat:

This box is really useful from keeping wire-biting cats away from this treasured item...

The BSR comes with three soles.  On the left is the open-toed sole.  Looks just like the darning foot, but offers an unobstructed view of the needle.  On the right is the transparent plastic sole that is good for smooth sailing over thicker quilts (the disc actually compresses the batting surrounding the needle and allows for smoother stitching in tough, bulkier projects).  The sole that is currently on the BSR is the closed-toe metal sole . It looks just like the darning foot’s sole, but instead is attached to an insanely expensive white box + wire combo. We’ll see the magic of it in a moment!

Step two: Lower the feed dogs.

Lower the feed dogs by pressing the feed dog button on the side of the machine, like so:

This button will put the feed dogs down. Down boys!

You need to do this to ensure free movement of the fabric while quilting.  It will feel hugely weird if this is your first time free-motioning, but once you get past the slippery slidey feeling, it’ll become old hat.   If you forget to put the feed dogs down, the BSR will beep at you and you won’t be able to sew, so don’t forget!

Step three: Attach BSR to machine

This process might make you feel like you have really big hands at first... You'll get it!

It’s just like a normal Bernina foot, but with a bit of extra stuff in the way.  It’s a bit on the wonky side to get it on the first time (though not as difficult to put on as the walking foot!), but once you get it on there, it looks like this:

Finally on!

But what to do with that dangly cord?  Ah, no worries!  There’s a spot for everything!  Here is the underside of the machine, where the socket lives.  For some perspective, at the bottom-left is the BSR’s body.

It's even got a green box around where the cord should be inserted. Bernina took no shortcuts in producing this machine!

Once you plug this bad boy in, you’ll see your display change.  It will start blinking BSR in the middle, just below the needle up/down indicator:

Imagine this blinking...

Step 4:  Press the BSR button.

Then you need to actually press the BSR button, with the little scales beneath it to get the BSR 1 to appear:

Pressing the BSR/scales button will automatically put the machine in BSR mode 1 as long as the BSR is plugged in.

The scales have nothing to do with the BSR. If you press this button when the BSR is not plugged in, it is supposed to provide stitch balancing – a feature even the woman that sold me this machine was not able to explain clearly or convince me that it did anything useful.  That button, however, is your ticket into the world of BSR when this guy is plugged in.  Once you press it, the BSR1 text comes up on the machine.  This means you’ve entered into the exciting land of Mode 1.  Now you can start BSRing!

Wait a Sec -What’s This About Modes? How Complex Is This Thing?

Mode 1: This mode lets you use the foot pedal to stitch. Also, if you leave the fabric in place but keep pressing the foot pedal, it will continue stitching. If you want to be able to stitch in place, you should use this mode.

Mode 2: This mode lets you sew feet-free!  That is, without the feet attached to your legs, not the feet attached to the BSR.  Stitching is triggered by the movement of the fabric. It’s pretty swanky!   First, let’s finish exploring Mode 1, which I’ll call “traditional” mode, since most of us are used to sewing with both hands AND feet involved.

Start Quilting

OK, now you’re ready to start quilting!  Take your fabric sandwich, place it under the foot, and press down on the foot pedal.  You should see the red glowing light turn on while stitching, like so:

I love the gentle red glow!

Troubleshooting tip: If the red light isn’t on, the BSR is not active!  Double-check to see that the BSR 1 is displaying on the machine, that the feed dogs are down, and that the device is properly plugged in to the back underside of the machine.  If not, go back to step 1.

Now, if you’re playing along at home, you can see that if you press the foot pedal a certain amount and leave the fabric in place, the BSR will just slowly stitch in place.  The fun starts, though, when you start moving the fabric around.  Leaving the foot pedal speed the same, try moving the fabric around at different speeds.  The needle speed will change based on the speed that the fabric underneath moves.  I imagine the red glowing light has something to do with this.  Either way, it’s a lot of fun!

Let’s move on to setting up mode 2 before we dive into results!  If you are feeling impatient, you can jump down to the results section to see the difference between BSR and regular FMQ.

Setting up Mode Two

For those of you interested in using the fewest appendages possible while BSRing, this is the mode for you!  Mode 2 is also quite useful if you have a large project (like a quilt) and you think you will be starting and stopping often.  BSR mode 2 will not stitch in place when the fabric stops.  Instead, it will just stop sewing.  To get feet-free BSRing to work, here’s what you do:

Step 1: Unplug foot pedal

I feel like one of Barker's Beauties demoing a product on The Price Is Right. Ah, loved that show. "By guessing the price of these every day grocery store items, you can win this beautiful Bernina sewing machine and... A NEW CAR!" Anyway...

As I was trying for the first couple of times to get into Mode 2, I could never get it to work!  Finally, I realized that I was forgetting to unplug the foot pedal.  Apparently the 440 needs to make sure you’re committed to foot-free FMQ.  Otherwise you’re not allowed to play!

Step 2:  Press the BSR button, and then the “2″ button to enter into BSR Mode 2

"Rod, tell the contestants what they're bidding on today." "Bob, it's a beautiful new baker's rack!"

Once you press the BSR button, then the 2 button, the BSR 2 indicator will appear on the screen.

Step 3: Press the stop/start button

"Rod, tell Gina what she's won." "Bob, she's won a BRAND NEW BEDROOM SET!" Ok, ok, enough with the Price is Right. I just can't stop strolling down memory lane!

Pressing the stop/start button will tell the machine that you are ready to go!  The minute you start moving the fabric, the BSR will take off.

Step 4: Behold the Running Guy

Running guy?  YES!  Aside from the amazing stitch quality, the running guy is my favorite part.  Behold!

Running Guy! Go BSR, Go!

When the feet-free BSR mode is in progress (i.e., your stitching has begun!) the little running man appears on the screen.  Someday we will all look at this little pixelated graphic and declare it “vintage” and “retro” and “full of awesomeness.”   It already feels that way, but I have no doubt it will look even more old skool in several years.

Results!

So now what you’ve all been wondering.  Does the BSR really make a difference?  Here’s a picture of free-motion quilting without the BSR.  Below that is a picture with the BSR so you can compare for yourself:

Free-motion quilting without the BSR. See the long stitches at the bottom and the tigher stitches in the middle and top? It looks quite inconsistent. It looks especially messy from far away.

Free-motion quilting with the BSR in traditional Mode 1. Muuuuch smoother, no? Look at how equally spaced the stitches are! It really works!

Wow!  For my very first attempt, it looks pretty good, all thanks to the BSR! Notice how the stitches are equidistantly spaced and look clean.  I love the puffy little pillows it makes between each area of stitching.  Compared to my plain old darning foot stitches, I think it’s a big improvement.  It feels as if there is much more control when using the BSR, but I can’t decide if that’s my rationalization superpowers talking.  Here is a picture of my random squiggles in all different modes so you can compare No BSR, BSR mode 1 and BSR mode 2:

Top left: BSR 1; Bottom left: BSR 2; Right side: No BSR

And a closeup so you can see the stitches:

Top left: BSR 1; Bottom left: BSR 2; Right side: No BSR

I think this difference is hugely noticeable. Free-motion quilting with the BSR makes a much neater, more professional-looking finished product.

What’s the verdict?  Should I get one?

Ahh, well, that’s for you to decide, isn’t it?  My first foray into using it was fun and really produced noticeable results.  I am happy I got it with my machine and I have no doubt that it will help me get the right finished look for quilts going forward.   My crafty roots do not lie in quilting at all, never mind the free-motion variety, but I can tell you that if you’re not much of a free-motion quilter yet, being the proud owner of this shiny little number will make you want to be!  The BSR was a major reason I decided on the 440 instead of the 430, and I plan to use this thing a ton!

So there you have it!  Hope you enjoyed this post if you made it this far.

Please feel free to post any links to finished products you’ve made using the BSR!  I’d love to see what else this baby can do!

Update:  For part two of this series, go here: Bernina Aurora 440 QE:  Free-motion Quilting – Part 2 of 2 – The BSR!

I’ve been sewing for a bunch of years, but have always admired from afar the meandering amoeba-like quilting stitch that some people use on top of their quilts.  It sounds and looks quaint enough, but did I need special feet?  Special thread?  Special talent?  Was this all done in some secret pattern that I didn’t know about?  Was it done by hand and would I be too lazy to ever do this myself?  Thankfully, the answer to most of those questions (including, most importantly, the talent question!) is no.  As I’ve been learning, there’s actually nothing scary about this technique, and it turns out it’s extremely fun.

I invite you to come on my little trip through free-motion quilting as I learn about this technique in two parts:  Part one will explore the free-motion quilting technique that can be done on any sewing machine; part two will focus on the use of the Bernina Stitch Regulator (BSR) attachment to regulate the stitch length while free-motion quilting on a Bernina sewing machine.  Welcome to part one!  Let’s get started.

Getting the Important Details Out of the Way

First let’s answer the most burning question that I just know has been bugging you as much as it has been bugging me:  Hyphenated or not?  “Free motion quilting?” or “Free-motion quilting?”  I’m glad you asked because I can hardly stand it anymore.  Based on Google search results, you can find many instances of both versions, though I’d say that the unhyphenated version seems to dominate.  Unfortunately, the grammar geek in me wants to disagree.  Since neither “free” nor “motion” modify the noun “quilting” alone and act instead as a single concept describing the quilting, the two words must be hyphenated. Grammarbook.com agrees, so let’s go with that for now.  Phew!  Glad that ever-important grammar diversion is out of the way.  Ahem.

Free-motion Quilting Defined

So what is free-motion quilting in all its hyphenated glory?  Free-motion quilting is machine quilting (yay) that is done with the feed dogs lowered and uses a darning foot.  You make patterns on a quilt (or other fabric sandwich) by moving, but not turning, your quilt.  Technically, to do free-motion quilting properly, you are making one continuous line of stitches that never crosses itself.  You can decide how strictly to follow these rules;  many people turn their pieces or cross their stitching to great effect!  Typically, people use free-motion quilting to draw designs or patterns on a quilt, or to fill in areas of a quilt to make the feel of the quilt flat and firm.  We’ll see about those things in a minute.  For now, let’s walk through this definition step-by-step:

First, it looks like we’ll need a machine.  Check!  Got that one covered.

Next, we lower the feed dogs.  On my Bernina 440 machine, this involved depressing the button on the side of the machine to bring the feed dogs down:

The button sits just below where you plug the foot pedal in.

Feed dog button, pushed in to lower the feed dogs!

So far so good!  Next, we should reach for the darning foot.  In Berninaland, this is the #9 foot.  Darning feet have a spring in them, and typically a round or rectangular opening.  Sometimes they have an open toe attachment as well.  As a random side note for you IP law junkies out there, the darning foot was patented in1951.  The diagram and patent describing all of the intricacies that make this foot uniquely a darning foot can be found right here:  Darning foot patent.   For you visual types (admittedly, most of you out there probably aren’t IP law freaks like me…), a picture of my darning foot is below:

See the springy bit? And the cute circular loop of an opening? Also note how the feed dogs are down. Looks like we're ready to start!

One last thing before we get started actually stitching.  I have my machine set to a stitch length of 2, presser foot pressure to very low (almost 0) and stitch width to 0 (straight stitch).   Technically, the speed at which you move the fabric around determines the stitch length, but my machine defaults to 2, so…  I also leave my machine in the needle-down position so that when I take my foot off the pedal, the needle remains in the fabric in case I need a break.

Bernina's settings. Ignore the speed lever, which is currently set to slow in this picture. This should actually be set somewhere between medium and fast.

OK, so now it’s time to place your fabric sandwich underneath the presser foot and lower the lever.  If this is your first time doing this, it may feel quite odd.  The feed dogs not being there mean that you can move your fabric sandwich around as much as you’d like and there’s nothing to hold it in place.  Even though this feels weird, this is, in fact, the key point behind free-motion quilting, enabling you to move your fabric around while the machine stitches for you.

Now, your next task is to press the foot pedal in and off you go!  A medium or fast speed is ideal for this technique, but no matter what the speed, it takes some getting used to.  You – not the feed dogs – are in charge of moving the fabric around. You can go up and down, side to side, whatever you want!  Though per the rules of the game, don’t turn your fabric sandwich and don’t cross your stitching.  Often times, people use echoing (or the repeated outlining) of a particular line or pattern to build their meandering free-motion quilting stitch.  Here’s a sample of what I did with my fabric sandwich, just meandering around, not echoing anything:

Note that this is one continuous line of stitching, but that I can go in whichever direction I want. Don't cross the lines, though!

See those puffy little areas of goodness? This is my favorite part of the free-motion style.  After washing, this often leads to a great wrinkly dense effect. You can also see that the closer together you stitch your lines, the denser and flatter the quilt will lie.

Stipple Quilting vs. Free-motion Quilting?

At first, I thought stippling and free-motion quilting were both the same thing, as they seemed to be used interchangeably.  It turns out this is not the case.  Stippling is similar to the meandering free-motion quilting stitching you see above, but where your rows of stitching are not more than 1/4″ apart.  See a really useful example video of the technique, complete with technical terms like “Mickey Mouse ears” and “mittens” to describe the stitching.  Definitely worth a watch.

There are all sorts of things you can do with free-motion quilting.  If you’re artistic, you can stitch any number of cool pictures, echo-stitch appliques, or just freeform meander around your quilt until it’s as densely quilted as you’d like.  I, as a free-motion beginner, am sticking with the flexibility of the meandering amoeba stitch for a while until I get good at it. Maybe later I’ll get into some fancier stuff soon.

Practice makes perfect

Everywhere I look, I see that the advice to getting good at this technique is to practice.  Seems reasonable enough!  My approach is to start with small projects before doing an entire king-size quilt.  A table runner, maybe, or some quilted coasters?  Trivets?  You get the idea.

Eye candy

Here are some examples of free-motion quilting to get you excited to try it:

Oh Fransson’s Octopus Baby Quilt and beautiful green quilt; House on Hill Road’s Giraffe and Tea;

Jillions of examples on Flickr, including this adorable toy quilt.

I’d love to hear your tips or see your own free-motion quilting work.  Please post some of your tips or links to examples of your own free-motion quilting!

Next up:  A peek into the Bernina Stitch Regulator for free-motion quilting!  Part 2 of 2.

OK, so for you non-sewers out there reading this blog, it may sound absolutely insane that I wanted to initially start out this post with: “Dear walking foot, where have you been all my life?”  Yes, probably for those who don’t think sewing is cool (which, really, you should reconsider), this sounds pretty lame.  But seriously?  Walking foot?  I think you’re my new BFF.  It’s TLA & TLF over here between me and you.  You have a bad reputation, but I want everyone to know the real you.  Let’s explore your beauty, shall we?  I offer you this love letter of our history together:

You were born in this quaint little box by the river:

You, in the box.

This is what I was greeted with when I first laid eyes on you.  So cute snuggled in your Styrofoam home!  How could a girl not fall for you?

You, all warmly cozy.

You came with two attachment feet, a screwdriver, two seam guides (left and right) and another u-shaped piece with a screw that I’m not sure what to do with.  Gee.  I wish you came with a user manual.  Oh wait!  You do!  But it doesn’t tell me what to do with that little piece. You are such a complex person ummm… foot.

Here are your two soles.  They are so similar – it’s like we’re playing “one of these things is not like the other.” But the subtle but useful differences in your clever toes are just another facet of your pragmatic personality.

Every girl needs a few pairs of shoes...

And the feet… Those cute little black feet that are responsible for all of the walking that you do.

Remember when we first shook hands?  Was it as thrilling for you as it was for me?  This little arm of yours is where all the magic comes from.

Nice to meet you!

And how you let me change out your soles…

This won't hurt a bit...

OK, so Igot a little too close for comfort and you put up your defenses.  We all need personal space and I respect that.

You, getting a little prickly with your seam guides.

At first, I had no idea how to best make use of your many talents.  I was going about it all wrong, not putting your magical arm to good use:

Walking Foot: The wrong way. Booo! Hissss!

But then, little walking foot, you showed me what you’re truly made of:

Walking Foot: The right way!

The arm hangs on to the needle housing so that the feet move up and down with the needle to hold the fabric down and move it along at a steady pace.

Close-up

Those little black feet of yours walk between the openings in the soles, bringing the fabric along with the rest of the batch. I swear, that walk might even be runway ready!

Walking foot, you have changed my life.  You are quiet, graceful, and delightful to have.  Fabrics don’t slide, long strips of cotton with interfacing in between stay straight and fabric doesn’t stretch out leaving all that extra fabric at the end of long seams.  I know… I’m late to the lovefest.  But will you still have me?

So I’ve been playing around with the different stitches on the machine.  Can you tell?

One of the very first things I decided to do was sew a sample of each of the 180 stitches it is capable of.  Boy, that got old fast.  But I got most of the way through until I ran out of room on my sample fabric and decided to give up. They’re all done using Mettler silk finish 100% cotton thread.  Rumor has it polyester thread might make these things look prettier, but I’ll tell you now that this sampler won’t be getting done all over again!

A closeup of the button holes.  One of them got quite wonky (the plain rectangular one, if that’s even a button hole…).  Oops!  I especially like the one that looks like a caterpillar on the right.  Turns out buttonholes are quite easy to make on this machine, and you can program it to make them all uniform.  Very slick.

Here’s a closeup of some of the decorative stitches.  The honeycomb in the top left, and some of the flower ones are my faves, though.

Not sure when and where I’ll be using all of these decorative stitches, but I’m sure you’ll see them pop up in future projects.  (Hmm… how to incorporate these into my latest work-in-progress Frenchy handbag?)

I’m glad now to at least have a reference that shows me what the actual stitches look like, besides what’s on the little card that came with the machine.

The box.  Brown, cardboard, heavy.

The first thing you see when you pop it open:  Instruction manuals, brochures, the knee lifter, a DVD (that I still haven’t watched) and various other warranty info and such.

Oh-so-cute little Bernina all tucked away in there!  On all sides are various accessories: at the top of the pic is the dark blue carrying bag; just in front of the carrying bag is the accessory cabinet attached to the machine; to the right is the walking foot in its box, plus the foot pedal.  In front (bottom) is the clear plastic extension table and a baggie of feet and various other stuff.

Here’s everything unpacked onto my kitchen table.  Anyone know what that random plastic thing in the middle is (above the extension tray)?  I haven’t bothered to look that up yet.  But, roughly clockwise from the top left:  Accessory cabinet; knee lifter; Bernina Stitch Regulator (BSR)box;  walking foot box; oil; foot pedal; extension table; power cord; screwdriver, cleaning brush, seam ripper; “hump jumper” plastic thingy; four metal bobbins, allen wrench; thread spool caps; other included presser feet.

I love stuff like this – a handy cord wrapper on the bottom of the foot pedal.  Down with messy wires!

A closeup of the presser feet.  From left to right:  #1 -reverse pattern foot (a.k.a. the normal, regular ol’ foot), #3a – buttonhole foot with slide, #4 – zipper foot, #5 – blindstitch foot, #20 – open embroidery foot, #37 – patchwork foot, #9 – darning foot.  Next to the darning foot is some metal thing that I don’t know what to do with yet (thoughts, anyone?).  I have a class the week after this one with the salesperson at the store I bought it from that will hopefully enlighten me a bit!

A very pretty box, which contains the BSR attachment.

The inside of said box.  Very cute!  The BSR has three feet.  One is already attached to the BSR -  the closed toe freemotion foot.  The one on the left is the open-toe freemotion foot, and the one on the left is the transparent foot with crosshairs.

The box for the walking foot included with the machine.  My first walking foot ever!  I just read that this baby goes for $125.  I had no idea they were so expensive!

The walking foot plus additional things that I will learn about at some point.  More of those mysterious curvy metal things enclosed here, which is a clue!

The blue canvas bag that will eventually store the machine, accessory cabinet, pedal, and extension table.

The machine!  In all its glory!  This puppy is heavy and sturdy…

Finally, stuff I got the dealer to give me for free during my price negotiation.   The plastic things are shelves for the accessory cabinet.  The bobbins are insanely expensive – 12 for 20 bucks, so I had them throw in two packs of them for me.  I have another presser foot on the way, too – the teflon foot, so I can go sewing some oilcloth.  I also asked the dealer for some nicer thread, too. I think most of that is Mettler and the purple one is Isocord.

Now that I have a machine capable of embroidery stitches, I’ll have to go learning about thread.  Anyone know any good primers or articles on what kinds of thread are good?  What do you use?

And there you have it, folks.  The contents of the Bernina box!   I’ve been experimenting on the machine slowly but surely, getting to know the awesomeness of this machine, and I will have more to report soon!

When unpacked, this glorious box looks even more glorious:

I never thought it would happen. I have a new sewing machine! It’s a Bernina 440QE! It is lovely and beautiful and sturdy and smooth. I am officially in love.

Stay tuned for a few posts on my search experience, as well as more info on the machine itself. I hope to do a lot of mini feature reviews so that others can benefit from some info out on the Interwebs that I was unable to find throughout my search. Yippee!