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Using embellishing techniques on the Fidget Quilt

Using embellishing techniques on the Fidget Quilt

by Jean Boyd

Yesterday I showed you how to make 2 pockets and a yo-yo flower for the Fidget Quilt. Now I’m ready to start putting the fidget quilt together using the Brother NQ900 machine.

Brother NQ900 sewing machine

Brother NQ900 sewing machine

I sewed the background fabric rectangles together using the ¼” foot. I’m going to use some ribbon braid to cover the seam lines and the raw edges of some of the embellishments, so I pressed all the seams open. This will create a flatter area on which to sew the ribbon braid.

Seams in the background fabric are pressed open.

Seams are pressed open.

Now comes the fun part – sewing on all the embellishments in place! I pinned everything in place to check the over-all effect. I needed to take some of the items off the quilt in order to sew on the ribbon and braid, so I took a picture of my arrangement for future reference and then I was ready to sew.

Embellishments and trims are pinned in place.

Embellishments and trims are pinned in place.

I sewed braid and ribbon on some of the background fabric using a blanket stitch or simple zig-zag stitch with the open toe foot. The wide opening on this foot allows complete visibility of the stitches. The wedge shape indention on the underside of the foot keeps the foot from dragging over heavy stitching, such as satin stitching.

Again I did some test samples first, to make sure I liked the effect. For some stitches I lengthened and widened the stitch length – easy to do with just the touch of a button on the NQ900.

Using the open toe foot on the NQ900 to zig-zag stitch the braid in place

Using the open toe foot on the NQ900 to zig-zag stitch the braid in place

Before attaching the pockets, I sewed a piece of ribbon braid with a buckle attached to the inside of each pocket. Pulling something out of a pocket and putting it back in, is another activity enjoyed by those using a Fidget Quilt.

For some of the thicker pieces like the pockets, buttons flaps and zipper, I used the even-feed food to make sure everything stayed in place as I was stitching. I also used the walking foot to sew on a couple of crocheted doilies.

Then I added a piece of narrow cord on the top right rectangle. When the quilting is finished, I’ll be stringing some buttons here, just before the binding is sewn on.

Loops and buckles are sewn to the inside of the pockets. Make sure everything is attached securely.

Loops and buckles are sewn to the inside of the pockets. Make sure everything is attached securely.

I will be using black and white ribbon braid to cover all the seams. Using the walking foot, the ribbon braid underneath the zipper and button flaps was sewn on first. The remaining ribbon will be sewn over the seams after all the embellishments had been added. More embellishments will be added after the quilting is finished.

Sewing the ribbon braid over the seams using the walking foot

Sewing the ribbon braid over the seams using the walking foot

Now for the quilting! I layered the quilt top, batting and flannel backing and safety-pinned the layers together. Using the walking foot, I did some simple straight line quilting around the design elements and ribbons. There are 4 different fabric weights in this little quilt and the walking foot on the NQ900 managed everything with no problems – no shifting or stretching of any of the fabrics!

Quilting around the zipper embellishment with the walking foot

Quilting around the zipper embellishment with the walking foot

I’m almost finished putting my Fidget Quilt together with this wonderful Brother NQ900 machine! Come back tomorrow and I’ll show you my favorite binding method using the walking foot on the Brother NQ900.

This is part 4 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 3: Using Brother NQ900’s decorative stitches on a Fidget Quilt

Go to part 5: 6 of my favorite features on the Brother NQ900

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9 comments

Rebecca K February 21, 2017 - 6:56 pm

Love getting more ideas for Fidget Quilts. We’re making them at my local Guild to donate and can always use more suggestions – thank you!

Reply
Jean Boyd February 21, 2017 - 7:21 pm

Hi Rebecca. Glad you liked the blog posts about Fidget quilts. These little quilts have become very popular in our local nursing homes here. I’m glad you and your Guild are contributing to this very worthwhile cause in your area.

Reply
Cathie Scanlon February 15, 2017 - 10:39 pm

This is a very cool idea.

Reply
Jean Boyd February 16, 2017 - 8:27 am

Thanks Cathie. Glad you like it!

Reply
Laura February 5, 2017 - 9:11 am

Love this machine! I have a Brother, but not this one. I do a lot of quilting and the ideas you have are just awesome!

Reply
Jean Boyd February 5, 2017 - 11:15 am

Thanks Laura. Glad you enjoyed the QUILTsocial posts!

Reply
bridget calfee February 4, 2017 - 7:36 am

Very nice

Reply
Marci February 4, 2017 - 1:58 am

Thanks for the blog. I loved reading it

Reply
John H. February 3, 2017 - 9:05 pm

This is very interesting.

Reply

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