4 features on the Designer Sapphire 85 make your sewing experience easy!

Can you believe all those fantastic features on the Designer Sapphire 85 I went through yesterday? And we’re only just touching the surface of the Husqvarna Viking Designer Sapphire™ 85! When I make something, this sewing and embroidery machine’s features and functions make the task so simple, so I only have to focus on being super creative. I love it!

Husqvarna Viking Designer Sapphire™ 85

There are two technologies in the Designer Saphhire 85 that make our sewing experience easy, yet we can’t readily see either of these technologies.

The first one is called the deLuxe™ Stitch System, and the other is the Exclusive Sensor System™.

The deLuxe™ Stitch System and the Exclusive Sensor System™ are standard features on the Husqvarna Viking Designer Sapphire™ 85

Let’s start with the deLuxe Stitch System. What is it? We’re all familiar with the tension system for thread delivery to the needle. The thread runs between two tension discs to maintain an even tension to form the stitch correctly. Some delicate threads don’t like the tension discs. The deLuxe Stitch System is another thread delivery option, which doesn’t put stress on the thread, so thread breakage issues with threads such as metallic are significantly reduced.

Instead of the two tension discs, the thread runs between a series of rollers positioned just below the tension discs and portions out the exact amount of thread needed for the stitch variables, whether you’re embroidering or sewing.

The deLuxe™ Stitch System will choose between Thread Portioning or Thread Tension, depending on the type of work you’re doing. You can override this option, so you can easily switch between the two options if you want.

The tension discs and the portioning wheels of the deLuxe™ Stitch System on the Husqvarna Viking Designer Sapphire™ 85

Let’s talk about the Exclusive Sensor System. If you’re a bag maker, you know how hard it can be to stitch through the multiple layers of batting, interfacings, and fabrics. Your needle bends or breaks, and you get frustrated. When you need to stitch over different fabric thicknesses in the same seam, your tension can go crazy. The Exclusive Sensor System senses the change in thickness and adjusts the tension accordingly. So the next time you need to hem a pair of jeans or sew the handles onto a bag, remember the Exclusive Sensor System will make quick work of those jobs and give you great tension.

Here’s something else to consider when sewing many layers. How many layers can you sew through before you run into trouble? You know me – I love to experiment. I had some quilted scraps hanging around, and I decided to use those. I cut the piece, so there were four layers. It barely fit under the presser foot! I had to use the Presser Foot Up and Extra Lift to fit the stack of fabrics under the presser foot.

Sewing through many layers of quilted fabric

In addition to the Exclusive Sensor System that understands different thicknesses, the Designer Sapphire 85 also has incredible penetration power to sew through many layers. When sewing through different thicknesses or many layers, I have found it helps if you slow down. That allows the Exclusive Sensor System™ to sense the change in thickness and allows the sewing machine to go through all the layers and form a beautiful stitch. I lengthened the stitch to 3.0.

You’ll love both of these features, whether you’re quilting over a lumpy and bumpy quilt or making bags or sewing garments. There wasn’t a single skipped stitch – I LOVE it.

The beautiful seam through MANY fabric thicknesses

Do you want to know how many layers of fabric and batting I stitched through on my sample? Take a close look – I stitched through eight layers of batting and at least 16 layers of fabric. Wow! I want to make a bag, right now!

Stitching through eight layers of batting and at least 16 layers of fabric

I needed to get some applique completed for a project that’s due in a couple of days. It was the perfect opportunity to test out applique on the Designer Sapphire 85.

I love to do invisible applique with an elongated zigzag stitch. I pulled up Menu A (Utility) and used the A9 stitch. It’s super easy to adjust the stitch length and width.

The settings for the zigzag applique stitch

I want to share some of the screen’s great features that make your sewing task so much easier. See the bright blue numbers in the bottom left-hand corner? The numbers tell me I’m not in the default setting for this stitch. If I adjusted the numbers up or down, they’d turn black when they get to the default setting.

You can also see I’m using the Thread Portioning thread delivery method. The number 50 and the symbol with the three dots signify Thread Portioning. If I wanted to switch to Thread Tension, I would go to the Settings menu. It’s straightforward to switch between the two, should you need to. I rarely change that setting.

Some other things to note on this screen. The long row of stitching I see is exactly how my stitch will look when I stitch it out on my fabric. So as I adjust the length and the width, the diagram on the screen changes accordingly. Oh my, this is just too easy to do applique!

Just above the Stitch Menu on the right you will see the name of the stitch I chose – the Zigzag Center Needle Position. At the top is the type and weight of fabric I’m working with – a woven medium—the recommended needle size (80), as well as the presser foot. There’s so much information on this screen!

I have to tell you about the clock. I love having the time shown on the screen. I went into the Machine Settings menu and added the clock to the screen. When I’m working, a glance at the clock will keep me on track when I’m on a deadline.

There’s so much more information on the screen, but you get the idea – this is your command center, and while you may think it’s overwhelming, it doesn’t take long to figure things out.

Oh, one more exciting thing. See the question mark at the top? That’s a Quick Help. If you don’t know what something is on the screen, touch the question mark and then touch the function or button on the screen, and the Quick Help will let you know.

Okay, I’m done talking about the screen. I have other things to share with you.

In case you want to see a closeup of my applique, here it is. I’m using the Open Toe Foot so I can see right into my work. It’s so easy!

Using the Open Toe Foot for invisible machine applique

Here’s the foot control that comes with the machine. You have to understand, it’s just not a foot control – it’s a great foot control. You can advance by half a stitch, simply by tapping on the control. That’s advantageous when quilting or doing applique – a simple tap will move the needle out of the fabric or into the fabric. And should you be using the START/STOP function (which you use for embroidery, and I like to use for long lines of decorative stitching), instead of the foot control, tap the foot control, and the machine will stop. And did you know you can run the embroidery side with the foot control? If you have a very delicate area you’re embroidering or for a project-in-the-hoop, using the foot control gives you 100% control.

The foot control

If you want to go one step further, the Multi-Function Foot Control works with the Designer Sapphire™ 85. It’s an optional programmable foot control.

The Multi-Function Foot Control

It plugs into the USB port, and a menu will pop up on the screen, allowing you to program a function into the two wings on the side of the foot or into the heel area. The tap function as per the original foot control is also part of the Multi-Function Foot Control.

At first, I thought I would be all ‘thumbs’, and I would end up using the Scissors function when I didn’t want it. It took a couple of days as my foot learned the Multi-Function Foot Control parameters, and I trained my brain to use it instead of the functions on the sewing machine. Now I’m lost without it! I love having the Scissors and the FIX function programmed in, but depending on what I’m sewing – I might reprogram it for the Reverse Function or Stitch Re-Start, or Presser Foot Up/Extra Lift.

The on-screen programming for the Multi-Function Foot Control

I have one more cool feature to share with you today – that’s if you can handle the excitement! I’m so excited, I just want to sew all day! So I’ll continue working on the chair caddy. The main piece is quilted, and I now want to make the pockets. I thought I’d try using the Quilt Binder attachment to bind the top of the pockets. Sure, I could have just folded the fabric over, but where’s the fun in that? Besides, I wanted a bright orange binding on the pockets so I could see them.

There are two holes in the Zigzag Stitch Plate necessary to secure the Quilt Binder in place.

Two holes in the Zigzag Stitch Plate to secure the Quilt Binder

Then I got the Quilt Binder out of the box and attached it to those two holes. Make sure the screws are tight. It looks like a giant bias binder, and in a way, it is. What’s so neat about it is that it’ll stitch both the front and the back of the binding at the same time!

The Quilt Binder

I cut the front pocket to 5½” (width) x 6″ (length), and I fused heavy interfacing on the back to give it body. Then I placed the lining on the back. I basted the top edge so when the pocket went through the Quilt Binder, it would function as one fabric.

Then I loaded the binding strip into the Quilt Binder with the wrong side facing me. I scooched the binding strip back and forth a couple of times to get it folded properly. I lined the outermost part of the fold in the Quilt Binder with the presser foot’s edge and adjusted my needle to the left so everything was lined up just right. It takes a minute or two to get it set up, but once you do, it’s so easy to use.

Getting ready to stitch the binding on the pocket of the chair caddy

Ensure you push the piece you’re binding right into the notch, so the quilt completely fills the binding. And voilà – the top of both pockets were bound in less than a minute. Both sides. This is very exciting!!

The binding is attached to the top of the pocket

The only thread I had in the house that matched was a 40wt thread, which wasn’t my first choice. But notice how the stitching on the back looks just as even as the front.

The stitching on the back of the bound pocket

Then I used my Heirloom Clever Clips to attach the two pockets to the main section.

The two pockets clipped to the main piece of the chair caddy

And that’s where I’ll leave you today! You’ll have to come back to see how I finish the chair caddy off. I’ll also explore some of the Exclusive Stitch Techniques in the Husqvarna Viking Designer Sapphire™ 85.

Well, I’m off to sew!!

Have a great day!!

Ciao!!!

This is part 3 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 2: 15 features + 7 accessories that make the Designer Sapphire 85 super!

Go to part 4: Beautiful decorative stitches in sewing mode 

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