4 simple steps to make fascinating machine embroidered quilt blocks

This is my last month blogging about THE Dream Machine 2 from Brother! It’s been so fun learning some of the great things that this machine can do, but I know that I’ve barely scratched the surface!

Since this is my last time using this machine, I decided to make a project with LOTS of machine embroidery. To be honest, before getting this machine, I had no interest whatsoever in machine embroidery. I LOVE hand stitching and hand embroidery. BUT, now that I’ve had a taste of what an embroidery machine can do, I can definitely see why so many quilters just have to have one!

Step 1 – select your design

Our first step is to select the embroidery menu on THE Dream Machine 2 from Brother.

Next, scroll through all of the available designs to select one that looks close in size and shape to the block to be embroidered. I’d like to do a block that is about 10″ square, so I’m looking for a design that is around 8″ across.

When the key for the design is selected, THE Dream Machine 2 shows a preview along with the size of the finished embroidery (shown in the top right of the screen). Select “set” to add it to the design screen.

Step 2 – resize

Since the design I selected is larger one way than the other, I select “edit” to make the embroidery design the correct size and shape needed to fit a 10″ block.

You can see that the default size of the embroidery design is shown in the top left corner of the screen.

Once in the edit size menu, press the height or width adjustments to make the embroidery design taller or wider as needed.

Now that the height of the design is increased, the measurements on the display of THE Dream Machine 2 show that the height and width of the embroidery design are almost equal so it’ll now fit in a 10″ square quilt block. The display also shows me that I need to hoop my fabric in the largest hoop that comes with the machine.

Step 3 – recolor

Now we can press the edit color button to change the thread colors in the embroidery design.

Here’s the recolored embroidery design that uses the colors of threads I have on hand.

Here are all the rayon threads that I’m going to use in the embroidery design all lined up along the edge of the table. Don’t they look yummy?

The thread change chart in THE Dream Machine 2 embroidery guide shows how many times the thread will need to be changed and how long the embroidery design will take.

Step 4 – stitch it out

After 67 minutes of stitching and 25 thread changes, here’s the finished embroidery design in the hoop of THE Dream Machine 2.

Step 5 – repeat

I decided to make a table runner using the flower block in the center. I searched through THE Dream Machine 2’s embroidery designs and found this simple square design I’ll use in the two blocks on either end of the table runner. I’ll embroider them using the same thread colors as I used in the flower block.

Here is block number two being stitched by THE Dream Machine 2.

I’ll be working away with THE Dream Machine 2 stitching the two end blocks for the table runner. Tomorrow I’ll try some bobbin work embroidery with this great machine! Join me!