5 elements for appliqueing with the Pfaff Creative 1.5

I love applique. I loved applique before I became a quilter and I still love it. I collect blocks of the month – as long as they’re applique. Hand work is not my thing though so needle turn applique was not something I was going to embrace. I tried raw edge applique with my sewing machine in the past and was left a bit disappointed. Enter Scarlett, my Pfaff Creative 1.5 sewing and embroidery machine, I look for 5 elements of appliqueing with the PFAFF Creative 1.5.

What’s in a name?

Okay, stop sewing for a minute here. Who is Scarlett you ask?

Remember on Monday or Tuesday I asked if you named your machines and said I was looking for a name for this one? Well lots of suggestions came in but I’m going with Scarlett. There’s the obvious reason, the great bold, stand out color. Now for the other not so obvious but just as important reason is that when we say Scarlett we think of a strong, independent woman who wouldn’t let anything get her down for long. One can quickly recall Scarlett in Gone with the Wind, and how she was tiny but packed with drive and ambition!

Don’t let this machine fool you, it may be an entry level machine with embroidery features but it’s packed with features that makes it a jewel. She is going to stand the test of time, work hard for you and bring hours and hours of pleasure as you enjoy sewing and quilting, and improve your skills.

So for these reasons her name is Scarlett!

Back to applique

Scarlett (aka Pfaff Creative 1.5 sewing and embroidery machine), has a vast selection of stitches that look like quilting stitches. I have to say I really like the look of a blanket stitch on my applique, so it’s always the one I go to first and the one I ‘test’ all machines on. I was not disappointed.

With so many stitches to choose from and a passion for applique I chose stitch #42 as that is the type of stitch I test on ALL machines.

Choose your stitch and carefully press the stitch number onto the keypad on the front of the machine. That’s it, you’re ready to sew. Nothing complicated and it’s easy to use.

But wait–what if you’re new to sewing and all those stitches are confusing? No problem, see a stitch you like? Call it up on your screen by pressing the keypad. Now you’ll see a button on the front of your machine with a lower case “i” for ‘information’, press the button. Go ahead, don’t be scared, press it, look what happens…

By pressing the information button you get all the details you need to help you along. The screen shows the following:

1. Use presser foot 1A.
2. The symbol that looks like a piece of paper tells you this stitch will work best with some stabilizer. I always use Inspira stabilizer, you can get it wherever you buy your PFAFF sewing machine, it wouldn’t hurt to pick up some Inspira needles while you’re at it.
3. The symbol to the right of the stabilizer symbol reminds you to use the IDT System.
4. It indicates the tension the machine is set at, which works like a charm and avoids you having to adjust the tension. In future thread painting project, you can adjust the tension manual, otherwise for straight forward stitching, the machine will do the thinking.
5. To the far right, the screen indicates the stitch length and above that, is the stitch width. Both length and width are easily adjusted by tapping on the plus or minus sign to the right of the length and width numbers.

I wanted this first block to be appliqued using the stitch as it was on the screen. No adjustments and it stitched up great! This is my favorite method of applique.

Raw edge applique with Scarlett couldn’t be any easier. Once again I used my needle down function so I could make those turns and keep everything in place. Even though there’s a vast selection of stitches to choose from I chose a classic stitch. Stitches are such a personal choice, and there’s not right or wrong, it’s what’s pleasing to the eye. Choose your favorite and never be disappointed!

I just want to remind you of something really important here, there are many, many applique projects for quilting that can be done in your embroidery hoop. Remember that Scarlett is sew much more than just a sewing machine, since the embroidery arm and a large 240 X150 hoop is included, your possibilities for applique projects is limitless!

That in itself could take up days and days of blog posts reviewing it all. Visit your local PFAFF dealer and they’ll help recommend great embroidery projects for your quilting needs. There’s so much more than the 5 elements of appliqueing with the Pfaff Creative 1.5.