7 reasons piecing is a dream on THE Dream Machine 2

Yesterday on QUILTsocial I showed you some of the amazing ways you can customize the settings on THE Dream Machine 2 from Brother in order to personalize your sewing and quilting experience just the way YOU want them!

Today, I’m working on a very exciting project from Northcott using some of their new Banyan BATIKS!!! I’ve said before that I love working with Northcott and now that they have a line of batik fabrics, I’m OVER.THE.MOON!!!

So, Nellie and I have two new patterns coming out using the Banyan Batik fabrics, and this week I’m working on making our ‘Starstruck’ sample using a selection of fabrics from the Sophie and Ketan basic lines. I’m test-driving THE Dream Machine 2 by piecing the blocks for this quilt.

While playing with this machine, I noticed some outstanding features that I think will make piecing my quilt sample fast, easy, and accurate.

1. Dimming the LED lights

The LED lights on THE Dream Machine 2 illuminate ALL of the workspace around the needle making it so much easier to achieve an accurate ¼” seam.

2. The spool stand LED thread indicator

The different colors on THE Dream Machine 2’s LED thread indicator alert that the bobbin or top thread is running low.

The indicator light is located just behind the horizontal spool pin on the top of the machine.

The empty bobbin alert on THE Dream Machine 2 will also pop up on the touch screen when the bobbin is almost empty. But, as I found out the hard way, the sensor only works when using CLEAR bobbins. I have some metal bobbins that are the same size and the sensor DID NOT tell me before I ran out of bobbin thread. So make sure to use the bobbins that come with the machine 🙂

3. Easily select stitches on the touch screen

The Utility Stitch screen on THE Dream Machine 2 lets you select sewing stitches easily with the touch of a finger. You don’t have to squint at the tiny pictures of sewing stitches and try to select the right number to key in! The screen also shows a preview along the left-hand side of the selected stitch.

4. A perfect ¼” seam

A perfect ¼” seam can be achieved by using either the Dream Machine 2’s ¼” foot with guide or the “J” foot with 1-30 stitch. Since I’ve never used a foot with a guide, I prefer to use the “J” foot, so all I have to do when I turn the machine on is press the button for stitch 1-30.

I NEVER trim off the dog ears that are created when you piece triangles, so using the “J” foot allows me to sew the blocks together without getting hung up on these little points. If you like to piece with the foot that has the guide on the side, you should trim these points off before sewing the blocks together.

The center of the Starstruck quilt pattern is the perfect size thanks to the accurate ¼” seam on THE Dream Machine 2. Now I just have to add the borders and get it quilted!

5. The laser Guideline Marker

The laser guideline marker on THE Dream Machine 2 is easily turned on by touching the guideline marker key on the sewing page and can be used for sewing a diagonal line across a fabric square.

When the button is touched, this adjustment screen will pop up. The guideline marker is easily adjusted back and forth until it’s lined up with the needle position.

Look how well the laser marker shows up on the fabric square. Now I want to make a million flying geese units before I have to give the machine to Jean Boyd for her review of the embroidery unit!

6. Help at the touch of a finger

Accessing helpful information for all of your sewing and quilting questions is very easy on THE Dream Machine 2’s troubleshooting screen.

7. LOTS of space

The 11″ throat on THE Dream Machine 2 has ample room to layout block segments when piecing.

Wow – this machine is so great for piecing, I can only imagine how awesome it will be for quilting and embroidery! Tomorrow I’m going to use of some of my batik scraps left over from the Starstruck Quilt to try out the dual feed foot that comes with THE Dream Machine 2 – see you then!