A clever way to raw-edge applique using dimensional stitches by Elaine Theriault March 21, 2017 written by Elaine Theriault March 21, 2017 919 Welcome back. Yesterday we made buttonholes and sewed the buttons on my sewing machine. Did you try making a buttonhole? How about sewing on a button? Today, I’m going to try out a new feature on the Husqvarna VIKING Sapphire 965Q. I’ll be exploring the Dimensional Stitches. Essentially, it’s a form of raw-edge applique. Now I know that raw-edge applique isn’t new, but this method is. Let’s have a look and see what the buzz is all about. Husqvarna VIKING Sapphire 965Q sewing machine. Quick Help One thing that I haven’t mentioned and I should because I’ve been using it to help me get around. If there’s something that you’re not sure about, or don’t know what its purpose is, simply touch the question mark on the top right-hand side next to the Interactive Color Touch Screen and then touch the item on the screen that’s in question and you get a definition of the item. How is that for not having to get the manual out and then try to figure out what exactly you’re looking for! Quick Help, or question mark, provides a definition of most items on the screen. Dimensional Stitches There are eight different Dimensional Stitches to choose from. They’re listed in the H – Specialty Stitches menu. Dimensional Stitches In the following photo, I’m looking at the third screen of the H – Specialty Stitches menu. For the highlighted stitch, H35, I can see which foot to use, in this case, the S foot. I can also see the outline of the stitch sequence. Notice the black dot at the top of the stitching line. This indicates the start of the stitch sequence. The third screen for the H – Specialty Stitches By selecting the Sewing Information tab, I now have access to all the specifics about this particular stitch. From this screen, I can also make changes to the stitch width and length. This is also where all the information about that stitch appears. In this case, I can see which fabric weight and style has been selected, the size of needle to use and the fact that my work needs to be stabilized in order to get a better-looking stitch. The preset tension is also shown on this page and allows me to override the settings if I have to. Settings for the H35 dimensional stitch I’ve snapped the S foot onto the presser foot ankle of the Sapphire 965Q. I also used a piece of stabilizer on the underside of my project. I actually used a fusible interfacing as it’s unlikely that you’ll want the stabilizer to be removed. There are lots of options depending on your project. With something new, it’s always a good idea to play. The iron on interfacing also happened to be handier than my stabilizers. This is another instance where the START/STOP function on the Function panel comes in handy. It’s way easier to let the sewing machine start and stop rather than use the foot pedal. Function panel on the Husqvarna VIKING Sapphire 965Q When you hit the START/STOP function, the Sapphire 965Q starts the stitch sequence, then it stops at the appropriate place. Sewing machine stopping at the first programmed stop Take a small piece of fabric and place it directly behind the needle. Butt that little square as snug to the needle as you can. Then hit START/STOP again. Place the fabric square just behind the needle. The sewing machine is now stitching back over the small square of fabric securing it in place, essentially appliqueing the square in place using a stitch in the shape of a heart. Just wait to see what it looks like! Sewing machine is stitching backwards onto the fabric square Continue adding the squares as per the stitch sequence. After you have the desired number of appliques, use the STOP function to ensure the Sapphire 965Q stops at the end of the stitch sequence where it automatically uses the FiX function to anchor the end of the stitching. Next up is to trim away the excess fabric, and now I have this beautiful row of stitched raw-edge applique. You could put fusible webbing on the wrong side of those little squares and once you have everything trimmed, use the iron to fuse the applique shapes in place. Try to use a fabric that doesn’t fray a lot. I grabbed what was handy and it looks pretty awesome. Beautiful row of raw-edge appliqued hearts That was easy, so let’s try another design. This one is a tulip, and I used red and green fabric with red thread. Perhaps a more neutral thread choice would be better. This is another example of why it’s important to play with the sewing machine. Make stitch-outs, try different thread colors, try different stabilizers or interfacing, and experiment with the stitch widths and lengths and how to correctly position the stitches on your work. You want to be 100% happy with your final results. Stitching a second row of the dimensional stitches I tried several different pairs of scissors for the trimming but found that my little snips worked as well as any of the fancy scissors that I have. They have a nice sharp point that got into all the tight spots. And they were handy! Snips work well to trim away the excess fabric Here are my two samples. Now those are cute. If I would have had some sense, I would have used those pieces or variations of the stitches on my projects. But I did not. So using these stitches on a project will have to wait for another week. The problem is not knowing the abilities of the sewing machine until you start messing around with it! If only we all had the time to play. Well now that you know what it can do, you don’t need to mess around – you can get right to stitching! Awesome looking stitch-outs of the dimensional stitches And here you can see the fusible interfacing that I used on the reverse side to stabilize the stitches. Fusible interfacing used to stabilize the stitches As with almost all the stitches on the Sapphire 965Q, I can change the stitch width and the stitch length, or in this case, the length of the stitch sequence. There are maximums and minimums in order to keep the integrity of the stitch, but in all cases, I can find something that suits what I want to accomplish. Maximum length for the stitch sequence on H35 dimensional stitch Isn’t that super exciting? I thought this was a clever way to get small appliques on a small project, like a cushion, a tote bag, or a small bag. I’m going to keep those in mind for my next project. Dimensional stitches is just one more amazing feature on the Husqvarna VIKING Sapphire 965Q sewing machine that takes your applique projects to a whole new level. Come back tomorrow because I’ve got another super exciting feature to show you. Have a super day! Ciao! This is part 2 of 5 in this series. Go back to part 1: What you need to know about sewing the perfect buttonhole by machine Go to part 3: Enhance your quilt blocks with side-motion stitching Print this page or save as a PDF 0qs147dimensional stitchesHusqvarnahusqvarna sapphire 930husqvarna viking sapphire 965qraw edge applique FacebookTwitterPinterestLinkedinRedditWhatsappTelegramEmail Elaine Theriault Elaine Theriault is a teacher, writer and pattern designer who is completely obsessed with quilting. Elaine’s Tech Tips column (originally published in A Needle Pulling Thread magazine) is now available online in e-book format at QUILTsocial.com. When not quilting, she enjoys spending time with her two dogs, Lexi and Murphy, or can be found cycling across the country. Her blog is crazyquilteronabike.blogspot.com. previous post What you need to know about sewing the perfect buttonhole by machine next post Enhance your quilt blocks with side-motion stitching YOU MAY ALSO LIKE... Make it zippy! Use this zany tip to... 3 presser feet that make inserting a zipper... Enhance your quilt blocks with side-motion stitching What you need to know about sewing the... Making a sewing machine needlecase using the Sapphire... 5 tips for topstitching and its purpose in... Key tips on sewing your binding by machine... Tips for successful sewing on the Husqvarna Viking... Physical features of the Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 965Q 2 comments Vonnie May 21, 2017 - 11:33 am Okay upon further investigation I have a 960 not the 965 but I still have the same question, Do you know if I can get those dimensional stitches on a thumb drive and install them on my 960? Reply Vonnie May 21, 2017 - 11:30 am I have this machine but I do not have those stitches, Do you know if I can put them on a thumb drive and download them onto my machine? Reply Leave a Comment Cancel Reply Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.