Easy! Make and learn with Designer EPIC 2

Isn’t all this learning fun? What I’m loving is that I’m not getting overwhelmed like I would in a class. I don’t have to worry about asking too many questions as the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2 is very patient.

The more I familiarize myself with all the available resources, the more likely I’ll be to use them, and that’s just going to expand my level of creativity!

Let’s start by looking at the Sewing topic in the JoyOS Advisor.

This is where you select the type and weight of fabric that you’re working with, as well as the technique that you’re going to do. I love this feature. Why is it so exciting?

It eliminates the guesswork when you start a new project and especially when you’re doing something you don’t usually do or work with a fabric you don’t typically work with. The JoyOS Advisor will select the best stitch and stitch length; it’ll indicate which needle type and size to use, and whether a stabilizer is needed or not. All those variables are set or highlighted so I can set the Designer EPIC 2 up accordingly.

I know I keep saying this, but it’s like having your Home Ec teacher sitting beside you and answering your questions. Perhaps I’ll change the name of the JoyOS Advisor to Mrs. Sealy, who was my Home Ec teacher.

The Sewing topic of the JoyOS Advisor also has Project files that’ll walk you through various sewing techniques such as inserting a zipper or using the Exclusive Stitches that come with the Designer EPIC 2 and many others.

What’s so great about using the JoyOS Advisor to learn a technique is that the appropriate Stitch Menu pops up so you can select one of the decorative stitches instead of finding the menu yourself.

Those Exclusive Stitches are gorgeous and so easy to do once you watch the videos in the JoyOS Advisor.

Here are just a few of the Exclusive stitches built into the Designer EPIC 2.

My learning tools for today are in the Sewing Instructions folder within The Knowledge Center.

There are several categories from which to choose.

Hey – here’s a thought. The Designer EPIC 2 has WiFi capabilities, which means that updates occur without me having to take the machine to the dealer. I wonder if new projects get loaded in these folders during a software update?

I selected Fashion Accessories and chose the Phone Case.

There are 21 steps in the Project File. You can see by the positioning boxes in the top left, that the Project file window is on full screen as indicated by the blue highlight. Touch one of the other positioning boxes to change the position of the Project file window.

This feature is useful if I need to see part of the screen behind the Project file window.

If the text is too small, I can enlarge it, I can also select the type and weight of fabric from this screen, or I can close the Project file window.

Here’s a good tip. If you’re going to learn by making one of the projects, I would suggest two things.

1. Scroll through all the steps before you start the project. That way, you have an idea of what you’re about to do.
2. Assemble all the tools and supplies listed in Step 2 before you get started. Otherwise, it’ll take you forever to complete the project.

I’ve moved the Project file window to the top so I can get started.

What I love about these Project files is all the stitches and embroidery designs you require are embedded in the Project file. You can see on the right-hand side, the embroidery design, the Automatic Button Sewing stitch, and the straight stitch required to complete the project. I don’t have to search through various menus to get the information.

In the photo below, I’m learning how to add my initial to the center of the embroidery design that’s been loaded into Embroidery Edit.

My initial is in position, and I’m ready to start the embroidery.

You’ll notice I’ve moved into Embroidery Stitchout, and I lost the Project file window. How will I know what the next step is?

That’s easy enough to fix. I touch the middle icon along the bottom of the screen, which is the Project File icon. The icon is now highlighted in blue (meaning that option is activated), and my Project file window appears in the top where I had positioned it before I moved into Embroidery Stitchout.

Some of the diagrams are small, depending on whether you have the Project File window in full screen or one of the other positions. There are times when you need to see the detail in the diagrams. There’s a small X on the corner of the diagram. Touch the X, and the diagram goes full screen. Then you can close it and move along to the next step.

It’s time to start stitching. I’m using a heavy felt for this project, and I love how the embroidery motif turned out. It’s gorgeous.

I also learned a new trick. The felt was basted to the stabilizer as it’s too thick to put in the hoop. That I knew, but then the instructions told me to remove the stabilizer from the basted window, so there is no stabilizer on the underside of the motif. That’s so awesome.

I worked my way through the steps in the Project file, and now it’s time to sew the button on. Well, I could do that by hand, but why not do it with the Button Foot as instructed. So I did.

It amazes me how much you can do with the sewing machine.

I loaded the Automatic Button Sewing stitch to stitch the button in place. Remember the stitch was attached to the Project file, so I didn’t have to search for it. This stitch is like a zigzag stitch but with a length of 0. Since I wasn’t sure if the width of the stitch matched the distance between the holes in the button, I carefully tested that by manipulating the handwheel. Guess what? The default setting was the perfect width.

I could have used the STOP/START feature to sew the button on, but that kind of freaks me out, so I used the foot control, which allows me to tap half a stitch at a time. I’m good with that. In mere seconds the button was securely stitched in place.

Here’s my finished phone case! I did make a couple of slight modifications to the size so it would fit my phone, but that was easy enough to do by scanning ahead through the directions to see how the case was assembled.

And that’s another way of using the JoyOS Advisor in the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC 2 to learn new things. There appears to be no end to the learning. I learned some new techniques in the comfort of my own home, I could go as fast or as slow as I wanted, and I could make changes if I wanted.

I’m in love with all this remote learning. Not only am I learning new techniques to do with a sewing and embroidery machine, but I’m learning the features and functions of the Designer EPIC 2.

Be sure to come back because I’ve got a new topic for tomorrow. I’ll be learning some new embroidery techniques. Wait for it  – there are lots of styles.

Have a great day!

Ciao!