Embellishing and quilting the Christmas house table runner!

Yesterday I showed you how to use the MuVit dual feed foot on the Brother Innov-ís BQ3050to quilt the Christmas table runner. But then I decided to add a little extra embellishment with applique and free motion stitching.

Here’s how to do this

• Choose a fabric with some size-appropriate motifs.
• Apply a light-weight fusible web to the back of the fabric following the manufacturer’s instructions for the product you are using.
• Cut out the desired motifs.

• Place the motifs on the table runner and lightly press in place.
• Now it’s ready to stitch onto the table runner. This was an opportunity to try some free motion stitching on my new Brother Innov-ís BQ3050.

When in free motion mode on the Brother Innov-ís BQ3050, the internal sensor detects the thickness of the fabric and the free motion foot is raised to the height specified in the machine settings screen. Settings can be changed on the settings screen. For example, increase the setting when sewing very soft fabrics.

There are 3 different free motion feet included with the BQ3050 machine — foot C, foot O and foot E.

When using the free motion quilting foot C, the included straight stitch needle plate must be used.

Free-motion stitching requires some practice, but the finished results are well worth the effort.

I used the open toe foot with monofilament thread to stitch around the motifs. I put the thread on the spool stand that is included with this machine. Using this stand helps to control this sometimes difficult thread.

You may also have to lower your upper thread tension a little to get good results. It’s a good idea to do some practice stitching on scrap fabrics before stitching on the table runner to check everything out.

Now that the applique is all finished, it’s time to add the binding

• Cut 3 – 3″ x WOF (width of fabric) strips for a ½” finished size binding.
• Sew on the binding using a scant ½” seam.
• Fold the binding to the back and hand-stitch in place. This will give a ½” finished size binding.
• For a more detailed description of sewing on the binding, check out this previous post in QUILTsocial.

Thanks for joining me this week as I learned to use my new Brother Innov-ís BQ3050 machine. I’ll be back next month to show even more wonderful features on this machine.