Outstanding design features of the HV Designer EPIC

Welcome back. Can you believe all those fabulous features on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC? Everywhere you look on this sewing/embroidery machine, there’s a new or redesigned feature that’s going to make your sewing and quilting tasks a whole lot easier!

Today, we’re going to look at a few more features and I have to confess that I got a bit obsessed with one of them. Just wait.

While there are a lot of new features on the Designer EPIC, there are a lot of returning favorites and some of those are found on the Function Panel. The functions are located in two separate areas – one to the left of the needle and one to the right. The Function Panel below is located to the left of the needle and contains:

Automatic Needle Threader: Yes, that’s exactly what this does. You place the thread in the Automatic Needle Threader, hit the button on the function panel and the needle gets threaded automatically. Even I, who always has trouble with needle threaders, made it work the first time.

Stitch Restart: If you stop in the middle of a stitch sequence, simply hit this function to reset the sewing machine to the start of the stitch sequence. This is an absolute must for decorative stitches.

Speed + and – : There are 5 different speed levels. I love having that many options as some sewing techniques work well at top speed and some sewing techniques require a slower speed. I love being able to use this function rather than use the foot control to control my speed.

Needle Stop Up/Down: One of my all-time favorite features! You stop sewing and the needle remains in the fabric. Excellent for decorative stitching, free motion quilting, and many other techniques.

Cut Function: The sewing machine will cut both your top and bobbin threads, lift the presser foot and raise the needle.

Reverse: The sewing machine sews in reverse when activated.

This is the second half of the Function Panel which is on the right side of the needle.

START/STOP: Instead of using the foot control, this function stops and starts the sewing machine which is perfect for long rows of stitching, in particular, decorative stitching.

FIX: This is used to tie off the beginning and/or ending of a row of stitching. This is a must for applique and decorative stitching.

STOP: It stops the stitching at the end of a stitch sequence. This is such a handy function when using the decorative stitches. You don’t know where the stitch sequence ends but hit the STOP button and the EPIC will complete the current stitch sequence and stop.

REVERSE: Same as the reverse on the other half of the function panel.

Presser Foot Down and Pivot: Use this button to lower and raise the presser foot. Used in conjunction with the Needle Up/down, this function will raise the presser foot ever so slightly when you stop and this allows you to pivot without touching the presser foot. This function makes applique so much easier.

Presser Foot Up and Extra Lift: Use this button to raise the presser foot. There are two different heights so if you need some extra lift to get that bulky item under the presser foot, just tap the button twice.

I can’t say enough about all of these Functions. I’ve had the good fortune of using a number of these functions for years and I welcome the newer ones. Whenever I sew on a machine that doesn’t have these features, I’m lost and I feel the quality of my work is compromised.

I’m going to confess right up front that I got carried away with the Accessory Tray. While Accessory Trays usually have little compartments for various tools and accessories, every other tray that I’ve ever seen pales in comparison to this Accessory Tray. Again – another brilliant design and you can tell that the group of sewers that helped design the Designer EPIC were tough and they were thorough.

Let me show you what I mean.

Let’s start with a top view of the Accessory Tray. The first thing we notice is that there’s a Needle Plate in the bottom. Two Needle Plates come with the Designer EPIC (more on them later) and since you can only have one on the machine at a time, you need a place to store the second one.

A very nicely designed space allows the second Needle Plate to be snapped in place at the bottom of the Accessory Tray.

Now let’s open up the Accessory Tray to see what’s inside.

Instead of just having little compartments, there are compartments that are sized to hold specific items. In this picture below, you can see that packs of needles will fit in that narrow space. This is so much better than having to dig them out from beneath a bunch of other loose items!

And look – there’s even a notched holder so the Sensor One-Step buttonhole Foot can sit without getting into the mess of the rest of the items.

The bobbin holder is removable, but even better it’s made of a soft material so the bobbins stay in the holder. No danger of opening the Accessory Tray cover and having bobbins fly all over the place.

The C foot comes with a little pin on the back of it and a special slot has been made in the Accessory Tray so it sits properly without bouncing around.

As I mentioned yesterday, the bobbin cover has a lot of markings on it which is perfect to help you line up your work. The multiple markings ensure that whatever the width of your seam allowance, you’re sure to find one that corresponds to your current project.

There are many features and functions on the Husqvarna Viking Designer EPIC that are so amazing. The more I discovered, the more I was very impressed with the design of the sewing machine. I haven’t even sewn on it yet, nor have we looked into all the functions within the multi-touch screen and let’s not forget that the EPIC is also an embroidery machine.

Yes – this is a pretty amazing sewing/embroidery machine. Tomorrow, we’re going to check out some of the electronic features which will blow you away!

Have a great day!  Ciao!