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Piecing a runner with decorative exposed seams on the PFAFF admire air 7000

by Margaret Sweete

Yesterday I pieced a Quilt-As-You-Go Baby Quilt on the PFAFF admire air 5000, utilizing the Presser Foot Pressure feature to make it easy!

Today I’m back on the PFAFF admire air 7000 to piece a runner with decorative exposed seams. To start, I visited CREATIVATE Quilting Software and created a 4-block runner, featuring the “Road to Oklahoma” block, which utilizes three fabrics: black, gray, and white, to represent the three fabrics I have: white, gray, and black with silver metallic flecks.

A white and burgundy serger with an extension table showing a bold 4-thread overlock gray stitch on black and silver fabric. The looper threads are thick, gray metallic.

PFAFF admire air 7000 setup for 4-thread overlock wide with decorative threads in the loopers.

I created the runner in CREATIVATE Quilting Software and sent it to CREATIVATE Crafting Software, so I could cut the runner out on my SINGER MOMENTO 24” Cutting Machine. For a step-by-step guide on the process, see my post: Cutting fabric for a mini quilt with SINGER MOMENTO 24 & mySewnet Software.

I choose the fabric and looper thread as they complement each other. The fabrics are black, mid-gray and white with a silver metallic fleck. The looper thread I chose is a mid-gray with a silver metallic wrap around it. Since the looper thread is 12-weight, I know that I will have to test-stitch the Wide 4-thread overlock to adjust the looper tensions. My serger is already set up in a ¼” seam, so I was confident that this would be fine, and it’s important in this block to be accurate, as everything SHOWS!

Two spools of gray serger thread, and two spools of 12-weight gray silver metallic for the loopers. Also shown are the first test stitch in a wide 4-thread overlock stitch with bad tension (on white fabric). And then the finished wide 4-thread overlock stitch on white fabric and black/silver project fabric.

Needle gray serger threads, and 12-weight gray/silver metallic thread for the loopers, with test stitch outs.

This runner is pieced with wrong sides together, and I’m using the blade as a seam guide. I only want a  “whisker cut”, (trimming the excess threads only), not the body of the fabric, I slowed the serger down (speed setting) to avoid going to fast as I have a “heavy foot ” To truly understand the whisker cut look at the waste tray below, multiple pieces of fabric stitched togther and barely anything in it.

You need to plan ahead which way the seam is going to be pressed, as you want to have the nicer side of the seam facing out, so you can plan which fabric needs to be on top. I did make a mistake somewhere along the way. I’m not sure where, but when I went to piece the blocks together, I ended up having to put in sashing because the seams wouldn’t align.

A white and burgundy serger with an extension table setup. Serging black and gray metallic triangular fabrics together bad sides together, so the bold decorative looper threads show.

PFAFF admire air 7000 setup for a Wide 4-thread overlock stitch with bold decorative threads in the loopers.

Continue stitching until each block is pieced together. When I finished all 4 blocks, I realized I was short on black and silver fabric and needed the runner to have 3 blocks, not four, to have enough fabric for borders and binding. And when I went to sew the blocks together according to my pattern, I realized I had made a mistake and ended up using sashing strips instead.

A runner with 3 blocks Black, gray and white silver metallic fabrics in a “Road to Oklahoma” pattern with black/silver sashing and borders. All the seams are exposed, with decorative gray/silver metallic thread.

3-Block black, gray, and silver runner with exposed decorative serged seams.

Today, I pieced a runner with exposed seams and decorative gray/silver metallic threads in the loopers. Most sergers can do this; I chose to do it on the PFAFF admire air 7000 because it has an extension table and speed control. When all seams show they need to be accurate (slow the speed down!) and the tension needs to be perfect. The extension table helps keep all the pieces flat and in line for a straight seam. The bigger, the bolder the seam, the more accurate you need to be!

Tomorrow, I’ll wrap up the week talking about quilting and binding. After all, I have three quilts and one runner that need to be finished. Join me!

This is part 4 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 3: Quilt-As-You-Go baby quilt with the PFAFF admire air 5000 Serger

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