Piecing, Quilting, and Binding with the PFAFF creative elevate 680

Over the last few days, I have been sewing and embroidering using the PFAFF creative elevate 680. I have showcased many of the specialty technique stitches and experimented with optional feet and their corresponding preloaded stitches.

Yesterday, we explored the free creativate app for the Apple iPad and/or Android tablet (9 inches or larger). We focused on its newest feature, the free creativate app‘s “Embroidery Tablet Editor” software.

Today, I will piece together, quilt, and bind all the stitch-outs that you saw in post 1 (What Surprised Me Most About the PFAFF creative elevate 680) and post 2 (Floating, Ribbon and Stacking Stitches on the PFAFF creative elevate 680), along with the embroidery I demonstrated in post 3 (Circular Attachment Techniques on the PFAFF creative elevate 680). Additionally, I’m completing the Endless Quilted Table Runner I started in post 4 (What You Can Do with the creativate app + the PFAFF creative elevate 680).

The embroidered signature design from the PFAFF creative elevate 680 which I embroidered last  was the first “stitchout” to be trimmed. I divided the squares into two triangles using tapered decorative and radiant stitches. After trimming the triangles, I worked on the circular attachment square, which was divided into four sections and also trimmed. Finally, I trimmed all the sections of fringe stitches, ribbon stitches, stacked stitches, and floating stitches into rectangles and attached them to the corners of the circular attachment (which is a quarter square). What you see below are the borders of decorative stitching and the circular attachment pieced together with the center.

I’ll sandwich the quilt top between batting and backing, then quilt it using a stitch-in-the-ditch technique. I plan to combine this with an edge stitch, which will include an embroidery design and some decorative stitches. I will be mindful to maintain an even density of quilting. Later, I will show you the completed piece once it is bound.

Note: In the center around the embroidery design, I used the Hand Look Quilting Stitch. This stitch is available in the Quilting menu, but on this machine, it is located further down in the list as stitch #42. I chose this stitch to even out the density in the large plain green area surrounding the embroidery.

In yesterday’s post (see Post 4 link above), I teased you with a project from the Creativate catalogue, the “Endless Quilted Table Runner”, this is an in-the-hoop project where it pieces, quilts, and joins the next section, to create a finished runner. I also showed you how easy it is, with a creativate membership, to choose a design and send it to linked devices, software and/or machines.

The instructions for this project are quite clear in explaining each color step. However, they do not provide details on the fabric requirements. I used 0.2 meters each of six fabrics, ranging from light pink to dark burgundy, including shades of red. This allowed me to create six repeats of the design, although I only used five repeats to make a runner measuring 11” x 38”. Each section finishes at approximately 7½” x 11”.

For the quilt batting, I used five pieces, each measuring 11” x 8½”. Each color strip of fabric was cut to 3½” x 11”, and the backing measures 12” x 40”.

PFAFF Whisper Web To fit the hoop, I used either the included 360 x 200 or the optional 260 x 200, and I cut the binding strips to be 3 inches wide. Each embroidery took about 45 minutes, including the final color, which was quilting and took at least 16 minutes. I used a piecing variegated thread for all colors except for the last quilting step, where I used a pink sewing thread.

For the best results while embroidering, I set the embroidery tension to 4 when piecing the sections. When I quilted, I lowered the tension to 3.2.

After completing the top of my table runner, I spray-basted the backing in place and performed minimal “stitch in the ditch” quilting, primarily to secure the backing to the quilting runner.

To bind both the table center and the runner, I trimmed the pieces to size and finished the edges using a 3-step zigzag stitch, with the stitch length and width set to around 4.5. The zigzag stitch was applied to the fabric, while the zigzag part extended slightly beyond the quilt sandwich. Then, I took out my PFAFF 5/8” Quilt Binder (double fold) and setup my machine with it. I cut all my binding strips to a size of 3” by the width of the fabric. I then pieced them together diagonally to create a strip that is longer than needed to go around each piece. After that, I trimmed the seams to ¼” and starched the binding before pressing it in half lengthwise.

I used the same technique to bind the Endless Quilted Table Runner.

Over the past few days, I have been working with the PFAFF creative elevate 680.

– Completed sew-outs of decorative stitches.

– Embroidered a signature design for a Table Center Mini Quilt.

– Showcased the creativate app and its newest feature, the creativate Embroidery Tablet Editor Software.

– Demonstrated the editing and sending capabilities of the software, resulting in an embroidered Endless Quilted Table Runner as part of the creativate project.

– Finished both projects by layering, quilting, and binding them.

The PFAFF creative elevate 680 to me is small but mighty. It’s larger than my travel sewing machine by a lot, yet smaller and lighter than my PFAFF creative icon 2 Sewing and Embroidery Machine. It can do many of the same techniques in stitching and embroidery, and still offer my favorite techniques in embroidery and quilting!

I am impressed! Have a Good day!

This is part 5 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 4: What You Can Do with the creativate app + the PFAFF creative elevate 680