Straight stitching with a perfect seam allowance: How needle position helps

What do you think of this feature-rich sewing machine? The Husqvarna Viking Tribute 150C packs a big punch in a small package. I’m impressed by all the features I talked about yesterday, how easy it is to use, and how compact and easy it is to carry. Let’s see how it sews!

I don’t want to focus on a new project, but instead of using my usual sewing machine to work on existing projects, I’ll use the Tribute 150C. There’s nothing better than seeing how it stands up to your regular sewing if you want to use it as a second machine for a retreat.

I’m predominantly a quilter like I assume most of you are. So, when I test out a new machine, I like to see how it pieces, handles applique and how easy it is to quilt a project. I’ll also try to incorporate those bonus presser feet into my test drive.

As a quilter, it’s pretty common to use a ¼” seam allowance. Gosh – I remember when I first started sewing with a ¼” seam allowance. I thought everything would fall apart as I was taught in Home Ec to use a ⅝” seam for garments.

There’s a specific stitch on the Tribute 150C (2:1) for ¼” seams.

The built-in ¼” stitch

Selecting this stitch moves the needle to the ¼” position when using the Utility Foot A.

So, I’d be good to go even if I didn’t get the bonus box of presser feet. Remember, it’s always a good idea to test any new ¼” setting on a machine. Check out my blog post on How to test to get an accurate ¼” seam allowance.

Using the built-in ¼” seam and the Utility Foot A

However, since I’m used to the Adjustable ¼” Piecing Foot and there’s one in the box of bonus presser feet, why not?

Here are the other feet included in the box. And there’s an instruction sheet on how to use the feet. Should you lose those instructions, you can always go to the Accessory User Guide online to identify different presser feet and learn how to use them. It’s a great tool and free to download to your computer.

The bonus set of presser feet

It’s easy to change presser feet; gently pull forward on the presser foot attached to the ankle and then push the new presser foot into the slot in the ankle. I also love that these feet use the existing presser foot ankle, so it’s easy to store the feet.

See all those markings on this foot? The outer edges of the front of the foot are ¼” from the needle, while the red lines are in ⅛” increments giving you lots of options for accuracy. Notice that the back end of the foot is wider; this is to provide good contact with the feed teeth to advance your seams smoothly and provide consistent stitches.

What I love even more is that I can use this same foot for most Husqvarna Viking sewing machines, and I don’t have to think about the ¼” seam allowance. Because I’m using the same foot, the seam allowance will be the same.

That’s a good thing since it can sometimes take a few years to sew one project, and it would be crazy to remember which sewing machine and presser foot was used for each project!

The Adjustable ¼” Piecing Foot

As mentioned above, do a test when getting a new foot to make sure you get the seam allowance you want. Once you’re familiar with a ¼” seam allowance and you can recognize it by sight (seriously?? Yep – I can pretty much tell an accurate versus scant ¼” by eye), there’s less need to test.

But did you know that thicker fabrics or different thicknesses of threads can affect your ¼” seam allowance? If that happens, you may need to move your needle slightly to the left or the right to get the appropriate seam allowance. With the Adjustable ¼” Piecing Foot and the Needle Position feature, it’s a snap to move the needle and still use the edge of the foot as your guide.

When you’re working with a straight stitch, the stitch width function doubles as a needle position button. In this case, I’ve moved the needle to the left, as indicated by the – 1.0 on the screen.

The needle position to the left of the center position

If the background of a setting changes color on the screen, you’re no longer in the default setting. As you can see below, the needle is back in the center position.

The other difference you’ll see between these screens is the stitch length. I like to sew with a stitch length of 2.0. By setting the Exclusive Sewing Advisor to Woven Light fabric (which is what quilting cotton is), the stitch defaults to 2.0. And every time I turn on the sewing machine, the stitch length is automatically set unless I change the Exclusive Sewing Advisor.

Using the Exclusive Sewing Advisor to set the stitch length

I could also use the Exclusive sewing Advisor to set the technique to seam, as you can see below, but the default technique is to sew a straight line, so I don’t need to select it.

Selecting the SEAM technique in the Exclusive Sewing Advisor

To help you understand needle position and how it can help you achieve a perfect or scant ¼” seam allowance, I attached the Adjustable ¼” Piecing Foot and chose Stitch A:1, which is a straight stitch. The needle is in the center position. Remember, when you select a straight stitch, you can move the needle to the left or right using the stitch width function.

The needle is in the center position with the Adjustable ¼” Piecing Foot.

When I move the needle position to the right, the needle moves to the right. There are 29 different needle positions (the center position and 14 to the left, and 14 to the right), so you can always find a needle position to suit your project.

The needle is to the right of the center position.

We can see on the screen that the needle position is no longer the default as the background has changed.

The needle position on the screen

How was it to piece on the Tribute 150C? It was a breeze! Because I was already used to the Adjustable ¼” Piecing Foot, I didn’t have to adjust my seam allowance. Sewing my project was almost the same as sewing on a larger machine. The larger machine is more powerful, but the Tribute 150C went through everything I sewed.

I did use a stiletto (as I do on my other machine) to keep seam allowances tucked where they should be and to help match up seams, as I don’t use pins. But it worked like a charm!

Using a stiletto to tame the seam allowances

The seams were accurate, and the points matched up nicely! The Tribute 150C had no problem sewing through the bulk of those half-square triangles, which can be tricky. Make sure you use a new, sharp needle to prevent issues with the sewing machine hanging up on those thick, bulky points. I like the Microtex needles for their sharp point. Make sure to slow down, and sometimes, you may need to give the fabric a wee tug on the back. But the feed teeth should do most of the work.

Accurate piecing with the Adjustable ¼” Piecing Foot

When chain piecing, raise the presser foot slightly before inserting the next seam. The presser foot lever is easy to reach behind the head of the sewing machine, and it takes mere milliseconds to raise the foot, to prevent the seam’s top piece from shifting.

Raise the presser foot slightly when chain piecing.

I thought I’d better sew a block to ensure it was the size it was supposed to be. And this block was right on for the size.

An accurately pieced block

What can I say – the Husqvarna Viking Tribute 150C performed very well on the piecing side! I could very easily sew on this machine at a retreat.

The Husqvarna Viking Tribute 150C

If you’re looking for an excellent small second machine or something for a new sewist – I strongly suggest you look at this sewing machine.

Be sure to return tomorrow when I do some applique with the Husqvarna Viking Tribute 150C.

Have a great day!

Ciao!!!!

This is part 3 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 2: Features of the Husqvarna Viking Tribute 150C – Benefits included!

Go to part 4: Raw edge and invisible machine applique – Tips for success!

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