The Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2 – Out Of The Box & Into The Studio

A new toy was delivered to me the other day and I couldn’t wait to get the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2 – out of the box & into the studio. I was just like a kid at Christmas, all wide eyed and excited.

Only a sewing machine could make me this excited, well maybe not only but pretty close.

The machine comes with a hard case for storage and keeping it safe during transport. The carrying handle on the machine is fairly wide with a good grip to make carrying the machine easier. I was pleasantly surprised how light the machine is in comparison to the other machines that I own but still not sure it is light enough to take back and forth to class, retreats, etc. Definitely a machine perfect for the studio and today is a great day to stay in the studio as the rain pours down outside.

Ta Da – here it is!

The Quilt Expression 4.2 from Pfaff all shiny and new sitting on my table just waiting to be used. Love the colour and it will fit right in with all the other wonderful colours in my studio.

What else was in the box?

A few more goodies to ensure a great sewing experience – a bag of accessories, the foot control pedal, a power cord and a knee lift.

Accessories

All kinds of great things in this little pouch – bobbins, many different feet for many different stitches and functions, needles, spool holders, a screw driver, a multi-tool and of course the dreaded seam ripper for reverse sewing to name a few.

There will be more info about the different feet later in the week and what they are all used for.

Foot Control

I have to say the foot control is huge in size and provides lots of space for your foot, in fact room for both feet but I think I’ll stick to sewing with one foot so as not to confuse myself.

Which foot do you sew with? I sew with my right foot and I have often thought that I should learn to sew with my left foot just in case something were to happen to my right foot and put it temporarily out of commission. Not being able to sew would not be a good thing. Although now a days there are so many machines that have a stop/go button and no foot control is needed. This machine is no exception.

Knee Lift

The knee lift is a great tool to have especially when the presser foot needs to be lifted frequently from your work to turn and pivot to get those stitches aligned just perfectly.

I know a lot of people who use a knee lift will sew with their left foot so that they do not have to keep taking their foot off the foot control to use the knee lift. Makes sense to me and much better for a continuous work flow.

Now I have 2 reasons to learn how to sew with my left foot. Is anyone going to join me in this learning venture? I am sure it would take some time to switch over to the left foot but eventually the brain can be trained to adapt to something new.

Work Space

The machine itself has a detachable accessory box which does double duty as an added sewing space around the pressure foot area. The space is large enough to work on small pieces and not have any drag while sewing.

If there’s drag on the pieces that are being sewn together the tension and stitch length can be altered resulting in small, tight stitches which aren’t wanted. Having a smooth work space for the fabric to move across is needed to maintain perfect even stitches.

Throat Space

An added bonus is that the space from the needle to the body of the machine is a full 10 inches providing lots of room to maneuver projects when sewing and quilting. This area is called the ‘throat space’. This large space is one of my favourite features of this machine as it helps to reduce stress on my neck, shoulders and arms when maneuvering the quilt through the machine as I quilt it.

The Accessory Box

The accessory box is fabulous in that it has a place to store all the little bits that came with the machines, i.e. bobbins, feet, the dreaded seam ripper, etc. The box opens both at the front and back. The front section has a removable tray to reveal storage space underneath for larger items.

The tray itself has lots of room for feet and bobbins. The bobbin holder is made of rubber and it moulds around the bobbins keeping them in place – no rolling out of control bobbins with this design.

The back part of the accessory tray also opens up for even more storage. It’s so nice to have everything right there and organised at your fingertips and not have to be hunting and searching for what you need.

Added Work Space

Would you like a little extra work space for those larger projects? No problem, an extension table can be added to the left of the needle extending the work space another 7½ inches. It just slides onto either side of the presser foot. Just remove the accessory tray and slip in the extension table. Easy as 1 – 2 – 3. This is another feature that I just cannot do without when I am sewing.

Lights

I don’t know about you but my eyes are not as good as they use to be and I can use all the light I can get when I’m sewing. The Expression 4.2 has an LED light at the presser foot as well as in the throat space. These lights are nice and bright making it easy to see what you are working on. The more light the better and this machine has great lighting.

As you can see from the picture above I’ve finally turned the machine on after checking out all of the external features. Tomorrow I will take the machine for a road test and see what it can do in terms of stitching.

Until then, Happy Quilting