Why 3 different presser feet are better than 1 for quilting this bed runner

This week has started to feel a little bit festive as I stitched together the Vintage Holiday bed runner using the PFAFF performance icon. In yesterday’s post, we assembled the Churn Star blocks and joined them together to make the bed runner.

While the IDT System was the main feature that ensured precise sewing to put the bed runner top together, in this post I’ll show you a few of the different presser feet for the PFAFF performance icon. I used several presser feet for different types of quilting and I’m really glad I did! It’s nice to have options 🙂

Quilting the Holiday bed runner with the PFAFF performance icon.

Before we start quilting, the runner needs to be layered with the batting and backing and the three layers pinned together. Decisions need to be made about what thread to use for the quilting as well depending on whether you want the thread to show on the runner or not.

To start, I planned to be quilting in the ditch so I chose a thread that would blend in and decided on using my Gütermann piecing thread in Taupe colorway.

Choosing to use Gütermann piecing thread in Taupe colorway as my quilting thread.

To quilt the bed runner, like most projects, I started quilting from the center out; this helps prevent the potential for bunched up areas while securing layers. In fact, I used a different presser foot for each fabric/area of the runner! Today I’ll show you how I quilted the red stars and the white churn dash areas. And if you want to try quilting yours a different way – go ahead! In fact, I found this resource for different ways to quilt churn dash blocks that inspired the direction I took for quilting my Vintage Holiday bed runner.

Stitch-in-Ditch Foot for IDT System

Part of my plan in quilting the runner was to try out some different presser feet. The first new presser foot I chose was the Stitch-in-Ditch Foot for IDT System. Before doing any other type of quilting, I like to secure areas of the project with stitching so that it lays flat.

I stitched in the ditch around the stars and the churn dashes. I used the Needle Stop Up/Down function too to keep my needle in the fabric when I turned or adjusted the runner under the machine. What I was really impressed with is that my stitches were actually in the ditch and you have to pull the fabric away to see the stitches. It can be hard to get this accurately and I think the foot really helped me.

Stitch-in-Ditch Foot for IDT System!!

Clear Open Toe Foot for IDT System

After I had stitched in pretty much every ditch (!) I decided that the center squares in the blocks needed some attention. Originally, I thought I would free motion stitch around the different motifs in each one, but now that the blocks are beside each other, I want to make them look the same. I decided to quilt a square in a square inside them and used another new-to-me foot – the Clear Open Toe Foot for IDT System. I like this foot because it’s open at the front giving me a good view of where I’m stitching on the project. Its main use is for embroidery when needing a clear view of the embroidery path, but I don’t like to mark my quilting lines, so being able to see all the way across the square is great for me. I used Gütermann 100% natural cotton thread in Taupe and quilted in the center square of each block.

I also used this foot again when I was joining my binding strips together and for the same reason – I don’t like to draw lines!

Clear Open Toe Foot for IDT System offers a clear view of the quilting path.

¼” Quilting Foot for IDT System

This foot isn’t new to me and it’s one of my preferred go-to presser feet. The guidelines on the ¼” Quilting Foot for IDT System are great for accurately turning when echo quilting which is what I decided to do in the white churn dash areas.

Basically, I knew that I wanted the stars to be the feature and that I would need to free motion quilt the background (green) areas to help make them stand out. For the churn dash, I wanted them to read as churn dashes, but not be the most obvious design feature. Using echo quilting seemed like a good quilting solution and the ¼” Quilting Foot for IDT System helped me do this accurately. I changed to a white thread so that it would blend in – again to make the quilting less of a focus.

In this photo, you can see how I used the middle set of guidelines to help me turn at the triangle point and keep my ¼” distance. Then the edge of the foot was right up against the seam as I stitched the straight area.

Using guide marks on ¼” Quilting Foot for IDT System

Two different threads and three different presser feet have helped me quilt the runner so far. This step took a bit of time and I’m happy to report that tomorrow’s background quilting is all that’s left – oh, and binding! I enjoyed trying out new presser feet on the PFAFF performance icon and am pleased with the results.

White and red areas quilted!

Echo quilting stitch-in-ditch quilting bed runner project PFAFF performance icon

This is part 4 of 5 in this series

Go back to part 3: Piecing Star Churn Quilt Blocks together using the PFAFF performance icon

Go to part 5: Every bed runner should have a little free-motion quilting

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