Tips for working with Endless Embroidery and Importing Stitches on the BERNINA 830:

Use the Pattern Repeat function to set the number of patterns prior to moving to the embroidery screen. The entire stitch combination will act as one unit and becomes easier to manipulate. However, the original set cannot be taken apart again.

• In the sewing screen, select stitch #501. Set Pattern Repeat at 3.

• Touch the embroidery module icon. The pattern thumbnail shows the 3-repeat pattern.

• Select the pattern just created from the My Designs folder.

• When selected, select the Oval Hoop and set the hoop to fill with 2 patterns.

"Assignments" - the word we all look forward to, and the word we all dread at some point or another! I was recently given an "assignment" of creating four table runners using an Embroidery Take-Out Collection for BERNINA's 2010 T-n-T program. I loved the design collection already (Reeds & Grasses #12233), so I was looking forward to stitching the designs. But I was quite surprised at how much I enjoyed the stitching process itself!

I used a stabilizer relatively new to OESD's lineup - AquaTear. This product is a biodegradable tear-away stabilizer, so it gives lots of support to the stitches during the embroidery process. But when you get through, drop it in the washer and all the little bits and pieces rinse away!

I used a product from Designs in Machine Embroidery called MagnaQuilts and Borders, and boy, was I amazed at how easy "endless" embroidery is with this hoop! I had used the hoop before, but I was using it to hold the quilt layers as I stitched the embroidery designs to quilt the three layers together.

I used the BERNINA 830 to create the Endless Embroidery design. The last color change stitches two "X" marks. All I had to do was lift up the top part of the hoop, slide the fabric up, and place the upper portion of the hoop in place. The first color change of the next set of designs sews the first two "X" marks. The machine prompts you to adjust the needle position as necessary to align this set of "X" marks with those previously stitched. With this hoop, you can adjust the fabric instead of moving the design itself. It is soooo easy!

Ed - This project - Nancy Bednar's Reeds & Grasses Tablerunner - first appeared in our blog on June 16, 2009. Kay's assignment was to create four copies that will travel with our T-n-T programs throughout 2010. We all loved Nancy's project so much that we decided to take it on the road! For complete instructions for making your own Reeds & Grasses Tablerunner visit www.berninausa.com.

Create an exotic table runner with the Exotic Rainforest Embroidery Collection and an animal print.

Use the Endless Embroidery feature of the BERNINA 830 to easily stitch out four panels (size depends on your table). With this design, three repeats filled the hoop. After stitching, mirror image the combination to get the next set - the marks for Endless Embroidery are in the same place since the size of the design has not changed. 

Tip - when aligning dark fabrics, draw on the stabilizer and the wrong side of the fabric, and match up these lines for accurate alignment with no chalk lines to remove.

One cold snowy day while attending college in northern lower Michigan I decided to venture out among the white mounds that towered the streets and visit the local card shop. As with most co-eds, money, cash, and even coins were scarce and shopping usually was only done peering through a beautifully dressed window. There was always something to tempt the opening of my sparsely housed wallet but, on this trip, I spotted a wallhanging that jumped out (not literally) and spoke to my soul. You know, those life-changing, introspective kinds of things that you hold onto like the Northern Star, pointing you in the right direction, keeping your life perspective on track. The "walk before me" passage on this wall-hanging was it for me! I have kept it through the years (too many to admit to) and it lives on the wall of my sewing room.

Well, when I received my new BERNINA 830 sewing machine, I began to embroider like wildfire - enough to melt that snow in Michigan. The Jumbo Hoop is so liberating because of the size. I can now produce with ease large-scaled embroidery that used to require multiple hoopings. With the creative juices flowing and maybe even a hot chocolate to keep me warm, I was inspired to "refashion" the wall-hanging. Using the BERNINA 830 teamed up with BERNINA V6 Embroidery Software made this project a snap. So grab yourself a hot cocoa and start creating your own leading light!

(Instructions for this project are included in BERNINA of America's Through the Needle magazine, Issue #33, available in BERNINA stores in January 2010.)

Sewing a straight line is easy, right? Sewing multiple parallel lines is another story. It can be accomplished by marking your fabric, but that can be time consuming - and it actually bores me to have to mark all those lines. If I wanted to draw, I would take an art class! When I have the time to sew, I want to SEW! I recently had to make a project that required me to sew cross-hatched pintucks over a large piece of fabric that was going to be cut into smaller squares. CRINGE! Well, I knew that if I wanted to get the best outcome I would have to get out my fabric marking pen and start making my lines. But WAIT! My new BERNINA 830 has a wonderful attachment that allows me to sew parallel rows of stitching, and it has a groove in the sole to allow the pintuck to ride right under this tunnel. I had to test this new-fangled wonder on my project.

Sewers, I love it when things come together and inspiration flows. This particular afternoon it did. I was going to test this Adjustable Seam Guide and find out if it would make my sewing life easier. AND IT DID! WITHOUT ANY MARKINGS! Here's what I did:

I took the large piece of fabric, prepared with a lightweight fusible interfacing, folded it in half along the bias and pressed a line with my iron. I opened the piece back up and then folded it again on the bias, but using the opposite side. When I opened it back up, I has a pressed "X" on the fabric. These were the starting lines for my first pintuck rows. Once I stitched that first row, I set the Adjustable Seam Guide so that the rows would be 1" apart. It was SO SIMPLE to line up the next sewing row using the previous stitched line as a guide for this tunnel to follow. In fact, I would sew three rows in one direction and then turn the fabric and stitch three more rows on the opposing side. And in no time - without having to waste time marking the fabric - my fabric was totally stitched with beautiful cross-hatched pintucks. No more cringing or complaining... just a wonderfully finished project.

If you do not have a BERNINA 8 Series machine you can purchase this attachment from your local BERNINA dealer. My latest, must-have sewing attachment!