First Attempt at Cutwork
12.02.09
Earlier this summer I heard about the new Bernina Cutwork Tool, and this weekend I used one for the first time! I created what I thought would be a relatively simple design to see what would happen. More work is needed on perfecting the settings in the software, but here are the results of this first attempt.
This is the design that I started out with (created in CorelDRAW). For version 1 of the design, I imported the diagram into the Bernina Cutwork Software and used the tools available to transform the design into stitches with some parts cut out (the squares and the central star – all shaded grey). The stitchout for this was fit for nothing other than the garbage! The problem – I knew that it was a good idea to do some “running before” stitches to stabilize the space to be cut out, but did not know what a good offset would be, so I used an offset of 0.6mm. When the cutwork tool did it’s thing, it cut up all the “running before” stitches, so I ended up with some holes with very frayed edges! Further investigation (in the online manual) recommends an offset of 0.8mm.
For version 2 of the design I decided to go back to the Bernina Embroidery Software to create all the non-cutwork stitches, and only use the Bernina Cutwork Software to create the actual cutwork stitches. Here are the results!
This is all the “non-cutwork” stitching. I figured it was probably a good idea to do as much of this as possible before doing any cutting to maintain as much stability as possible in the fabric. I am using DellaQ’s silk taffeta (maybe not such a good idea for a first attempt!) backed with OESD Fusible Polymesh, and OESD Heavyweight Tear-Away in the hoop. I pinned the silk in place and then stitched out a tackdown line to ensure the fabric would not move.
The first part of the cutting process is the “running before” stitches. As mentioned above, I set the offset to 0.8mm – any smaller and these stitches get cut out!
Now the machine is telling me it is ready to start cutting with the tool set to Cut 1.
Here is the actual Bernina Cutwork Tool! You have hopefully already figured out that it works with the embroidery module. I am using the #26 foot. The tool fits into the needle casing, and the blade itself is about 2mm wide and 3/8″ long. The white dial rotates and has four settings, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Here it is in position 1.
The first round of cutting has been done. The left and right sides of the square have been cut – it’s a pretty clean line, more visible on the left than on the right. And just inside the “running before” stitches!
Now the machine is telling me it is ready for Cut 2.
It’s actually very easy to move from cutting position 1 to 2. Sitting down is probably a good thing – just so that you can see what you are doing!
After cut 2, four points on the star have been cut. The blade on the Bernina Cutwork Tool can essentially set to 4 different angles. Vertical and horizontal are always going to be very clean cuts, as are cuts at 45 degrees in both directions. Everything else is going to be cut using the optimum combination of vertical, horizontal and 45 degree cuts. The white showing in the center star is where the silk has begun to lift up, revealing the stabilizer underneath.
Now the machine is telling me it is ready for cut 3.
And finally it is ready for cut 4!
All the cutting has been done! A lot of the pieces are beginning to lift out of their own accord. At this point I removed the hoop from the machine so that I could gently remove all of the pieces which had been cut out. If I had thought about it in advance, I would have done this over the garbage can. As it is, I ended up with a lot of tiny pieces of fabric and stabilizer all over the floor! Some pieces needed a little help to come out, but only a few threads here and there needed clipping.
Here all the pieces have been removed. Some of the edges are cleaner than others. The fact that silk frays a lot anyway probably didn’t help me. A nice crisp fabric would give the best results – I have read that using spray starch on the fabric gives it a great hand for the cutting. However, I was not about to start spraying starch onto the silk!
Here are the results after the satin finishing stitch around the edges of the cutwork. You may notice that the larger star in the center has changed color, and is now turquoise. This is now showing version 3! I neglected to use some water soluble stabilizer underneath the satin stitches on version 2 – and the result was not a pretty sight! The extra stabilizer is necessary to give the satin stitch a solid foundation for stitching on. Without it, one side of the satin stitch is tring to stitch into nothing and the results are definitely not pretty. The settings for the satin stitch need some work. In places the “running before” stitches are showing through. I’ll let you know what I come up with to solve this problem!
I’m not sure if curiosity or the need for some sanity lead me to stitch the design out again, this time without doing the actual cutting. I wanted to have something to compare against, to see how clean the cutwork is when it is finished. When I have found the correct settings for the final satin finishing stitch, I think the finished cutwork will be very clean indeed!
The default settings are:
In this example, the loop spacing has been set to 0.1 in. The stitch length has also been decreased to 2.0mm, to create a smoother line.
Setting loop spacing to 0.0 in creates a very tiny micro-stipple. The stitch length has also been decreased again, to 1mm. These stitches take a while to generate – so be patient after hitting Apply or OK!
This shows a 1″ square containing the tiny micto-stipple.
Inset Step defines the amount of space between the edge of the object and the stipple. In this example:
Chances are you are not going to have a space that contains only Stipple fill! How about using it to quilt the area surrounding a design? In this example, I inserted a design from my Hearts CD over the top of the square containing the Stipple fill. Unfortunately, the Stipple fill is showing through the open spaces in the design.
When you delete the Step filled heart you will fine that the Remove Overlaps has taken away all stitches underneath, including the rest of the heart. The easiest way to solve this problem is to re-insert the heart design.
In this example:
As well as Stipple Run, you will also see Stipple Stemstitch and Stipple Backstitch on the fill stitch list. This example shows Stipple Stemstitch with the default settings, Loop Spacing = 0.2 in and Inset Step = 1.
Stipple Stemstitch has a much smoother line if you increase the Loop Count. In this example it has been increased to 0.4 in.
This thing comes in a REALLY big box! Weighing in at 180 lbs, it’s not an easy task to move it around. 
Anyone paying attention would have noticed that one side of the box had written on it in pretty big letters: “Open Here”. It took us a while to figure this out – having already opened the box on the other side and removed all of the packaging materials, of which there was a lot! 
Finally it’s out, and all the packaging has been removed. 60″ wide and 19.5″ deep at it’s smallest. 
With the back flap up, it extends to 39″ deep. 
With the front flap up as well, there is an extra 16″ of depth – just where you need it most for quilting the larger quilts. This is a neat design – open the draw and an extension table fits right on top. 
If you’re going to do embroidery, the machine sits right on the top, with the airlift table in the top position. 
Push down on the machine, and the table lowers to position number 2. Now everything is level for regular sewing and quilting. A cutout (that bit is still to come) fills in the gap around the machine so that a continuous surface is created. Changing the bobbin is going to be interesting – I’ll have to see how visibility is when my cutout arrives. 
Push down again and the airlift table goes all the way to the bottom. The machine is now nicely stored – with a full sized insert to fill the hole. 
Outline Design is found as the 3rd button up from the bottom on the Digitize toolbar. It’s only active if you have an existing object selected!
Create a new design, or insert an existing design into a new embroidery file. I have chosen to use “Motif 1 Small” from my Heather Feather CD, rotated by 45 degrees clockwise, with the positioning square removed. I placed the design in a jumbo hoop so that there is plenty of space to play with around the design!
A satin stitch border has been added, and then everything was selected before applying Outline Design with:
Look what happens when you check Outline Holes!
In this example, I applied Outline Design twice to the original design. Make sure to group the whole design, including the border, to make it easy to select everything for the second application of Outline Design.
The sewing machine box is about 30″ wide, 17″ deep and 24″ tall. No small task moving this baby around! First out is the removable table, then some manuals and other bits and pieces, and finally the machine itself is revealed.
I was going to put it on the portable cutting table, but common sense prevailed. The cutting mat was moved over to the portable cutting table so that the Bernina 830 could have pride of place – and a good deal of stability – on the main cutting table.
Accessories
The white cone has a really good purpose – I just can’t remember what it is right now! From the left, the mirror for use when threading the bobbin for embroidery; a pair of tweezers; needle housing “screw driver”; stylus for the beautiful big screen; multi-purpose tool; cleaning brush; seam ripper; and some oil!
Bernina 8 series jumbo bobbins are much bigger than the bobbins for the other Bernina machines. They hold 40% more thread – so you can do a lot more stitching!
Every sewing machine needs a slide-on table, and the Bernina 830 really delivers! Nothing can beat a set-in cabinet for the ultimate sewing experience, but this slide-on table offers and excellent workspace – as well as support for the hoop when doing embroidery.
There’s a pretty sophisticated dust cover included with the Bernina 830, with a hole for the handle to show through and a number of pockets. So far I haven’t figured out what might go in these pockets, but they are there if you need them!
Embroidery Module
Finally out of the box, and the embroidery module is ready to be attached to the sewing machine. It’s a pretty easy connection – lift up the left hand side of the embroidery module and tuck the two extensions on the right hand side into the sewing machine. A good solid surface is required to hold the machine to make sure that all contacts are made.
The sliding table is designed to be used with the embroidery module. It slides underneath the embroidery arm – and when installed it provides support for the hoop, especially the jumbo hoop.
On the other side of the room is the sofa – which hasn’t been sat on in months due to the fabric that is piled up on it – and in the corner are the wardrobes that contain my fabric stash. Heather’s scooter is propped up against the french doors. We’ve been getting out and about on the scooters since the weather cooled down – but you can probably tell that none of us (that would be Heather, Jasmine and myself) are very good at putting things away when we are finished using them!
After picking all the kid stuff up off the floor and transfering it to the playroom, the sofa was moved down a bit and the fabric stash wardrobes were moved to their new home – in the bedroom. That created enough space to move the portable cabinet minus shelf extensions for the 200.
This kitchen cabinet cutting table is one heavy piece of furniture, even when empty. It is, of course, full of stuff, and I was not about to empty it, so after a good deal of pushing and shoving, it finally found it’s new resting place.
I love open spaces – but they don’t usually stay open for very long! This is the space that the new cabinet that fits my 830 is going to fill. As of today, it has been shipped, so hopefully it will arrive on my doorstep of Monday or Tuesday next week.
The cutting table is fully functional for cutting – not a thing on top of the 24″x36″ cutting mat. The storage underneath is organized (you’re going to have to take my word on that since I didn’t take a photo!), and underneath the whole thing are all the quilts that are waiting very patiently to be quilted.
The 200 is ready and waiting if I should need to use it. And it’s also ready for Heather to use if she should get the urge. All the accessories are neatly arranged on the shelf which was moved over from the other side of the room.
Quilt Market takes place in the George R. Brown Convention Center in Downtown Houston. When Market opens, you see all the beautiful booths showcasing their products. Everything is in it’s place, the carpets are laid and there isn’t a storage box to be seen. The day before was a different story, that I would like to share with you today!
Noon on Thursday saw the Aurifil team waiting for their crates to arrive. A frustrated message went out on Facebook later that night – the crates had finally arrived at around 8pm, and a whole day of set up had been lost. Since I had no plans until my School house at 4:20pm on the Friday, I offered to lend a hand in helping them to get set up. Aurifil is after all my favorite thread!
This is where I decided to make myself useful – by going off to find some tools! Fortunately, the Brewer booth (who was hosting me) was just up the aisle, in even more chaos at that point in the day – with a tool box full of tools! So one fixed wrench and one adjustable wrench later, followed shortly by a hammer and a mallet, and all of the bolts were finally removed.
From this point on, a remarkable transformation happened. Gradually thread stands emerged from the crate, and thread found it’s way onto the stands. A couple of beautiful quilts were hung on the (newly clean) walls, and the most gorgeous 1kg cones of Aurifil thread found their way into various places for decoration. Table cloths covered the tables, and a beautiful booth had been born.
I’m excited to be going to Quilt Market in Houston for the first time. On Friday I will be doing a “schoolhouse” called “Embroidered Applique for Beginners”. It’s a great opportunity for me to show store owners and their representatives all about what I do, and give them a brief overview of how to do it. I have 30 minutes to talk – and enough to say to fill up about 3 hours! A few lucky people will be able to walk away with a ready made sample – a couple from my Jewels in Chocolate CD, a couple from my new Hearts CD.
This summer has been my time to fall in love with silk! It has also been my time to fall in love with using cotton thread for embroidered applique, specifically Aurifil Cotton Mako. This is not a “normal” choice for embroidery, so up until now, there has not been a thread chart available for it in the Bernina Embroidery Software. Now there is!
