QUILTsocial | Issue 08

Using decorative stitches to make a selvage project
There are so many stitches to explore
on the PFAFF creative 4.5 that it’s hard
to know where to start! My default
*playground* is creating with selvages and
then it’s pretty much follow my fancy. This
article goes through my play process with
the stitches and my selvages.
I used a fat quarter from my stash with
the wrong side up as my foundation/
stabilizer. I chose selvages that are from
fat quarters or longer yardage. I have my
selvages sorted in a couple of different
ways and chose to use the ones with no
white strip, dots, or words for this project.
I wanted to try creating my own selvage
designs with the stitches!
Next I picked a stitch - stitch 4.3.19 to be
exact! You’ll notice that the screen has a
green *plus sign* that shows where the
needle will start in the stitch. I also made
sure I had the correct presser foot ready
on the machine, in this case foot 2A.
Stitches created with PFAFF creative 4.5. With so
many stitches to choose from you may want to
create selvage fabric with them all day!
Stitch requires stabilizer.
Selecting Stitches
I turned on the machine and opened the
stitches file. I started selecting different
ones to see what I liked. The manual also
has all of them listed out with photos
and the stitch numbers.
The Color Touch Screen on the PFAFF
creative 4.5 gives icon details for every
stitch selected – from what presser foot
to use, if you need stabilizer and where
the needle will start in the stitch.
The screen showed me that most
of them require using a stabilizer
underneath – it’s the white rectangle
icon above the stitch. I figured that the
layer of cotton I use as a backing for the
selvages could count as a stabilizer.
Next raw selvage edge tucked under preceding
one’s finished edge
Stitching Selvages Together
I started with a selvage with the raw
edge at the right edge of the stabilizer
and tucked the raw edge of the next
selvage underneath the other edge. As
you can see in the photo, I played with
quite a few stitches before a plan started
to formulate on how I could use this
piece of stitched fabric!
These selvages are close to the end of my
piece. After the pink I added one more
wide selvage to get to my desired length.
The green plus sign indicates needle start position.
Stitch start position lined up under needle
Line up the bound edge of the selvage
with the middle of the stitch to be sure
that the stitching will actually go across
both selvages.
The machine will guide the stitch – you
should guide the fabric with your hands
but the machine may move the fabric
back and forth to complete the stitch.
Pink selvage seam stitched
The PFAFF creative 4.5 makes it easy to
play and create with stitches. With so
many to choose from, it’s easy to add a
personal touch to any project.
Q
.com
UILTsocial
| issue 8
29