“What would I do with all of those decorative stitches?” say 99% of sewers about their top of the line sewing machines. “Why are you buying things you aren’t going to use?” is what I wonder. But as a sewing educator, I remember that it’s part of my job to inspire and show people what they CAN do with those stitches. So, I have decided that here in this new blog to frequently showcase what you can do with those decorative stitches that you have and don’t know what to do with, there are so many places to use them! Decorative stitches (or embroidery) is used to create what you don’t have in a printed fabric, and that can range from a very simple border to lavishly embellished fabric. Here in the photo, I have used just three rows to embroider this plain curved pieced quilt block. Each block in this quilt is made from solid colors all embroidered with decorative stitches. There is hardly a machine made today that doesn’t have at least two or three decorative stitches, most have a dozen or so and some hundreds! The machine used here is from my collection of machines, the Bernina Record 930 from the early 1980s. It has about twenty decorative stitches, nothing elaborate as it is a mechanical machine, but simple is still elegant when used wisely.
So perk up plain quilt blocks with a row or two of decorative stitches. It makes any design uniquely your own and adds a new layer of creativity to your sewing!

