Try your hand at freemotion

stitching with these simple

beginner stitch techniques
1. Doodling
2. Scribble Stitching
3. Easy Appliqué
4. Sketching
5. Confetti Fabric
6. Raw Edge Appliqué

E e B o o k
FRE

Includes directions for creating your

own Art Journal using the stitching
techniques found in this FREE eBook!

© 2014 BERNINA of America

 Freemotion Stitching Tips

Stabilized Fabric Before You Start

Fabric much be stabilized to accept freemotion Always start with a new needle for the best stitching
results.
stitching but there are a variety of ways to prepare it.
One or more of these methods should be used to Use the hand wheel, Needle Up/Down button, or
prepare the fabric for free motions stitching, Half-stitch foot control to pull the bobbin thread up to
the top of the work. This prevents the bobbin thread
 Batting stabilizes the fabric and is often from tangling and creating a “bird’s nest” on the
all that is needed, which makes it easy bottom of your work.
for freemotion quilting.
 Embroidery stabilizers such as cut-away,
tear-away and wash-away types work well
to stabilize fabric for freemotion stitching.
 Fusible fleece adds stability and support to
fabrics; may also need to add a stabilizer.
 Hooping the fabric using a machine embroidery
hoop is the traditional type of stabilizing and is
often used with other methods of stabilization.

Take 3-4 tiny stitches (almost in place) to secure the

beginning and ending of the stitching,

Keys to
Successful Stitching
Practice*
Place one hand on each side of your work.
Move the work front to back and side to side, Relax
NOT back and forth as if you were driving a car.

Start practicing basic hand moments to

Practice*
make the stitched lines and shapes
shown at the left. When you can manage
Breathe
these, move on to simple shapes such
as puzzle pieces, stars, & leaves. Practice*
Have Fun!
*Or use the BERNINA
Stitch Regulator!
© 2014 BERNINA of America 2 of 11
 Freemotion Presser Feet
The vertical spring action of these BERNINA presser feet works with the hopper
mechanism of the machine to hold the fabric in place, eliminating “flagging” (fabric
crawling up the needle) as you stitch.

Darning Foot #9 Embroidery Foot #15 Freehand Embroidery Foot #24

Teardrop Embroidery Foot #26 Freehand Quilting Foot #29/29C BERNINA Stitch Regulator #42

As you take a stitch, the

sole of the foot goes down
to hold the fabric in place
as the needle pulls away
Presser foot lifter is DOWN
but the sole of the foot does
not touch the machine so
you can move the fabric.

© 2014 BERNINA of America 3 of 11

 Created by Susan Beck

Stitched Art Journal

Create an art journal to keep track of stitch

techniques and design ideas. The journal
detailed here is dedicated to Freehand
Embroidery Foot #24, featuring several
examples of stitched art using this presser
foot. Created with 6 pages, more can be added
at a later date

Finished size:
6” x 9” for cover & 5” x 8” for pages

Freemotion Machine Settings

 Straight Stitch
 Feed Dog Lowered
 Universal Needle #80 unless otherwise
indicated
 Freemotion Presser Foot (see below)

See page 9 for Freemotion Stitching Tips

Supplies
Machine & Accessories
 BERNINA 3 Series or 5 Series machine
 Freehand Embroidery Foot #24
 Open Embroidery Foot #20/20C/20D
 Button Sew-On Foot #18

Fabric & Notions

Specific fabrics and notions are listed for each stitch
exercise on the following pages.

Freehand Embroidery Foot #24 was used for all of the stitch exercises shown on the following pages.
The small sole with the cut-away opening in the front offers high visibility of the stitching area which
makes it easy to follow drawn lines and appliqué edges. However, any of the BERNINA freemotion
presser feet shown here, including the BERNINA Stitch Regulator #42, can be used.

© 2014 BERNINA of America 4 of 11

 Front Cover Back Cover
Freemotion Technique: Freemotion Technique:
Scribble Stitching Scribble Stitching
 Print fabric, 10” x 10”  Base fabric, 5½” x 8½”
 Fuse ‘n Fleece, 10” x 10” (can be pieced if desired)
 Cotton or polyester thread  Fuse ‘n Fleece, 5½” x 8½”
 Gesso & Paintbrush  Cotton or polyester thread
 Permanent ink marker  Assorted squares and
 Small decorative button rectangles of fabrics as
 3” square of fabric desired.

Paint over the area with Bond Fuse ‘n Fleece to the wrong side of the fabric.
gesso. It may be thinned Place 1-2 layers of tear-away stabilizer on the fleece
with water if desired; can side, using spray adhesive to adhere.
also be used as a primer
under paint. Position in place on the background fabric, layering
as desired; glue stick in place.
After the gesso is dry,
draw or write over it with Stitch the fabric pieces in place using basic back
a permanent ink marker. forth and side-to-side motions.

Stitch on the
letters or drawn
object as desired.

Back with fusible fleece

or felt; scribble stitch
around the painted word.

Trim
cover
To 5½”
x 8½”.

Using the pattern to the

right, cut and fuse heart
in place; freemotion stitch
several times along the
edge of the heart. Add a
bow using yarn, embroidery
floss or add a metal bow
charm.

© 2014 BERNINA of America 5 of 11

 Outer/Inner Cover Assembly

Techniques:
Blanket Stitch Appliqué
Couching
 Two pieces of felt, 13” x 9” each, one for
the outer cover & one for the inner cover
 Temporary spray adhesive
 Cotton or polyester thread
 3-6 pieces of yarn or fibers, 20” each
 Open Embroidery Foot #20/20C/20D
 Braiding Foot #21 for making custom cord

Outer Cover Couch 3-6 strands of yarn

Find the center of the piece of felt and mark a line or cord down the center of
about ½” on each side of it for the spine of the book. the spine using Open Em-
broidery Foot #20/20C/20D
Position the front cover on the right side of the felt and a zigzag stitch (2mm-
and the back cover on the left as shown . 3mm for length a width
setting that is wide enough
Attach Open Embroidery Foot #20/20C/20D
to go over the cord).
to the machine and select the Blanket Stitch, Use
the default settings or adjust as desired. Adjust the The excess length of the cord will become a book-
needle position to the far right. mark. Braid the cords together & tie end into a knot.

Inner Cover
Place the second piece of felt on the wrong side of
the outer cover using temporary spray adhesive to
hold them together.
Edgestitch along all 4 edges using a straight stitch
and Open Embroidery Foot #20/20C/20D.
Finish the cover by couching a cord along the edges
using a zigzag stitch (2mm-3mm for length a width
setting that is wide enough to go over the cord). The
cord will go next to the appliquéd covers, sitting on
Stitch along all four sides of the front cover, aligning the “lip” of felt. Note: See below for directions to
the fabric edge with the inside toe of Foot #20. make custom cording.
Repeat for the back cover.
Custom Cording
Feed one or more yarns into Braiding Foot #21.
Zigzag over the yarn with a
Back Front zigzag stitch to cover the yarn.
Cover Cover Start with an open stitch wide
enough to go over the yarn.
Stitch a second time with a
shorter stitch length. Continue
stitching over the yarn, varying
stitch settings and threads as
desired.

© 2014 BERNINA of America 6 of 11 3 of

 Page 1 Page 2
Freemotion Technique: Freemotion Technique:
Doodle Stitching Easy Appliqué
 Two 10” squares of fabric
 Background fabric, 5” x 8”
 One 10” square of batting
 Fuse ‘n Fleece, 5” x 8”
 Cotton or polyester thread
 Cotton or polyester thread
 7 small merchandise tags
 Assorted squares and
 7 pieces of assorted fibers,
rectangles of beautiful
ribbon, or yarn in varying fabrics as desired
 Assorted buttons
lengths from 12” - 20”
 Silk ribbon as desired
 8” length of narrow ribbon
 Rubber band

Make a quilt sandwich with batting between the two

pieces of fabric, wrong sides together. Use tempo- Bond Fuse ‘n Fleece to the wrong side of the fabric.
rary spray adhesive to hold the layers together.
Cut out assorted sizes of squares & rectangles.
Using the handwheel or needle stop down button, Position in place on the background fabric as
pull the bobbin thread up to the surface. desired; glue stick in place.

Using a contrasting cotton or polyester Stitch inside the edges to follow the shape, creating
thread, make shapes as desired across a “frame.” Stitch 2-4 rectangles, offsetting each one
the surface of the fabric. Placing one for interest.
hand on each side of the needle area,
move the “quilt” sandwich front to back
and side-to-side to form the shapes.

Trim the stitched

fabric to 5” x 8” .

Sew buttons in place as

desired using Button
Write one characteristics of doodling on each tag: Sew-on Foot #18.
Fun, Freemotion, Relaxing, Creative, Imaginative,
Messy, Imprecise.
Double each fiber or cord
and slip the folded end
through the hole of a tag;
thread the two ends
through the loop and pull
snugly through the hole.
Gather the cords in one
hand and put the rubber Tie silk ribbons as
band around them about desired on selected
2” from the top. Tie the ribbon around the fibers/ buttons.
cords to cover the rubber band.
Hand stitch it to the page, near the upper edge,
centered from side to side..
© 2014 BERNINA of America 7 of 11
 Page 3 Page 4
Freemotion Technique: Freemotion Technique:
Sketching Sketching
 Background fabric, 10” x 10”  Background fabric, 10” x 10”
 Fuse ‘n Fleece, 10” x 10”  Fuse ‘n Fleece, 10” x 10”
 Cotton or polyester thread  Cotton or polyester thread
 1-2 layers tear-away stabilizer  1-2 layers tear-away stabilizer
 Fabric or paper for printing  Paper for printing the sketch
the label

Bond Fuse ‘n Fleece to the wrong side of the fabric. Bond Fuse ‘n Fleece to the wrong side of the fabric.
Place 1-2 layers of tear-away stabilizer on the fleece Place 1-2 layers of tear-away stabilizer on the fleece
side, using spray adhesive to adhere. side, using spray adhesive to adhere.
Nature elements are some of the easiest to sketch Use the needle and thread to draw a recognizable
with a needle. Using a pencil, pen, or marker, trace motif. The wood grain of a tree is represented in a
the sketch on page 8 series of easy-to-sketch wavy lines.
of these instructions,
starting at the lower Using a pencil, pen, or marker,
right edge and working trace the sketch of the tree on
across the bottom to page 8 of these instructions.
travel in one continu- Go over the lines several times
ous line, following the to familiarize yourself with the
shape of the leaves. path the needle should take.
Go over the lines sev- Note: If desired, use a fabric
eral times to familiarize marker to draw the sketch
yourself with the path directly on the fabric to use
the needle should as a pattern when stitching.
take. Note: If desired,
use a fabric marker to Working approximately in
draw the sketch di- end start the center of the fabric, stitch
rectly on the fabric the lines with thread using
to use as a pattern when stitching. Freehand Embroidery Foot
#24. Stitch as continuously as
Working approximately in the center of the fabric,
possible but stop when needed;
stitch the design following the same path as when
tie-off and start in a new spot.
you sketched.
When the stitching is complete,
When the stitching is complete, remove the stabilizer
remove the stabilizer (some will remain) as
(some will remain) as completely as possible. Trim
completely as possible. Trim the page to 5” x 8”,
the page to 5” x 8”, positioning the lower edge of the
positioning the lower edge of the garden about ¾”
garden about ¾” from the lower edge of the page.
from the lower edge of the page.
Print the label from page 8 onto fabric or paper as
desired. Cut it out along the outer lines. Position it Print the small sketch of the tree shown on the page
above the garden and stitch it as described on the and cut it along the outer lines. Position and stitch to
previous page for Easy Appliqué. the page using the photo above as a guideline.

© 2014 BERNINA of America 8 of 11

 Page 5 Page 6
Freemotion Technique: Freemotion Technique:
Confetti Fabric Raw Edge Appliqué
 Low-loft batting, 10” x 10”  Background fabric, 10” x 10”
 Assorted fibers and yarns  Fuse ‘n Fleece, 10” x 10”
 Neutral colored tulle net-  Two identical shapes cut
ting, 10” x 10” from a print fabric
 Assorted scraps of fabric  Cotton or polyester thread in
 Variegated thread that desired color
coordinate with fabrics  Cotton or polyester thread
 Fabric or paper for printing  1-2 layers tear-away stabilizer
the label  Paper-backed fusible web
 Stamped or printed words,
“Dimension” and “Detail”

Cover a piece of Bond Fuse ‘n Fleece to the wrong side of the fabric.
batting or felt with Place 1-2 layers of tear-away stabilizer on the fleece
snippets of fabric side, using spray adhesive to adhere.
Add pieces of
fibers on top of Adhere the shapes to the background fabric using
the fabric pieces fusible web following the manufacturer’s direction.
Cover with tulle; Stitch around the petals of the flower, adding addi-
pin in place tional stitches in the center and around the outer
around the edges of the fabric snippets. edges to add detail and dimension to it.
Stitch over the Roughly cut the words
tulle, through all into individual letters.
layers, covering Place the on the page
the surface of as desired, spelling the
the fabric with two words. Use glue
a continuous stick to hold them in
line of stitching place. Randomly stitch
similar to the over the letters, making
sketch below. sure you stitch through each on at least once.
Trim the confetti Optional
fabric to 5” x 8” to Add seed beads to the center of the flower. Position
make the journal Foot #24 over the desired area with the needle about
page. One bead width away from the desired position. Put
the needle (size 60 or 70) into the hole of the bead
Print the Confetti header and take 1-2 stitches. Move the needle to the desired
from page 8 onto fabric or position and take
paper as desired. Cut it out 1-2 stitches. This
along the outer lines. Posi- will turn the bead
on its side so the
tion it at the top of the page
holes are not visible.
and stitch it along the
Continue until the
edges. desired number of
beads are stitched
Note: Instead of using tulle, cover the snippets with and then sew in
water-soluble stabilizer and rinse it away after the place to tie off the
stitching is complete. stitching.

© 2014 BERNINA of America 9 of 11

 Book Assembly

From felt, cut one binding strip for every two pages. Turn the book over, again to pages 2 and 3. Position
Cut each strip 1½” x 8” (3 strips for the journal). the seam down the center of the inside cover; pin.

Place two pages Stitch-in-the-ditch using Open Embroidery Foot

wrong sides together. #20/20C/20D to secure the pages to the cover. The
Insert a felt binding stitches will be hidden in the yarns that are couched
strip between the on the right side of the spine.
two pages along
the edge to be
bound, leaving
about 1” extending.
Pin the layers
together.

Zigzag along all

four edges of each
page, joining the
two pages and
securing the binding
strip in the process.

Stack the pages and sew together on the binding

strip, about in the center.

Stitch the binding strip a second time on pages 2

and 5 only. Securing these pages to the cover
encloses the seam allowances of the binding strips.

Open the book to pages 2 and 3. Turn it over and

press the seam open.

© 2014 BERNINA of America 10 of 11

 All items on this page are
shown in actual size to be
used on the pages of the
Stitched Art Journal.

How does your

garden GROW?

© 2014 BERNINA of America 11 of 11