How to use a scan and cut machine with a Melinda Bula Designs pattern

Today is the day! After 5 years of researching and playing around and a lot of trial and error, I have figured out how to use my cutting machine to cut out one of my patterns. Big deal, you say. Well, if you have ever taken a class with me, you know there is a lot of cutting with scissors around sometimes very tiny pieces to make one of my flower quilts. I love to cut but I also love to make flowers fast.

Over the years at quilt festivals, I have watched many demonstrations at the Brother booth on how to use their cutting machines but I just could not figure it out, until my house burnt down and COVID-19  hit and I finally had time to focus. So, I bought the machine with the intention of scrapbooking but started experimenting with fabrics in the machine right away. Oh, the messes I made.

Bad cutting! 

Good cutting

Yes, you could always use your cutting machine before with fabrics but not with Steam A Seam 2.  All my art quilts and patterns are made using my preferred fusible web, Steam a Seam 2 and, before you start an email to me, yes, I have tried them all and continue to experiment with new fusibles. Then I go back to S-A-S 2.

The key was finding something easier and faster than the good old pair of scissors, but, in the beginning, how to cut was just one of the problems.  The prep work it took to make the patterns  readable for the scanning machine was very tedious. I could cut with scissors faster than drawing new pieces or trying to block out the numbers and letters on the regular pattern pieces. 

The scanner is powerful and picks up the smallest line or mark.  The problem to solve was how to cut pattern pieces fast and easy. 

What if I designed the patterns so you just scan the pattern sheets into your machine and build your flower?

 

So that is what I did. I have no idea if you will like these or use them but they are so fun and fast and now I am addicted to the process.

The NEW Rose is the first pattern that comes with the scanning sheets OR as a regular pattern.  The YouTube class here on the blog is also for using the regular New Rose Pattern.  If want to skip ahead in the video to the flower building part of the class, at about the 35 minute mark, go for it. Please let me know if you have questions - email me at melindabuladesigns@comcast.net

For patterns and supplies got to Etsy.com/shop/MelindaBulaDesigns or click on the SHOP button on the top bar of this blog. 

Keys to Successful Renegade Thread Play

 Clematis Flower Pattern and Kits

The Keys to successful Renegade Thread Play are to have a few of the right tools and follow your cut fused piece on each petal. All the work you did of cutting out those little strips and wedges or vines in the petals are your hit lines for how to curve your thread when quilting.  

1.    Do not go fast. Medium fast is great.

2.    Having something on you hand is a must for better control. Aka, Gloves. It really makes for better stitches.

3.    Having the right needle for the job.  What is the Job? Trying to quilt through thick fusible web while making beautiful line drawings with thread and coloring at the same time. 

You need a big hole in the eye of the needle and a needle that is designed to go through thick fabric like fusible.  Topstitch needle size 80/12 or 90/14, or a Jeans Denim needle size 80/12 or 90/14. I start out with the 80/12, but if you have skipped stitches try the 90/14. 

4.    Heat is your friend when sewing through Steam-A-Seam 2.   Warm up the area that you are about to quilt with your hot DRY iron. Steam will make your quilt wet. You can't quilt through a wet quilt. The heat melts and softens the fusible web. This makes its easy to sew through. This only works with Steam A Seam 2.   That is why I use it. You can iron it over and over. Not all fusible can take over ironing.

5.    Lower your top thread tension. I wish I could give you a magical number, but every sewing machine has its own number, and that number can change from day to day. Depending on how moody your machine is. The manufactures number for regular domestic sewing is around 4, 5. But when doing free motion quilting you are pulling and tugging on the fabric under the needle which means you need the tension to be looser than normal.  You need to have the tension at a lower number like 3, 2, or 1.  I move the number down a little at a time, always looking at the front and back of my stitches, to see if I have equal tension on both sides.

6.    I am using Rayon thread to do Renegade Thread Play. I love this thread because of it shine and comes in vibrant colors.  Rayon is very delicate and can break or fray very easily if you do not know how to handle it. I coat every spool of rayon thread before I thread my machine and after I wind my bobbin with Sewers Aid. Its a lubricate that keeps the thread from being nicked or frayed while moving through the sewing machine and needle.  I squeeze 3 to 4 lines of sewers aid a crossed the spool, length wise and squish it in.

The short video below will show you how I use Sewers Aid to helps with sticky build up on my needle.

To watch VIDEO - Click in the middle to play.

More videos are on my YouTube Channel-Melinda Bula Designs

Texas Wildflower Quilt

New class is coming Saturday November 28. That just means that I will post the class on that date but you can watch it any time you want. You can always watch my classes here on my blog or on my YouTube channel. This is a free class about 2 1/2 hours long. I have broken it up into 2 parts, the second part will post on Saturday Dec 5, and covers how to thread play this quilt.

I thought you may want to know the history of this quilt. It was originally made for an auction that The Quilt Show had to raise money for a special quilter Libby Lehman who had a stroke plus other complication. If you don't know who Libby is you need to google her. She is a true Quilt Star. And helped paved the way for many quilters including myself. 

The below video is my process of making the auction quilt back in 2014.  I hand dyed most of the fabric for this quilt. After I watch video I wish I had some more of that background fabric. I love that print.

Later when making this pattern I had to simplified the number of fabrics in the quilt. I originally had 60 different colors of fabrics, which is not good for a pattern for the public. Now it has 20 and you can always add more.

I also found this beautiful song by Oran. It's call Every Flower. So appropriate don't you think? 

If you would like to make this quilt you can find all the supplies on my Etsy shop. There is a Shop Botton above on the tab bar. I have patterns, kits that included fabrics and the pattern, yards of Steam-A-Seam 2 which is the fusible web I use and thread packs for the Texas Wildflower. 

I hope you get inspired by this video and want to make your own Wildflower Quilt. You don't have to use Texas in the name. If you are from Illinois you can call it the Illinois Wildflower. It's all ok with me. But Libby is a Texan and I'm a Californian and we can all be wildflowers. Hope to see you back here for class on Saturday Nov 28.

Sticky Scissors No More by Melinda Bula

Summer Dogwood

Its been a crazy spring at my house. We are getting ready to sell our house which means packing up your item to stage your house like you don't really live there. I understand the process but when you work and run a business out of that house it get real tricky.  When I need to find all the things I just hid from the people who are on there way over to look at your home, I get a little crazy.
If we sell this house I will be surprised for sure. But we are trying.

In all the commotion I have not been blogging, so sorry for that.  I do have some new videos to show you.   The first is a video that I created is of the building process of my Dogwood flower pattern. My patterns are different than other designers.  So I like to give you more visuals to help you create or just purely entertain you for a moment.
The song is by Darius Ranker and its called Wagon Wheel. I made this video back in December. Enjoy!

Today someone emailed me that forgot to write in the pattern how to do the seeds in the center of the flower.  So here it is. I put the seeds on the flowers, last. So here is the video and the instruction for the flower seeds below.

1.  Fuse your U fabric. 
2. Trace 3-4 seed shape from the large lay out guide.
3. Fold you U fabric in half and pin the traced seed pattern onto the fabric and cut out the 4 shapes out. because the fabric is folded you will have 8 seed shapes. do this again until you have the desired amount.
4.  Now arrange like the photo shows.  
5. Press in place.