For design flexibility, the echo quilting and the appliqués are separate designs in the Baby’s First Quilt collection. The echo quilting designs require a 150mm x 150mm sewing field while the appliqués and the corresponding continuous quilt blocks all fit a 100mm x 100mm sewing field.

For the appliqué block in the quilt, I also skipped the hubs on the duck’s wheels. While this is certainly an easy thing to do at the machine by skipping a color change, you do have to remember to do it! I prefer to do as much preliminary preparation at the computer to streamline the sewing part.

I precut all my quilt blocks for this project, cutting my blocks a little larger than necessary to allow squaring up before piecing. However, the precut blocks were not large enough to hoop in the normal manner. Instead, I chose to baste the block to the stabilizer. Suitable stabilizers include no-show mesh, wash-away fiber or wash-away tear-away.

Rather than have the machine baste, which is not an option on some machines and inconvenient on others, I prefer to add basting in software. Furthermore, I want the basting stitch to be a specific size. I want to be able to sew it first on the stabilizer so I can precisely position my block and I want to baste again to secure the block to the stabilizer.

STEP 1: OPEN THE DESIGN

Open the design in Essentials. I like to turn on an appropriate hoop for the final design as reference so I have the 150mm hoop selected. Even if your machine doesn’t have this hoop size but it will sew an area larger then this I select a hoop for working. Keep in mind the hoop has no impact on the design, it is simply reference.

STEP 2: BASTE

Add a basting stitch. (Utility > Basting Stitch). Notice that Embrilliance creates the basting block right around the design and positions it behind the duck, right where we want it.

STEP 3: RESIZE BASTE

Select the basting stitch by clicking it either in the work area or in the Objects Pane and set the size to 149mm x 149mm.

If the Proportional Scaling lock is closed (locked), you may need to unlock it so that you can set both values if the baste is not already perfectly square. Be sure to press Enter after entering the value and not just tab to get to the next field.

When resizing, Essentials maintains stitch length and density (spacing) of the original design. Thus enlarging adds stitches and shrinking reduces stitches.

The basting box should now max out the sewing field area of the hoop.

This is the baste that will be sewn directly on the stabilizer.

STEP 4: MAKE THE SECOND BASTE

Select the baste if it is not already selected and Copy and Paste it. You won’t see a change in the work area but you will see a second black basting box in the Objects Pane at the end of the list.

Now we need to change it’s color to force a stop on a single needle machine so the fabric can be placed and move it into the correct position before the duck.

STEP 5. CHANGE THE COLOR

Double click the color swatch and pick any color that is different than the first color (black) and the first color of the duck (black).

Keep in mind you may not have to actually change thread at the machine, these color changes are simply to force the machine to stop so we don’t have to remember to stop it manually.

STEP 6: MOVE THE BASTING BLOCK

Select the second baste block in the Objects Pane and right-click to bring up the contextual menu and choose Move Earlier.

Alternatively, you can select and drag the object to the position you want it to sew.

Notice it comes in perfectly aligned.

If for some reason you accidentally move an object and can’t undo, you can realign them by either dragging the objects or selecting all designs (don’t do this if you have ungrouped a design!) and clicking the Center Designs in Hoop button on the tool bar.

STEP 8. CHECK THE COLOR SEQUENCE

Before sewing the echo quilting at the machine, you’ll need to add the batting a backing fabric under the hoop. I used fusible batting and ironed it to the backing fabric. This compressed the batting and provides a stiffer item.

I remove the hoop and pin (from the front) this section batting side toward the stabilizer on the bottom of the hoop. Make sure the pins are well outside the range of the presser foot and needle.

To get the machine to stop, check the last color of the appliqué design and make sure it is a different color than the echo quilting. To do that, click the arrow next to the design to open it and view its individual objects.

Notice that the last color is the wheel hubs. I removed these from my project block and replaced them with buttons. If you wish to do the same, select this object and press delete.

Whether you delete or not, the last color is still different from the echo quilting so at this time our design is complete.

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