Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2 - Tie Off Function

I have had the new Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.2 for about two month. I have posted before about the major differences and my first impression of the machine (see HERE)

I must say, I am quite impressed with the finer detail of this machine in comparison to the Pfaff Quilt Expression 4.0

I did a fair bit of work on the machine since January starting with a workout in FMQ...I microstippled the centre of my Whole Cloth quilt which took about a week of constant running in the evening. As previously mentioned I used the new Dynamic Spring foot and was impressed with the visibility that I had and also the new 3 LED lights. Had absolutely no problem with seeing where I was going and this was with a blend in thread that would have normally caused me some grief in terms of seeing where I am heading. I had no thread breakages, no snags on the back or indeed any other problem...just smooth and consistent running...very much like the Pfaff 4.0, except this time with much better visibility.

After this I started the Dresden Plate...this was a bit of an ad hoc idea and I just went with it. While doing this, I tested the thread snip. On my Pfaff 4.0 I had stopped using this a lot because it usually caused a bit of thread nest when starting to sew the next piece (even though I have a straight stitch plate)...sometimes it did this and sometimes it did not, so it became a bit annoying as I often had to re-do bits and pieces. The Dresden wedge was the perfect opportunity to test this out again, because when you start sewing the wedges together you start 1/4in down the seam and then go backwards to the edge of the wedge and down again (this is to secure the thread and to avoid the thread sticking out on top). I nearly did not use the thread snip as this was finicky enough to do in the first place and I did not feel like re-doing my seams every five minutes. Nevertheless, I stuck to my guns and used the thread snip. To my big surprise, it did this perfectly and very neatly without any major issues and I saved myself a bit of time cutting all the threads off. Also noticed the different feed system and definitely felt the improvement as the seams of the wedges are cut on the bias, so sewing them together well depends really on how well your machine is able the feed the fabric through.  As I said before  these are some of the finer detail and both machines obviously will give you a straight seam, but I did feel that the Pfaff 4.2 managed this task with a tad more ease.

The next thing I am going to test out on a finished quilt is the tie off. The Pfaff 4.0 and 4.2 have two different tie off options, one for Stitch 1 and one for Stitch 52 which is specifically designed for quilting.

The quilting tie off is on the left (Stitch 52) and as you can see gives a very neat and tidy beginning and end and best of all on the Pfaff 4.2, it is completely secure, i.e. it does not come out when you tug on it. Again, this is something I had stopped using on the Pfaff 4.0 because it just was too inconsistent...sometimes it worked and sometimes it did not.

This has been very interesting actually as I am re-acquainting myself with some of the functions that I had stopped using on the Pfaff 4.0.

Until next time

Karin