Have FUN Creating a Sweatshirt Jacket on Your TinLizzie18 Long Arm

Have FUN Creating a Sweatshirt Jacket on Your TinLizzie18 Long Arm

This ADVANCED project will reinforce what you have already learned:! Set Quilt Area! Free Motion! Save File! Adjust current pattern box! Add Pattern! Move! Remove! Copy files! Mirror! Undo! Speed! SPI! Rotate! Mirror! Save layout Read through the instructions before beginning. Note: Don t forget what you have already learned about the care of your machine. Cleaning and oiling are an important part of machine maintenance. If you need a refresher, check the instruction manual that came with the machine or watch the videos on the tinlizzie18.com website. Have the QM Users Manual handy to reference if you have any questions on how to do something in the Quilt Magician or watch the videos on the tinlizzie18.com website.

In addition to what you ve already learned with the QM, this project will introduce you to new possibilities when quilting software is added to the mix. With software, everything can be done on a computer, a virtual sewout can be seen, and you can figure out a design layout with alignment before even stepping near the machine. This can save a lot of time and gives opportunities to do several layouts before deciding on a final stitch pattern. After all the designing is done in software, the file is exported for the QM and from there the machine will stitch what you ve designed! The addition of software truly adds unlimited new possibilities. This project will be just one sample of what can be done. There are many software packages on the market; some with simple features for editing and others that will allow artwork to be digitized. This tutorial will show you one simple idea that can be accomplished (minimal instructions are given). This tutorial presumes you are familiar with your particular brand of software and all its functions, and also all the functions in the QM as well as garment construction. Be sure the software will export in a format the QM can read. Note: everything done in software can also be done at the QM with all the functions and features, but will not be covered in this tutorial.

Materials Used for the Sample Project The amount of backing fabric to purchase will depend upon the size and length of the jacket (sweatshirt). This project is meant to give you an inspirational way to use your Quilt Magician with the addition of quilting software.! Heavyweight sweatshirt (one size larger than would normally be worn)! Cotton backing fabric! Cotton batting to fit behind the designs! Thread for stitching the designs (40 wt. embroidery thread was used for the project)! KK2000 temporary spray adhesive! Thread to sew the jacket together! Regular sewing machine/serger to reconstruct jacket! Quilting software

This sweatshirt jacket is fun to do and will stretch your creativity with quilt software and the QM. A purchased sweatshirt provides the basis for this project Because this is an ADVANCED project, only minimal steps for software and QM instruction will be given; it is presumed the user is very familiar with the icons and their functions in both their software and the QM. It also presumes you are familiar with the garment construction process (garment sewing instructions will not be given). The basic steps are:! Measure and plan the design and layout of the jacket (fabrics, QM patterns).! Prepare the sweatshirt for tracing and stitching.! Trace to outline the sweatshirt pieces and save the files.! Copy the traced files to the USB.! Copy the desired designs from the QM onto the USB stick.! Import the QM and traced designs into the software.! Create the designs layout in software for the jacket front, back and sleeves.! Export the designs created in.qcc format for the QM! Copy the designs from the USB to the QM in a new folder.! Load the frame with the backing fabric and batting pieces.! Align the sweatshirt piece using the Horizontal lock.! Stitch the designs.! Reload the frame as needed and repeat for the remaining pieces.! Cutaway the extra batting from around the designs.! Sew the sweatshirt jacket together. Note: it is advised to pre-wash the fabric and sweatshirt; they will shrink.

Begin by preparing the sweatshirt. Press the body of the shirt well, then press a crease in the sleeve and press creases in the side seams. Remove the cuffs and band (save them!) at the bottom by cutting along the top of the stitching. Cut from the bottom along the creased side seam and then cut along the sleeve seam. Cut the sleeve from the body of the sweatshirt along the seam.

Cut along the shoulder seam through the ribbing at the neckline on both sides. Leave the neck line ribbing in tact so the neck edge doesn t stretch out of shape. NOTE: Seams are cut off for the project. Since a larger size is used and seams are narrow it is ok just to cut off the seam allowances. When sewing the jacket back together, use ¼ seam allowances and serge to finish the edges.

After the sweatshirt is cut apart, press all the pieces again. Re-crease each sleeve. Sleeves on purchased sweatshirts will usually be the same front and back. Press creases along the center front and center back. These creases will aid in aligning the sweatshirt at the frame and also aligning the designs to be stitched.

Measure each sweatshirt piece in width and length. Here some decisions need to be made depending upon how long the frame is and how you like to work. For the tutorial, the two sleeve pieces were done at once and the frame was loaded a second time for the jacket back and a third time to stitch the jacket front. Due to the width of the garment pieces to be stitched, they are laid parallel to the rollers. This allows the pieces to be stitched without having to roll and re-align the designs they can be stitched in one length. The backing fabric is cut and placed so the selvage edges are pinned to the leaders. This allows the lengthwise grain to run along the rollers for both the backing fabric and sweatshirt. Cut the determined length of backing fabric for the sweatshirt pieces and pin the selvage edge of the fabric the length of the frame. Note: If the frame setup allows (12 ), the whole frame could probably be loaded with backing fabric and all the pattern pieces stitched in the one length (depending on the size and length of the garment pieces). If not, then cut the fabrics to fit the frame setup and reload the frame as needed.

First, the garment pieces need to be traced and the files saved. Set the quilt area. Use the horizontal lock to align the center crease of the garment pieces along the needle as the machine is moved left to right. This will make sure when the tracing is done it is on grain with the fabric. Now each pattern piece will be traced and saved for importing into software. Position the needle at the beginning of the trace, in this case, the upper corner of the sleeve. Under the Home icon, tap Free Motion. Tap the Start button to activate the tracing.

Move the machine very slowly and accurately along the top of the sleeve edge. At the crease, dip in a little to create a notch for matching the center top of the sleeve to the shoulder seam when sewing the sweatshirt back together. As the machine traces the traced image appears on the display. Continue tracing along the side, along the hem and up the other side to the starting point. When finished tap Stop.

After tapping the stop button, there is an opportunity to save the file (or retrace if you re not satisfied). Tap Save and then name the file. The file will be saved on the QM. Under file manager, copy the file from it s source location to the USB. The traced sleeve will now be able to be imported into the quilting software for designing a layout.

Repeat the same steps for the sweatshirt front and sweatshirt back:! Align garment piece using horizontal lock! Trace the garment piece! Save and name the traced file! Copy the file to the USB Did you know QM pattern files can be copied to the USB in the same manner? Locate the desired designs and copy them to the USB. The designs will remain on the QM but the copied designs are now available for use in creating the layout for each garment piece. All the alignment, rescaling, rotating, etc. can be done in software! Depending on the software, start and stop points may also be moved so the designs stitch with no stopping in the middle; a smooth stitching from beginning to end in one pass. IMPORTANT NOTICE: when files are edited whether combining for a new layout, resizing, rotation, moving start/end points, etc., this does not negate the original copyright. The original designer/company still retains copyright to the designs.

Create a Layout for Each Pattern Piece Sleeve Back Center Front Neck/Sleeve Look in the Quilt Designs manual and decide on the designs to be used. For the project, the designs were chosen from the Feathers Collection. Designs were needed for the corners of the jacket front at the neckline and top of the sleeve (JM006v4 Janies feather tri1), center front (JM006V3 Janies feather blk3), jacket back (JM006v2 Janies feather blk2), and sleeve (JM006 Janies Feather blk).

Copy the designs from the QM by selecting Internal as the Source and the USB as the Destination. Browse to find the first design to be used and tap to select it; tap OK. The source file name is visible and USB as the destination to copy the file to. Tap copy and almost instantly the file will be copied from the QM to the USB.

Repeat the process of selecting the desired patterns and copying them to the USB. Be sure to copy all the files needed, both the traced files and the pattern designs.

! After all the traced files and designs are copied to the USB, remove the USB from the QM and put it into the computer.! Copy or move the designs to a file location of your choosing.! Open the quilting software.! Now the designs from the QM may be used in software to create designs that will exactly fit the garment pieces! Have fun playing, saving several layouts as you d like. Next, the tutorial will just generally show how the designs were created for this project. Reminder: There are so many different software packages on the market, each a bit different from the next. For this tutorial, minimal, general instructions will be given on what was done to create each layout. You will need to import the designs in your software and use its functions to create the layout you desire. After the layouts are created, save the file in its native format and also save it on the USB in.qcc format to copy into the QM.

We ll work with the sleeve to show the process. The process is the same no matter which garment piece is being worked on. Luckily, the process is very easy!! Import the garment pattern.! Use the grid to align and center the traced garment piece.! Create a straight line to aid in alignment (or just continue to use the grid).! Import the pattern designs you think you d like to use for the layout. Here all the designs are imported at their original size. Each one will be copied and manipulated and then the originals will be deleted when they are no longer needed. Be sure to save the file as you begin working and save frequently while working.

Generally lay the desired design at the top of the sleeve, aligning the tip of the design to the line. Scale the design to fit the pattern. It may be helpful to use a ruler on the actual garment piece to help make a size decision. Zoom in to the top of the design and place the tip of the design about ½ down from the top of the traced sleeve (to allow for stitching the seam).

Next, copy and place the next design under the top design. Scale the design to be in proportion to the first. Repeat until there are three designs. Select the designs and use the software tool to aid in centering the three patterns. Select the designs and evenly space them vertically.

Group the designs so they can be worked as one. Scale the design so it will be just below the top design and about ½ above the bottom edge of the sleeve. Adjust both the length ad width so the design proportions are being kept the same as the original.

Another way to do this is to use the properties function. Work with the designs until you are pleased with the layout. When you are pleased with the layout, remove both the traced sleeve and the center line and save the file in the native format for the software. Now save the file on the USB in the.qcc format for copying to the QM or stitching.

Another feature in software is the ability to add elements and re-sequence elements so they sew in order and the machine doesn t jump all over the place. For this project, a zipper will be added at the center front. Lines were digitized for the center front and then ½ on each side of the center front to stitch first. Then the designs were aligned on each side with lines digitized to jump in and out of the designs and the vertical lines were used for traveling to keep the design clean and stitching. After re-sequencing the designs, then adjust the start (green diamond) and stop (red cross) points so the segments start and stop where they need to.

After the re-sequencing of the elements and changing the start and stop points, do a slow or virtual sewout of the design. Watch and stop the sewout and adjust anything that is out of place. In the end, the design should sew out in one continuous path with no stops or jumps. Be sure to save the design frequently.

Complete all the designs in the same manner. For the project there should be three files: front, back and sleeve. Normally for a sleeve a left and right would be needed; however, the purchased sweatshirt sleeves are the same shape and the design is mirrored so there is no need to save a left and right. Always keep in mind whether lefts and rights are needed when doing other projects using this technique. Front Back Sleeve

! After the layouts of the designs have been created, save them in the native format for the software and also save them as a.qcc file on the USB to be copied to the QM.! Remove the USB from the computer and place it in the QM panel. Copy the layouts to the QM, creating a new folder labeled Sweatshirt.! Now it is time to align the designs to the sweatshirt pieces and have fun stitching!

Begin with any garment piece. For this tutorial, we ll begin with the sleeve. Find and select the sleeve layout. Rotate the layout so the top of the design will be at the top of the sleeve; center the design for the sleeve. Place a length of batting behind the garment piece in the area to be quilted. Smooth the garment piece over the batting and onto the backing. Here s a trick, adjust the pattern box so it captures the area only around this piece.

Press the green button so the machine will move to the start point. Now the garment piece can be adjusted and aligned to exactly where the design will start stitching as it was designed in the software. To be sure the design will stitch straight down the middle of the crease, use the horizontal lock as an alignment tool. Move the machine from left to right in short segments, moving and adjusting the crease on the fabric to the needle position, smoothing the fabric as you go. After it is aligned, use some spray adhesive to keep the garment piece in position.

After spraying and moving the garment piece into position, do one more trace along the crease to be sure nothing was moved, then start the machine stitching. The design layout will stitch just as it was designed in the software. Once the first sleeve is done, repeat the steps for the second sleeve. Because the designs is mirrored and the sleeves are the same, there is no need to mirror the design layout for this project. Due to the nature of the knit fabric in the sweatshirt, some push of the fabric may be evident as represented by the ridge in the center part of the design. To help alleviate this, it may be necessary to slightly loosen the pressure on the presser foot.

Reload the frame with backing fabric if necessary and repeat the same steps as was done with the sleeves. Next the sweatshirt back will be stitched. Select the design layout and rotate it. Align the fabric and check the centering of the garment piece on the frame. Pins may be used in place of temporary spray. Just be sure to keep the pins well out of the stitching area. Align and stitch the design.

Load the frame with backing fabric (if necessary) and select the front design and rotate it. Place down the batting, secure the garment piece and stitch the design. Notice the design fits the garment piece exactly as it was designed in the software. Isn t this a nice way to design and stitch?

After all the designs are stitched, trim away the excess batting from around the stitching area. Be careful not to clip into any fabric. Smooth the fabrics together and pin around the outer edge of the sweatshirt. Trim away the excess backing fabric. Be sure the backing fabric remains smooth.

Repeat smoothing the fabric and cutting away the excess fabric from around the garment pieces. The jacket is now ready for final construction.

Trim and clip the fabric around the neckline and turn it under. Pin the shoulder seams, sew them and finish the seams with a serger. Sew the sleeves on the jacket, and then sew the underarm seams, adding the knit cuffs; sew the ribbing back on the bottom. Cut up the center front along the line designed in the software.

Pin and sew the zipper in place be sure the designs stay right across from each other. Hand sew the lining to the bottom collar area and top stitch the side shoulder seams down at the neckline.

The jacket from the front and from the back, easily Created with software and the TinLizzie18!

Finishing up Sew the sweatshirt back together inserting a zipper at the front. Finish the jacket as you wish. Some options are:! Sew the ribbing pieces back on.! Add a collar.! In place of a zipper, use bands of fabric with buttons and buttonholes.! Add cuffs on the bottom of the sleeves.! Add a band at the bottom of the jacket.! Remove the neck ribbing and bind all the raw edges around the jacket and sleeves.! Add pearls, sequins, beads, inks, paints, etc. to further enhance the quilting designs.! Add some free motion quilting or crosshatching inside the open areas of the quilting designs (or do it in the software at the same time the design layout is being done).! Add strips of fabrics, small fabric blocks, pockets, prairie points, ribbons, etc. to embellish the jacket around the quilting designs.! Using the shapes of the garment pieces, draw and digitize your own patterns to be stitched. Using software, the Quilt Magician and the TinLizzie18, there are virtually endless creative possibilities! Have fun playing and experimenting. We d love to see what you create.

Remember If you don t have quilting software, the project still may be done by using the Quilt Magician:! Trace the garment piece and save.! Select designs to be used for the pattern piece.! Rotate, mirror, scale, etc. to fit the layout to the pattern piece.! Remove the pattern trace from the display.! Save the layout.! Stitch.! Repeat the process for the remaining garment pieces.

Congratulations on Creating a Sweatshirt Jacket on Your

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