Bloom & Grow Quilt Tips and Tricks

Happy spring everyone! I’m BERNINA Expert, Amanda Murphy, and in this post, I’ll be showing you some tips for how I quilted Bloom & Grow, a serger quilt I designed with BERNINA Overlocker Business Manager Pam Mahshie.

Bloom & Grow

What is a serger quilt?  Well, I am so glad you asked!  It is a quilt that is designed to take advantage of the amazing techniques BERNINA sergers offer.  Now, I know some of you piecers out there might be nervous when you think about serging.  I was like that too at the start of this process, but BERNINA teamed me up with Pam who taught me so much and we incorporated these techniques in what I hope you think is a really elegant way.

So, how do you participate?  Well, the amazing folks at BERNINA of America are providing every person who purchases the BERNINA L 890 Quilter’s Edition with the pattern, a kit, AND an online class in the BERNINA Skill Hub, where BERNINA Educator, Mary Beck, takes you through the process of piecing this quilt step-by-step.  This is a fabulous value.

The beautiful L 890 Quilter’s Edition!

What if you already own a BERNINA L-Series?  You can buy the Bloom & Grow pattern through US BERNINA dealers, and Benartex has more fabric set to arrive in just a few weeks, so if you are interested in a kit let your dealer know and they can place an order for the fabric with Benartex.  The online class can also be purchased through the BERNINA Skill Hub.

We wrote Bloom & Grow with piecers in mind, so each section starts out by telling you exactly how to set up the machine – including the thread, feet, and stitch settings that you want to use.  Remember, I wrote this pattern with piecers like me in mind, and promise you don’t have to be an expert at serging when you start – but you will be comfortable with it by the end of this project!  And don’t forget, with an L 890 there are tutorials right on the screen!

Before I get to the quilting, I wanted to provide you with a link to the flower templates that didn’t fit in the pattern:

 I quilted this piece on my very favorite BERNINA machine, my BERNINA Q Series on a Pro frame.  But you can also quilt it on a sit-down Q Series or a domestic.  For more hints on how to execute quilting on a sit-down machine, consult my first Diamonds Quilt Along.

Regardless of the type of machine, you will need:

• A straight line quilting Template, like my Every Angle Template. Watch more of what you can do with this template here.
• A set of my Every Leaf Templates Set 1. Watch more of what you can do with these templates here.
• The straight Jubilee template is optional but can be helpful if you plan to quilt down the exposed seams.

*** As a reminder, if you quilt on a BERNINA, even a domestic machine, you’ll want to buy longarm-thickness templates.  It is an advantage of owning a BERNINA!

The templates you’ll need

The instructions for the quilting in this pattern are for a very lightly quilted piece that can be done even by a beginner quilter.  The idea was not to take away from any of the beautiful decorative elements in this quilt.  But when I quilted the version shown below, I added just a little bit of extra quilting just to keep things interesting.  The result was a quilt with the same underlying quilting design and was still soft, but had even more personality! Feel free to use the ideas to make your own unique version of Bloom & Grow!

How I quilted Bloom & Grow

One more thing.  Did you know that you can bind your quilt quickly and more easily with a serger?  Fusible thread in the looper, along with regular Seracor, is the key.  Watch my video to learn more.

Join me for my live broadcasts on YouTube and in my Facebook Group, Quilting with Amanda Murphy and I’ll be back on WeAllSew soon with a BRAND NEW SERIES OF POSTS to help you improve your quilting.  (How’s that for a teaser, quilty-people? I better get to work!)

In the meantime, Pam and I can’t wait to see your quilts bloom and your serger skills grow with Bloom & Grow!  Tag @berninausa and @amandamurphydesign to share your creativity with us because we love to see what you make!

Happy serging AND quilting!

Amanda