Designing Quilts with BERNINA Quilter

Have you ever wanted to design a quilt but didn’t know where to start? If you need help, the BERNINA Quilter program is a great way to take your vision out of your head and bring it into reality. If your vision isn’t clear, use the Quilter program to experiment, exploring hundreds of blocks, fabrics, and colors until you get just the right look. BERNINA Quilter is a design tool that helps you put together quilts featuring patchwork, embroidery, and/or appliqué.

BERNINA Embroidery Software 8

The BERNINA Quilter program is an application within BERNINA Embroidery Software 8, which is an easy-to-use program for designing and editing machine embroidery designs. The Quilter program is not a stand-alone program. BERNINA Embroidery Software 8 must be running before you can use the BERNINA Quilter program. Click here for a free 30-day trial of BERNINA Embroidery Software 8.

Getting Started

When you open the Quilter program, the design window opens, and this is where you start your quilt. First, you set the layout of the quilt and that includes the block size, the number of blocks across and the number of blocks down, sashing (or not), borders (or not), corners (mitered or squared), and the setting of the quilt (straight, on point, rectangular or diamond). These settings may be changed at any time as you design the quilt.

Once your layout is set, it’s time to add the blocks you want to use. There is an entire library of traditional and modern blocks you can select for your quilt. Click on the desired block in the library and then click on the desired location on the quilt layout. These blocks can be used as-is or they can be rotated, and mirror imaged for the look you want.

Fabric and Color

When you have the blocks in place, you can select your choice of fabrics and colors to bring the quilt to life. The entire block may be changed or each element in the block can be changed individually. The program has a large selection of fabric and color palettes that you can use with a click of the mouse. This is a great way to audition fabrics and colors to find just the right ones. You can also scan your own fabrics and add them to the fabric library to find the true look of your quilt. Click on the desired fabric or color in the library and then click where you want it to be on the quilt layout.

Added Elements

The Quilter program also lets you select embroidery and/or applique designs, placing them as desired on the quilt. When the quilt on the screen is to your liking, you may print a picture of the entire quilt. Other pages can be printed that have the amount of each fabric needed. Rotary cutting instructions, block construction directions, templates, and appliqué patterns are also available. Select Print Preview to see all of these pages, then select the options you wish to print.

Previous Quilter Program Post

Click here to see a previous post on how to use the BERNINA Quilter program to determine the value of your fabrics. It’s also useful to distribute the light, medium, and dark values in a pleasing way over your entire quilt.

For more information on designing quilts, see The Big Book of Machine Quilting at your local BERNINA Store. Click here to find a BERNINA store near you.