Quilting with the Adjustable Ruler Foot with Slit #72S

Hi!  It’s Jen from The Smitten Chicken.  Today I am sharing a fun little project showing how to quilt with the BERNINA Adjustable Ruler Foot with Slit #72S.  I have wanted to make some new holiday pillows for a while and this seemed like the perfect excuse to use my new presser foot!

I made up some plaid trees that I could leave up through the holidays as well as through a blah January!  Then I needed to quilt them.  The first step is to baste the pillow top to the batting.  I used my favorite basting spray by Thermoweb.  It doesn’t gum up my needle while sewing and makes basting a snap!

Now to collect the supplies.  I am using Aurifil thread 2630.  I am also using the Mini Straight Line tool from the ruler kit.  And don’t forget the 72S foot!  This is my first time doing any sort of ruler work on a project.  Let me tell you, it is much easier than it looks!

bernina.com/…/Adjustable-Ruler-Foot-with-Slit-72S

I am going to share a few things I learned along the way!  First of all, the 72S foot is 1/4″ away from the needle.  I wanted to sew 1/4″ inside my trees.  To get the placement right, I would place the 72S foot in the corner of the tree so it was 1/4″ away from both edges.  Then I would start my sewing.

I like to use a slightly longer stitch length while quilting.  I use a 2.85 stitch length.  This helps with the multiple layers I am sewing through while quilting.

Once the foot is placed in the corner 1/4″ away from both sides, it is time to stitch.  Line up the Mini Straight Line tool on the seam.  Then slowly stitch using the ruler as your guide.  Stop at the corner when both sides of the foot touch both sides of the tree.  You will have a perfect 1/4″ line quilted inside your tree.

Then, lift the 72S foot and pivot the project the other direction.  Then line up your Mini Straight Line tool on the bottom seam of the tree.  Stitch using the ruler as your guide.

One more tip:  use quilting gloves to help hold the quilt while quilting.  This prevents the quilt from shifting while you are quilting.  Place one hand on the ruler and the other hand on the quilt and stitch away!

Since this was my first time quilting with a ruler, I decided to go very simple with my quilting design.  I quilted 1/4″ in each tree.  I also quilted down the center of the tree stumps.  This 72S foot is the star!  The best part is there is a slit in the foot if you want to change it out mid-quilting!  I just used the 72S for this project, but having that option in the future will be awesome!

I’m excited to add this pillow to my collection of holiday pillows!  And I am excited to try the 72S foot again!  Ruler quilting for the win!  Have you tried quilting with a ruler before?

Thanks for following along today.  If you would like to see more of what I am up to you can stop by my blog and follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and subscribe to my YouTube channel.

Chirp Out!

Jen