Festival of Quilts

I spent a great day demonstrating on the Husqvarna sewing machine stand where I showed people how they could use this smart little needle that is really a sharp little knife to cut out fabric. It is so much fun and will cut through felt, paper, leather, angelina, silk papers, Lutradu, tissue tex and so much more. It's fantastic for reverse appliqué and negative and positive work and can be simply pieced or extra stitching in the form of machine embroidery can be worked on to it to give texture and interest.
All you need to remember is that each part of the design has to have two rows of stitching (tram lines) then the cut work needle is used to cut out between the stitching and between the tram lines. Also remember to reset the stitch length closer together on 0.5 instead of the general 2.5.

Once cut round the piece can be removed neatly and both pieces are usable to appliqué or layer up to give relief to the design.

The only problem is that the needles were marketed for the embroidery machines that use software designs to stitch out and the four needles all cut a different angle with the machine stopping for you to change them as the design is worked round curves . I am using only one of the needles, the blue one that cuts straight which allows me to use it in a similar way to a ordinary sewing machine needle. Therefore it's quite expensive @ £30 for a set of four that you only use one of. The plus side is that I have been using the same needle for over a year now and it has cut all types of fabric while still remaining sharp. Therefore over that time it hasn't really cost me that much and I have had a Hugh amount of fun with it creating my own designs and not having to use someone else's software designs.
If you are looking for something new to get your teeth in to this little needle knife could be it. Give it a go and have fun.