Tips & Hints for Circular Stitching with Coverstitches

Tips & Hints for Circular Stitching with Coverstitches

Your HUSQVARNA® VIKING® AMBER™ Air S|600 coverlock machine comes with an extension table that is specially designed to allow you to sew circular stitching - a technique that can be used in all sorts of projects. You can create interesting surface embellishment by stitching concentric circles, intersecting circles, or even varying sizes of circles.

These instructions begin with some tips for sewing partial circles, such as those shown in the pillows (above). Following this are tips for how to successfully sew full circles.

Pillows Embellished with Rows of Wide Coverstitches 

This embellishment, using only a portion of a circle shape for each row of stitching, is quick to do because you simply sew on and off the fabric edges without having to join the beginning and ending of your circles.

These pillows are made using 18” x 18” (46cm x 46cm) pillow forms, with a centered zipper in one side seam on each pillow.

There is a possibility of 13 rows that can be stitched because your extension table has a series of 13 pinholes, spaced ½” (12.7cm) apart. These pinholes accommodate the Pivot Pin, which can be found in your machine’s accessory box.

The pillows shown (above photo) feature coverstitch rows sewn at opposite corners. The largest partial circle was sewn first, starting at the furthest pinhole on the extension table, then stitching using every other pinhole (skipping a row in between each pinhole), for a total of 7 rows at each corner of the pillow.

Select “Coverstitch, Wide” which is Stitch #24 on your machine screen. Your HUSQVARNA® VIKING® AMBER™ Air S|600 coverlock machine will set the optimum thread tension, stitch length, and differential feed for your selected stitch.

Your machine also features an Exclusive SEWING ADVISOR. You can select the type of fabric you are sewing, and the SEWING ADVISOR will make adjustments to the machine settings for that fabric type.

For our pillows, the setting “Woven Medium” is selected. (Below left, default setting, below right is selection of Woven Medium.)For stitches with a bold appearance on the fabric surface, use 12 weight cotton or topstitching thread in both needles - in place of regular overlock thread. When using thicker threads like these, be sure to use size 90/14 needles, which have a larger eye than the 80/12 needles, to accommodate the thread thickness. It is also recommended to increase stitch length.

To help the fabric feed smoothly as you stitch your circles, it is helpful to use a removable stabilizer on the underside of the fabric. This will help prevent distortion as your fabric rotates around the pivot point. If your fabric is light to medium weight, you might also consider applying a lightweight interfacing to the wrong side of the fabric for added stability.

After determining how many rows of stitching you want to do, and where you want to stitch them, mark the circle “centerpoint” on your fabric. Place the Pivot Pin into the marking, pushing it through the fabric and stabilizer layers.  Put the end of the Pivot Pin into the desired pinhole on the extension table, then secure the Pivot Pin with its clasp, from the underside of the extension table.To check your stitch after initial threading, it is helpful to leave the tails of the needle threads fairly short - about 2” (5cm) long - so they can quickly pass through the needle holes of the presser foot, before you start sewing your main fabric. Bring your main fabric in front of the presser foot and continue stitching. 

Sew until you come to the end of the row of stitching, then sew off onto a scrap fabric here as well. This is because the coverstitch does not “chain off” the same way that an overlock stitch does. By sewing off onto a scrap fabric, you’ll keep your stitching intact and won’t potentially need to rethread the machine before you start sewing the next row.

Sew a zipper into one of the side seams on each pillow.

Finish constructing the pillows.

Sewing a Full Circle with the Coverstitch 

Here are some tips for successfully sewing coverstitches in full circles. You can use Double Coverstitches (Narrow or Wide), as well as the Triple Coverstitch. You can create interesting surface embellishment on a wide range of projects by stitching concentric circles, intersecting circles, or even varying sizes of circles. The choice is yours!

When sewing stitches in a full circle, the goal is to have the beginning of the stitching and end of the stitching to meet, and for the “join” to be as tidy as possible.  Here, the “Coverstitch, Triple” is selected, which is Stitch #23 on your machine screen.

When threading the machine, first thread the coverstitch looper. The thread tail only needs to be about 4” (10cm) long. The needles are threaded starting with the left thread, then center, then right. For a smooth start, place each thread into its corresponding hole on the presser foot, so that all threads are under the presser foot before you begin stitching.

When you get most of the way around your circle, stop momentarily. Use a hand sewing needle and bring each needle thread to the back side of the fabric, tie off and trim the thread tails. Resume stitching. As you approach the beginning stitches, slow down and look through the holes in the presser foot to watch when the stitches you are currently sewing meet with the beginning stitches. Stop, with the needles down in the fabric.

Raise the presser foot lifter, which will release the needle thread tensions.  Use your tweezer to reach behind the needle threads and pull them forward and trim. Remove the fabric from the machine, bring the needle threads to the back side of the fabric. Tie off and trim the tail ends.