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Upgrade to QCT 6 Plus to Import Digital Quilting Designs

Written by: Leah Day

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Time to read 18 min

No matter how many digital quilting designs are included with QCT 6, quilters always want more designs! The great news is that you can upgrade your software at any time to QCT 6 Plus level and be able to import designs, place and stitch individual blocks, and quilt more complex edge to edge pantograph designs too.

Concepts you will learn from this post:

  1. How to import new digital quilting designs into the software.
  2. Features and tools included with QCT 6 Plus software level.
  3. How to quilt the Basket Weave Autumn Quilt panel entirely with QCT 6 Plus designs and tools!

Ready to upgrade to QCT 6 Plus? Click Here to find our Upgrade Kits!

What is Quilter's Creative Touch 6 Plus Level?

QCT 6 Plus is the second level our computer quilting software. Remember, there are 4 levels to QCT 6:

QCT 6 - Base level of the software with only edge-to-edge quilting and 100 built-in designs.

QCT 6 Plus - 2nd level of the software with over 300 more block, triangle, border, and corner designs, block placement, and a 2 row pantograph maker.

QCT 6 PRO - 3rd level of the software with extra design-making capabilities. Record yourself quilting, then edit the design in Pattern CAD and quilt it using 3 additional Power Panto tools.

QCT 6 PRO + Gold Card - The highest level of the software with the most creative features like Pattern eClipse and Multi-Pattern Placement. Design more intricate borders, make your own corners too.

In this post, we're going to dig into the second level of Quilter's Creative Touch and learn all about the additional digital quilting designs you can add to the software. 

You'll also find a step-by-step quilt along for the beautiful Autumn Quilt panel - Basket Weave!

QCT 6 Plus Digital Quilting Designs Software

Features Found in QCT 6 Plus

When you upgrade from QCT 6 to QCT 6 Plus, your quilting library will expand immediately with new pattern folders and over 300 digital quilting designs created by The Grace Company and designers like me!

Here's a list of the new features you'll Quilter's Creative Touch Plus level:

  1. Import - No matter how many designs we have, it's always nice to have more! You must have this QCT software level to import new digital quilting designs and export different file types too.
  2. Power Placement - Easily place digital quilting designs accurately on your quilt and stitch quilt blocks, sashing, triangles and borders with unique designs.
  3. Pantograph - Plan 2 rows of your pantograph design at a time and stagger the rows to create unique effects. You can also use this tool to chain continuous line designs together and place them as a single design on your quilt.
  4. Marking Tool - Wish you could know if that quilt block design is overlaping the sashing? Now you can use the marking tool to mark lines on your quilt as reference points, or you can use this feature to plan and quilt straight line designs on your quilts!

Video 1 - How to Import New Quilting Designs

The feature quilters ask about the most often when it comes to QCT 6 is - how do you import quilting designs?

You cannot import digital quilting designs into the most basic level of QCT 6. You must have QCT 6 Plus in order to import quilting designs. Learn how to use the Batch Import tool to quickly import an entire collection of designs in this video:

Note - after making this video, my QCT software has updated many times and I unfortunately found my new folders added to the "Patterns" folder were deleted with a major update.

However, all of the designs I'd saved to the "Custom" folder had not been deleted. So make sure to save your designs nicely organized in folders, but within the "Custom" folder inside of the "Patterns" folder in QCT 6 Plus.

Expand Your Collections of Digital Quilting Designs

Autumn Quilt Panel QCT Quilt Along

The best way to understand how a quilting software is to play with it! I designed this fall quilt panel for The Grace Company's 2020 Fantastic Fall Festival. Following along with this fall quilt project, you will learn:

  1. How to combine continuous line designs together and place it as a single pattern in a rectangle.
  2. How to use the Marking Tool to stitch a shape in the ditch.
  3. How to switch from QCT to free motion quilting or ruler quilting.
  4. How to rotate a design and place it in a vertical rectangle.
  5. How to plan, place, and stitch long borders on your quilt.

Keep reading to find two videos to guide you step-by-step to quilting each section of the autumn quilt panel using the digital quilting designs included in QCT 6 Plus.

Autumn Quilt Panel QCT Quilt Along

Autumn Color Quilt Materials List

The first step to quilting along with this Autumn Quilt Project is to gather these supplies:

  1. Basket Weave Quilt Panel - This panel is available from Honest Fabric and to follow along with the sizes I shared in the videos, make sure to select the Large size (80 x 104 inches).
  2. 60 x 90 inch batting - I used 2 yards white 100% cotton flannel 108 inch wide quilt flannel
  3. 5 yards backing fabric - I used yellow batik fabric
  4. White Isacord Thread
  5. Optional - Ruler Foot found in the 3 Piece Hopping Foot Set
  6. Optional - Ditcher Ruler
  7. Click Here to download the PDF Design Guide for this QCT 6 Plus project! - This includes a list of all the designs we're using that are included with QCT 6 Plus

Prepare the Autumn Quilt Panel Fabric

Prepare the autumn fabric panel by washing in cold water with mild detergent. I did not wash my panel before cutting due to time constraints. After I finished the quilt and washed it, I found the fabric did not bleed or fade, but it did shrink very slightly.

I applied starch to the right side of the panel and pressed from the wrong side. Make sure to test your iron heat on a corner of the fabric or a scrap to see how it reacts.

The Basket Weave Quilt panel from Honest Fabric includes two fun Autumn quilts! Carefully cut out both projects, leaving 1/2 inch of background around the printed designs:

  1. Throw / Tablecloth Size Autumn Quilt Panel - 52 x 82 inches
  2. Autumn Table Runner Quilt - 12 x 68 inches

If you cut out the quilts carefully, you will have plenty of red printed background fabric to use as the binding for both quilts.

If you use flannel for batting, make sure to wash at least 2 times in HOT water to reduce shrinkage.

Wash your backing fabric in warm water with mild detergent. Tumble dry, then starch and press with a hot, dry iron. Cut the backing fabric in half, then sew the two long edges together to create an 84 x 90 inch backing fabric. You can then rip one side to reduce the backing fabric to a reasonable 64 x 90 inch piece for this autumn quilt project.

How to Load a Quilting Frame for Computer Quilting

Now that your Basket Weave quilt layers are prepared, let's load our quilting frame! I loaded the quilt lengthwise so the long edge ran parallel to the rails of the frame.

Because I was using a Rolling Rail Frame, I was able to quilt across the entire length of the quilt at one time. This made quilting the long borders much easier, but I had to make sure the quilt was loaded straight to the frame.

It's important to load the quilt straight and square to the rails of the frame to reduce distortion in the printed panel.

Basting the Quilt on the Frame 

When working on a special quilt, where you want the design elements to be straight and square, it's a good idea to baste the layers of the quilt together on the frame. Click Here to find a detailed video on how to load and baste your quilt on the frame.

  1. 1. Using your Qnique Longarm, set the Baste Stitch to Small and position your longarm 10 inches from the top edge of the quilt.
  2. 2. Lock the channel lock on your machine wheel. This will lock the machine so it can only roll side to side. Starting in the middle of the quilt, stitch a straight line to the right and off the edge of the quilt. As you stitch, shift and wiggle the autumn quilt panel to make sure the printed design runs parallel to your straight line of basting stitches.
  3. 3. Unlock the machine channel lock and lock the bottom carriage lock. Now your machine can only roll up and down. Stitch a straight line 1/8-inch inside the edge of the quilt to secure the sides.
  4. 4. Repeat these steps basting a line to the left and up the side of the quilt.
  5. 5. Advance the quilt on the rolling rail frame and baste another line of quilting 10 inches from the first. Keep advancing and stitching until you get to the bottom edge of the quilt. 
  6. Carefully baste stitch to both sides of the long border, making sure the narrow space stays parallel to the straight line stitched by your machine.

This basting step ensures the shapes on the quilt - the rectangles and squares - are stable and less likely to shift as nearby spaces are quilted with digital quilting designs.

I basted the quilt using the same white Isacord thread I used for quilting. You could also use water soluble thread in the bobbin and top and not have to remove it as you go. Water soluble thread washes out completely with lukewarm water.

With this baste stitching done, it's time to begin quilting!

Place and Quilt Digital Quilting Designs Perfectly

Now it's time to explore all the beautiful digital quilting designs included with QCT 6 Plus and learn how to use them in this autumn quilt panel project!

The Basket Weave autumn quilt panel features horizontal and vertical rectangles that will be easy to quilt with QCT 6 Plus. Remember, when you use this level of the quilting software, you have access to both Select and Sew and Pantograph tools.

Learn how to use the Pantograph Tool included in QCT 6 Plus by following along with this screenshot:

QCT 6 Plus Pantograph Tool
  1. Step 1 - Measure the horizontal rectangle on the quilt and change your Total Width to fit the design measurement. Change the Total Width to be 1/2 inch less than the space to create a small margin to the top and bottom of the design on your quilt.
  2. Step 2 - Select the Pattern from the pattern library in QCT 6 Plus. We are using designs found in the "Continuous Line" design folder. Note - there are a lot more digital quilting designs that can work for this quilt now and they can be found in the "Edge-to-Edge" folder.
  3. Step 3 - Adjust the number of patterns until you like the size and shape of the designs.
  4. Step 4 - When you're happy with the design, tap "Place as a Single Pattern" and the QCT 6 Plus software will treat this as one single design to place on your quilt.
  5. Step 5 - Optional! If you don't have a ruler on hand, you can click this ruler button on the top of your screen to measure spaces on your quilt instead.
Quilting the Tiny Rectangles

There are a few tiny rectangles to quilt and these will measure 3 x 4 or 4 x 4 inches.

To plan the designs for these, again, change the size of the rectangle to be the full horizontal width, but 1/2 less in height.

  1. For a 3 inch wide x 4 inch tall rectangle, the quilting designs will measure 3 x 3.5 inches.
  2. For a 4 inch wide x 4 inch tall rectangle, the quilting designs will measure 4 x 3.5 inches.

This resulted in a space that was more or less proportional to the longer rectangles. I selected 1 quilting design to fill in the tiny rectangles.

Video 2 - Design, Place, and Quilt with QCT 6 Plus

See all the steps to plan the digital quilting design, place the design on your quilt, and quilt it beautifully with QCT 6 Plus in this video:

How to Quilt the Vertical Rectangles

If you are quilting this autumn quilt panel on a Qnique 15 or Little Rebel sewing machine, you'll follow the directions above and quilt all the spaces as horizontal designs. You have plenty of room in the arm of your machine to quilt the designs horizontally with QCT 6 Plus.

When it comes time to quilt the rectangles running in the other direction (vertically), remove the quilt from your quilting frame and rotate it. Then reload the quilt so all the unquilted rectangles how run parallel with the rails of the frame. This has made the vertical rectangles now horizontal so you can quilt them too!

If you are quilting on a Qnique 19 or Qnique 21 longarm, you will have space to quilt the vertical rectangles without having to rotate your quilt. You'll just need to rotate the digital quilting design!

To do this, plan the design in the Pantograph Maker the same way we did before: 2-3 designs chained together and measure the vertical rectangle on the autumn quilt panel. Now you will create a design that is the full height, but 1/2 inch less than the width.

On the next screen, use the 45 degree rotate button to rotate the design vertical (you'll have to hit it twice).

The design will end up looking really squished and weird and that's when you use the placement notes - 4 points stretch - to place the design and stretch it back out so it fits the vertical rectangle properly.

Once you get the points placed, pull up your bobbin thread and hit "Sew" and your vertical rectangles can be quilted as well.

Would you like a faster way to place and quilt all of these designs in rectangles? QCT 6 PRO + Gold Card includes a tool called Multi-Pattern Placement which allows you to plan and place multiple designs at a time, then quilt them all in sequence. This saves a lot of time placing designs so you can spend more time working on another quilt!

How to Use the QCT 6 Plus Marking Tool

One of the best tools in QCT 6 Plus you can use to check your quilting and to help you with outline quilting, stitching in the ditch, or designing your own straight-line designs is the Marking Tool.

Follow along with the screenshot below to learn how to use the Marking Tool:

QCT 6 Plus Marking Tool

We're using the Marking Tool to plan and stitch an outline around each rectangle of our autumn quilt panel.

  1. Step 1 - It's generally helpful to have all three checkboxes checked in this section so you can see the grid and pattern size as you plan your design.
  2. Step 2 - Access the Marking Tool by clicking on the "Toolbox" and scrolling down to "Marking Tool."
  3. Step 3 - Roll your machine to where the design will likely end on your quilt and hit "Add" to add a mark in that spot. Roll the machine to the next spot and hit "Add" to mark the outline of the rectangle.
  4. Step 4 - If you're unsure of your placement or if your lines are straight, hit the magnifying glass on the top bar to zoom in or out on your design.
  5. Step 5 - When you're ready to quilt, make sure both the Pattern and Markings boxes are checked so both will stitch out. 

    If you are using the marking tool and don't want the markings to stitch, just uncheck this box - it's that easy!

As you saw in the video, there are alternatives to using the Marking Tool and that is to instead grab a Ditcher Ruler and use ruler quilting to stitch the outline of the rectangles.

Just make sure you have a Ruler Base and Ruler Foot attached to your longarm before switching to ruler quilting. And no, I don't make any changes to my longarm, quilting frame, or QCT when switching to another style of quilting.

I just check the monitor on my longarm machine and if it says "Stitch Regulated: Precise" that means the longarm machine (and handlebar buttons) are in control.

No, you don't need to loosen the belts on your QCT 6 system in order to move the machine. You may feel a slight resistance, but with practice, you will be able to quilt any design - free motion quilting filler design or ruler quilting design - immediately after finishing a design with QCT.

Quilting Corner Blocks with QCT 6 Plus

With the center of the quilt beautifully quilted, it's time to turn our attention to the outer borders of our fall quilt.

I designed the Basket Weave autumn quilt panel to be easier to quilt with Quilter's Creative Touch 6 Plus with corner blocks in the borders. To quilt the corners, use the simple "Select and Sew" tool and select design "2" and place them in the corners of the quilt.

I used the edges of my ruler foot to place the digital quilting design 1/4 inch inside the edges of the block so there was a little empty space between the design and the borders. This just makes it look neat and tidy!

As for the placement method, I used 4 points stretch. This ensures even if the space on the quilt is stretched a bit and not perfectly square, the design will still be centered nicely within that space.

Quilt the two corner blocks at the top of the quilt and then it's time to tackle a long border.

Quilting Long Borders with QCT 6 Plus

The first step to quilting a long border with QCT 6 Plus is to measure it. I needed to pull out my 10 foot construction measuring tape because my 5 foot cloth tape measures just wouldn't cut it! 

Note - there are measuring tools within QCT 6 Plus and I will update this tutorial with instructions on using them soon.

The longer border rectangles on my autumn quilt panel measured 6.5 x 70.5 inches. The shorter borders measured 6.5 x 40.25 inches. I wanted the border design to fill the full length of the spaces, but to add a margin to the top and bottom of the design. When designing the borders, here's how I planned the designs:

Longer Borders - 5 x 70.5 inch space

Short Borders - 5 x 40.25 inch space

Why? Because quilt border tend to be a bit wiggly and not perfectly straight. I shared many tips in the video for helping you get the border straighter in the frame and running perfectly parallel to the rails of the frame. We even basted the quilt when loading it to ensure the edges were straight and square.

But even with those extra steps - if I sized the design at 6 1/2 inches tall, it would run the risk of overflowing into the middle of the quilt or bleeding off the top edge which looks messy.

This is why I recommend adding a 3/4 inch margin between the quilting design and the top and bottom edges of the border. That is plenty of wiggle room just in case the border isn't perfectly straight.

Video 3 - Quilting Long Borders with QCT 6 Plus

Quilting a long border is basically like quilting a much larger rectangle like we did before. See the entire process step-by-step in this video:

The main difference with placing the border designs is the placement method I used in quilting interface screen. I wanted the software to maintain the height of the design rigidly. I didn't want the height changed in any way.

To place the borders, I selected the 2 Points placement method. Within the 2 points, you have lots of choices of which points you are using to place the design. Make sure to select the "Start / End" points. With the "????" design used for the border, the start and end point are in the middle of the design, which makes it very easy to line up on the quilt panel.

Measure and mark the center point of the border (3 1/4 inch from the edges) and hit the placement node in that spot.

Make sure to turn on your grid and pattern size so you can check that the design is being placed straight.

You can also use the marking tool to mark straight lines along, following the outline of the border just to check if the design is being placed straight into the space.

After quilting the border designs, I quilted a straight line 1/4 inch from the edges of the border to fill in the extra space. It looks great and perfectly consistent with the rest of the quilt!

Tips for Painless Border Quilting

Here's a few last tips for quilting long borders with QCT 6 Plus:

  1. Make sure to check your bobbin before you begin quilting the long border designs especially. It is possible to recover from a thread break in the middle of the border, but it isn't much fun.
  2. Of course when you change bobbins make sure to pull your machine to one side and test your stitches. You might need to adjust your tension slightly from one bobbin to another and it's also nice to figure this out off your real quilt!
  3. Don't Leave Your QCT! I don't advise walking away from your machine as it quilts these long designs. Something can glitch and it's always faster and easier to fix the issue if you stop the machine as close to the break as possible.
  4. If you have another machine in the room, consider piecing something fun, or stitching out an embroidery design, or maybe do a few jumping jacks.

Conclusion

I hope you are excited about using QCT 6 Plus and exploring all the new digital quilting designs added to your software and the many ways you can quilt your quilts with these designs. What features and tools would you be interested in learning more about? Click Here to contact us and let me know if you'd like to see a detailed video on another QCT 6 Plus feature. To wrap up, so far you've learned:

How to import designs into your QCT 6 Plus software

How to design digital quilting designs using the Pantograph Tool and place them as a single pattern on your quilt.

How to use the Marking Tool to stitch in the ditch (or outline quilt) around a quilt block.

How to quilt long borders using QCT 6 Plus Pantograph Tool.

Are you curious to see what more you can do with QCT 6 PRO? Click Here to find our QCT 6 PRO Tutorial.

Leah Day Computer Quilting Teacher

The Author: Leah Day

Leah Day began teaching machine quilting online in 2009 on the Free Motion Quilting Project blog. Having never met a machine she didn't like or couldn't quilt with, Leah loves helping quilters learn to quilt their own quilts. Now a Grace Company Dealer, Leah is dedicated to teaching her quilting customers how to get the most from their quilting systems.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Can I switch back to QCT 6?

Yes, if you plan to only quilt one row of your pantograph at a time, it's easier to use the Edge-to-Edge quilting feature in QCT 6 - the simplest level of the software.

Just tap the button in the lower corner "Try Other Product Tiers" and Click on the button to switch back to QCT 6.

You can then change back to QCT 6 Plus whenever you want!

How many new digital quilting designs are included with QCT 6 Plus?

QCT 6 Plus adds the following designs to your computerized design library, in addition to the Edge-to-Edge designs included in QCT 6:

129 Quilt Block Designs

66 Continuous Line Designs

14 Corner Designs

5 Border Sets

41 Triangle Designs

50+ More designs digitized by designers like me!

Can I Activate a Gold Card with QCT 6 Plus?

No. You must upgrade to QCT 6 PRO in order to activate a Gold Card.

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