Table of Contents
Watch the video: “How to Use Lettering to Make Words on a Sewing Machine (Husqvarna Viking Edition)” by Sew Right Sewing Machines
Machine lettering in sewing mode is the quiet superpower on your Husqvarna Viking. In minutes, you can type a phrase, add automatic stop/lock/trim, and stitch crisp words directly on fabric for labels, gifts, and keepsakes.
What you’ll learn
- How to enter programming mode for lettering on a Husqvarna Viking Designer Sapphire 85
- Typing, editing, and spacing words like “Happy Birthday” on the touchscreen
- Adding stop, locking stitch (fix), and trim for clean finishes
- Saving to memory or cloud and recalling designs later
- Preparing fabric with interfacing and tear-away stabilizer for neat results
Unlocking Your Machine's Lettering Potential Sewing-mode lettering is different from embroidery: you’re using built-in alphabet stitches to spell words—no hooping, no embroidery unit. It’s perfect for quilt labels, quick sentiments, and everyday personalization. The instructor demonstrates with examples like a quilt label and suggests framing a label’s edge with decorative stitches for a more finished look.
If you’ve ever finished a beautiful quilt and wished the label felt more “designed,” sewing-mode lettering helps you get there fast. After stitching your text, consider adding a decorative border (before you hand-stitch the label down) for a framed effect—exact steps for decorative stitches aren’t shown in the video, but the idea provides a stylish finish.
From the comments
- Community makers are excited to add lettering to charity projects—like seasonal sacks and keepsakes—and want to stitch their own phrases rather than buying premade labels.
- Some viewers asked about other Husqvarna models; this tutorial is specifically on the Designer Sapphire 85, and the interface can differ on other machines.
- Several viewers noted camera movement; the channel acknowledged that feedback.
Pro tip When your text will be reused—names, “Made by …,” or signature phrases—plan to save it so you don’t retype later. Dates and changing numbers are best reentered each time.
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating Text
Navigating to Programming Mode On the Husqvarna Viking Designer Sapphire 85, enter the lettering programming area from regular sewing mode by tapping the A-with-zigzag icon on the bottom of the screen. This opens a space where letters are strung together as a sequence (rather than repeating a single character).
You’ll know you’re in the right spot when the interface shows the program timeline for characters and commands. If you accidentally land in an embroidery area instead, return to the main screen and reselect the icon.
Watch out The demonstration is in sewing mode only—no embroidery unit or hooping is used here, and no specific stitch lengths/widths are provided. Defaults appear to be applied for the selected alphabet (as seen on-screen).
Typing Your Message: Fonts & Input Select an alphabet from the Font Menu—“Brush line alphabet” is shown in the video. You’ll see a keyboard to type words like “Happy Birthday.” Insert spaces with the space bar. Switch between uppercase and lowercase with the arrow button.
If you spot a typo, move the on-screen cursor to the character, tap the trash can icon to delete, and retype. The instructor demonstrates typing “Happy,” adding a space, then completing “Birthday,” while toggling case for the initial letters.
Quick check Before you stitch, proofread: Are the capitals where you want them? Is the spacing correct? Correcting on screen now is easier than seam-ripping later.
Adding Automated Stitch Commands To finish cleanly without babysitting, add these to the end of your sequence: stop, lock (fix), and trim. The stop tells the machine to complete the programmed word and stop at the end; the lock secures the thread; the trim cuts tails automatically. If you insert something in the wrong order, remove it with the trash can and reinsert.
From the comments One viewer mentioned results that looked loose. The video doesn’t cover specific tension settings; however, it repeatedly emphasizes stabilization and a clean program finish. Stabilize your fabric, keep your guiding steady, and let the programmed stop/lock/trim complete before lifting.
Saving and Recalling Your Designs
Organizing Your Digital Stitch Library You can save your lettering programs to memory (favorites) and to the machine-connected cloud. Closing the font tab reveals a heart icon; tap to save. Consider organizing recurring phrases in folders—names, quilt labels, or occasion phrases—so you can recall them quickly later.
Saving to Cloud/Memory When saving, rename “New Program” to something recognizable (e.g., “HAPPY”). The instructor demonstrates backing out the default name and typing a new one on the virtual keyboard. Names you reuse—like “Made by [Your Name]”—are ideal save candidates. The video notes that dates don’t need saving since they change.
Pro tip Use short, consistent names for your files so you can find them easily later. If you have many entries, sort them into folders (e.g., NAMES, LABELS).
Retrieving Saved Text Tap the folder icon at the top to access your saved files. In the file manager, icons with zigzags indicate sewing-mode designs; flowers indicate embroidery designs. You can expand the view to see more files at once, then locate your saved text and hold to load it onto the sewing screen. The example shows recalling “Happy.”
Once loaded, the program appears ready to stitch on the main screen.
Watch out If you can’t find a file later, it may be saved under a different folder or name. The video shows expanding the file browser to reduce scrolling and help you spot your program.
Perfecting Your Stitch: Fabric Preparation
Why Stabilizer and Interfacing Are Key Lettering is dense—even in sewing mode—so stabilize well. The instructor fuses interfacing (Pellon Easy Knit) to the back of the fabric and places tear-away stabilizer underneath. This combination keeps fabric from stretching and helps letters look crisp.
Achieving Straight Lines: Chalk Guides Draw chalk lines as guides and decide how you’ll align them: either ride the outside edge of your presser foot along the line or keep the line inside a reference point on the foot. Choose what your eye follows best and stick with it throughout stitching.
From the comments A viewer on an older non-touchscreen Husqvarna reported that stabilization made a big difference when they tried again. The takeaway aligns with the video: interface the fabric and support it with tear-away.
Stitching the Design Place your fabric and stabilizer under the presser foot. The machine will feed the work so the stitched words appear oriented as seen on screen (your instinct might be to turn the fabric to “read” it as you sew, but the feed direction matters; set your fabric so the results match the preview). Start stitching and guide the fabric steadily, keeping your chalk line parallel to the foot. As each letter finishes, it disappears from the on-screen sequence.
At the end of the program, let the stop, lock, and trim complete before lifting your foot. If you remove your foot too soon, the trim may not execute and you’ll have thread tails to cut manually.
Quick check After stitching, evaluate legibility and spacing. If the trim didn’t fire (e.g., you stopped early), snip threads neatly.
Creative Inspirations and Project Ideas
Personalized Quilt Labels Add the quilt’s name, your shop or maker’s line, city, and the date. For a gallery look, consider stitching a row of decorative stitches around the label before hand-securing it to your quilt back (the instructor mentions this as a nice finishing frame).
Unique Gift Wrapping Solutions A memorable story from the video: the instructor made a child’s jacket but had no wrapping supplies. She stitched “Happy Birthday [Name]” all over a fabric rectangle, then sewed it into a pillowcase. The packaging became the present—so loved that it became the child’s new pillowcase. This is a great example of thinking beyond standard labels.
Custom Home Organization Labels The same lettering technique can label kitchen goods, shelves, or bins. Since these are short, repeatable words, create a folder of favorites in your memory/cloud so relabeling is fast.
From the comments
- Charity makers are eager to stitch sentiment lines like “Made with Love by …” directly on projects instead of buying labels.
- Users with various Husqvarna models (Opal, Topaz) noted they can adapt many of these tips, though exact screens vary by model.
Troubleshooting Common Lettering Issues
Dealing with Misspellings Mid-Program Use the on-screen cursor to navigate to the error, delete with the trash can icon, and retype. Proofread before stitching and save corrected phrases you’ll use repeatedly.
Preventing Fabric Puckering The video’s solution is twofold stabilization: fuse interfacing (e.g., Pellon Easy Knit) and use a tear-away underneath. Smooth out the layers before you lower the presser foot.
Ensuring Automatic Trim Functions Add stop → lock (fix) → trim to the end of your sequence and let the cycle finish before lifting. If you stop early, you may need to trim threads manually afterward.
From the comments (model-specific limits) A viewer on a different Husqvarna model reported a 20-character lockout; this video doesn’t cover that model, and any limit isn’t specified here. Check your manual for model-specific caps.
Quick FAQ Q: What’s the difference between sewing-mode lettering and embroidery? A: Sewing-mode lettering uses built-in alphabet stitches to write words directly on fabric—no embroidery unit or hooping. Embroidery typically uses an embroidery unit, hoops, and (often) multi-color designs.
Q: Why do I need both interfacing and stabilizer? A: Interfacing adds body and helps prevent stretching, while tear-away stabilizer supports dense letter stitching from below for smoother results.
Q: Can I save and reuse my custom text? A: Yes. The video shows saving to memory/cloud via the heart icon and later recalling with the folder icon. Organize by folder (e.g., names) for fast access.
Q: What foot is used in the demo? A: The instructor references guiding with the presser foot edge, but does not specify a particular foot model.
A note on embroidery accessories This video focuses on sewing-mode lettering only. Some readers also explore embroidery accessories and terms they may see elsewhere online—these relate to embroidery, not the sewing-mode lettering shown here. If you’re browsing broadly, you may encounter references like magnetic hoop for husqvarna viking; those products concern embroidery setups, not this sewing demonstration.
If you’re in embroidery research mode, you’ll likely see general categories such as husqvarna embroidery hoops discussed in other contexts. Again, those are for the embroidery unit, whereas this tutorial keeps everything in sewing mode with no hooping.
For readers comparing equipment types at a high level, it’s common to search for an embroidery sewing machine—but note that today’s walkthrough uses the sewing side only of a model that also has embroidery capability. The embroidery features themselves are not shown or detailed here.
Likewise, you might see terms like husqvarna endless embroidery hoop or an embroidery frame mentioned on other sites or videos. Those are embroidery-unit accessories and not part of the process demonstrated in this video.
If you’re shopping internationally, you may encounter phrases like embroidery hoops uk. That concerns availability and vendors, which are outside the scope of this tutorial. We’re focused strictly on sewing-mode lettering steps as shown.
Exploring other brands and ecosystems is also common online. For example, some crafters research the bernina magnetic hoops topic in embroidery discussions. That’s outside this video but may pop up in your broader reading.
Finally, you might see mentions of accessory systems such as dime snap hoop in embroidery circles. That’s unrelated to the sewing-mode lettering here, which does not use hoops.
From the comments (inspiration)
- “Made with Love by Mrs. Claus” for charity sacks is a perfect recurring phrase—save it once, stitch it often.
- Users on older Husqvarna models still pulled helpful stabilization tips from this tutorial, even without a touchscreen interface.
Wrap-up With a few taps, clear chalk guides, and solid stabilization, sewing-mode lettering can elevate labels, gifts, and everyday projects. Save the words you use most, trust your stop/lock/trim sequence, and let your machine write the story—one tidy letter at a time.