The Pfaff Expression 710

I love to sew. I used to sew all my kids clothes, but lately I have mostly been piecing quilts and sewing minky blankets. I had a workhorse Viking sewing machine that had served me well for over 25 year, but it finally broke and it couldn’t be repaired. I was so sad! I knew that machine inside and out. How would I ever come to love a machine as much as that one?

It was time to do my research and make a purchase. The sewing machine dealer/repair shop that I have always used no longer carried Viking (Husqvarna) but they carried Pfaff. I knew of Pfaff, it is a brand that has been around for a long time. As I researched, I learned that Husqvarna, Pfaff, and Singer (the first sewing machine I ever owned!) were all owned by SVP Worldwide. This gave me confidence about the Pfaff brand, because both my Singer and my Viking were great machines.

The dealer had many different models of Pfaff machines to choose from – ranging from beginner and hobby machines, to top of the line quilt machines. My Viking had a lot of great features and I wanted a comparable machine. When my Viking died I was in the middle of a project so I borrow a machine to finish it. Using a basic machine after using mine opened my eyes to what I didn’t want!

I bypassed looking at the basic machines and had the dealer show me what would compare to my old Viking. I was shown the Pfaff Expressions line. I was able to sew a bit on the different machines to see how they performed. Then armed with the model numbers, I went home to research them. I narrowed my choices down to the 710 or the 720. They are very similar, the 720 has a few more features. The 710 is purple and the 720 is gray. If I were choosing based on color, I would have gone with the 720. The purple was bold! But, I realized I wouldn’t use the extra features so it wasn’t worth the extra several hundred dollars. I went back and purchased the 710.

What I love about the Pfaff Expression 710

Probably one of the first things I noticed about the machine was the deep sewing space. Almost 10 inches! This machine is made to sew big, bulky projects like quilts. You can get a lot of fabric in there! The deep sewing space makes it ideal for free form machine quilting. I have quilted a few lap quilts on it and it works great. However, I do recommend you get the Pfaff Extension Table – it helps support the weight of the quilt so it doesn’t pull on the needle.

The Original IDT™ System – this is an awesome feature! There is a black shaft behind the needle that attaches to the pressure foot. It helps feed the fabric from the both top and bottom so your stitching is perfect every time. This is a great feature that I have come to really appreciate.

Touch Screen – I wasn’t sure that I needed a touch screen, but it has been great. You can change stitch style, stitch length, change it to free form quilting, even control winding a bobbin, plus so much more. There is also a handy stylus stored in the side of the machine that makes pushing those buttons even easier.

Free Form Quilting! I love piecing quilts, and I love to hand quilt them. But it is very time consuming and I don’t like having a quilt frame set up for days (or weeks!) on end until I finish. I have taken quilts to professional machine quilters and I love the result, but I wanted to see if I could do it myself. That is one of the major reasons I went with this particular machine. I played around with the free form quilting option using scrap fabric. It took a bit to get the hang of it. I watched a few YouTube videos for pointers and that helped a lot. I have done free form stippling on a couple of lap quilts and I love the result. It’s not perfect yet, but I am practicing. I use templates to draw my design with a Crayola Washable Marker first and then just follow the line.  Seriously, Crayola! I have used different types of quilt markers, but they are expensive and don’t last an entire quilt. The price of the Crayola Markers is low, and if one doesn’t make it through an entire quilt there is no guilt! It washes away clean. Just to be sure, I sprayed stain spray on the quilt and then added Biz to the wash. I also checked to make sure all the marker was gone before putting the quilt in the dryer.

There are a lot of quilt stencils out there, but I am a big fan of a stipple quilt. This is easy to do and looks great on almost any quilt. This stipple stencil is one of my favorites.

I have been so happy with my Pfaff Expression 710. I would recommend going to a reputable sewing machine retailer to purchase. A store that specializes in sewing machines will have a good selection and knowledgeable sales people. You want to make sure you get the right machine for you!

Happy sewing!