Free Motion Quilting Tutorial

Here is the promised tutorial on free motion quilting.

This does not cover all the aspects of free motion, I just wanted to describe a few things that work wonderfully for me and make my quilting easier and faster. You can experiment with the things you consider are interesting and see if they work for you, too.

I wrote this tutorial with the beginner quilters in mind, too, so sorry if you already know and use these things. I will be glad if all of you find here something useful !

In my country quilting is unknown for most people that is why I had to learn all by myself. Can you believe that the hardest thing I had to understand was stitching in the ditch?
I had no one to tell me “Don’t do this, it is wrong” so I do some things in my own manner. They make my quilting easier and I use them all the time.

Here are some:

Position of hands
This is the most important thing: I don’t quilt with both hands on top of the quilt sandwich. If someone would force me to do this, I would give up quilting.

Look at the picture below.

For me this position of hands is much more comfortable. I move the quilt around without difficulty and with no pain in my shoulders. I don’t wear any type of gloves, I don’t need them.

I keep on top only my left hand (keeping the quilt laying flat)

and the right hand I keep under the quilt. I use this hand to move the quilt.

I also use my left hand to move it around, but the right hand is mainly doing the job.

Basting
I use pins (instead of safety pins) to baste the quilt sandwich.
I keep the points of the pins in the middle layer (batting). Sometimes I have scratches on my hands (especially if the quilt is large). But since we have Pepe (our kitten) I have them anyway on my hands.
I love using pins because I put them so quickly and I remove them equally.
Don’t use pins on baby quilts ! Or be careful to remove all of them.

If the quilt top is large I layer it with batting and backing on the floor. I use masking tape to secure the backing to the floor.

If it is not large I baste it on a table and I use clamps to stretch the backing fabric.

How I start a stitch
I bring the bottom thread to the top.
Holding both threads securely, I start taking 3-4 tiny backstitches. I end the stitch in the same way.

I always use the same color of thread on the front and back of the quilt (in the pictures, I use two colors for easier understanding). And I like using the same color for backing, too. In this way if I can't get perfect stitches, the mistakes will not be very noticeable.

To avoid mistakes like this

I turn the quilt sandwich over from time to time to make sure that I have good stitches on the back.

Some people like using a busy fabric on the back but I prefer to see the quilting. If I have a busy pattern on top, the quilting will look nicer on the back than on the top.

Clean your sewing machine often. Oil it according with manufacturer’s instructions.

About threads
My sewing machine (like all the machines, I assume) works wonderfully with quality threads. And because not all my threads are of the best quality, I save the best for using on top (because I usually have problems with the top thread).
I have to save money not for shoes or dresses, but for threads ! I think my husband should be happy ! Or maybe not ?

About needles
I always use quality needles. Lately I have used Schmetz Topstitch needles (# 80 or #90) for most of my projects. They have a large eye and I noticed that the thread does not break so often. If the thread keeps breaking I change the needle.
And I always test its point: if it is dull and does not prick or it leaves a scratch on my fingernail it is time to change it.

Why is it harder to quilt large quilts ?
If the quilt hangs off the edges of the table we work on, this will cause difficulties in moving the quilt around. So this is the golden rule for easy free motion quilting : regardless of the size of the table we use (I use a small one), we must keep the whole sandwich on the table at all times.

I start quilting in the center and I never roll the quilt. I just place the half of the quilt under the arm of my machine and I quilt on small portion at a time.

If the sewing machine fits into a cabinet and we have a large flat area to work on, this helps a lot.

How to quilt fancy designs
I hate to trace a pattern onto fabrics or make stencils.
That is why I let the computer to make the hard work for me.

• I print (using EQ software) the desired design on lightweight paper.
• I pin the paper onto the quilt sandwich.
• I stitch the design (with dense stitches) then I carefully remove the paper.

From my experience stitching a pattern through paper is the easiest method of stiching a design because the lines are very visible. You will focus only on stitching.

This little quilt was entirely quilted using this method.

An example of quick and easy quilting
I outline the patches I want to enhance and I use stippling on the background.

The front of a block

The back

For outlining the shapes I use stitches like these (done with free motion)

I can't finish this post without showing you the quilting on the back of my favorite shadow trapunto quilt. I made it using many of the tips shown here.

Click for a large picture

If you have other tips and want to share them, just leave them in a comment (along with your name and website) and I will make an update with your tips at the end of this post. Thank you !

More free motion quilting tips 

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