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ok, I am getting ready to attempt machine quilting on my regular sewing machine... I have a "walking foot" and a "piecing foot". Where do I start?
Which one works best for what? I'm not being fancy on my firt time out-just straight stiches. Any pointers from the pros? How should I roll the quilt? What should I watch the closest? Any little tips would be great. I have to admit, I'm a little anxious... |
The easiest way to start machine quilting is with a walking foot. Straight lines aren't too hard with a walking foot, but it's even easier if you make up your mind to do wavy, curvy lines with the walking foot; that way small deviations are not noticeable. My advice is to make a couple of practice sandwiches and see which pattern you prefer for the quilt you are working on.
A piecing foot is primarily for piecing together the top. It does not work as well as a walking foot for quilting. FMQ (free motion quilting) requires a darning foot or hopping foot of some kind. These are feet that lift up with the needle to allow movement of the quilt sandwich, then come down again with the needle while the stitch is being made. These feet have a little spring in them; you can manually push the foot up and down in your hand to check that it is a hopping foot. FMQ tends to take lots of practice before people feel ready to do a quilt with it. That's why I recommend starting with the walking foot. The walking foot takes care of making even stitches for you. I prefer spray basting. Pin basting also works for machine quilting, but you have to make sure to remove the pins before they get too close to your walking foot. (I ruined a walking foot by letting it get caught on a pin; stretched the spring in the foot out of shape.) Thread basting is usually not used for machine quilting because it is hard to remove the basting threads afterwards. Some people successfully baste by machine using dissolving thread. I still think the easiest method is spray basting with 505. Before layering the quilt sandwich, I also advise heavily starching the backing fabric (and spray starching the top) to prevent puckers. I just loosely accordion-pleat the quilt that is under the arm of my machine. I find this much easier than trying to roll that portion of the quilt. |
Prism99.....great advise :!:
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Originally Posted by Prism99
The easiest way to start machine quilting is with a walking foot. Straight lines aren't too hard with a walking foot, but it's even easier if you make up your mind to do wavy, curvy lines with the walking foot; that way small deviations are not noticeable. My advice is to make a couple of practice sandwiches and see which pattern you prefer for the quilt you are working on.
A piecing foot is primarily for piecing together the top. It does not work as well as a walking foot for quilting. FMQ (free motion quilting) requires a darning foot or hopping foot of some kind. These are feet that lift up with the needle to allow movement of the quilt sandwich, then come down again with the needle while the stitch is being made. These feet have a little spring in them; you can manually push the foot up and down in your hand to check that it is a hopping foot. FMQ tends to take lots of practice before people feel ready to do a quilt with it. That's why I recommend starting with the walking foot. The walking foot takes care of making even stitches for you. I prefer spray basting. Pin basting also works for machine quilting, but you have to make sure to remove the pins before they get too close to your walking foot. (I ruined a walking foot by letting it get caught on a pin; stretched the spring in the foot out of shape.) Thread basting is usually not used for machine quilting because it is hard to remove the basting threads afterwards. Some people successfully baste by machine using dissolving thread. I still think the easiest method is spray basting with 505. Before layering the quilt sandwich, I also advise heavily starching the backing fabric (and spray starching the top) to prevent puckers. I just loosely accordion-pleat the quilt that is under the arm of my machine. I find this much easier than trying to roll that portion of the quilt. Prism99. Oh maybe one small hint. Be sure to have something to support the left side of the quilt like a chair or table top if handy. If the quit is hanging down it will pull at your needle area and the results are not desired. |
great advice!!
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and really, you would do well to catch some tutorials online on this. seeing always helps.
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thank you so much! So far so good... If I have any more questions, I'll be sure to come here for help. You have deffinately eased some of my axiety :) :-D
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