Hi ladies! Just found this board and can't wait to read all the threads! I have made three small quilt tops. One is just 9 squares and the other two are baby quilt size. The first one I am hand quilting so I know how to put the batting and quilt top and backing together. However, I don't have the time to hand quilt the baby quilts as one was made for a baby that arrived early! I really want to get it machine quilted, but I have absolutely no idea as to how to do it. Do I draw a pattern on the quilt top and trace it? Should I just stitch in the ditch and leave it at that? Can I just do a stipple, and how? Will my machine have this ability? I have a Brother Innov40. Paperwork says it can quilt. I'm so confused and really want tog et this done! To have it professionally done it would cost able $75 locally. Any help would be appreciated!! Thanks!

Sara

Welcome!

My recommedation is that if you are pressed for time, go the safe way. It is not a good idea to try to do something new in a rush. I would do a stitch in the ditch and bind it. It is just sewing a straight line, and you know how to do that and that your machine will handle it well. when you have no pressure, then venture with new techniques like stippling. It takes a while and a lot of preactice to master those. If your machine has fancy stitches built in you can use those too instead of straight lines to add interest to the quilt without adding pressure to yourself.

Maria

You could also tie it. I just tie a lot of my smaller projects.

I was going to recommend tying also. I finished tying a quilt in a couple of days with not working on it much each day. Babies also love to play with the ties!

If you do decide to tie it, do the surgeon's square knot.
right over left, repeat, then left over right repeat. The knot is much more secure.

As far a stippling, when you have time, if you can lower, or cover your feed dogs, you will be able to free motion quilt. You will need a darning foot, sometimes called a hopping foot. Eleanor Burns recommends a spring needle.

I recommend that you start off with something real small like a pot holder.

Go to You tube and type in free motion quilting, you will get all sorts of demo videos.

Welcome from northeast CA. Glad you joined us. As you're pressed for time, I would either tie or stitch in the ditch as suggested by others.

I'm all for Stitch in the Ditch quilting. It is fast and will hold up to the use of a kid and lots of washing. Your batting will determine if you need to add additional quilting betwenn the SID strips.

Welcome from Southern California. Others have made great suggestions

Thank you all so much for the welcome and recommendations. I think I have decided to try the stitch in the ditch technique. I'm in the process of basting it together and I guess I'll just wing it with the stitching. I have a few books that I have looked though to guide me. Hopefully that will be enough!

Thanks again!

Sara

You could do cross hatching. Draw a straight line from one corner to the opposite corner and stitch. If you have a walking foot with a guide then just put your guide on the line you just sewed and stitch the next line and etc. If you don't have a guide then just draw out the lines and sew. Then go from the other corner and draw to the opposite corner and cross the lines you just sewed. Cross hatching.

I hope I explained that right.