Quilting a large quilt on your normal-sized sewing machine...
 

Have any of you tried quilting a large quilt on your normal-sized sewing machine? I have a quilt that I'm just now working on and I don't have a machine quilting frame yet, so, I enrolled a class on Craftsy to help me by teaching me 5 ways to quilt it!

Machine Quilting in Sections by Marti Michell - I used that book to quilt many large quilts before I got a longarm. One thing to take into consideration while you're making your quilt is that each method works best on quilts of certain designs, and you may need to know which method you will be using before you start assembling the blocks in the quilt.

I love the way LA quilting looks, but can't afford the price. So I learned to do quilting myself on my Janome 6600. I do the baby quilts all the way up to the huge king sized ones. Granted, my quilting isn't near as good in quality, but my family loves them anyway. I can do a decent feather, stipple, and cross hatching. I have a finished top (and another almost done) that will be getting my first attempts at an edge to edge or panto-like design. While quilting on a regular sewing machine isn't easy, it can definitely be done. It does take lots of practice before ever starting to do a quilt, and sometimes the patience of Job to get the tension right, but absolutely doable!

Check out Leah Day's website for great ideas on how to quilt using a domestic sewing machine. You can also sign up for her newsletter which shows new quilt designs. I found her website to be very helpful.

I quilted a king size on my viking designer11. Wearing quilting gloves and accordian pleating instead of rolling helped me. My machine has a little more throat room than some brands.

I have a Viking Sapphire and it has quite a large harp area and do all my own quilting. I meander and I do not roll my quilts I puddle them and work from the outside in. I Elmer washable school glue or spray baste my quilts so there is not shifting of the sandwich. A LA quilters is out of my budget so I just learned to do it. I did dolly quilts to practice and then jumped in with a queen size quilt. Each quilt turns out better and better and the recipients love them!

I've quilt all my quilts on my DSM which is a Janome 6600 with a 9" throat. I roll it up on two cardboard tubes and clip the sandwich on both ends to keep them rolled and stable. I don't do intricate patterns but often use (1) a long wavy line from top to bottom and then sideways, or (2) a cross hatch pattern (starting from the middle), or (3) a simple crossing of stitches that reminds me of the the tied quilts my mother used to make (start at the center, go 5 large-ish stitches out, backtract 10 stitches, forward 5 and end up where you started; then turn 90 degreees and make the second line of stitching to get a + shaped stitch. I don't stitch in the ditch because I find that hard, but sometimes I echo stitch. Also, sometimes I pillow case (?) my quilts and anchor them down and then quilt them. It all depends.... But it seems important to me to make my own quilts. I'm older and very aware that these quilts are what I will be leaving my family, and I want them to be quilts I made totally, warts and all. If perfection is your goal let a pro do it for you; if love for family is what it's all about for you, then quilt it yourself.

I use the bunching-puddling technique of Leah day but I don't try to emulate her clever little designs. I just stick to SITD followed by simple lengthwise patterns like loose waves with curls on them, or outlining motifs. Anything which doesn't require birthing the quilt over and over again.

I just did a medallion quilt 86" x 86" and it worked great because you sip along each border in the medallion, moving the quilt naturally and you don't get 'lost' in the middle.

Good luck, I know you will make something which will make you proud!

Yes. I did several on a Pfaff Hobby 401 or something like that--the throat wasn't very large. I managed, but it wasn't easy. I upgraded (serious understatement) to a Janome Horizon 7700 and it made a world of difference with a huge harp and feed dogs that lower, etc. It was so much easier.

One lady in the quilt guild does all her own quilts on a home sewing machine. She wins many awards with her quilting. I'm just beginning but am quilting a double size on my sewing machine. It can be done.