Originally Posted by BayleeSue
I envy all of you. I have tried quilting on my regular machine but my quilting doesn't look smooth & even stitches. any advise?
Hi Baylee Sue,
At one time I thought I wanted a longarm machine. Then I found out they are nearly as expensive as a car, and take up that much room, too. and they ake a lot of time to set up, Soooo.....
I quilt everything on my home sewing machines. Although I have several, I mostly use a pair of vintage Singer Featherweights. They are used for piecing as well as free motion quilting, and yes, I did a king size on it. The trick is to use the right batting. I never use polyester; I prefer Warm & Natural or an 80/20 if W&N is not available.
The other secret is Practice. Most people need to practice about a hundred hours before they begin to feel somewhat proficient. I find that using the cheap gardening gloves with rubber dots while I quilt helps me to get traction. I also use spray basting and heavy thread basting to prep my sandwich before going to the machine. And I always do lots of samples before sewing my 'real' quilt.
Don't throw away those practice pieces. I use them for mug mats or work them into tote bags.