Originally Posted by kerrytaylor
You mention your wavy lines. I saw that exact pattern last weekend and really liked it. The spacing between each wave was perfect and so smooth. Is this method accessible on the internet so I can learn it or is it a stitch pattern available to you on your machine? Also, it seems like trying to sew wavy would make it difficult to stay on course, be it on a diagonal or straight "path". How did you prevent that from being a problem? I'm sooo green.
I don't know of internet instructions for this, but there well could be.
You typically want to machine quilt through the center of the quilt first. In order to make sure your first line begins and ends in the area you want, lay down a piece of blue painter's tape 4 to 6 inches apart as guidelines. Make your first wavy line with the walking foot between the tape strips. This can be through the center of the quilt, through the diagonal, or in whatever direction you want the lines to go. (Blue painter's tape sticks but is easy to remove and does not leave residue.)
A lot of walking feet come with a measuring guide attachment you can use for subsequent lines; basically keeping the guide on your previous line of stitching so that your current line is following the same path. However, I really believe it is not necessary to be so exact. I just decide how far apart my next wavy line is going to be and "eyeball" it as I sew. It doesn't need to be perfectly aligned with previous stitching to look nice.
Make a practice quilt sandwich and experiment making wavy lines with your walking foot. What I do is simply guide the fabric left and right as I sew. It's easiest to do gently wavy lines with fairly long, large curves. If the curves are too tight, it kind of takes the fun out of it because you have to maneuver the bulk of the quilt too much. What you want is a nice, steady pace for the walking foot that allows you to gently move the fabric left and right.
When you make your first line through the middle of the quilt, you will find out why so many people are cautioning you about a queen-size quilt on a domestic machine. It's *hard* to fit that much bulk under the arm of the machine! Your first line will be the hardest, and you will need to stop and start frequently to adjust the quilt bulk. After the middle line, each subsequent line is easier because there is less bulk under the arm.
Before starting, you might want to mark the center of the quilt with a piece of tape, then bunch up the quilt to slide half of it under the arm. That will give you an idea of what you will be working with.