Originally Posted by
JustAbitCrazy
When I started handquilting, a mistake I made, which negatively impacted my results, was I didn't make BOTH hands work equally. My underneath hand wasn't doing much except deflecting the needle back to the top. And it should be helping more by manipulating the fabric, too. Both hands kind of wrinkle the fabric to help make the stitches. The quilting stitch is made by both the needle taking evenly spaced stitches through the quilt and by the quilt being manipulated to present the quilt to the needle's tip at evenly spaced intervals. The quilt must be loose in the hoop in order for you to manipulate it like that. Once I understood how to make both hands manipulate the fabric, things improved tremendously. Have fun with it!
Listen to this experienced quilter! Great advice! Also, I discovered I was not holding the needle straight up as I went into the fabric from the top. You need to do that in order to rock the needle in and out of the fabric as you load stitches on it. My handquilting is still terrible but once you learn how to use your hands and the rhythm and motion of it, it gets better. Getting stitches even and straight is a challenge but you'll get there! Good luck!