Hello from the High Desert Burner
 

Hi Everyone. I'm Caley, and live in 29 Palms, California. That means that for most of the year, we are living in scorching weather. I think our Winter lasts a couple of months.

I am really new to any kind of crafts thing. I spent 24 years in the US Air Force, and as a consequence, couldn't tote a lot around with me. So my sewing experience is either send things to a seamstress, or carefully use needle and thread to do my own sewing.

I dabbled in a few crocheted Afghans. But again, they weighed a lot, and had to give them as gifts, or sell them.

After the Air Force, I spent 10 years in civilian work, but again, didn't accumulate much, as I was just barely making ends meet, while trying to pay for my first house. Then I got disabled on the job. Apparently my hands didn't like the repetitive aspect of my last job, and I got a nasty type or arthritis in my hands.

And so, nearly 20 years after leaving my last job, I, for some reason, want to try my hands at a craft, quilting.

So I am starting from scratch. Based on what I have seen on YouTube videos, the main item needed is a sewing machine that is capable of handling the quilting material. I haven't a clue as to what I will need for a machine.
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I purchased a 45 mm rotary cutter. I already have a cutting pad.

And I have absolutely no threads or other things not mentioned above that will get me started. I'd appreciate any help given. Just to let Everyone know, I live in a very small house, 750 square feet, so I don't have a lot of room. My sewing corner will probably be in my living room. So I need to keep the amount of stuff to the basics.

Welcome to the board and to the wide world of quilting. I hope you enjoy your time with us.

You don't need much really for a sewing machine. Many of us love our vintage machines with a good steady straight stitch. For the last couple of months with Covid going on both my vintage and my expensive machines were down, and I was sewing on a bottom of the line Brother, probably cost less than $100 or close new. It did just fine to keep me going with masks and such but I'm glad to go up in power. I was surprised that my machine was so low end, there was on minimal ability to change the stitch length -- so I now know to mention that in addition to however many stitches they say you can make, look to see how short/long or wide/narrow they can go.

On the other hand, for several years I sewed on about a $300 Brother I got from Costco and it was a pretty good plastic machine. They aren't designed or meant for heavy lifetime use. My expensive machine is a Bernina, and it was given to me after about 10 years and 2 previous owners -- it retailed for closer to $10k, and still sells for $2-3k, the repair bill was $250 which is closer to what I'd usually be looking at to buy a machine, not repair it. But heck, this machine cost about as much as my car did and was definitely worth the repair. So there is no real answer except to start with get something you are comfortable with, both in price and operating features.

As far as the quilting, I am self taught, took me 40 years to get me to where I am today. Today we have the internet and videos even! But basically it boils down to we put two pieces of fabric together at a time and go from there. Eleanor Burns Quilt in a Day books are a good way to get started. Keep in mind that there is hand/eye coordination as well as design sense and physical material issues, so we don't usually start out with a marathon but some small baby steps.

If you were my beginning quilter, I'd start by turning over your mat so you cut on the side with no lines from the beginning. You use your ruler, not your mat lines!

And then I'd make you do what I call "driving lessons" sewing lots of boring strips together until you get a consistent 1/4" seam allowance (or whatever allowance you use, 1/4" is standard for directions and patterns).

Something like a "jelly roll race" would be driving lessons and result in an actual project. You can buy the precut strips even.

Welcome from Texas. I'm so glad you decided to join this board because it has lots of very helpful quilters who are full of ideas, knowledge, & encouragement.
You really don't need a lot to get started in the quilting world. A machine that sews a straight line (you don't need one with a lot of fancy stitches or bells & whistles) is a must if you don't plan to hand piece the fabric & hand quilt it. Garage sales are a good place for fabric purchases, machines (make sure it runs good), etc. If you have access to a thrift shop or Goodwill or Salvation Army store you might find fabric there. Recently one of our board members was making a denim quilt & went to the thrift shop & bought up a lot of men's jeans for her quilt. When buying clothing to cut up for use in your quilt remember to always buy the very largest sizes you can find. You get more bang for your bucks that way. You probably will be able to find thread at the thrift shops also but check it for strength. If you can easily break the thread with your hands it is probably on the way to being rotten. Don't buy it if it breaks easily.
Ask us questions....we love to help!

Thanks so much for the nice welcomes.

The sewing machine is the most difficult thing for me to figure out. I don't see that well now that I am 70 and climbing. So, seeing machines that can thread the needle for you is something that is attractive. I've read that Singer has a problem with quality. Not sure what to think. My Mom had a Singer she loved,k but of course, the machine was made in the 50's, and built like a tank. I found this on Amazon: Brother XR9550PRW, which has that threading feature, and is computerized. It seems to have fairly good features, though I am not familiar with Brother Quality and reliability.

Is there a machine that doesn't use a bobbin for the thread under the base plate, but uses a normal thread roll? I find removing and installing the little bobbins very difficult on machines I have had a chance to use. It would be nice to just insert the thread in a hole and have the machine take it in and be ready to use. I guess they haven't done something like this. Don't know.

Guess I am really just wanting something easy for my bad eyes and arthritic hands.

I don't know of a machine that does not use a bobbin under the base plate. However, they do make Self Threading Machine needles...https://www.independentliving.com/pr...SABEgJCAfD_BwE
I'm not sure how they work but someone may come along that can tell you. You can also buy self threading hand sewing needles which I know nothing about...https://www.amazon.com/Singer-Self-T.../dp/B000YZAPXS
I would suggest using a neutral color of thread (same color for all projects) & get lots of bobbins & wind them up with that neutral thread. That way you don't have to constantly be stopping to refill a bobbin. Maybe a friend could wind your bobbins for you when you need.
Also, I would suggest starting with a small project like a table runner or small wall hanging so you can get the hang of all the steps in the quilting procedure.

Thanks so much for the reply on my musings. Seems that I probably should take a chance, and purchase that Brother unit. Hopefully it will be sturdy enough to last a few years.

I definitely will take your advice, and stock up on a lot of bobbins. Spending a morning filling bobbins probably is a good time saver in the long run..

I also guess purchasing a lot of extra machine needles would be a good thing also. What type of needle is best for the machine quilting?

I'm not the one to ask about machine needles as I generally use a universal needle (for everything). I like this lady's take on needles & may try the topstitch needle next time I buy some.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fh1okmc4gL4

I think that machine can do everything you want Caley, the Project Runway is about one step up from the one I was happy with.

I have vision issues myself, and the the threading assist on even my bottom of the line Brother helps tremendously.

There are a couple different variations but for threading machines, I love the "hummingbird" style needle threaders.

Bobbins are the standard, I find the way Brother designs their machines to help with putting in the bobbin correctly. Again, with my low end one, it is very difficult to put it in wrong. When you are buying your supplies, buy some extra bobbins to go with your machine. Not all bobbins fit all machines!

We have a couple of things called quilting feet that are a little different. Some people are referring to a walking foot, but it looks like your model comes with what I call a quilting foot, which has your 1/4" markings left/right/front and back. I was very pleased with the accuracy of mine, which I had to buy separately from my machine.

For thread I work mostly with scrap quilts and can't match my thread to my fabrics. Plus I can't see it when I do so. I typically use a light beige and a light grey, one on top and one on bottom. They blend well and I can see them. I don't like running out of bobbin thread and typically I prewind a number of them at a time. I've happily used Dual Duty for years but have recently started switching to Aurifil on top and a lighter weight thread on the bottom. But that's after 30 years of using the same thread top and bottom.

Cotton "Quilting" threads are usually meant for the quilting and not the piecing. Some of us find some of the store brands rather linty.

For modern quilting techniques, we use a pretty small stitch. If/when you sew a seam you should never be able to easily pull apart any stitches. That means your stitch length is too long. Most modern machines with a preset size is too long for quilting, I think mine defaults at 2.25 but I sew around 1.85. Vintage machines we talk in terms of stitches per inch, you want to be starting around 12 stitches and not 10, and certainly not less than 10. Some machines (like mine) are sneaky and start a little smaller than they actually sew, so you cut through your seam and pull gently on either side to see if it moves or comes out. A little loosening or a V is acceptable.

Looks like I have a long learning curve. Seems needles are more complex than I thought. The lady in the video seems to think the top stitch needle is a good choice, so I will try that. I just need to understand thread size, and which is used for quilting, so I can choose the correct sized machine needle.

The Superior Threads website is a great place for general education. Sure, some things are a little biased because they sell the products but the general info on needles and thread weights and things like that are spot on!
https://www.superiorthreads.com/
Education tab to the far right of the bar

I also like checking in on Bob's Jokes...
(think those are on the bottom, or maybe you have to be logged in)

I am not affiliated with the site, other than I started using and loving prewound bobbins from them and I usually just buy my thread directly from them. No complaints.

edit/PS: I typically use universal needles, but I also like the Microtex Sharps for working on batiks or finely woven fabrics. I prefer to piece with a 10, will use a 12, and quilt using the 12 or 14, so I usually buy the three size multipacks when they go on sale.

Bobbins
 

Try to get a machine with a drop in bobbin, instead of the one that you have to insert the bobbin under the machine. Also, check out the "throat" of the machine. That is the space to the left of the needle. You want to get as big a throat as possible. My Brother has an 11.5 inch throat, which is too small sometimes to quilt large quilts. I yearn for 15 or more inches. Brother generally makes a wonderful machine. A lot of people love their Brother 1500.

I have a Brother machine where the bobbin drops in without a bobbin case. This is simpler than loading the bobbin case, then installing it.

Welcome to the QuiltingBoard and happy quilting :)

Welcome from Southern Indiana, and if your space is limited, you might want to check out mini quilts! They are really fun. I did those when my sewing space was practically nil. Now that I have more room, I'm into large, bed size quilts. Either way, have fun!

Human nature says that where there's a will there's a way- there are folks here who quilt quite large quilts on small DSM (domestic sewing machines) such as the type you're looking at. There are lots of tutorials on just about everything related to quilting free if you just persevere with looking. And ask!
Good luck! And Welcome to the QB!

Granky, Thanks for the tip on smaller quilts. Will look into those.

GemRM, Didn't know the sewing machine I mentioned was small. What is a full sized quilting sewing machine? Do you have an example I can look at on the web. Always interested in looking, though my budget probably could never afford some of these machines. Still cannot believe a sewing machine can cost over $1000. I thought the little toy sewing machin I purchased for a great grand niece was expensive at $80. :-)

Or lap quilts, about 45" by 60". There are plenty of charities that will gladly accept donations of lap quilts. They take less fabric and keep me from getting bored by making 29,837 blocks all the same.

Welcome from Michigan!:)

Welcome to the QB! from SE Michigan. Iceblossom has laid out thing ideas on the machine aspect in a great way my preference is a brothers machine too. Welcome to the world of quilting. There are so many that are willing to help you along the way. a good acrylic ruler,cutting mat and rotary are the basics as far as tool. Good quilting cotton fabrics are also a good starting point. Quilt i a Day (QIAD) books are great they tell you what level the patterns are for. Several are for beginners and give great instructions The sampler books are great. Again welcome and feel free to ask questions along your journey there is a lot of help here.

Welcome from South Louisiana. Look in your local area and find out if there are any fabric shops or quilt guilds. They will have beginner classes or sewing groups and many quilters will lovingly share fabric and teach a beginner.

Again, thank you for the warm welcome, and all the information. When it comes to information, I really like that, but sometimes I, a pretty slow learner, get information overload. So it will take m a little time to go through all that info and suggestions to see what works for my brain pattern.

I purchased a package of four inch cotton squares to experiment on. When I received them from Amazon, I was surprised to see they are very, very thin printed fabric. Guess I will experiment as I said, but what I make will stay at home, Might be adequate for a wall covering. I also experimented with the rotary cutter last night, cutting out the temporary hand stitched hammered dulcimer cover I made to protect it from the desert dust. I've since then made a cover made of upholstery fabric.

Anyway, this is supposed to be a welcome section, so I will start asking questions in the appropriate areas of this Forum. Again, thanks so much for the warm welcomes and suggestions.

I just had to remove my desired sewing machine I mentioned earlier from my Amazon wish list. And it seems this model just isn't available anymore. Problem is that a lot of listings that had been available, all of a sudden are no long available. I'm wondering if the virus mandate of stay at home has made people purchase things that will keep them busy while stuck at home?

Anyway, what I did purchase (Brother Sewing and Quilting Machine RSQ9185 (refurbished).. It's the only thing I can afford. It cost me $150, Not sure what the original list price was, but hope I didn't get taken and that it will work for a few years.

I need to find the owner's manual online, and download that, so I can read about what other things i will need to get things up and running

These manuals say they are for a SQ9185 Brother Sewing Machine. Not sure what the R in front of your model number is but hope this will help you. They are free downloads.

https://support.brother.com/g/b/manu...d=hf_sq9185eus

osewme, Found them, and downloaded all pertaining to this machine. One thing that really confuses me is the number of presser feet for quilting. Since I've never done this, I haven't a clue what i need. The accessories catalog is just for sales, doesn't do a whole lot when it comes to making a decision on which feet you need.

Do you have a list of the basic essentials and what they are used for?

Caley, with Covid there is indeed a run on sewing machines. Freezers too... sounds like I might get one of those by Labor Day.

You need a zig zag suitable foot, and a single needle position foot, and I really like those quilter feet that give you your 1/4" on both left and right, and markings for front and back. There are sewing techniques where this is really nice, but like most stuff it is always optional. The nice thing about Brother feet is most are designed to be interchangeable and are often available at your local store as well as easily on line.

Iceblossom, Thank you for the feet list. Really helps. Hopefully the machine comes with those feet, but, if not, I know what to get now.

If you are going to quilt your own quilts, you may want a walking foot, also.

I just did a bit of research on this machine I ordered. It has several type quilting feet, as well as standard feet for sewing buttons and button holes and standard stitches.

They also include three different types of needles that apparently are standard for this type of machine.

I won't really know if I need anything else until I get it sometime in the second week of June.

I hope setting up and using your new machine is a joyous experience. One of the best pieces of advice I can give is sometimes you just have to walk away. Whenever I am trying to force something to happen, well more bad things happen.

There is a wide range of what people consider "acceptable" or "quilt shop quality" fabric. The standard used in quilting is 100% cotton, but many of us have used poly blends as well (cotton behaves much nicer!). I'm not a designer snob and judge fabric on a piece by piece basis. I've had name brand fabric that failed my tests (which include prewashing fabric, whole 'nother topic but I am a believer in prewashing), and I've had low cost fabrics that have behaved beautifully. But there are differences in weaves, and thread weight, and print quality and several other criteria.

Sometimes "lawn" fabrics are used in quilting and that's just fine if all the fabrics are the same weight, but yes, they are indeed finer than what people usually expect.

Batiks are often a finer weave but have a higher threadcount. Again, the feel of them compared to other fabrics can feel off but they are considered a higher end fabric.

You can get "quilt" quality fabrics at Walmart, you can also get what is called "craft" fabric, they aren't necessarily separated and can be right next to each other. Often the specialty holiday fabrics are craft level.

One final thought in here about being a small space quilter. I'm lucky enough that I have an entire (small) bedroom devoted to my quilting now, but my house is still small and my biggest layout space if the queen bed. I've quilted in my dorm room, in apartments, on vacation trips, and it can be done in a small space. For your tools, you do need something about the size of those big old sewing kits from the 70s so roughly a cubic foot??, or I had an actual tool box (it was cheap, $10 I should really invest in an actual expensive one), my current kit is starting to fall apart, it's a large old fashioned lunch box shaped thing (the size of an old fashioned loaf of bread) with Minions on it. Something that size will hold all of your supplies. You will also need a place for your rulers (you can hang them on the wall, my small ones are pinned to a cork board). You pretty much have to have at least two rulers, I suggest a 6.5x24" as your standard ruler, and then a square one based on whatever finished block size you might want to make. A 10.5 or 12.5" square is a good choice. I probably have over 20 rulers, 6 of which I use with some regularity but I'm a believer in the right tool for the job! Watch some videos on cutting techniques.

What tools you need, what supplies you will want will determine ultimately on what you want to do. We have many ways to do things!

One of those collapsible wood sweater dryers is an awesome thing to have, put your working yardage on there, or your strips. Lightweight and easy to fold up and carry from room to room or to store away until next time.

old National machines had smaller spools under the bobbin slide. These spool aren't readily available. so Your idea was a good one. Have no idea why someone doesn't make one now.. Of course, no auto thread on 100 year old machines.

I received the Brother Sewing and Quilting machine this morning, and sent it back to Amazon two hours later. Why? Well, first there was no power cord. Secondly, all the quilting accessories were missing, that should have been included with the machine, ased on the accessory list. And thirdly, the box was nearly open at the end, with foam and packing showing through that opening.

So my fun has been delayed for however long it takes for me to find something similar. Sigh!!! I will never order a refurbished machine again. It looked like it never had been refurbished. Cosmetically it looked kind of OK, but the Spool holder was bent, and the mechanical was stiff. I think someone dropped this unit. Could have been UPS,k as I have had a couple of things destroyed by them during shipment.

Will let you know what I decide on a machine. Problem is that it probably is going to cost two to three times what I want to invest. I guess I can think of it as an investment for my inheritors.

Send me a PM (private message). I'm downsizing my stash and I can afford to Greyhound you a healthy size box.

I guess I had better mention I already found a replacement for the defective machine, so that others don't worry about things. I appreciate the offers I have been given so far, but I want to wait and see if this new machine actually works. The only part of purchasing these incredible machines is the sticker shock. As I mentioned in a PM to a Forum member, the replacement machine costs almost as much as my first car in the early 1970's. Everything is costly these days.

Thanks All for your help and kind offers of assistance

a warm welcome from western Ky. for now. my fav machines are the singer 221 FW and the Pfaff 7570 both are work horses and I can do all the fix's on my 221 thanks to Dave's book and DVD

I got my replacement machine today. It's the first one I chose when looking, the Singer Quantum Stylist 9960. Funny how some reviews give it a bad rating, and then I read here on the Forum that several people just love it.

I've started going through the owner's manual. It lists needle nomenclature, but it seems no one except Singer uses the same nomenclature. Singer colour codes things also, but cannot find needles with the same nomenclature and colour.

Also found it takes bobbin type 15 style A, but again, when I look at this, and go through the list provided by the seller, my new machine is not mentioned

All this is what gets me confused. I am trying to get exactly what Singer says the machine takes, but it seems no one sells the stuff.

I got things going today. Learned how to fill the4 bobbins. Also learned how to install the boffin under the sewing area, and how to thread the needle. It took me a while to understand how the threading assist mechanism worked, but finally got it worked out.

Tested the setup on a square of cloth, and things were perfect. I am not used to using the presser control pedal for starting and stopping sewing. I ended up adjusting the sewing speed, and just used the start stop button.

Also learned how the button controls raising and lowering the needle, as well as how to reverse stitch by pressing the button.

Got a long way to go before I really know this machine.

Now all I have to do is get more bobbins, needles, thread, etc.

I am assuming, per the instruction manual that the darning foot is used for free form quilting. Is there another type foot that can do the same function?

I buy my needles in bulk (100 in a box) because I break or dull them a lot. Size: 80 mostly, 100 for jeans.
https://www.schmetzneedles.com/categ...old-Needles-71

I needed a small table for my sewing area, but when shopping for a desk or table, they were over $200. So, I searched for a dinette w/o chairs included. $69 at Ashley Fine Furniture(also Amazon).

Thanks so much for the needles link.

I am not sure, but when my needle gets to the place where two to three layers are, it sometimes goes thunk. Not sure it is because of the wrong needle, or that the needle is getting dull. The needle is what Singer installed at the factory. I am going to put in a size 90/14 (?) top stitch needle and see how that works

It sounds like it might be a dull needle or wrong size needle. Sometimes when I forget to change out my jeans needle when I go back to regular fabric my machine will make a thunk sound when I'm sewing so it's a reminder to me to change that needle.