Finally! FMQ Without the Lashing
10-23-2021, 06:25 PM
#1
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 289
Finally! FMQ Without the Lashing
I've finally watched enough videos, and had some little bit of practise when it comes to free motion quilting.
One of my biggest problems when I had tried previously was not so much the machine, as ME!
What I was doing wrong was moving too fast. It wasn't that much of a problem when I sent straight, but it was a disaster with any kind of curve, or change of direction. I had been constantly getting lashing, and, at the time, never realised that not only speed control of the machine, but also of how you move the fabric is key.
You've got to coordinate both the machine speed with the fabric movement speed. So I guess that's a bug DUH on my part.
In another thread, I had purchased a Babylock Jazz 2 machine, and eventually sent it in to the repair shop for adjustment. The machine actually was set up badly at the factory. And I had stated I was donating the machine to a local entity. Well, because of the COVID thing, I never could reach that entity, and consequently still have the machine. I've decided, based on a comment from another, that I should keep it for when I need to do heavy duty sewing. The Jazz 2 is a very powerful machine. So I am keeping it for the time being.
I just did some FMQ on it, and with proper machine and fabric speed control, I was able to do a fair job. I still have to adjust both, so my stitch length isn't so tight. I'd like to find a balance to where I get at least a 1/16 inch, or possibly 1/8 inch length.
I had gone and purchased another computerised machine, a Janome, and experienced severe lashing, even with the auto tension in play. Like I said, it was ME, not the machine.
One reason I am writing this little ditty is for those who want to try FMQ. I don't want them to be as frustrated as i was in the past. Hopefully anyone wanting to start, will bump into this thread, and understand what the big problem is to the activity.
Many suggestions here, and in the videos I've watched have emphasized that before you go working on one of those beautiful quilt sandwiches you've just put together, DO NOT practise on it, unless you don't care how the results are. Practise on small quilt sandwiches first, say 15 or so inches square, and work your way up to larger sized quilt sandwiches. Use fabric for the top and bottom that just doesn't quite suit what you want for one of your envisioned masterpieces.
Use high contrast thread, top and bottom, so you can see it easily. You want to see what is happening as you learn.
And don't throw away your experiments in FMQ. Keep them, at least until you' feel ready to take the big step of working on one of your masterpieces. Keeping them will show you how well you've progressed. Maybe even post pictures of how things are going.
Anyone who sees something I have written wrongly, please let me know here, and correct me, so that those other beginners will know I goofed when writing this. Thanks
One of my biggest problems when I had tried previously was not so much the machine, as ME!
What I was doing wrong was moving too fast. It wasn't that much of a problem when I sent straight, but it was a disaster with any kind of curve, or change of direction. I had been constantly getting lashing, and, at the time, never realised that not only speed control of the machine, but also of how you move the fabric is key.
You've got to coordinate both the machine speed with the fabric movement speed. So I guess that's a bug DUH on my part.
In another thread, I had purchased a Babylock Jazz 2 machine, and eventually sent it in to the repair shop for adjustment. The machine actually was set up badly at the factory. And I had stated I was donating the machine to a local entity. Well, because of the COVID thing, I never could reach that entity, and consequently still have the machine. I've decided, based on a comment from another, that I should keep it for when I need to do heavy duty sewing. The Jazz 2 is a very powerful machine. So I am keeping it for the time being.
I just did some FMQ on it, and with proper machine and fabric speed control, I was able to do a fair job. I still have to adjust both, so my stitch length isn't so tight. I'd like to find a balance to where I get at least a 1/16 inch, or possibly 1/8 inch length.
I had gone and purchased another computerised machine, a Janome, and experienced severe lashing, even with the auto tension in play. Like I said, it was ME, not the machine.
One reason I am writing this little ditty is for those who want to try FMQ. I don't want them to be as frustrated as i was in the past. Hopefully anyone wanting to start, will bump into this thread, and understand what the big problem is to the activity.
Many suggestions here, and in the videos I've watched have emphasized that before you go working on one of those beautiful quilt sandwiches you've just put together, DO NOT practise on it, unless you don't care how the results are. Practise on small quilt sandwiches first, say 15 or so inches square, and work your way up to larger sized quilt sandwiches. Use fabric for the top and bottom that just doesn't quite suit what you want for one of your envisioned masterpieces.
Use high contrast thread, top and bottom, so you can see it easily. You want to see what is happening as you learn.
And don't throw away your experiments in FMQ. Keep them, at least until you' feel ready to take the big step of working on one of your masterpieces. Keeping them will show you how well you've progressed. Maybe even post pictures of how things are going.
Anyone who sees something I have written wrongly, please let me know here, and correct me, so that those other beginners will know I goofed when writing this. Thanks
10-23-2021, 06:37 PM
#2
Power Poster
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Mableton, GA
Posts: 11,329
Yes, well, that's the key - practice, practice and more practice. I think folks get frustrated on their first try and give up. It isn't unattainable. It just takes practice and tweaking the machine or trying a different needle/thread combination. Of course there are some machines with "issues" that just won't cooperate, but, for the most part any machine will FMQ. I learned on a dinky mechanical Brother from Costco. Feed dogs didn't drop so I set the stitch length on zero. It did a nice job for such a basic machine. Of course it took practice, practice and more practice on my part. And I think those of us who do FMQ on a domestic machine should not try to get the quilts to look like a computerized long arm did them.
10-24-2021, 05:15 AM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2020
Posts: 706
I’m taking Hollyanne Knight’s Free Motion Quilting Academy on my 20+ year old DSM right now. She really concentrates on getting her students to accept that they are beginners. Her motto is “practice makes progress.” It’s amazing how far I have come in just a few weeks.
10-24-2021, 08:03 AM
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2011
Location: Western Washington
Posts: 971
I graduated from Hollyann's FMQA in Fall 2020 cohort best course I ever took and well worth the cost. I couldn't even figure out how to meander before her class and now I quilt all my own tops and use multiple motifs to customize the look I want. Also love that you work at your on pace and all the support given by the Academy members.
10-24-2021, 08:55 AM
#8
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 289
SallyS, Guess that would help. That way you can see if the thread is coming up or going down, instead of meeting properly like normal stitching
Quiltwoman44, it will be some time before I get to the point where I feel I can show what I am doing. I learned all th is yesterday, as the light turned on in my beady brain. It took me a year to realise just what was happening, and why I could never get anything to work.
I'll be doing a little more practise today. I just do a little each day, along with my normal cutting, and piecing.
Quiltwoman44, it will be some time before I get to the point where I feel I can show what I am doing. I learned all th is yesterday, as the light turned on in my beady brain. It took me a year to realise just what was happening, and why I could never get anything to work.
I'll be doing a little more practise today. I just do a little each day, along with my normal cutting, and piecing.
10-24-2021, 09:05 AM
#9
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Kansas
Posts: 4,489
I graduated from Hollyann's FMQA in Fall 2020 cohort best course I ever took and well worth the cost. I couldn't even figure out how to meander before her class and now I quilt all my own tops and use multiple motifs to customize the look I want. Also love that you work at your on pace and all the support given by the Academy members.
10-24-2021, 11:05 AM
#10
Junior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: May 2020
Posts: 289
Here's another idea I just discovered while watching videos. You don't even need fabric or batting.
If you have a printer,you can print a design you've downloaded from the net. If you don't have a printer
just take a regular piece of bond paper, and draw something on it that you can follow.
Remove the thread from the top and bobbin area, and remove the bobbin. Just discovered that a computerised machine probably won't allow this. If you have a mechanical machine, you should be able to do this exercise.
Place the paper on the sewing machine surface. Just move the paper like you would a piece of fabric,
while depressing the foot pedal.
This helps build muscle memory for the shapes you wish to quilt. It also helps you learn to control the movement of your hands, and at the same time, the amount of pressure you put on the foot pedal.
I've just printed out a couple of sheets so I can practise this exercise. Hopefully I can get consistent with following the pattern, and also keep the movement at the proper speed to get my stitch length even.
If you have a printer,you can print a design you've downloaded from the net. If you don't have a printer
just take a regular piece of bond paper, and draw something on it that you can follow.
Remove the thread from the top and bobbin area, and remove the bobbin. Just discovered that a computerised machine probably won't allow this. If you have a mechanical machine, you should be able to do this exercise.
Place the paper on the sewing machine surface. Just move the paper like you would a piece of fabric,
while depressing the foot pedal.
This helps build muscle memory for the shapes you wish to quilt. It also helps you learn to control the movement of your hands, and at the same time, the amount of pressure you put on the foot pedal.
I've just printed out a couple of sheets so I can practise this exercise. Hopefully I can get consistent with following the pattern, and also keep the movement at the proper speed to get my stitch length even.
Last edited by CaleyH; 10-24-2021 at 11:12 AM.
