SusieQOH

Kathy Dub, I'm so glad you started this thread. I'm working on getting better at FMQ.
I never heard of using a zig-zag stitch plate. I thought you were supposed to use the straight one.
Will try that!

SusieQOH

Someone in the above link uses "stretch needles". Can anyone comment on them? They seem to be for stretchy fabrics not cotton??

dublb

I just took a sewing machine repair class & there was a section on needles. "Stretch" needles are a ball point, "Woven" needles are a sharp point & "Universal" needles are in between. The sharp needles will give ya a perfect straight stitch when ya are sewing or quilting just a straight stitch but can break a thread of the fabric. The ball point needles will slip between the threads, sometimes multiple threads & that will give ya a bit of a not so straight stitch. The Universal needles aren't so sharp that they break threads & will slip between the threads but fewer than the ball point ones. They recommend that we use Universal needles for most things including FMQing.

Stitchnripper

Ditto to what everyone has said. I've done FMQ on vintage machines and on a dinky Mechanical Brother from Costco. it is doable. I have a Brother PQ1500 now which is really nice, but, it doesn't make my quilting any better. That takes a lot of practice. For me, I have a "sweet spot" when all is in sync. Now, if I could make that happen even 95% of the time, that would be great! I have played around with needles and for me, a top stitch or microtex gives me the best results. My machine will take any thread. I recently did a quilt with Superior Monopoly using the needle they recommended - 70/10 top stitch, and change the tension to 2. Isacord in the bobbin. Worked perfectly. I was happily surprised. A lot of playing around with thread/needle combos and practice, practice, practice

Kathy Dub

Thank you to all who gave me tips and tricks for free motion quilting, best advice: practice, practice, and practice some more. Wanted to let you know I did just that, and finally worked on the Christmas present planned for my Granddaughter and its looking pretty good. Stitches are more even, and from a distance anyway, looks awesome! thanks again to all of you who shared your advice!

Kathy Dub

Thanks, will try this sometime too.

Kathy Dub

So agree about "some days" Some days are meant to quilt, and others I should stay away from the sewing room! I am getting better with practice, and finding my own way to keep the movement steady. Thanks again for all the comments.

KalamaQuilts

I'm glad you are practicing Kathy! One thing it is easy to forget, while we are Making the stitches, each stitch is enormous. When we look at the finished project each stitch is lost is the beauty of the whole. Happy Quilting, Sharyn