I made a quilt, have it sandwiched but found one of the fabrics is almost impossible to get the needle through so I am thinking about doing a machine embroidery design on it. Has anyone done this? Any tips?

I have never done this, so I don't know for sure, but wouldn't the back of the machine embroidery show on the back of the quilt ? And that is uh, well, to be honest, not something you really want to see . Unless you take the quilt apart and then put the back on after you embroider, but then you still need to quilt. Just a thought.
Sharon

I am also interested in a reply to this question. I am assuming you would have to use sticky stabilizer, or dissolvable and basting spray. I had really good luck quilting pot holders and coasters this way...but how do you keep a quilt out of the way of the hoop when it moves around?

There are quilting motif's as well as stippling too, available for the embroidery machines. :wink:

I found a pattern that looks the same on both sides no jump stitches, I tried it with some scraps and it worke but I am not sure about a whole quilt.

First, if the quilt is not too heavy you can roll it and hold it (never leave it alone) to watch it while it embroiders. Second, with the 3 layers of the quilt you don't need stabilizer, because it is stable enough. Last, either oregon patchwork or emblibrary.com have some patterns just for quilting that show in the front and the back exactly the same.

I would not attempt with a design that has satin stitches, but if the design is just for quilting, it will work.

Maria

I have at least two programs for my emboidery machine that are quilting designs. Since my machine only does a 4" motif I would probably have to do it as a quilt as you go project. In that case I would hoop each block seperately. They are very simple line designs that would look like quilting. I would think that the sandwhich would be enough stabilizing.

How would you hoop each block on a quilt, so that each design is lined up correctly on each quilt block, and throughout the quilt??? (does that make sense)

I would do each block individually. As in any hooping you usually draw a line through the middle in both directions to line it up for the embroidery with a disappearing or washable marker.
After I had all of the blocks embroidered I would then sew them together in the flip and sew or quilt as you go method used by Georgia Bonesteel.
I am sure someone has a link to a tutorial.

I put a pin on the center of each block and the hoop it, attempting as much as possible to keep thet pin in the center of the hoop. Select the stitch to be used and adjust the position of the needle to start at the site where the pin is. Remove the pin (very important) and start stitching. The design will be centered. If the design is almost the same size of the hoop you will need to hoop in the the center because you will have very little space the move it around. Your machine came with a grid that helps you center designs.

Maria

I have used the motifs for a fake trapunto effect on blocks, love how that turns out 8) Still not brave enough to try it on a quilt top :?

I took these photos of a quilt one of my patients had. It was done exactly that way, with decorative embroidery for the quilting. Had all sorts of designs as well as sayings such as "You are my sunshine" and "I love you". Because the back was a tiny print, it went together well. I liked it so much I took a bunch of photos. I don't know if you'll be able to see the detail, but here goes:

I didn't do lots and lots but i did some stippling on a quilt that i did for my mom, I got the designs off of emblibrary.com They have a fair selection of designs that you can use that are specifically designed to quilt with, they come in different sizes and depending on the program you can change the size to fit the square. It was pretty easy.

It seems to me that what is being asked here, is not if it would work to do embroidery (such as flowers or animals) in place of quilting, but to use the machine embroidery stitches as opposed to straight line stitching. Most machines these days will do some fancy stitches, and these would give it an appearance similar to the "crazy quilts" made in earlier days.

I think this would give the quilt a very unique appearance.

Perhaps try it on something else as an experiment before you do the whole quilt. Sounds like a good idea. Let us know how it turns out.

June

the white sashiko on this quilt was done with the embroidery machine.

if you want close ups of the sashiko let me know

I use the embroidery stitches on my regular machine to do my machine quilting in the ditch. They not only cover more area but they help hide points that don't match etc.

I do have embroidery patterns for my "embroidery" machine that do simple line motifs that are meant to appear as handquilting. For the most part they are designed not to have the tie over stitches that would look odd on the back.

I have machine embroidered/quilted quite a few quilts with good results. The thing to remember is to use a bobbin thread that is complimentary to the back and of course is machine embroidery thread. Also, hooping is very important. You want ot be sure that the backing is tight and straight. Good luck!

I have quilted quite a few quilts with my embroidery machine and love the results. One thing I have found useful is to put the machine in the middle of a large table so the quilt does not pull on the work. I quilt as you go by sewing the quilt into 3-4 sections and then quilt it. When I sew the sections together there is a little quilting to do but not much. Don't forget you can rotate the direction. I have done several by doing random quilting and it works great and don't have to be concerned about centering. One of the prettiest one I have done was butterflies placed random on a floral top. The one down side is there is a lot of hooping but is still faster than hand quiltinq and the work is beautiful. Really great on baby quilts and table runners. Give it a try. I think you will be happy with the resuls.

I have quilted the designs with my embroidery machine, Just remember to have to same colour thread in the bobbin. You have to roll up your quilt quite tight to go through the bed. I also hold the quilt so the weight will not distort your designs. It takes a bit of work but it is lovely when you are finished. Just don't walk away while it is quilting - I have learned this lesson from experience.
Serena

I machine embroider one quilt. It was a full sized quilt and I put a leaf/acorn design in the large blocks. I found that because it was so bulky the design got out of the lines in most blocks.....but not in the same place. I'm sure it was because of the hooping. If anyone besides a person who does machine embroidery looked at the quilt they may not notice unless they really studied it but it was stressful for me and I wouldn't attempt it again. Good luck if you try it. If I were to try it again I would use several layers of the stiffy tear away stabilizer underneath each block. Hope this helps.

I almost always make only bed sized quilts, so they are heavy. In-the-hoop embroidery would work fine, EXCEPT that the weight of the quilt is likely to distort the design (been there, done that). I have even had hoopless fancy stitching (stitches built into the machine) go wonky, caused by the bulk and the weight of the quilt. I've done some successful satin stitching within the quilt border, but mostly when I'm dealing with a whole quilt (already sandwiched), I stick to free motion quilting. It's very versatile (with practice).

If you are talking about using them fun stitches on your machine, yes, go for it, but- make sure you have the right needle and a strong thread.. to mark a design you can use masking tape - but- make sure you start in the middle of the quilt and go to one side, then come back to the middle and go to the other side. good luck and show us the results when you are done....

and- I almost forgot- dont use a heavy,thick batting..use a thinner batt...instead of pinning the 3 layers together, use the spray- one can goes a long way and it will hold the layers together for a long time...

Embroider on thick fabric,? yes I have, just go slow!!.

:lol:

I just took a class and was told that you do not need to use stabilizer when embroidering a quilt, unless you don't want to hoop the sandwich completely. I have seen some beautiful machine embroidered quilts, although I haven't done one myself, at least not yet. Good luck.

I'd love to see a close up if you don't mind.

The close up was meant for kluedesigns. You can tell that I haven't had much experience on the board. LOL

Would if I could. It went out as a gift.

I just finished a purse and I quilted the squares with an embroidery stitch from my machine. It was easy because it was a small project; don't know if it would work on a larger project.

You make the prettiest quilts. Everything you've posted is just gorgeous!

I went to a mini seminar at Sew Expo this year and the lady suggested putting the Emb. Machine on the floor and quilting it this way.
K

i'll post up close up pics tomorrow.

its hanging over our bed and DH is laying it in right now - the flash might wake him up :roll:

years ago I bought a design made for quilting. It looks very nice on the quilt, front back. Now I'm doing one around the whole border of the quilt. My embroidery machine has a program for this purpose. It has feathers which I am using, one is a corner design & the other is a curved one. There are 20 of each of them on each long side of the quilt. A few less on the short side. Yes, you have to re-hoop every time but you don't use stabilizer so it's just a matter of marking for placement & re-hooping which is easy wihtout stabilizer! Here are some pictures of the 1st one. I will try to send a picture of the new one when it's done. It's time consuming but worth it, esp if you're not real good at free-motion quilting-like me! :oops: I'm getting better, though! Look at Thimbleberries,com & Embroidery Library for quilting designs. Good luck & have fun with it! :wink:

I will try this ONE MORE TIME!!! Don't know WHY I'm having so much trouble?? I embroider quilted on a quilt a couple of years ago & it's very pretty. Just be sure to use single stitch designs. This one was made for quilting. Now my embroidery machine has quilt designs on it so I'm doing a big quilt with feather corners & curved feathers all the way around it. It;s time consuming but worth it. No stabilizer makes it faster, just measure placement & re-hoop! Look at Thimbleberries & Embroidery Library for quilt designs. It's hard to make a choice, there's so many! Here are some pictures. Good luck & have fun! :wink:

I really like the tip about putting the embroidery machine on the floor!!! Such a simple solution....but I would NEVER have thought of that on my own :oops: :roll: :oops:

Sewin Sam, that is beautifully done!!! I really like the design you chose!!! :D :D :D

:lol: Thanks! It's fun to watch it develope on your quilt! Enjoy!

Thanks everyone for the great tips. I think I will do it. My free motion looks like the cat did it!!

There are designs just for quilting. I quilt on my emb. machine all of the time , use thread that matches the back. It works very well. do not use stablizer.

Dear Up North, Yes i have used the machine to embroider quilting. i made a Christmas quilt and all the quilting was the snowflakes. lot of work but beautiful results. use a backing fabric that goes with the front and the embroidery just adds to the over all quilt look.
if you have a table in front of the machine and i use the ironing board at the side to help hold the quilt weight. choose a embroidery pattern that is simple. No heavy embroidery. hope this helps, hot grandma[img]