Do You FMQ Feathers? HELP!
 

I need to learn how to quilt feathers for the current quilt I am quilting. I watched all the videos and thought I was ready... but my first practice piece (below, in brown) turned out HORRIBLE. If you are fairly decent at quilting feathers (FMQ, freehand, not with a longarm pattern) would you PLEASE post pics of your feather quilting here? I need some inspiration! And apparently, lots more practice.

well that's a skinny piece to handle when doing FMQ for one thing. you need to relax a bit more. put on some music. I'm about to try them again in my border soon.
here is a pic of my feather in progress that I did some time ago. slow movements help.

Thanks for the good advice and the photo! Lovely feathering!

Best way to learn FMQ feathers is with pencil and paper, play and get the flow of the feathers, train your brain on paper first and you will find it much much easier when working on a quilt.

pretty good results for first timer...one of my "Duh!" moments came when I watched a local professional doing her work....she was so slow that I thought she'd never get done...but her work was excellent because she had control of the process. When I went home and slowed down to her speed I did some pretty good work for a beginner....my problem is staying slowed down - thank God for speed control on my machine.

I find doing feathers difficult at best, and usually end up doing them upside down so I can actually see where I am going. My biggest issue is how to have a continuous pattern and not sew same area over. I love the way they look, just not very good at doing them, so while I have no help for you, I can sympathize completely. I know making the transition from drawing on paper to sewing is not easy, takes lots of practice. Keep at it, it does get easier.

are you using a stencil or pattern for the feathers or trying to "wing it" Your example looks like you need more control over the motif. I realy don't believe you can successfully just sit down and do the feathers without a plan and pattern to use as a guide. I don't know what practice you have done leading up to this. I suggest you practice just doing loops in about the size of your feather. Work for control of the needle. Go slow. Draw the design and follow it Dont try to make the design freehand until you have enough practice. Looking at your sample it appears you need a lot of practice to do it successfully. I do feather differently than others. Most double stitch the spine. I double stitch every other outside curve. It makes for more even lines for me. Get yourself a stencil, preferable one that is for continuous line feathers and practice.

Check out the book "Hooked on Feathers" by Sally Terry. It's easier than you think to get pretty feathers!

keep going it will get better and breathe

I should also say quilt toward you if you can. meaning do the feather down toward you and back up toward the spine. that way the quilt goes toward the back of your machine as usual, not into your lap. sometimes it's not do able but it does help because you can see more of what you are doing.
good advice to draw on paper- a lot. have fun too!

I was having the same trouble & heard from someone on this board about Sally Terry's book "Hooked on Feathers". It is a different method of making feathers that works well on a DSM. After reading it & practicing here is a picture of my first attempt on a real quilt. I was pleased with how it came out.

You must have posted this as I was trying to upload my picture!

If you are using a long arm machine and have a stylus, then draw out your feathers and use your stylus to follow the pattern. Or try just keeping a picture of feathers on the quilt as you sew and keep you eye on it and let you eye follow as your hands move.

What I wouldn't give to come and watch you quilt....;)....I don't know anyone locally who quilts, so I am at the mercy of all you wonderful quilters to help me improve....I love to see the creativity of everyone's quilting.

Try drawing them on paper first!!!!!

I agree with Holice. It would be most helpful to draw it out on paper so you can train your brain. Then get a stencil, or trace a free one of the internet, right on your practic piece. Use a pen or pencil since it is just a practice piece, you need to be able to see it well. Or print it from your computer and pin it on top of your practice piece and sew right through the paper and fabric. the paper will tear away when you are done. You won't be able to stay on the lines 100%, but trust me, with practice it gets better.
Take a deep breath, relax, and remeber, you're just starting. You can't just hop on a bike and not crash a few times.

one thing I notice is that the bases of each feather frond is wide - I usually see them coming to a point - rather like a teardrop with the pointy end at the center of the feather frond - in doing this, the arc of the stitch helps you end up on the centerline...does that make sense? find a picture and run your pencil over it several times to get the feel of it.

not that I am an expert at doing feathers (i too am learning) but I am expert at reading about it!
What I have read so far is to use a thinner 60 weight thread (say bottomline, there are others) and use a thread that blends in more with your fabric and your mistakes errr design decisions wont be so visible..see... problem solvered.. at least until you practice more...lol..and anyway I think you first practice piece is pretty good so just keep practicing!

I can't free motion to save my soul but I can see one thing that you could change that will make a difference on your next practice piece. You didn't 'Close' your feather fronds. Yours are like little U's along the spine. If you look at some of the pictures posted you'll see what I mean. You did a thousand percent better than I ever have - good job!

I totally agree with bunniequilter! LOTS of practice on paper until you can DRAW feathers you like BEFORE you try to stitch them worked for me.

For your inspiration; here's a sample of my feathers after MONTHS of drawing, followed by MONTHS more of stitching practice:
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Wendy, your work is beautiful! I had a fear of making feathers until I took a class in FMQ at my LQS a few years ago. Judy Woodworth was the teacher, and it was a privelege taking a class from her. One trick she taught the class was to pretend you are going around a coin when making the outer loops. As you go down, make a curve towards the spine and then back up and make the next loop. It did not take long to feel comfortable making the feathers. Before you know it, you will transfer this knowledge to making leaves, ferns, etc.

I have heard that some practise with a marker or pencil taped to the machine, as if it was a needle, then manipulate paper around as if you were sewing to get some practice and "muscle memory". I have not yet mustered the confidence to even get practising feathers, so good luck to you and congratulations on getting started!

Used it. Loved it. My first one turned out quite well.

If you want to learn classic feathers, here is a link to a 6 part tutorial posted in June 2012. I haven't tried it yet, but have seen what others have done. They turned out very well.

http://www.patchworktimes.com/2012/0...ather-lessons/

I love doing feathers on my longarm, the best way to learn is hand and pencil on paper , repeat to yourself "half a heart, half a heart" your heart halfs will be curvy and sloping to the spine. Now that you got that in your brain, go to the machine and do the same chant-"half a heart, half a heart" It really works, and it will look wonderful!

Maggiemay, I am not ready for the feathers, but I do like the stars all threaded together. I may just give that a try soon. Thank you for the photo!

YUP get it

Lazy Featherer...
 

At first I was afraid of feathers - and it turns out that I was running into the center spine, instead of making teardrop shapes and following far enough down the center line. I've finally decided I'm a lazy quilter - I leave the center spine out! I use cheap white school chalk (no wax) to chalk a curvy spine, then quilt teardrop shapes on both sides of the line, and dust off the chalk when I'm done. Also, I am not concerned if the feathers meet at the sides, I leave a space in between. I like the look of it, I can relax and breathe, and this seems to work great for me!

Sometimes you are more comfortable making feathers from the bottom up, (or from the top down), so one side of your motif looks great and the other, not so. Practicing will help, or just tie off at the top and start again at the bottom if it's more comfortable.

I also go to my local newspaper and ask for newsprint bolt ends, which makes great doodle paper. I roll it out across the kitchen table, grab a pencil or marker and practice my motifs. Really helps with muscle memory. The smoother your lines are in practice, the smoother they'll look on the quilt.

Feathers don't have to be curved on the end. Come to a point and you've got sunbursts, ferns or peacock feathers.

Deonn....you are exactly the lazy quilter I strive to be...oh well, it's back to "practice, practice, practice."

not bad for the first one. practice!

My first feathers looked like finger grapes hanging from a vine!!!!!! It takes practice with paper pencil, and I have found "think half a heart" sometimes helps......There are several designers/teachers and each has a trick or two that works for them so you just have to try them all, and find the best way for you, but it does not happen overnite, at least not with most of us....and even when you think you know what you are doing, every so often, those finger grapes sneak it!!!!!!!!!

Deonn, your feathers are wonderful.

Practice on paper, and draw your spine then when working your way down the side think of half a heart, That helped me. Make sure when you stitch back to your spine you follow it down for awhile before making the next feather.

I took the Craftsy.com course from Ann Patterson--Beyond Basic Machine Quilting. It helped me tremendously. They have it on sale for half price frequently, but it's not expensive at the regular price, and it's worth a whole lot more!

Take a piece of paper and draw a curving line. From the bottom of the line start making your feathers on one side. (practice and see if you draw a better feather starting at the bottom of the feather and finishing with the top. Then try the other direction. What do you think? Does one look better for you than the other?) Once you have finished the one side, give it a flourish at the top. Now follow your curving line, maybe a quarter of an inch or less down to the begining again. Now start going up on the other side. Usually we only make the feather well in one direction--go figure! For me it is going up. The book Hooked on Feathers is helpful, and will surely make you loosen up. It also gives you great ideas for embellishing the hook. Work on a practice piece once you think you have your feather right. Then go to your project. You may want to put a gentle curved line in chalk before you do it with your machine. Once again, your choice. Keep your sample to look back on. You can go back and run your finger over the feathers. This too is causing your head and muscle to remember how to make a feather.

It doesn't hurt a bit to make a sample quilt with lots of motifs, feathers grids and meanders. You can take out your sample and have ideas come to you on a block from basic stitches.

Thank you ALL for the great tips and advice, especially thinking "half a heart". I think my biggest problem was in not moving down the stem before starting the next frond. I love the pictures you posted, too. So beautiful and inspirational! I would love to get that good... I will look for the Hooked on Feathers book. Thank you so much.

Check out Linda Jackson Thielfoldt at the Patchwork Goose on Facebook or on youtube....she's a long-armer who does Longarm Lifelines for The Quilt Show ( with Ricky Tims and Alex Andersen).....her feathers are the most beautiful I've seen...and she's a lovely person as well....pictures of her quilts on Facebook are exquisite....you won't be disappointed. I recently told her even though I'm 60 now, when I grow up I want to be half the machine-quilter she is!

I too had such problems with my free motion feathers. I would practice feathers on my dry erase board for about 30 minutes then head to my sewing machine. My feathers never looked good.

A friend of mine suggested I take Angela Walters Free Motion Quilting Feathers video class on Craftsy. Wow, what a difference my feathers look after taking her video class. She has a fantastic technique and I firmly believe that anyone who takes her class will be free of free motion quilting feathers woes!

The class was $40 but if you go online and register as a Craftsy member, from time to time they offer classes for $19.99. Once you sign up for a Craftsy class, you can view the video as many times as you want. There also printouts that you can print. She is an excellent teacher. I have signed up for several of her classes.

I suggest you check out the Craftsy website. Your confidence level will go from 0% to 99%!!

Just think half hearts on both sides of the vein you have put down first.....practice on paper first to get your brain on track...