I don't have a stitch regulator. Is it honestly possible to do free motion quilting on a regular sewing machine and have it come out nice? Does anyone have samples of ones that they have done for me to see? I know the manufacturer says it is made to do FMQ but all I have been able to do is straight line with the walking foot. Perhaps I lack the patience? I actually select patterns based on the knowledge that they will look good with straight line quilting only! Thx

Practice, practice, practice. Then more practice. I understand that's what's needed to master FMQ on a regular sewing machine. So far I'm in the practice, practice state. Still not very good but I'm going to keep trying. :)

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-60735-1.htm

Do a search feature on here (see above for example) and also do one on you tube.

http://[email protected]

The above link is to Leah Day's web site and she has been doing different FMQ filler patterns for every day of the year - on a regular sewing machine. Her videos are good so you can see exactly how she sews the pattern.

Hmm...are you trying to do FMQ with a walking foot? because it wont work. You need a darning foot or something equivalent.

Hi,

I have Babylock machines also and here's a hint for you when FMQ.

I unplug my foot pedal and set my speed control a bit more than half speed (about 3/4) and use the green on and off button when I quilt. That way I am not trying to keep the speed of my hands and my foot in sync....the machine goes at a consistent speed and I can control my hands better. I was always trying to move my quilt too fast I found out.

You should be able to quilt great on a Quilter's Choice...but you have to practice, practice, practice.

Good luck...that tip works good for me.

Bev

I have the same machine and have taken a machine quilting class on it and yes it is possible. Sorry no pics to show you but with practice it can be done.

Check out this website, this is a very good one with some videos:

freemotionquilting.blogspot.com

I just purchased Ricky timms convergence book he does all his own fmq on a domestic machine and it is amazing so it can be done

Yeah, walking foot didnt work for me, found the darning foot and OMG I was finally figuring it out!

To my knowledge you CAN NOT use a walking foot on any machine for FMQ....you need the darning/free motion foot. The trick is to use your walking foot for your straight line quilting or SID first to keep your quilt sandwich in place and then use the FMQ foot. Most of us lower our feed dogs and some have success with leaving them up. It is just one of those processes that take time in learning. Make yourself a bunch of practice quilt sandwiches and practice away. With using a frame because your sandwich is already taut you wouldn't necessarily need to use your walking foot to keep your layers in place. Although I will say there are far more skilled quilters that can on their regular machines FMQ without the need for the walking foot in the beginning. Hopefully I'm explaining this right if not someone please jump in here and help me out with explaining this. :?

Thanks for all the responses. I use the walking foot for straight lines. I have tried the darning foot for FMQ but my results are not great. I am going to try the idea of unplugging the foot pedal. It was also suggested to me to turn the machine sideways when I quilt. I may try that too. The other thing that irritates me is the switch to drop and lift the feed dogs is not working. I don't want to go through the aggravation of getting it fixed!! I guess I will have to bit the bullet and drop the machine off to be serviced and fixed.

I have a quilters choice machine, it is five years and must be missing where the green button is? Maybe you have a newer machine, thanks.

A woman at our LQS produces masterpieces on her domestic machine....beautiful feathers and so many amazing intricate designs. She uses the LA for Linus and charity quilts. She obtained this by doing what the others are saying.....practice, practice, practice :D

The only thing I can add is...if you discover you have loops on the underneath it's because you are moving your quilt either slower or faster than your sewing speed. You need to be moving your quilt at the same pace as your machine speed to get even stitches on both sides. It's really not as hard as it sounds, and, like everyone says, practice practice.

Also, this gal has created a neat sit down free motion quilting setup for use with a domestic machine. It's really cheap to put together and looks like it would make FMQ easier. There's a part 1 and a part 2 to this process.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g14go...feature=fvwrel

i found it easier to practice on smaller pieces,, i used some thin fabric and made mini sandwiches... for nothing but to practice. My pieces r @ 15 x 15.
I too found setting the speed a bit faster and unplugging the foot very helpful.

I look for solid colored prequilted fabric in the remnant bins and use that to practice my FMQ.