I am hoping some wise, experience quilter can give me tips and/or advice on free motion quilting. I have never done it and want to take a shot at it. I found the darning foot and have it on the machine. I taped my teflon pressing sheet to the machine to reduce drag. Lowered the feed dogs and starting sewing. Is that all there is to it? How do you make the stitches uniform? I don't have a 100 years or so to practice so if there are tricks or advice anyone can give me, please jump in. This baby quilt will be about 45" square. The center piece is all one piece and has 16 butterflies appliqued to it. This is the first time I didn't start with blocks and my first shot at this type of quilting. I want to fill in the area between the butterflies but I also want it to look as good as just doing echo quilting which is what I may end up doing if I can't get the hang of the other kind.
Thanks

i would practice on a similar thickness of fabric,practice,practice,practice! the uniformity of your stitches comes with practice,learning how to move your quilt thru the machine without being to fast ,its just practice :)

I found it to be easier if I started with the bulk of the quilt in the back of the machine and pulled it towards me rather than pushing it; I think of it as sewing backwards.

Judy

Thanks for the advice. I am having trouble keeping a steady speed. At least the couple getting the baby quilt know nothing about quilting! They will think its great even though I think its awful :lol:

Hey Vicki,

Quick trick to hide any flaws in your quilting is to match your thread to your background fabric, using the same in the top & bobbin. Using a finer thread and needle will hide flaws even further. Only because this is your first attempt at FMQ, I would advise against echo quilting; any irregular rows will be immediately obvious.

Speed and stitch consistency will come with practice, so hang in there and keep practicing. A quick FMQ technique that has great results is doing loops. They do not have to be round, you do not have to worry about not crossing over the stitch lines, and you can easily change directions to quilt an area you have not yet gotten to. To add more texture, you can also vary the size and density of the loops. A great way to practice these is by stitching cursive lower-case "e's" one after the other, in varying sizes and widths.

Hope this helps you get started easily into the wonderful world of FMQ!!! :D Let me know if this doesn't make any sense.

Hi, Practice is the key. Take a square of fabric, batting and backing and try writing your name until you get it right. Also, like Judy, I put my quilt in the back and bring it forward to sew. Prevents all that dragging. I liken it to playing the piano, you need to get a rythum going with your speed and movement of the quilt. Good Luck. Marge

I am getting better at this as far as my rhythm but at this poin I doubt i'll do another one. I have a LOT more respect for those that do it and how beautiful it looks on their quilts. Thanks for all the advice.