Free Motion Quilting ---
 

Hi. I have practiced and practiced on small stuff trying to work up to doing a big quilt. Well, guess what? I read on here the other day a suggestion to someone else who is intimidated by FMQ. It was to try with the feed dogs up and try with them down. Well, I have been working with them down and never could get a rhythm going, even though I did a couple of baby burp clothes and those were ok. Yesterday afternoon I left the feed dogs up. Right from the beginning of my practice pieces it went pretty smoothly. So last night I put the quilt I have been procrastinating on since August on my machine and it went great! I'm not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but I liked how it went. I did use threat that matches the backing (another suggestion I read). I know there are mistakes. Mostly when I would stop for readjustments. I let go of the fabric before the needle went down and it skipped about an inch. I just quilted back around to secure that area and it looks like a loop cross-over. I got about 1/3 of the quilt done (a 70x50) before I totally ran out of thread. I have to go get more thread and I am looking forward to completing this quilt and maybe some of the UFO's I have out there!
Thanks board members for all you teach us!

Good for you! After a while it just clicks with you. I had the same experience once I just jumped in and started quilting. I started with doll quilts made with three fat quarters. One for back, front, and binding. It's so much fun now!

What matters most that you enjoy it!
Everything else will fall in place.

I also do better with the feed dogs up. I've also read to practice "without" thread using a topstitch needle to develop muscle memory. The needle holes in your fabric will demonstrate how well you are doing with stitch length consistency.

I've read this so many times that leaving the feed dogs up makes it easier for some people. Can you explain what you think makes the difference? Do the feed dogs put a drag on the fabric? (I assume you've set the stitch length to 0) Are the feed dogs moving up and down, but not forward? I just don't understand the mechanics of this. Thanks in advance for any replies.

I usually only do cross hatching or slight wiggle lines. My neighbor's niece marks her quilts with little directional arrows so she doesn't go back over stitching. Feed dogs usually up.

Good for you! I keep the feed dogs up too. Works better for me too.

Leah Day ( fmq quilter extrordinaire) quilts with hers up, sighting that it makes a difference in the tension. l personally leave them down, as l'm afraid they'll damage the backing. l use the hopping foot, and find l get a rythmn going with each hop as l move the fabric.Glad you found what works for you.

Thanks for the information. I've been doing free-motion quilting for a few years now (but not talking about it much) but this is the first time I've heard about leaving the feed dogs up. Like stitch678, I assumed they were dropped to avoid damage. Is the stitch length set at 0 to minimize this?

I'm not sure why leaving feed dogs up works for others but I know my machine doesn't like stitching with feed dogs down. I don't know why as it is touted as a quilting machine but I get many more thread catches and breaks that way so mostly I work with them up. And I do not change my stitch length. Works for me. We all have to find what works best for us.