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Help with first time Machine quilter!

I have been quilting by hand now...I've completed one pinwheel quilt with hand quilting and am working on a panel quilt right now but I'M EXHAUSTED!

I really want to figure out the best way to use my machine to quilt. I have a Janome 5812. I only have the feet that came with it(nothing special). I want to figure out if I need a different foot or if anyone who uses the same machine(or just knows something about it) can give me advice to the type of foot/accessories I need to quilt in the ditch or free motion.(unless in the ditch or free motion are truly separate or...yeah I'm lost)

I've tried looking some stuff up in a SEO but have not been able to get a clear sense of what I need.

a walking foot (or sometimes called an even-feed foot) is used for stitch in the ditch or other straight line quilting
a darning foot (sometimes called a free-motion- or hopping foot) is used for free motion quilting-
the walking foot works with your feed dogs to evenly feed the fabric top and bottom through the machine-
the darning/hopping foot is round- you use it with the feed dogs lowered- it (hops) and you can move the fabric in all directions(because the feed dogs are not feeding the fabric- you have to do all of the moving)
you can use a regular foot for straight line quilting- good basting is a must- and if it is possible to (ease) the foot tension that will help you - the main problem with using a regular foot instead of a quilting foot is the *bulk* of the quilt sandwich- you tend to get puckers along the stitching line- one way to 'ease' that problem is to lengthen your stitch length- or lessen the pressure of the foot.
there are many many tutorials and videos showing the techniques- you may want to check some out- then put together some practice (sandwiches) and try it out- some people make 12" squares to practice- then make potholders or something with their practice pieces.

Your walking foot is for doing mostly straight line quilting. You can do gentle curves too. You usually have to buy it for your certain machine as there are several. You can use your regular straight stitching foot but you need to keep a good eye on the quilt sandwich as it tends to creep.
The Free motion or darning foot lets you sew in any direction and you can do any pattern. Go watch Leah Day tutorials for good tips.
Start with a simple tablerunner and just quilt straight lines down the length about 4 inches apart. This will give you a feel for the process. If you have a darning/hopping/FM foot (lower your feed dogs) put a few sqiggle patterns in between the straight lines. Ta Da, you're a machine quilter!

Check out Daystyle.com ,I have been tring to teach myself FMQ off and on for several years and I found her site from UTUBE and I have mastered the stipple stitch and am working on some of her other beginner designs and when she says to get the supream slider and the generic foot and she also tells you how to adapt it,they have helped me a great deal!I am FMQ on a singer embrodery/sewing machine and so far so good.Also there is a veido on utube to make a cheap table for machine quilting which hubby and I made in less than a hour it uses insulation foam boad that you can get at Lowes or Home Depot.Happy Quilting

I called a lady at Hancock fabrics and she found just what i need! I FMQ foot for 24.99 but she said to bring a coupon from Joann or hobby lobby to get a discount. I love the net! Found a 40% off one so...YEAH! lol :).

@ckcowl: TY! For the easy to understand definitions!
@Tartan: Yes, i will definitely start with a potholder! That is so simple! i didn't even think about it :P
@retta97: Found her on youtube, will look into her!

Thank for all you responses!

BTW: when setting up the machine...for the FMQ. Do you change any tensions?

I would recommend caution buying the generic walking foot. I know it is less expensive but it is a case that "one size does not always fit all". There have been some recent posts about the lower price walking feet breaking etc and they don't always sew a good seam.....Just some warning. I don't want to dampen your enthusiasm but just a word of caution.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mirima (Post 4941998)

BTW: when setting up the machine...for the FMQ. Do you change any tensions?

I FMQ on my Janome 4800. I do find that I have to change my tension for FMQing. That you will have to play with on your machine to discover what works best for you. I played around a lot on practice quilt sandwiches. When I first started, I wrote down the setting my tension was set on for regular sewing and also the setting the knob for my foot pressure was on. Didn't want to forget that since it was working as I wanted it to! Then when I found the settings that worked best for me for FMQing, I wrote those down as well. I found I had to up my tension and lower the pressure on my presser foot.

Good luck! :-)

This is a very good tutorial on FMQ with nice close up pictures: http://www.ohfransson.com/oh_fransso...-quilting.html

thanks for the link. good fmq tute.

@Holice: Well, doesn't hancock fabrics sell the ones for Janome? Where would you get one then?