Hi everyone, I'm new to this forum and my name is Sharon. I was hoping to get some advice on freehand machine quilting. I'm making a small cot quilt for a friend at work, she's leaving to have her first baby. I've made the top and want to try doing some freehand stippling. I've worked out how to drop the feeddogs and switch to a darning foot but I'm unsure about how to work out the correct tension. The bottom seems to pull and looks too tight. How can i fix this, I'm pretty new to this type of sewing

HI Shastabell,
Do you have upper and lower tenn you can adjust?
you don't want loops on the top or bottom. practice on the same weight and bat etc till it looks good. A quiltig needle will also help for it has a longer shaft for the threads. Practice the stippling before doing it o te quilt.

hi and welcome from Oklahoma.

Hi Shastabell, and welcome from the sunny state of Florida, USA!!!!

usually you dont have to change anything. some set stitch length to zero but i've not changed mine since i took a class on it. how fast or slow you move the quilt will determine the stitch length. fast foot peddle, slower quilt movement. darning foot too.
feed dogs up or down. do practice on some blocks before doing the quilt though.

You can try free-motion quilting with the feed dogs up too. Some people find it easier to move the fabric evenly.

If the bottom thread is being pulled too tight, try loosening the top tension.

I had problems with loops on the bottom where my curved stitching lines were. I was moving my fabric too fast and I wasn't running the machine equally fast enough to keep up when I was sewing the curved lines. :D:D:D

thanks guys for the welcome and the great advice too. i'll definitely have to slow my movements down i think that may be the problem as some of the stitches underneath are fine but it's where the curves are that i noticed it. will check the top tension too. i have tried keeping the feed dogs before, will try that aswell.

cheers
shaz