I really need some quilting advice from you ladies!
 

I normally send out my larger quilt tops to long-armers, but this time I got overly ambitious.... and now feel really stuck. I've done things the hard way, I think. :(

This top is 84" x 84". I used 500 straight pins to baste it. (I now REALLY regret that decision). I used a natural cotton batting. The back fabric is that incredibly soft/fuzzy Minky. The end result is REALLY HEAVY and the straight pins poke me constantly.

But anyway, I rolled the two sides in towards the middle, leaving the center strip open and ready to start the quilting sewing. I had my son hold the heavy log behind me, to help me feed it thru the machine. I'm VERY inexperienced at this, as I normally quilt crib size down to placemat size, and I've never used Minky before.

When I tried sewing, it barely feeds through the machine, and my stitches are very tiny and close together. I don't like how it looks and am afraid this isn't going how it's supposed to.

Do you all have advice for me on how to proceed? I'm attaching a photo of it still laying out on the floor..... 500 pins and all. LOL! The picture is a little fuzzy, but you get the idea!

Thank you for any help!

Well Minky would not be my first choice for a first FMQ. It is difficult - but not impossible to worl with.

I think you have two things going:
1. Minky is not a fabric that slides easily. The cure would to use something slippery like a teflon sheet taped down. Search the board for Supreme Slider and you will know what Inmean.
2. The weight of that quilt iscalso holding it back from going through smoothly. You need to find tables, ironing boards, etc. to take most of thevweight while you are working on an area.
3. The quilt is beautiful and will be well worth your efforts,

generally safety pins are used to baste a quilt sandwich---not straight pins- that seems really (hazardous)
thread basting is an option- many of us prefer thread basting over dealing with all the pins.
often people leave out the batting when using minkie- it is very warm & heavy on it's own.
lengthen your stitch length, loosen your tension, put together a small *practice* sandwich to practice on if you have any extra minkie, fabric,batting...and practice a bit adjusting as needed until you get your stitches looking like you want them to look. all those straight pins may be causing some of the problems-
you might want to try basting spray. or do a search on thread basting...it is alot faster than all those pins, holds better & doesn't poke you constantly
try to set a card table or something up beside you to help hold the weight...practice before working on the *real quilt*. it is a beautiful quilt!
good luck.

Straight pins? Yikes!!!

If you have some extra batting and backing and fabric, I would make up a test sandwich to practice on. Assuming you are using a walking foot, my bet is that the weight of the quilt is creating drag and that is why you are getting those tiny stitches. However, it could also be the sandwich itself, which is why I recommend creating a test sandwich. Did you lengthen the stitch?

If the problem is drag, then you need to rig up something to hold the weight of the quilt. One common practice is to place an ironing board to the left of your machine, at the same level as your machine. Is your machine sitting flush in a cabinet so you have a large flat surface to work on? If it is sitting on a table with just a small surround, you are going to have problems feeding the quilt evenly without drag (it invariably catches on some corner of the little table; do not ask me how I know this). In that case you may want to create a styrofoam surround for your machine. I used the Youtube videos on how to make an inexpensive sewing/quilting table to do this.

To be honest, I would never attempt to quilt something this size that has been basted with straight pins. It would be worth the time to replace each straight pin, one by one, with a safety pin. (When quilting on my domestic machine, I have always spray basted but I'm not sure how well that works with a minky backing.)

LOL You guys are going to laugh and shake your heads.......... But I don't have a walking foot, but am already on Amazon shopping for one! LOL Ok, and my set up is that my machine sits down flush inside a large work table, so that is good... and I have the ironing board and other tables available to help out when I attempt this again.

I didn't adjust my tension OR stitch length.... so I will play with a practice sandwich and make THOSE changes, too.

Thank you so much for your time and advice!!

You might also want to experiment with your presser foot pressure knob. That is pretty thick, and the pressure foot may be "pressing" down too hard, further restraining the movement.

I have never used minkie, so can't comment on that, but please get rid of the stright pins! Either replace them with safety pins, or thread baste. I would mention glue, but don't know how that would work with minkie. Good luck. Your quilt is pretty.

Just have to say that's a beautiful quilt!

I've never quilted anything that big on a sewing machine. I do know that minky is very slick and a walking foot is almost a must have for it. I love the quilt. It's beautiful. I just started one of those for myself. Not getting very far yet.

Oh Yes ! a walking foot will make a big difference. One thing you will find( even with a walking foot) as the weight pulls in the quilt toward you if the bulk is in your lap , or pull away as the weight falls behind the stitch length will lengthen or shorten depending on which way the weight is going. If you have a large table move your sewing machine to it so the quilt weight can be supported. Some use an ironing board or other tables, moved temporarily around the machine to help support the weight.