Your tension is all wrong. It is too loose.

This may be off the subject of the loose thread on the backing....seems that is covered. Some hints I learned from and still use are to make a small sandwich using the scraps from the quilt you are preparing to quilt....test your stitching on this small practice piece. It is the very same weight and color of your quilt. You can see how the thread and stitches look on the actual fabrics. I learned this tip from one of by machine quilting books...don't remember which author....she recommends this and she uses this sample piece to "warm up" on before quilting on the actual quilt each time she sits down to quilt on the quilt--she quilts large quilts.

As mentioned before....practice is the most important. Learn to relax and take a breath. Find the machine speed that works for you. It is usually a medium speed with medium movement of the the quilt. I think first time machine quilters think they have to go really fast and they get really tense. Also, a good way to learn to free motion and get control of the machine is to get a child's panel and sandwich it for a quilt then free motion around designs in the panel. You can stipple and do different background stitching....a great practice source. You can then donate your quilt to one of the children's charity quilt groups.

I have had the same problem if my presser foot is not in the down position. i have a small longarm (GrandQuilter ) so I have notes hanging from the frame to remind me to PUT THE FOOT DOWN! It will ne make it tight as I have a plate covering feed dogs too. Hope this helps

This site has many videos to help you get started fmq. Check it out here ...

http://my.allpeoplequilt.com/bettertv/?bclid=715980676

Just use the slider bar on the right to see the videos available and choose one to start it.

p.s. There is a tension tutorial there to help you with that part too.

Try hand quilting.

Take a look at this site: www.patsythompsondesigns.com
she has some awesome DVD's out and the Fast and Fun 0.5 DVD is one that starts with the basics and is so very informative. She is a wonderful FMQ instructor and easy to listen to. She offers free FMQ patterns on her site and also you can watch some 7-8 minute clips from her DVD's.

I second Rachelcb80's suggestion of leaving the feed dogs up until you get comfortable with FMQ. Think of it as training wheels. It helps things go a little slower and smoother until you get the hang of it.

Really nice site. Thanks for posting!

Just keep practicing, pretty soon you and your machine will become one. I remember the first time I practiced I used those paper stipples over sandwitched practice pieces and I hated them so bad. So I was determined to do it on my own. I practiced alot and finally I felt really comfortable with it. Good luck to you. Dont give up practice practice practice.

What a pity! The right side was looking so good! The learning stages for FMQ are full of these unpleasant surprises, but they do decrease as you have more practice.

What you have here does look like a threading problem, but tension is also very important in FMQ. The top tension should be lower than usual. The bobbin tension in my two machines (a Bernina Aurora and a Pfaff Grand Quilter) is more complicated. I check that, when I hold the thread coming from the bobbin and gently shake it, the bobbin moves only a little.

I wish that I had been able to read this site as I was learning FMQ - I've seldom felt such a dunce in my life, so uncoordinated and it would have been reassuring to know that others struggle too. Some lucky people learn almost instantly, but the rest of us just have to hang in there.

I read about the Supreme Slider on this thread and ordered it from the Clotilde catalogue. It just came in this week and haven't used it yet but looks like it would be helpful. It was 27.95

I am learning so much from everyone on this board ... I'm especially loving this particular tip ... thank you thank you :thumbup:

Sorry ... this is the first time I've attempted to reply ... I though the reply would be affixed to the original message .... the tip I appreciate is to use paper towels to make a practice square ... I just did it and it worked beautifully.

GREAT idea.....I've always got paper towels!

I am currently attempting to quilt my daughter's quilt....it's not looking really great but I want it done and so does she! all I care about is that it will go through the wash and it's giving me good practice. I'll post a picture when I'm done! (I'm using a thread that matches the back perfectly...LOL!!) thanks for all the tips from everyone! I love all the help I get on here, it's wonderful! :)

My machines will do this in one of two situations:

1. I forgot to lower the presser foot, yes, even when freemotion because the presser foot down on ALL machines engages the upper thread tension.

2. Or, my upper thread has slipped off the upper looper where it comes down toward the needle thread path from the top of the machine.

You probably already know that this is an upper thread tension problem.

Check those two things, give it another try, and remember to put the presser foot down :mrgreen:

Oh geesh, I can't begin to tell you how many times I have forgotten to put the pressure foot down! Duh...oh well...the front was lookin' good :D .

You've gotten some great tips here with the most important being..practice, practice. I would only add...relax...breath....really, it will all turn out just great and it will look fantastic after the first washing. AND...think of all the fabric you can buy with the money you save quilting your own small quilts! :lol:

I have had this happen when my machine wasn't threaded correctly. The thread comes out of the take-up lever. On my longarm it looks like that if I forget to put the hopping foot down. It's a waste of thread. But it picks out pretty easily.

When I do a meandering pattern, I try to get three different shapes in my mind, none of those shapes have more than three loops (or whatever you want to call that shape, maybe a 'u' shape) going in one direction before I change directions. And remember what you see when you have your nose to the needle is not what you see when you look at if from a foot away.
Give it at least one try on a practice 'sandwich' just to figure out your speed, but remember, it will be harder to manhandle a larger piece than that little square.

where can i get some of that backing fabric with the wash away design on it do you have a link?
thanks
Mema

I don't have a Brother but I had the same problem when I did some FMQ and I would have to stop and rethread the top. It was very annoying. It would do ok on the practice squares but once I did it on the quilt somehow I was doing something to make the top thread jump it's threading position. Now I'm gun shy but I'm going to try again soon.I also had flannel on the back of the quilt and someone told me that could have been the issue as it doesn't slide as well.

Oh and here is my FMQ mantra for squiggles.....Big Head, Little neck....Big head...little neck...It helps me keep the shape right.

Memathomas,
I was the one who said I use wash-a-away to do meandering. You don't buy it printed on wash-a-away. Our can purchases a meandering pattern at the quilt shops (comes on a roll and looks a little like interfacing or light weight paper) and you trace it onto wash-a-away.

I have this happen when I forget to lower the foot. Since the FMQ foot sits above the fabric even in the down position I sometimes forget to lower it.

I say "peace man", looks like two fingers and thumb, "dino shape" and "pistol".

Those are good ones, I hadn't thought of it like that :lol:

i did the same thing...doodles while on waiting "on hold" @ work...then when i liked what i was coming up with on a regular basis, i picked up some inexpensive black fabric and varigated threads in each of my kids favorite colors and went to town with it. then i cut the quilted pieces to fit my dining room chairs and used them up as chair pads. so i had something for my effort, but really didn't care if the kids or grandkids dumped spagetti on it... and each kid liked having thier favorite color!

HELP!!!!!! I don't know if any of you are still watching this thread, but will ask anyway. I took a class on FMQ last week and was using an embroidery foot that is plastic and enclosed. I want to get an open toe quilting/darning foot, but don't know what one to get. I have a Sears Kenmore machine 385 19365990. It does some embroidery, but the size of a zig zag. I found 2 open toed feet at Searspartsdirect on line, but don't know which I need, or if they will work with my machine. I tried calling the Sears Parts Dept, and can't get help there as they don't have a listing of the parts, they are just listed on line. The first one is for Embroidery/Sewing machines and the other one is for Verticle and Horizontal Sewing Machines...What are they? My machine was purchased in 2002, if that helps. In it's book, no open toe feet are shown, except for the walking foot. I know this is long, but can anyone help me decide if one of these will work, or if not, where I might be able to get one that will. I don't normally order on line, and went to the Sears store first, but they weren't much help. Thank you. Janis

I'm probably not going to be a huge amount of help, but if your machine does do embroidery/sewing, then I think you would be ok going with that one. The good thing about Sears is that you could actually just get both...then return what didn't fit or you didn't like.....why are you getting the open toe? For FMQ...I use a closed toe (when using an open toe..sometimes the open arm part can get hung up in the threads, pokes the trapunto..etc.) When I am doing just straight quilting..a Walking Foot is MUCH better. Hope you get it figured out though...good luck!

I thought that with the open toe, I might be able to see what I was doing better. Or aren't you supposed to be watching that part? Maybe I should focus on where I want to go next instead. I have the walking foot for straight stitching. Maybe I should try working with that and the embroidery foot first and get used to them. I didn't think about being able to get caught in spots with the open toe foot, but it makes sence.

Well, I think everyone develops their own way to do it...there is no "right" or "wrong" in my book. I generally do try to watch where I'm going next though more so than where I am...if that makes sense.

Maybe just spend some more time playing around and you will find what is comfortable for you...thats what you should go with :D

Oh Rymer, your bottom tension is too loose, that's an easy fix. But, boy is it frustrating when it happens!

Thanks, I've just had the one 2hr lesson-sewing time so far. Maybe I just need to practice a lot. I like the idea others said of doodleing on paper and getting the eye/hand going together. I've also thought of using paper and an empty needle on my machine and meandering or other things on the scrap paper. That way I'm not using thread or material and can just practice. The holes would show where I've been. How would that work?

Good idea...I hear using a white board is also very helpful for the practice. One instructor I know says she keeps it next to her while she's quilting, and runs thru the patterns first on the white board.

Esqmommy, that sounds good, having a white board to doodle on, and fun too. I'll have to get one. I had a hard time trying to figure out your name, until I thought about my daughter being a lawyer too... duh!
One book I read had stressed the open toe foot, so that was why I was trying to find one. They even suggested cutting a plastic one open to use.. Think of rough edges on the cut plastic!!! Maybe I just need to work with what I have first. I also have a Brother/Disney embroidery sewing machine I bought from a friend, so I looked at the attachments for that. The embroidery foot there is closed too. Maybe I wouldn't like the open toe one after I got it.

Try adjusting your bobbin tension. If it too loose it will make a mess like this on the back side. Comments about the possibility of the bobbin being wound incorrectly is also a possibility. Good Luck!

The Silcone thing is:

Free-Motion
Supreme Slider
LaPierre Studio LLC
Formerly known as Free-Motion Slider look on ebay or google for the best price. good luck!

I am just learning this FMQ thing. It is sure not as easy as it looks in those video's. What it reminds me of is learning to drive a car. I remember my first few driving lessons and think that OMG, how do so many people learn to do this? Then eventually it just clicks and you wonder why you ever thought it was so hard.

Well, I am still on my learners permit with FMQ, but I am getting better.

My only words of advice is to relax. I am finding that when I start really concentrating on it, I tense up, I get hunched over and am actually fighting the fabric and the machine. If I sit up straight and think about relaxing and just flowing along it looks so much better. My sister keeps telling me I can do it. If so and so can do it, you can. She also said something funny last night. I told her I was having trouble getting this meandering thing down. She said " Of course you are. You are not a meanderer, you are way too goal oriented." Which is so true. But I will get it, I will, I will I will.

Rethread your machine, you've missed a step in your threading. Good thing about that is it is easy to take out.

For meandering, you just do puzzle like shapes,or squiggles, basically any shapes you want. You want to keep the a equal distance apart, and just relax, not going too fast around the curves. Also when you start you need to pull your bottom thread up from the bottom, so you don't get birds nests.

Here is a good sight to learn about machine quilting http://www.daystyledesighns.com

You may not have the top threaded right. I have had this happen when the top thread wasn't threaded through the take-up lever - the part that goes up and down at the top of the machine. On my longarm, it happens when the hopping foot is left in the up position. It's easy to take out the stitching. But, it's a waste of thread-all those tangles. So annoying.
Cynthia

Correction to the address i gave before http://daystyledesigns.com