Hi All
I'm a beginner at quilting, however would like to quilt my own quilts. I sent my son's quilt to be quilted and it cost me 40.00 (baby sized quilt) and it was a basic quilt made of squares! I figure I can do something on my own that would work. I got a stippling foot for my machine but was wondering how in the world do I make that meandering pattern? do I just wing it? is there a process to it? anyone have any pointers? do you even know what I'm talking about?? LOL.....any help is appreciated.

There are some nice tutorials on the web. I just spent a few hours there last night. Practice - practice - practice. I'm in the same spot you are and so far my attempts have all looked like crap. A big jerky mess. I've been looking for a class but none of the LQSes around here are offering machine quilting as a stand-alone class. Maybe I'll talk to the store and see if I can get a personal lesson just to get me going coz on my own - I SUCK!

Good luck.

ha ha ha...thanks!! I figure even if mine look like a big jerky mess, that will be fine! I will be happy that I can do it on my own and not have to spend that much money on a toddler quilt. I most likely would not attempt a bigger quilt since I just have a basic sewing machine, but baby/toddler quilts I should be able to do something with. I'll check out some stuff on line. thanks! Good luck to you as well.

Thanks.

I've actually have gotten pretty good at SID (stitch in the ditch) and usually do a grid pattern along all the straight seams. If my blocks are too large and there is no applique in the center, I sometimes combine it with a tie in the center. All of my SID quilts have been washed a gazillion times, and they hold up really well. Just a thought to keep you going while you practice the other.

I got started by lots and lots of doodles with pencil and paper. It was a lot cheaper than making sandwiches of fabric and batting to practice on. I doodled large meanders, then medium ones and finally small ones. I doodled on newspapers, old envelopes, the backs of letters etc. until my hand/eye coordination was really comfortable with where to go and how not to get 'caught' in odd shapes. When I was really happy on paper, that was when I did the sandwich thing and praticed with fabric. At that point, I knew all about where to go with the pattern, so I only had to get the speed/stitch length sorted. Hope that helps.

I have done the FMQ on lots of quilts, not perfect by any means, I love doing it and don't mind if I get some points or cross over other stitches. Unless someone exams it very close up, it really doesn't matter. You must have gloves with little rubber nubs on them, makes it easier to move the fabric, relax and work on your moving with the speed of the machine. You have to work together. Youtube probably has a tutorial on it or you can find one on here. Just keep practicing until you are pleased with it. No matter what it looks like, I figure if I have someone quilt my quilts, I can't honestly say I made it myself.

This was my first and so far only FMQ. I actually liked doing the quilting part. Find a beginning machine quilting class or buy a good book or dvd. Then practice, practice, practice.

good thinking ;-)

thanks ladies!! I got my quilting foot tonight and I made an attempt....do you have any idea why this is happening? here is a picture of the front and back. any clue? I have a Brother XR52, so I don't lower the feed dogs, I have a plate that covers them.

I started with meandering and practiced a lot. Most of them are on beds in my house. The quilting gloves are great and help you control the quilt better. Just let yourself relax and you will do fine. I love free motion quilting.