I would like to have that beautiful feather pattern design on some of my quilts, however I do not have a LA.
Is it hard or impossible to do this FM style on a regular sewing machine.

Not impossible at all. All you need is a stencil and a marking took, like a disappearing purple marker or a water soluble blue marker. Mark the quilt top and then just follow the lines.

Thank you jljack, I really want to try this.

Show pictures, please. I need to be inspired to fmq!

Sure can I did it here no stencil no longarm

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-136972-1.htm

Just keep practicing.

OR trace the design onto paper like Golden threads...you sew right over it,,,,I just LOVE that stuff!

I use to professionally machine quilt on my Bernina 1050. You can do it but it might take just a little practice depending on the stencil that you are using. Some stencils may require you to back track over your stitching on the curved edge of the outside of the feather, Remember NOT to stop on the curve. The more you practice, you should be able to pick it up quite quickly. After machine quilting for over 10 years, feathers were always the most challenging. GOOD LUCK !!

Indeed it is. Diane Gaudynski is an award winning quilter who uses her DSM. With practice, she says, feathers are attainable without marking the fabric. Here is a link to her website. http://www.dianegaudynski.net/resume.htm I recommend her book Quilt Savvy.

I second the recomendation of Diane Gaudynski's book. There are also a lot of other books out there. Ricky Tims also has a great DVD "Grand Finale". There are most likely some free tutorials on the internet also.
I have done a queen sized quilt on my Janome with lots of feathers. (They can become adicting and are easier to do than they look.) Keep quilting, Elizabeth

many wonderful quilters create their masterpieces on domestic machines- it only takes practice- and the motivation to do it.

OK I am going to have to look this up. SOunds wonderful. I think I would like this better than the blue or purple pens. Thanks for mentioning it.

The Golden Threads paper works well, you just have to remove it after quilting and I'd rather not have to! I am going to try the Ultimate Pounce Pad. Feathers can be done without any marking, but it comes with practice and the smaller they are, the easier to me(and I still need lots of practice to perfect).

Your feathers are absolutely beautiful! One wouldn't be able to tell the difference of LA or domestic machine :thumbup:

WOW- you did that on a regular machine??? I'm inspired!!
(so sorry about the story behind that quilt :( )

Follow the lines free motion? That is very hard to do without a long arm.

Your quilt is so beautiful and to think you did it without a LA. WOW.

A sad story attached to your quilt, so sorry!

Thanks for your suggestion....PRACTICE...PRATICE...and more PRACTICE.

I started quilting feathers when I was on my regular machine. But now that I am on a long arm, I just make bigger feathers like 8" prongs. I love to quilt fleece throws with outrageous feathers. But I did feathers, feathers and more feathers on my regular machine.

there are many stencils designed especially for FMQ, including feathers. check the catalog on www.quiltingstencils.com There are also mini wholecloth preprinted pieces available as well as stencils for the smaller pieces. These are good for practice.

I use plain old white tissue paper,like for gift wraping.

Check out Patsy Thompson's website. She does awesome feathers with a regular machine and very little marking.

Susan

Yes, it is possible. I'm making my first Scrappy. The first segment center just yelled out to me "Butterfly". I found a feather in a quilting book, copied it onto paper, cut out the pieces, pinned them on the piece representing a butterfly. Quilting it and (behold) a Butterfly.

Hope this is the correct picture.

It's TOTALLY POSSIBLE to create wonderful FMQ feathers without a long arm! Here are some of mine done on a domestic machine; no stencil. I just mark the spine of the feather, if any marking at all. The white one was marked throughout the design though, because I wanted it symetrical/mirror image. I started learning FMQ a little over 2 years ago and only spend "hobby time" at it since I work full-time.

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-108751-1.htm
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-135369-1.htm
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-140069-1.htm
http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-95479-1.htm

So, go for it! It takes practice, and I found the quilting feathers on a domestic machine DVD's from Sharon Schamber to be very helpful in improving my technique.

Don't expect great results at first. After over 2 years, I'm finally getting more comfortable about doing feathers. Now they're my favorite/easiest design to do because I've practiced them sooooooooo much!

Wendy

Use Golden Threads paper (available at quilt shops). Trace design right on the paper, and then stitch through. Set your machine stitch length a bit smaller so then it is easy to rip the paper away.

I was just looking at one of my books called "Feathers That Fly" by Lee Cleland. A whole book devoted to designing, marking, and quilting feather motifs. What a great resource! I agree with what others have said, it just takes practice to do on a domestic machine. Have you seen the Day Style Designs videos (free, online)? Leah Day is now testing less expensive machines using her techniques.

Your work is beautiful. You are a true master!!

Ricki Timms has a DVD out on feather quilting and he is using a older shortarm domestic machine. :D

i strongly suggest using a stencil to make the design. it will be easier and more flexible for you and you can manulipilate the design if you need to. Unless you have a design that is especially designed for machine quilting then it is helpful to look at the design and decide where you will overquilt a line here and there. It is difficult to see but my avatar is quilted with domestic machine and they are all feathers.

On home machine do you free motion over the drawn lines of a feather or use walking foot? For beginners. I would imagine one day you would hope to do it FM with no lines drawn.

I like this product but it is a B**** to remove the tiny pieces of paper that will get stuck in some of the stitches. Just my 2 cents!

You can do either, depending on the design you choose.

You need to use the FMQ foot or darning foot for feathers, and do as much marking as you fell need. Just be sure to test removal of your marks on a scrap of material first! (Ask me how I know this!) When you've had enough practice, you may only want to mark the spines of the feathers, or not mark at all.

A really fun design to do that is easy for beginners is to use the walking foot to stitch a grid of gently wavy lines all over the quilt. To kind of guide the lines of stitching, you can either mark with something easily removable, or, my favorite method-use 2 parallel strips of blue painters tape spaced 2-4 inches apart and keep your wavy lines of stitching between them. Then just pull one of the tape strips off, move it over, and repeat stitching until you've worked your way across the whole quilt top. There's no marking or paper to remove, and the tape just peels right off because you do not stitch over it.

It turns out looking really cool, especially with a contrasting but coordinating thread and you can space the stitching lines however is needed for the batting you are using. To make it a little more fancy, you can do double lines of stitching using the edge of the walking foot along the first stitching to guide the second line of stitching. This is a great confidence builder for beginners!

My daugher used this technique on one of the first fairly large quilts she did on her new machine: http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-134082-1.htm

Wendy

YES! I do it all the time, no marking, just freehand. I started with the Sally Terry Hooked on Feathers technique with no backtracking http://www.amazon.com/Hooked-Feather...1965461&sr=8-3 , but now (after practice!)do all kinds.

:thumbup: That's what I want to do when I grow up... in FMQ on my DSM, or I should say on my Vintage DSM!

Please allow me to show you what k3n does with her DSM:

http://www.quiltingboard.com/t-138454-1.htm

:-D Hope you don't mind, k3n, but your work is encouraging!

Yep. I just used a stencil and followed the marked lines. I really do recommend Diane Gaudynski's books, too. She is awesome!

Very nice quilting job.

Beautiful

Boy, that is some beautiful quilt...

Can't wait to see your pics. I've seen that pounce box and think I would like to try it. Good luck. Sue

I've used a pounce on regular stencils with some success, but REALLY like using these: http://www.fulllinestencil.com/Full%...20Stencils.htm It's easier to get the chalk on them and there are no gaps in the lines you follow.

Wendy

Thanks Wendy, the designs they offer are wonderful...I shall invests in some.
I appreciate everyones help.