Ok, how in the world do you quilt a larger quilt in the middle. I find reaching the sides, top and bottom to be no problem but how do you machine quilt the middle section. Is it possible? My machine only has a small work space and not sure if it can be done. If anybody out there has some advice I would love to hear it.

I roll my quilts tightly to work in the middle. I usually quilt the middle first, it gets the hard part done before you get too frustrated or tight in the neck and shoulders, and then gets easier as you go to the edges. This also lets you smooth the quilt out if needed. I hope this helps.

It can be done - I pushed a king size through a Walmart variety Brother, only for stitch in the ditch, but it was very doable. I worked from the center out and just smushed the part on the right under the throat/harp. I had to keep rearranging, but, it worked out just fine.

you start by rolling one side of the quilt toward the center- then the other side toward the center- then you sew in the area between the rolls- unrolling and working your way out in one direction then turn and work out toward other side.
if you do a search you will find many tutorials to show you how to do this.

I did a queen size on my machine .I had to slide fabric under needle and roll length of quilt until I got to center. I had to do it on my kitchen table to keep the weight of the quilt from pulling. I kept rearranging the quilt nest that was on table as I quilted and unroll quilt as I worked my way out to each edge I had to do this on each side. Hope this helped others may have better ideas but this worked for me.Goodluck and have fun.

what machine are you working with

what kind of design are you quilting

I have a singer simple but just asking for future. Not sure of the design yet as I don't have much experience with fmq

Personally I just use the "smoosh" method. I make sure I pin baste very very well. Then I start in the middle and work outwards. I've done a pretty large quilt....haven't gotten to a queen/king yet....

You can divide the batting up into 3 pieces to reduce bulk.

Start by laying the batting out. Use a rotary cutter to cut it into thirds using large "S" shape cuts. Use a marker to put registration marks along the cuts to you can re-join the batting later exactly as it was. Also mark the top left and top right of the batting. Remove the left and right pieces to save for later.

Create your quilt sandwich as usual, but you will baste only the middle third of the batting. Pin together the top and backing on each side so they stay together.

Edit: This method is described in a paragraph in one of Debra Wagner's books. (Both of her books are absolutely wonderful!) Marti Michell has a book out on this method, but I haven't read that one.

Quilt the middle of the quilt, leaving about 6 inches on each side to make re-attaching the batting easy. Be careful to keep the sides out of the way of your quilting! It will be much easier to quilt the middle because there will be much less bulk under the arm of your machine.

When the middle has been quilted, fold back the top and backing out of the way so only the middle batting edge is exposed. Butt the correct piece of the batting you set aside up against it, matching registration marks. You can hand baste the two pieces of batting together with a tailor tack stitch, or machine baste together with a wide and long zigzag. Smooth the top and backing back and baste the three layers together. Quilt that side, then do the same with the other side.

The reason for cutting the batting in large "S" shapes rather than a straight line is so that there won't be a natural crease line in the quilt when you are finished. A quilt done this way will appear no different than a quilt done with a whole piece of batting, but it will be a lot easier to maneuver under the arm of a domestic machine.

Wow!! What a super idea!!! Thanks so much for sharing!