I just cannot get stippling, or just meandering! No matter how hard I try, my stippling comes out bunched, uneven stitches, and just looking a mess! I know just relax and let it flow.... but, even if I am slowly stitching it looks just a mess. Any ideas?

I am waiting for those answers too lol

the first time I did it, I bought a stippling stencil and marked the quilt. It gave me a good idea of the feel of it and turned out great. I'd recommend that until you're more comfortable with it.

The same way you get to Carnegie Hall...Practice, Practice, Practice. It took hours of practice before I got it. Personally, I couldn't use a pattern, but it is worth a try for you. The combination of stitch speed, and fabric manipulation is the magic combination. The results are worth the frustration.

have you tried doing just one single block at a time? then put together in quilt as you go form.
I'm still having troubles myself and have done it off and on for years!

Try drawing it on paper until you have a shape that you like. People all do stippling different. I have an idea in my mind what I want it to look like, that helps me a lot.

Try practicing writing your name in cursive. It is the most natural and familiar curves that we are used to. :wink:
Vary the speed of your machine, move your hands at the same speed til you find the right combo :D:D:D

I forgot to drop my feed dogs one time when I was free motion quilting and found that my stitches improved 100%. No kidding. I still used the darning foot which allowed for plenty of room to freely move the fabric. Not sure why it works, but it really truly does!

Wow, great ideas.... I did drop the feed dogs....hmmmm, maybe I will lift them back up...try it anyways...

I started using a darning foot and my stitches look so much better.

I've accidently left the feed dogs up and it doesn't work well on my machine. It grabs the fabric too much.

Practice a lot! It's the only way. Another thing that helps is to make sure the quilt can move freely. If you need to put another table nearby to support the weight, do so. It helps quite a bit. With practice, you will learn what speed works best for the machine and your hands.

I found it hard to do stippling at first. I'm getting better at it though. I do best with loops, stars, curliques. So that's mostly what I do since it looks the best. After awhile, you will find that the back looks as good as the front. I haven't done a whole lot of FMQ, maybe 6 or so quilts, but am now comfortable flipping my quilt over and quilting from the backside if I need to. For example, to quilt around the designs in the backing fabric.

For me the hardest thing to get used to was that I did not have to move in a straight line. Once I got the darning foot and let the thing move freely, it became easier. It does take getting used to though. I have only machine quilted 6 quilts...and this most recent one is tons better!!!

My friend told me you couldn't stipple without a couple of glasses of wine. She was right!!! It worked so much better. LOL

Before stippling, set your machine up for the performance -

1. make sure the feed dog is down (or put your darning plate on)

2. increase the size of the stitches per inch

3. test the tension with a swatch so you can adjust it

4. use a new needle

5. make sure you use quilting thread and that the needle isn't too small for the thread. If it is the thread will keep breaking

6. be patient, be patient, be patient, practice, practice, practice

7. did I say be patient and practice a lot???????

Put a sample together (top fabric, batting, bottom fabric) and take your time. It's a "hands-on" kind of thing you just have to work at. Be patient. You can't rush this process. You will find that in time your technique will get better.

Use a pencil on a piece of paper and stipple with that first. Just get an idea of what you need to do with the pencil. This seems to help lessen the hesitation. Get comfortable with it. Get ideas from magazines or pictures and continue rolling your pencil all over the paper. No need to lift the pencil. After you have some idea of what to do, you won't hesitate when you work on your quilt. There are pencils and stencils to use as a guide if you want a particular design, but that will come in time.

At first I wasn't sure what type of squiggly line to make. I found loops to be easy and large L's too. Those overlap. The other type is what looks like a puzzle piece. No map on that, its basically freestyle.

Good luck and enjoy the stippling technique. You will find your comfort zone in time.

PS: When I get frustrated with it, I resort to my stash of Jack Daniels above the stove. LOL really!

You can photo copy the stipple template then place the paper on your quilt and sew over the papers, that's what I did to practice, of course then you have to tear away the papers. Now I can stipple t
With the best. Good luck.

The first time I did it I used my pounce pad and a stencil and that helped me alot. I can't do it slow though. I have to move my fabric fairly quickly. It just works best for me.

Fast machine and slow hands.

I also set my stitches to zero instead of longer.

Now I just use my table top frame and older Pfaff. Works much better and easier on the shoulders/arms.

Can you take a picture of it, front and back? nThat would help.

Dropping the feed dogs is a quilt police thing. I took a class and she said it is good to leave them up but lower your foot pressure to zero when first starting. Helped me a ton!

I agree. The stencil helps a lot and Practice is the most important thing. And taking your time. :-D

So what would one use to mark the quilt with? A chalk pencil? I have some of those.

Lots of practice (I'm still working on this part) and I set the stitch length to zero. Machine doesn't drop feed dogs so I use the supreme slider over the feed dogs and that works pretty well. On a cheapy Brother machine.

Ok here is a picture of my experiance with Free Motion..... AUGGGG!!!!!!!

Not bad. The first time I tried it, it was in the morning after about 3 cups coffee!!! Needless to say, pedal to the metal and off I went!!! What a mess! I couldn't stop! No more coffee before I stipple, that is for sure!

Oops, forgot to answer your question, I use the Pounce Pad. Or for free hand drawing, I use chalk.

It appears to be very bumpie to me.....maybe need to flatten it out as I sew....thats what I am trying now....it is looking a little better.....hmmmm....

It looks pretty good, you're not having any tension problems, you just need practice, it does get better, and easier with practice. Yes, you have to flatten it as you go, but it will become second nature with practice.

I agree, it looks like you need to hold it tighter. do you have the machiner gloves? If not a pair of rubber kitchen gloves works too or even latex gloves (all 3 are cheap and worth it) really helps a BUNCH

Thank you. I think I will go with the chalk pencil since I already some of those.

Ok, stupid question, well 2 actually. Can you iron the chalk? and does it just wash out? I wash all quilts after they are done.

and I don't drink coffee, but WINE sure creates awesome results! lol

I learned from another thread on the board to turn my machine. I move the right side of my machine to the back. This way, I have complete freedom to move my fabric right and left. It felt like I was trying to write with the wrong hand for awhile, but after I got used to it, it is the only way I can FMQ now.

Well.....day 2 or 3 don't remember....my free motion is getting better.....yesterday I must of spent 8 hours trying!!!! M y rounding areas are getting better.... I put a pattern on my fabric and tried following it.....

It takes awhile! The best thing about using a pattern like that is when you tear it away, you don't see how far off you were! It's looking good, keep at it and you will feel better about it the more you do.