I'm using a Pfaff Creative 1471. I finally figured out the presser foot setting to use - it's surely not clear in the manual! :? I've scoured the internet sites and youtube for help with FMQ.

Basically they all pretty much say to practice every day for 2 years and you might eventually get the hang of it. I think you must also have to hold your tongue right, turn your fingers into rubber, and mindmeld with the machine.

My hardest things to conquer are regulating speed, stitch length, and a wonky bobbin thread that wants to peek thru the top.

Any hints or words of wisdom?

Yes! Practice, practice, practice. Don't give up if mastery don't happen right away. It takes time.

Yes! The magic word is PRACTICE! I know it's a bummer but that is what it takes. I think the one of the hardest things for me to learn was how to stop without a jump in my stitching.

I feel your pain!!
Have you seen these video? I've only watched the first 2 but she is easy to listen to and demonstrates well

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39I5A...layer_embedded

It's called Xanax and a margarita.

I've heard an 'adult' beverage will help...:) seriously!

Thank you for sharing, I have added it to my favorites.

I finally gave up tried hand quilting. Much less frustrating for me...

It must be "try and cry" FMQ day. I've been making quilts for 20+ years, hand quilting and machine quilting straight lines only. So I have great machines with which to FMQ, I've read some recommended books, and I tried it early this morning. Hundreds of thousands of people do this, right? So no tension problems, no eyelashes, but it was just awful. I think everything is set just fine, because the stitch line is great except that it's jerky, ugly, and inconsistent. I could feel the thread's shame and disappointment at being involved. I can't trace a line, make any attractive shape, nothing nice at all. I sewed out a bobbin's worth on a 12"x 18" piece, which I then took directly to the rabbit cage to die the worst death any quilt can as a peed-upon chew rug. I went back to bed. Later, when I opened my thread drawer, the quilting weight threads were all cowering in fear. Even the piecing thread looked nervous. The worst of the whole story is that I was using the Bernina 440 with BSR, which is supposed to help, right? So I know it takes practice, but I'm pretty discouraged. It's also not AT ALL fun. Which is crazy, too...fabric :) + batting :) + thread :) + Bernina :))) = sad and sore like I did too much yard work.

I could use a healthy dose of that right now! LOL!!

a good piece of advise I got was to draw the design out first to so you create the muscle memory. People learn by repetition. The idea there is to repeat it so much with pen and paper so that when you start quilting your hands will naturally follow that same motion.

I'm with you though, it's been one of the toughest things I've ever tackled. I'll get there by golly.

I love this! Maybe it wouldn't have taken me so long to learn.

I love this! ROFLOL! I have my grandson's quilt all sandwichedd and ready to go do some FMQ but... it intimidates me.
A grown woman, intimidated my some fabric.

It's like patty your head and rubbing your belly at the same time!

Practice is the answer, sorry to say.

Adjust your tension if the thread is popping up, usually one click at a time until it stops.

Slow the speed down on your machine if you have that capability, if not, then rest your foot half off the petal so you can't press fully and that may help to slow down the speed.

I have always found it easier to move sideways when fmq, I seem to be able to coordinate the movement easier. So experiment, see what works for you to enable to keep the stitches even. We all have a different coordination system, so what works for one, may not work for another.

Good luck, stay with it, it is worth the effort. Once you master it, you can pick up the speed, so don't feel like you have to be a speed demon at first. Speed comes later. Right now focus on the stitch evenness.

I feel your pain. I've been practicing for what seems like forever to FMQ. Here are a few things that I have found to help:

If your machine has a speed adjustment, set it at a comfortable speed (for me that's pretty slow).

For those peeking bobbin threads, try adjusting the top tension a smidge lower so the top thread isn't pulling your bobbin thread to the top.

Take the curves slower, on my machine this is where I get "eyelashes", by slowing down I have cut down on the eyelash effect.

And finally, don't clench your teeth. I literally have to sew with my mouth open so I don't clench my teeth. This helps me stay relaxed so I don't go nuts and start sewing at supersonic speeds.

Hope this helps!

Yes, I would love some of that fairy dust please - I have a difficult time with FMQ - and I have a longarm - its frustuating to me - I envy those on here that are so good at it.

If you do find that fairy dust I'll buy some from you! :lol:

I have only been fmq-ing for about 9 months. In addition to the above suggestions (the best being to practice, practice, practice), a seasoned quilter told me to make sure to "puddle" the fabric around the needle. In other words, create a nest with the fabric bunched up on the flat surface around the needle to take the pressure off.

My fmq-ing isn't perfect, but this suggestion really helped.

I'll take some fairy dust too. I keep telling myself it cant be this difficult. I keep practicing and one day it will work.

Too funny!

Seriously, it does just take practice. There were some things I wasn't good at, so I kept working on the ones I was good at, like loops and swirls. Then I moved on to other shapes. Now I'm pretty comfortable. Still haven't attempted feathers on anything but practice sandwiches, but do see myself doing it on a real quilt before too long.

Don't worry about perfection. Once the quilt is washed it will shrink up and pucker a bit. The things you worry about likely won't even be noticeable. Relax and enjoy it!

LOL--that might make me feel better the next day

:lol:

I found it easier to learn on smaller pieces rather than an entire quilt.

My machine has a speed control so you can't get going faster than what you set the speed at. This really helped me. I have to go somewhat fast to get more even stitches.
HTH

One of our sheets ripped so I kept the top sheet to cut up and use for practice. It's pretty worn so I don't feel badly about making the sacrifice. I'm going to make a bunch of practice sandwiches and then just try to practice a lot!

Maia, you're cracking me up! BUT I KNOW EXACTLY HOW YOU FEEL.

I, after reading all these comments and suggestions, am feeling much better. I don't have the margarita fixins right now, but I might have a stray muscle relaxer in the bottom of my purse. Better go look...

:thumbup: Yes! I knew there was a solution out there! There was just that little missing ingredient...speed slower, yes...go in the same direction, yes...buy a new bobbin case, yes...consider a shoulder transplant, oh, no!
thanks diane!!

Ok, take my advice with a grain of salt , please, as I have yet to master FMQ, but I Have been improving. The greatest advice I got, is to start with practicing FMQ your name, yes all connected in small letters...you know they say if you can't draw it, you can't quilt it, pick the designs that are easiest for you to draw, and just keep drawing it until your hands know their way...stippling is not necessarily the easiest, I personally find loops much easier to do. Once you are comfortable with your name, move on to other letters, words and then move on from there, but always practice it on paper first, and it does take practice, practice, practcie :mrgreen:

Good luck, it will get more fun!

I have a few suggestons.

For easy practice, look in the remnant bins for prequilted fabric and use that to practice on.

Be sure you are pulling your bobbin thread up to the top of the fabric before starting, and dropping your feed dogs.

You need to be moving your quilt as fast as you are stitching it. If you don't have a matching rhythm between your moving the quilt and the needle going up and down in the quilt, you will have loops on the bottom of your quilt. So find the speed that you work at the best.

Put your needle in the down position so when you stop, the needle will be in the fabric.

Turn your machine around to face you. When you look at FMQ set ups like the Flynn or the HQ Sweet Sixteen or the Easy Quilter Track System, the machines are all facing you.

If you have a bed attachment on your machine, invest in one of those silicon slider sheets that help the fabric move smoothly back and forth. I think it's called a Silicon Slider but you can also get a silicon oven liner at Bed Bath and Beyond that works great and is cheaper.

Then practice. You can do it, just start with easy meandering lines first and work your way up.

And add wine, lots and lots of wine.

In other words, take a Xanax to calm you down so your motions aren't jerky, just relaxed and s l o w. Then take the margarita so that when you're done, you don't care anyway!

Drawing a simple design on paper without lifting the pencil is most helpful. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. After you have drawn the simple design and feel you can do it (it does not have to be perfect--you are looking for smoothness), now take your well basted practice piece to the machine. Without engaging the needle or motor, move the fabric under your darning foot, just like you would if your foot were on the pedal. Repeat until the motion feels natural. When ready, engage. Remember to breathe.

If I can FMQ anyone can believe me. It is like climbing a very steep hill-- sticking with it is the tough part. Once you are over the hump it does get easier. Trying to challenge myself to do different designs. But my firsts 4 or 5 were stippled/ that is the easiest one to start with. I initially swirled the quilt around when quilting. The four kings I just quilted I placed masking tape across the middle and quilted half of the quilt at a time going left to right, back to the middle and over to the right and back. Then rotated to the unfinshed half and repeated the procedure. Clear as mud, right?

yes!!! and some more practice!!!

It doesn't have to look utterly perfect, remember. Just finish and wash the quilt, and let the magic happen. You don't need it to look like it was done following a program by a longarm. FMQ by hand, on a regular machine, has it's own charm.

Thank you for this tut!!!!! This was VERY informative

Your machine can make quite a difference too. I was a marginally ok free motion quilter on my Viking. It was stressful and a chore and I ripped out a lot, but I could do it, with gritted teeth.

When I got a Bernina w/ BSR, it was so much easier and more pleasant, and my results were dramatically better, which meant that I did it much more, (aka practice) -- so it's a cycle of improvement.

While Pfaffs are great machines, particularly for precise piecing, they probably are not the most free motion friendly. This is entirely my own biased opinion, and doubtless many world famous free motion quilters will now disagree with me. But if you find free motion work very frustrating, consider trying a different machine-- swap with a friend, try out a demo or rent a store model.

RST

3Ps: Prepare your space and machine, Practice every day, Persevere. Actually I teach FMQ and here are my favorite hints: go slowly to get the hang of moving your fabric. Getting your motion, needle speed and stitch length together is like learning to drive a stright drive transmission: you are looking for your sweet spot. As for your thread tension, if your bobbin thread is peaking up, your top thread tension is too tight. I always start with the tension loose and tighten up incrementally while I warm up. You will need to tweak your tension every time you sit down to sew as temperature and humidity changes can affect your thread. But don't fret too much about the tension, when you wet and block you quilt, the amount it draws up will hide a lot of tension problems! Don't give up!

3Ps: Prepare your space and machine, Practice every day, Persevere. Actually I teach FMQ and here are my favorite hints: go slowly to get the hang of moving your fabric. Getting your motion, needle speed and stitch length together is like learning to drive a stright drive transmission: you are looking for your sweet spot. As for your thread tension, if your bobbin thread is peaking up, your top thread tension is too tight. I always start with the tension loose and tighten up incrementally while I warm up. You will need to tweak your tension every time you sit down to sew as temperature and humidity changes can affect your thread. But don't fret too much about the tension, when you wet and block you quilt, the amount it draws up will hide a lot of tension problems! Don't give up!

WINE machinger gloves WINE sharp needle WINE and don't forget to breath. Oh and sometimes WINE. lol Works for me everytime.

You all crack me up lol lol lol but I like the concept....

I use a 1471 as well and have just started doing FMQ. I practiced on the French Roses bed runner and by the end of doing that I think I have almost got the hang of it. If I can help with your machine just PM me. Took me a little while to figure it out too. I am not all that good at it but am comfortable doing it now.

lol!!! now that sounds like a plan, I want to see your FMQ!