unuasual quilting idea...will it work and look good?
 

I have a very basic machine so straight or grid quilting is my options. I was thinking of starting at one corner and letting the foot meander on its own and kind of guiding it to the opposit corner. Then begin following that line with the presser foot to the right corner. Of course I would follow the line to the left corner also. So in my mind this would be combining fmq and straight line quilting. Has anyone ever did this or seen it? I only do small quilts like doll and baby. I dont think it would be to hard.

This will be much more interesting than just straight line or SITD. Keep the curves gradual and you should have no trouble, even using a walking foot if your wish. Good luck.

And yes, I have done this with no difficulty.

I agree; especially since I'm not proficient at SITD, I have better luck with gentle curves.

In my mind straight line quilting should be straight. I find it easiest to run a strip of painters tape or masking tape from one corner to the opposing corner for doing that first striaght line on a DSM. Then use the guide on your presser foot. If you wobble or bow out just letting the machine foot meander on the quilt as it goes along, it probably won't look very nice. You will end up with a bowed line that is straight in someplaces and not so straight in others and it will give the appearance that you were being careless and will only be magnified by echoing it over the entire quilt. Better to make it either straight as you possibly can or serpantine it with some sort of regularity. Otherwise it will just look like a straight line of quilting that bowed out in places.

This is of course JMHO and it is your quilt to do with as you wish. And I have seen modern quilts done in a way that does look like a straight line gone awry but I believe the quilter purposely manipulated the line to waver in a specific spot ala Angela Walters.

A better option for a wobbly line is to make it more obviously serpantine or pick an area in the quilt you want the line to gently bow and echo that.

My Brother machine has a serpantine stitch that I enlarge the width and lenght of the stitch so it does a meandering stitch. If you change setting of your stitches you can use the preprogramed designs in your machine. I only do small quilts so the various stitches look nice on them.

there are rulers that are shaped in curves. You might try one of these type and give a definite pattern to the line.
But you can free motion with a regular machine. Get a darning foot for the machine and tape a card or plati over the fee dog and dial the stitch down to 0

I did something similar for a recent show quilt because I didn't want my FMQ to take my quilt out of contention. I did do it in a bit more planned fashion.

I took wide masking tape and made a foot long flat piece with about five layers of tape. I cut a gentle curve along one long edge, similar to a serpentine pattern. I stuck it down to my quilt starting at the spot I wanted to begin and I used my walking foot to stitch along the curve of the masking tape. When I got towards the end of the masking tape, I unstuck the tape and placed it in the next spot and resumed stitching. I repeated until I got to the end of the line.

When the tape lost its stickiness I peeled off the bottommost layer of tape and it was good as new. The good part was that by the time it lost its stickiness I had stitched enough that I didn't need the masking tape template to follow any longer.

This quilt had different size blocks in it and I also made templates for those. The same thing happened; after I used them a few times I no longer needed them.

The quilt took a third place ribbon, so I guess it worked okay, and it looked better than my free motion would have.

Sounds good. Just make sure you are not pulling the quilt as all your stitching will be on the bias, unless the quillt was set on point. I think I would alternate the stitching lines to form an "X" to keep it from skewing. Sew from NW to SE corners, then from SW to NE corners, then keep alternating. This will give a diamond shape pattern rather than channels.

I would not try to do straight lines make them kinda wavy

It's a great idea! I have done it, and it is a *lot* easier than straight-line quilting. I used a walking foot, which was really helpful both in terms of keeping the layers together and helping me keep the curves loose. I actually prefer these wavy lines to straight lines for many quilts. The wavy lines end up with a much softer look to them. And, it has the advantage of being a very easy way to quilt.

It's best not to do a grid; just lines all going in the same direction. As soon as you do a grid, whether the lines are straight or wavy, you run into the problem of tucks and puckers where the lines cross. While this issue can be overcome, it's one that you want to avoid until you are sure you know how to avoid the problems.

I call that "my way" because I can't for the life of me sew a straight line, even if I mark one with a ruler. I recently saw a site somewhere that called it "organic" quilting.

This is how we were shown in a FMQ class I took. Took some getting used to but I like it.
I also use the walking foot on thicknesses.

Thanks to all who gave their opinions on this topic. I learn a lot when I come and read.
Althought I am a handstitcher mostly, I do like to fmq on doll quilts and smaller mini's.

I did your way of wanting to quilt on mug rugs ( I know it is a major size difference) but it worked so well, and looked so nice - I got many compliments of them, as I made them for gifts for Christmas... Good luck - and give it a try....

I really like this idea.
I love that a website calls it "organic", that's great!

I wonder if it would look cool to have them all start close together and then kind fan out and be further apart on the far end? Like rays of sunshine.

Make a practice sandwich of junk fabric and batting and give it a whirl. Better to find you don't like it on a throw away scrap than on the real thing!

I agree with all of this! And you absolutely can do wavy lines with a walking foot - I do it all the time - as long as the curves are gentle.

Alison

Yeah, go for it!

I like the fan idea. Do the first one from corner to corner, then start the next ones a little way from the start of the first. Add lines wherever the lines are getting farther apart, so that the last lines at the bottom of the quilt, and the one side, are getting very short. You will just have to figure out how to finish off the starts of all these lines. I would pull the threads to the back and tie them.

could someone post a picture of this kind of quilting?

A lady at my LQS told me when she SID she does a serpentine stitch on purpose so that she doesn't have to try so hard to stay in the ditch, looks super nice and sounds like it would sure do what you want.

I'm just like you. It's either a grid or the curvy line. (One of my goals now that I'm retired is to get proficient with my Brother 1600 and my Little Gracie frame and maybe try some FMQ.) Anyways, when I do the curvy line, it's a gentle curve back and forth like a lot of big "Ss". Sometimes I do it top to bottom and side to side, sometimes on the diagonal. I use the walking foot and I always start by making an "X" or by going top to bottom, side to side in the middle to anchor the quilt. I start this in the middle and then go out to the edges all four ways and then after this, I just go edge to edge. Don't diss the grid though please. I like the way the grid looks if done evenly which can be a skill on to itself. I once had a quilt shop owner tell me she could never keep the grid evenly spaced and was impressed with my being able to.

My theory is to go with the flow. If you find it difficult to do a totally straight stitch, or just are bored by it, do what you propose. I think it would add your own unique flair to the quilt. I'm thinking of doing the exact same thing for my next project which is a tee shirt quilt I have to have done very fast. I'm the finisher on a group project and have not gotten the blocks yet. I imagine this could be quite quick if you didn't quilt too close together.

Yes I do this frequently and enjoy dialouge lines or slight curves. Makes a interesting quilt pattern that is pleasing to the eye. Do it and enjoy it.

You will love this quilting book: One Line at a Time by Charlotte Warr Andersen. No fmq needed for these designs.

This is so not true. You can do curves with a walking foot! I teach a class on machine quilting with the walking foot and feed dogs up. It is a whole clothe mini quilt. It starts with a center design from a quilting stencil. Then we add the filler quilting usuall a grid. Then we pick a border stecil or when I do borders I have a couple of gret wavy stitches to do in them. Never believe that you can't do curves with a walking foot. I have and I do. Make a practice quilt sandwich. Mark it and follow the lines. if it is a leaf needle down at the point turn the quilt. Line up the line and stitch to the end. You can go over stitching it is done on the longarm all the time. Enjoy the process. Yes you can go from one end to the other through the corners. You may need to speed up as the are bulky seams in the corners then slow down to maintain the straight or curvy line. Luann

Sometimes our weaknesses lead to new strengths. Go for it!

Dawn, depending upon the size of your quilt you plan to do, I would think of starting in the center of the quilt and go to the corner, then return to the center and go to the other corner. I would recommend that you consider this method first, make an x on the quilt with your lines whether curvy or straight lined, By starting in the center of the quilt, you don't have the problem of having a fold near the other edge, than if you started in one corner and went to the other corner. Ask me just how I know, lol. I was straight line quilting on a king size log cabin and started in one corner and continued on the corner and edges first, and ended up with folds on the other edged. Had to rip out all of the stitchin I had completed and start over. Just my opinion, this may not happed to others, but I always start in the center of every quilt I do now, I do not have a LA, and always quilt on my domestic Bernina 930. Good luck show us pics when you finish.

Crafterrn1- I'm very impressed with your quilting with a walking foot. Thank you for showing the picture. Wish you taught in Texas!

I would love to see a picture of the finished quilt if you do it. sounds very interesting

I call it my Wavy Straight line, I teach all my pupils this one as their 1st step in FMQ. I still use it quite a lot for softer bed quilts and quillows.

Sorry the quilts a bit rumpled but I grabbed it from under Muffin!

huh? You can do FMQ with a basic machine. All you have to do is lower/cover the feed dogs and use a FMQ/darning foot. I have done straight line stitching, gentel curves and even echoing with my regular sewing foot. Just go slow and easy Also a problem with your wavy stitching is that it may not anchor down the batting enough. Check you batting package to see the recommended quilting distance. (batting package should say) Also I use invisible thread when I do SID. The new thread is very fine and can not be seen in the "ditch" therefore any uneven stitching does not show. My bobbin is usually the color of the backing . Although I just talked to a FMQ who uses the invisible thread on the bobbin also. Actually I always SID to anchor batting and then do FMQ.

I think what you describe will be pleasing, especially with the repetition of the slightly meandering line to the opposite corner. It will probably look like movement in the breeze. I would try it on a sample first to see just how much curving looks pleasant. You don't want it to look like a "crooked" line. Good luck.