|
Old mattress pads are perfect for practice! :D
|
I bind them and then donate them to my local church group where they are used in a nursery setting. I suppose a daycare could also use them.
|
I practice on scraps.
|
I go to quilting classes at the local adult school. The teacher gave us sheets of paper with different designs. She told us to use an old needle and sew over the papers to practice (no thread). It's kind of hard to move the paper around. You're supposed to hold your fingers spread out over the paper as if it is fabric but you have to pick the paper up between your fingers to get it going. Then after practicing a couple of weeks we copied the designs on fabric then made a fabric sandwich. We used different colored thread for the bobbin and top thread so we could see our stitches. I'm still practicing but still doing stich in the ditch. One of these days .....
|
you may be able to download an instruction book for your sewing machine on the manufacturers site on the web - I dont know anything about fmq either
|
A woman from my quilt guild gave a great tip for fmq - make small practice sandwiches with the leftovers from your project. Set your stitch length and tension until you get the stitch you want. Practice your stitching on the sandwich to see the stitching. Then with a fabric marker - write the tension and stitch length on the sandwich. If you are continuously changing your dials it will be easy to duplicate the stitch. I always think I can remember but it is not always the case. When I have practiced to death my sandwiches I usually put another piece of fabric on top until I have my stitch perfected. Saves fabric and batting!
|
When I needed to practice some quilting I made seat mats for the car. I have leather seats and in the summer I wear shorts and I really hate being stuck to the seats so I made a quilted, bound square for my seat. My granddaughter calls it "the butt thing," LOL. She wants me to make her one too. I need to practice free motion on my new machine anyway.
|
Originally Posted by scrappycats
I understand that I am not the only person that needs to practice Free Motion quilting (is that what it is called?)before being good enough to do a quilt, but just what do you do with all your practice pieces?
I just threw away a few muslin sandwiches (about 15 inches square) that I quilted the tar out of over and over again trying to get the technique down. But, sure hate throwing fabric and batting away. I did do a piece yesterday that I added a zipper to and made into a notions bag to carry to the LQS. But, I need more, much more practice and I was wondering what ya'll learned/practiced on. I spent part of last Sunday practicing FMQ too. Now I wish I had made my practice pcs. larger to make them into something. I finally gave upon the scraps & got out a tablerunner I made a few yrs. back but used a higher loft batting so I didn't really like it. I FMQ the heck out of it & I got so excited & did the whole runner. I was so happy with the freedom I felt once I saw the outcome. Now I won't be so afraid of it anymore. Prob. I had though was if I wanted to go faster, instead of remembering to move the fabric myself, I'd speed up the machine. I am so proud of myself. |
Originally Posted by nursie76
Originally Posted by aneternalpoet
Ok, that explains it some for me.. Not sure how to drop the feed dogs, but will find out. But what you are saying about the special foot, that means to buy the quilting foot that is talked about? My adopted Quilting Mommy, lol, explained about that foot, so it sounds like I need to find out how to order one for my machine, since Walmart probably doesnt have them..
thanks. |
i used black fabric top & bottom & then used varigated threads in each family member's favorite color. after i practiced, i cut them to fit my dining room chairs. after i put the binding on, free chairpads!
|
| All times are GMT -8. The time now is 12:48 PM. |