Stitchnripper

I have quilted up to a king size stitch in the ditch on a dinky Brother mechanical and everything in between. I can do a respectable FMQ on the dinky Brother too. Sometimes it takes some struggle, but, I am happy with the outcome. Not perfect, but, good enough for me.

alisonquilts

I quilt my stuff (up to oversize king) on my Kenmore 385. I do the "puddling" method like so many others, and I still baste with safety pins for my larger quilts (starting to use glue for the little ones). I don't do a lot of fancy FMQ on big quilts, unless it is at the edges where it is easier to manouver.

I found it made a huge difference to wear grippy gloves - I use "Machingers", but lots of other options - and I found staying conscious of my posture important, too. I have a tendency to let my shoulders creep up by my ears which is exhausting AND makes it harder to slide your quilt around smoothly!

You can definitely do this, and I bet you'll be pleased by the results fairly quickly!

Alison

quilter1943

I quilted a king size on my viking designer11. Wearing quilting gloves and accordian pleating instead of rolling helped me. My machine has a little more throat room than some brands.


Thanks for the idea of pleating instead of rolling. I'm going to start quilting a king sized quilt for us on my Mega Quilter. The throat is wider, but it's going to be a challenge, I'm sure.

QuilterMomOf3

I ended up taking this class, which teaches 5 ways to quilt a large on your normal machine:
http://www.craftsy.com/class/Quiltin...all-Machine/51

Annaquilts

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...e-t191035.html

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...4-t173170.html

http://www.quiltingboard.com/picture...p-t101630.html

http://www.quiltingboard.com/main-f1...ne-t94447.html

I had 3 of my children get married in a little over a year. Too many large quilts on a regular sewing machine. ~smile~

I spray basted the quilts and pinned around the edge only. DH marked them with crayola washable markers (besure not too iron and was two to threee times to get all the marks out before drying.) I puddle, meaning start in the center and work my way outward. sometimes I go along rows. It all depends on the pattern. If you can do the center, you can do the whole quilt. I use machinger quilting gloves. Get a real small size so they fit thight.

ckcowl

i've done many queen sized quilts on my domestic- the viking, the janome & my little 1956 singer 99-K; i like using my small machines for (close- detailed) quilting. i use the long-arm for large easy flowing designs...the small machines for tiny (up=close & personal) quilting. i baste well (usually with the long arm) then i puddle...it works well for me.

toolazy

My few quilts, mostly @ full size, have all been quilted on our regular machines (either the Singer 301A or Pfaff 1540). Worked fine for lines without a lot of close turns. On the last one I did outline some fairly complicated shapes so the quilt had to make @ 2 full turns for each one. I won't do that again LOL .

For the 301A, I thread-basted. For the Pfaff, I just used a few safety pins and I do mean a few; it has the dual feed so things don't shift much as you're sewing.

For relatively straight lines from one side or end of the quilt to the next, I roll or accordian-fold the excess. For more complicated things, I just sort of bunch it up so it's easier to manipulate on a turn.

charsuewilson

I do most of my quilting on a regular sized machine (Singer Touch and Sew) or Pfaff 2xxx. I puddle like many others here. i've tried the Flynn frame for some smaller quilts. Spray basting has worked better for me than pin basting. For the next quilt, I'm going to try piecing the batting and quilting in sections. I already have a wide back, so the only thing left to cut is the batting. I've read about a number of techniques, but most end up with a sashing between blocks, and those that don't, end up with a back being pieced.

justflyingin

Yes, definitely. I squished and shoved!...then I got a Horizon!

Writergrrl

Sierra, I love what you're saying. I make my quilts for friends and loved ones, too, and I think the imperfections are a sign of my love and labor!