Nanscan

Has anyone tried using the patterned paper that goes over a quilt sandwich in rows and then you free motion quilt onto the paper and tear it off? I've been practicing my meandering skills, but this sounds interesting.

feline fanatic

I have not used the product you are talking about but I have used Golden Thread paper to trace my own design and quilt through that. It is like tracing paper only more crisp (for lack of a better word). I do quilt on a rack mounted longarm though. I had no issues quilting through the paper. Picking the paper out afterwards is a whole other story. Not a fan of doing that, but it is easier to pick the paper out of simple designs that are fairly open as opposed to very intricate designs. If I can't mark the quilt, I would use this product again, but sparingly.

Onebyone

I used it once. Once was enough. It was tedious to tear the paper out of the stitching. If they made wash away quilting row paper then I'd be the first in line. If there is such a product please post the name of it.

Iceblossom

Because of my vision problems I often transfer designs to parchment paper I buy at the dollar store ($1 = 12"x25' roll). Not directly vision related but I can't draw worth a darn either so I will often buy a panto roll and copy that out to sew through it as well. I'm finding my hard won long arm quilting skills are not transferring as well as I'd like to my sit down domestic, big difference in moving the fabric instead of moving the machine.

The parchment paper is in a convenient width and length and I like the price. It holds up better than tissue paper but it tears through relatively easily. If your stitches are good, tearing it out will not give you any issues. I like the consistency I get for all over designs. I can do basic meanders and stipples including shapes like stars or hearts or flowers without paper. Best thing is of course is that no one can ever see your lines and whether you were exactly precise or not.

Finishing up a top right now, thought I should take some pictures during the process but I didn't and I'm basically done. Still have to do another round or two of removing the little "chads" of paper that are left along with some of the border. I do a final wash before I'm done with a project, typically that takes care of anything that lingers.

Downside: It is boring drawing out the lines. The graphite from pencil can transfer into white thread and be difficult to get out. The little bits of paper fluff and static and spread out no matter how neat you try to be. I've also had instances of ink getting stuck in the threads too, I'd suggest a hard narrow mechanical pencil lead. So there is the time front loading the project and then the paper removal, but it gives me the desired results that I don't otherwise get. You are definitely using up your needle when sewing through paper but as I say needles are relatively cheap and I expect to use one per top.

In the case of this photo, I copied the design from a Deb Geissler panto I bought years ago, it had both the border design and an all over pawprint meander. It was easier on the long arm than on my domestic but doable.

You can also make patterns by drawing a design on paper (parchment or other) and sewing through a stack at a time with no thread, the needle punch makes a design you can follow and helps tear out the paper. We had a thread where I posted other pictures of that... will see if I can find it.

Found it in time! Here's that thread:
Custom Quilting on Domestic Machine

AStitchInTime

I did quite a bit when trying to learn how to fmq. It helped me to get use to the timing of my hand movement vs. the speed of my needle, without having to also think about where I was going at the same time...just follow the dotted lines. Once I got the hang of the speed of my machine matching the speed of my quilt moving around, and I wasn't getting a lot of skipped stitches, then I stopped using the papers, by then I also had the eye/hand coordination (and memory) of where/how to do meandering and other simple designs.

And I actually got pretty good at removing all that paper, hint: pointed tweezers and a lint roller are quite helpful!

FWLover

I am just learning FMQ and using the Golden Threads paper. One hint I received here on board was to use smaller stitches. I used a pointed stylus to run alongside the stitching and didn’t have much trouble removing it. I am putting detailed designs I have drawn into the squares. I also learned you can use Collins wash away Wonder Tape to hold paper to fabric. It’s double sided. I tried it on one of practice designs and it does not stick to needle and is supposed to wash out completely. I am using the Bernina 880 with their stitch regulator.

JustAbitCrazy

I use a thin permanent sharpie marker to mark my design on Miracle Film by Marathon. Let it dry overnight or cheat a bit by drying it well with a hair dryer on low heat. (If you don't dry the sharpie well the ink can be transferred to your quilt by the needle going through the sharpie ink.) Miracle Film is a heat away stabilizer so high heat on the hair dryer would not be good to dry it, I'm sure. After stitching through it, it tears away so easily (it's perforated all over) I have never had to use an iron to remove it.

Mkotch

I want to echo the fact that pencil can transfer from Golden Threads paper onto your fabric. It is very stubborn, and I had a hard time washing it out. I found pen worked much better. I also use sharp tweezers to remove the paper. It's great for doing a particular motif over and over, though. I stack up a bunch of squares and run them through the sewing machine without thread. Then I just follow the dots.

littlebitoheaven

I use the Golden Paper, which I like the most but I also buy the newspaper print tablets for kids from Walmart. With the newspaper I am able to print my patterns on my ink jet printer, however, I have also had problems with the dark lines being imbedded under the threads and they are impossible to remove from white fabric. After a few of those problems, I started FMQing just outside the lines. This worked for me. It is slower but the results were better.

Nanscan

Thanks everyone! So many great suggestions to try.