springmama

I'm working on my first quilt. This is the pattern I'm using-

http://www.freequiltpatterns.info/qu...e-patterns.htm

It's Lu Lus YoYos if the link doesn't work.

Anyway, I've got the quilt top done and I'm nervous about the next steps.

There are lots of tutorials for how to sandwich all three layers together and I think I'm comfortable layering, then pinning, then basting....

but the quilting part scares me. What do I do when I get to that part? I've never done this before. The pattern just says to quilt it, but how?

I know, dumb question.

FYI, I'm using a Featherweight.

Is there a tutorial for basic machine quilting for a first timer? I really need someone to hold my hand through this process and I cannot find a website to do that.

dkabasketlady

I sent that same pattern to my DM to make and she has it done! She's a handquilter so no help to you! I'm sure someone will have the answer for you. It just looks like a meandering all-over to me, but I don't do that either!

BKrenning

You can tie it instead of quilting it or try hand quilting it. Your other option is to get it all laid out & pin basted, then try to stitch in the ditch with your sewing machine--stitch next to the seam lines of blocks on the side where you haven't pressed over the seam. You could also drop your feed dogs (if you can do that on a FW), make a puddle around your needle by rolling up the edges of the quilt and clipping it somehow if it's very big and start free motion quilting.

emt2004

I would love to do that quilt also, I was wondering about the quilting myself. Do you quilt it before you put the appliques on or after & how would you quilt it? Hope someone comes along to answer our questions......Was the quilt hard to do?.....Michele

icon17

1st there are no dumb ?'s I would quilt in the ditch and maybe theres a how to on this site. Only thing is a feather weight has such a small work space. I have one too! love it!

Prism99

There are a lot of YouTube videos that demonstrate machine quilting. Watching a few of those should help you narrow down what kind of technique you want to use.

Does anyone quilt on a featherweight? There is very little room under the arm.

Also, if you do quilt using the featherweight, I recommend spray basting instead of pinning. (Actually, I recommend spray basting over pinning anyway!) I would be afraid the pins would scratch the finish on my featherweight. I also highly recommend heavily starching the backing fabric before layering to help reduce the chance of puckers on the back.

What I would recommend is making up a few practice sandwiches to work on your quilting before tackling the actual quilt. Ideally, you want to outline your major shapes first, then fill in the background.

You don't have to make a yo-yo, but I would sew some of the rick-rack to an 18" square before sandwiching to see if you can outline quilt around the rick-rack, yo-yos and leaves. Basically you want to outline around each flower first. Because of the tight curves, you will have to sew slowly and lift the presser foot to adjust the fabric frequently. Try this with both a walking foot and regular foot. Especially if you have starched heavily first, the regular foot might be easier to use for this. Be sure to check underneath to make sure you aren't getting puckers!

To fill in the large spaces, I recommend using a walking foot and doing large wavy lines, starting at an edge. When you get to a flower outline, lift the presser foot frequently and sew gradually as you turn the quilt around, then quilt large wavy lines back to the edge.

The quilt in the picture was quilted with free-motion quilting, which can take awhile to master. You won't get exactly the same kind of quilting with a walking foot the way I described, but it will have a similar feel. Quilting wavy lines with a walking foot is *much* easier for most beginners than free-motion quilting.

Edit: Just wanted to add that quilting from an edge, turning around at a flower outline, and quilting back to the edge ensures that you won't end up with a lot of thread ends to bury. All of the thread ends will be locked inside the binding. And, at the top of the quilt where you won't have a flower outline stopping you, you can just quilt from one edge to the other.

Good luck!

springmama

Thanks so much for all of the pointers! I will get some basting spray and watch some youtube videos and practice before I get started.

I have decided not to do the yoyos on this one, just because the fabrics I'm using aren't pastel and cutesy like the ones used in the example. I don't think the yo yos would look right on this. Plus, I'm in a hurry to get to the quilting part just to see if I can do it.

I do have a 15-91, a 301a and a 503a "Rocketeer" I should probably pull one out to finish this project, but I just got the featherweight for an anniversary gift and I am in love so I wanted to use it for this project.

I am paying attention to all of these suggestions, so if anyone wants to share more advice, keep it coming :) Thanks!

jlong

I usually do a practice piece when doing a new technique. Your other machines were the top of Singer's line in their heyday. I'm drooling here. They have the muscle and throat needed for quilting.

Sew and Sew

Well I love that pattern and just completed a lap quilt for my grown daughter. She is a scrapbooker and has a small sofa and tv in there for her getaway..........I made it to match and be a "happy quilt". I will try and send a picture later, when I can get it off of the camera. I "tied mine".