KatieMar

All I have to add to the good advice from the other quilters is to wear quilting gloves. I use the cheap gardening gloves (Atlas Grip) and that helps to keep the quilt moving so it doesn't drag or get stuck.
Katie in The Netherlands

bigsister63

I make my stitches for my SID about 5 and use invisible thread on the top amd matching thread on the bottom. The invisible thread does not show so if you are not perfect with your SID it does not show. I often do not use a walking foot but rather use my regular foot and raise the presser foot tension and keep the feeddogs up. Also your quilt may be dragging causing the stitches to be crooked and actually become smaller. If you can try to get a larger sewing area that will support your quilt. Here is a link to the sewing machine table that my DH made me and it was cheap and works great. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g14govA4pIM I ususally keep this table up and on my machine all the time and it gives me a great work surface. One key to sucess is to have your machine even with any work space that you have so the quilt is not drag.Even if you have an extension table 0n your machine the quilt will still drag causing problems. You can either drop your machine to table level or raise table level to the machine height. as this linek shows. Good luck!!!!! You can do it!!!!!

solstice3

I use my walking foot, longer stitches and try to support the project. I am far from perfect in SID but then there has only been I perfect person!

maviskw

Having a sewing surface the same level as your machine is the most important step. The bigger the better. The one bigsister has is fine. I have a desk with a hole in for my machine. My SIL made one for the other machine with left over flooring.
The next important is to be able to grip your quilt. Quilting gloves have been suggested. If you want to try that you can use the latex gloves that you get by the hundred used for serving food. It doesn't matter if they have holes in them. You just need sticky fingers.
Are you sure your quilt is basted well? I used to use pins (now I use glue), but the pins acted as little handles to "get a grip on it".

irishrose

What year is your Elna? My 1973 SU has a self adjusting presser foot and it's tighter than I want for SITD. I have done a quilt on it with the walking foot, but it wasn't as easy with a machine that can have the pressure adjusted. I. too, think FMQ is much easier, but not on Miss Elna. She is my apparel machine.

Busy Quilter

Just a note, I use my adjustable ironing board behind my machine to give me more table space when quilting. This helps give the quilt someplace to go and doesn't drag because it is falling to the floor...

sulyle

If you have a serpentine stitch on your machine, it works better then stitch in the ditch but basically serves the same purpose. You just don't have to worry about the basically impossible task of keeping the stitches in the ditch. I got this tip at a machine quilting class recently and it's saving my sanity. Also you need the proper setup, a table behind the table that holds your machine and one next to it will help support the weight of your quilt. I also usually wind up throwing part of quilt over my shoulder to support it.

margecam52

When I quilted a queen size quilt on my home machine (long time ago)...I pushed my dinner table into a corner of the room, so the left corner and oposite side of the table from where I put my machine would be pushed against a wall...you want there to be no way for the quilt to hang over the back or side edges of the table.

Put your sewing machine on the right front of the table. Then you put the bulk of the quilt on the dinner table..scrunch the quilt until you are in the middle of the quilt...pushing the excess on the right against the machine on the right (throat space). This way you are only worried about 1/4 of the quilt at a time..for a king size quilt..that's baby/lap quilt size. You want to start in the center...SID to the first set of blocks...don't try to outline a block...go down to the bottom of the quilt...repeat for each vertical seam in that section.

Repeat, rotating the quilt for each section (try to leave basting pins where you can as you go). Rotate to the left..this puts that section at the top right..leave it for now..and start with the bottom quarter section.

SID, starting at the center of the quilt...repeat the above.

Rotate the quilt one turn to the left (same as above)...this will put the two sections with SID at the top...you are always working in the bottom right corner when stitching...Stitching from center down.
Repeat this one more time.

Now You will pick up the unstitched rows...working from the upper right of the quilt...stitch in the ditch from the top edge (nearest the top center edge) down to the center where you already stitched. Rotate to the left and repeat to SID all the bloc lines.

It takes longer, but this keeps you from stitching long lines (which can pull the quilt out of shape). When you are done, you will be less frazzled and the quilt will look more uniform. Once this is done ...and you want to add quilting inside the blocks ...your quilt is well stabilized and any freehand you do in them will be easier to do.

I tore my hair out on the first log cabin quilt I tried to do...went to a little quilt shop and the owner showed me this method..She said the supporting table makes for less fatigue, and rotating keeps the quiting uniform.
Hope this helps you.

quilterjody

I scribed for a quilt judge once. She said stitch in the ditch is one of the hardest ways to quilt a quilt. It does take a lot of patience and practice.

nativetexan

do you have a quilting foot on? they do help feed the fabric through easier. and a longer stitch length. and no drag on the quilt helps too. support it and don't let it pull.