Quilting on a Designated home machine
 

For those of use who no not use a long arm, but who quilt on their home machine I have one question. Do you mark your quilting pattern first or simply wing it?

Sometimes I mark it. I’ve used a Hera marker and washable pens. I do not use the heat erase pens as they can leave trace marks. I had this happen on some but not others so test if using the heat erase pens. I’ve also traced a design onto examination table paper (purchased online), pinned it to the top of the quilt and then quilted through it. And sometimes, I just wing it. It really depends on the quilt I’m working on. And my mood at the time😬

I have a lot of trouble following lines so I just wing it.

On my domestic machine, I usually SITD. Also, automated stitching in the middle of a 1" border. For anything more complicated, I use washable markers. Just stocked up during back-to school sales. I even draw stitching lines for ruler work. If I could trace around/accent items in the fabric print, I would free hand. I decided that I would not improve unless I practiced, and you gotta start somewhere!

I always mark mine as I like all the blocks to have the same repeat design. I use washable Crayola markers. It makes quick work when quilting as I don't have to think through each design. I just follow the lines.

With my vision issues and my scrappy style of quilting, I can't see most lines. For fancier designs I've spent a lot of time stitching through paper. I've tried tissue paper and newsprint, but now I buy rolls of cheap parchment paper from the dollar store. The roll is 1 foot wide by 10-12 feet long. I will either draw or buy a pantograph for my base design and then with the parchment paper on top, I simply copy the design with pencil. Warning: If you are quilting with white thread there is a small chance the graphite will rub off and be almost impossible to get out of the thread so I do not recommend with white thread on a white background.

I can freehand basic meandering designs, adding in motifs like stars or flowers or loops or whatever. I do have to keep on top of myself to keep spacing consistent and not quilt myself into corners... Typically with my queen sized projects I do pretty simple designs in the body of the quilt, and then maybe something a bit more intricate on the borders.

For basic functional use blanket quilts like my donation projects and ones I know will be washed a lot, I do a some sort of simple grid but use a serpentine stitch.

I use what Quiltingcotton uses, Crayola Ultra Washable markers. I mark a design and follow it. I do this when I'm quilting on my Cutie breeze frame or using table top machine. For straight lines I use a long straight edge ruler, I have a four foot and six foot one. They are 2" wide so it's perfect for crosshatching lines.

Boy! This is a BIG question. I read a few books on the subject, and my favorite is," Machine Quilting Solutions", by Christine Maraccini. It has the most informative teaching methods and great advice on all the things you need to get started. I am wondering if you could check it out from your local library before buying it. I researched the subject of machine quilting, and this book was so great they taught classes from it here in my area. (I could not afford to take the class.) I bought it and read it and refer back to it often when I start a new quilting session.
Spend a little time to read up on quilting. It will make you much more confident.

I use my walking foot most of the time. It allows me to quilt gentle curve which I mark with a water erase pen. I do larger quilts in sections or rows. I foun Marti Michell’s book helpful.

I was gifted a container of Taylor's chalk in several colors. I use this for marking my quilts. I like the white and blue colors best. I also have a chalk pencil by Clover that is refillable and makes a fine line. Both brush off easily and give me enough visual guidance to good simple quilting. I used to use the disappearing markers, but the lines would dissappear too quickly 😊