Am I the Only Quilter Who Thinks Stippling is Hard?
10-19-2010, 09:03 AM
#122
Junior Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Murrells Inlet, SC
Posts: 153
Originally Posted by kit'smamma
No help from me. I bunch up the shoulder and neck and start along nicely for about an inch and when I try to change directions I twitch and have points instead of curves, lines cross, the machine gets away from me. I like to hand quilt but seldom do it because I fritter away so much of my day on this infernal computer among other things and hiking with the pooches (mine are: Kit, a field bred Springer who is suffering from PTSD and Rocky, a rescue of undetermined breeding, sort of like a Border Collie with short hair). These 73 year old hands are getting pretty arthritic too. I have a Janome 6600 which doesn't have a stitch regulator but I can set the speed down so that helps if I do my usual death grip on the quilt along with the foot on the floor boards so to speak.
By the way, doesn't Bernina have an after market stitch regulator? I don't know which models it will work on but it would certainly be a great help to you. If one were available for my machine I'd find the money.
Kit's Mamma (she's the Springer named for the black and white snow fox)
By the way, doesn't Bernina have an after market stitch regulator? I don't know which models it will work on but it would certainly be a great help to you. If one were available for my machine I'd find the money.
Kit's Mamma (she's the Springer named for the black and white snow fox)
10-19-2010, 05:24 PM
#123
Junior Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: California
Posts: 298
I've been practicing stippling for about a year now and I like doing it. I think I like the micro stipple the best because I can see where I've been better. You do need to RELAX and not fight it. I put on an Elvis CD and get into a rythym and just make continuous "S"s and if I need to turn around I make an open ended "8".
You are half way there with your Bernina stitch regulator, just relax and sail along with lazy "S"s. I wouldn't even try it without the SUPREME SLIDER taped to my machine bed and quilting gloves or at least the little rubber things that fit over your fingers.
I'm now trying to learn McTAVISHING. It is long curvy strokes that look kind of like curling hair strands. I'm having a hard time making them even though.
Relax and have fun................
You are half way there with your Bernina stitch regulator, just relax and sail along with lazy "S"s. I wouldn't even try it without the SUPREME SLIDER taped to my machine bed and quilting gloves or at least the little rubber things that fit over your fingers.
I'm now trying to learn McTAVISHING. It is long curvy strokes that look kind of like curling hair strands. I'm having a hard time making them even though.
Relax and have fun................
10-19-2010, 05:29 PM
#124
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Mena, Arkansas
Posts: 1,351
Someone else may have suggested this by now, but I find it helps tremendously to just draw your pattern by hand with paper & pencil. Keep doing it until you get a pattern you are comfortable repeating. Then it will be easier when you sit at your machine. Let the needle go fast, and move your fabric sssssllllloooooowwwwwlllyyyyyyy.
10-19-2010, 05:30 PM
#125
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bucks County PA
Posts: 1,241
Originally Posted by MomtoBostonTerriers
I am a new quilter and am trying to teach myself to stipple. I have a Bernina BSR, so that should make the task easy. I find it very hard to make the stitches uniform in length, but even harder is how to "create" the stipple pattern. I've read tons of books that contain lots of good advice. I just finished practicing on 14 quilt sandwiches (about 22 x 22 inches each) that will eventually become Christmas stockings, and my stippling has improved about 1 percent.
I am such a linear thinker with not a creative bone in my body and I'm wondering if I will ever catch on to this seemingly simple aspect of quilting.
Any advice? Is there such a thing as a personal stippling coach?
I am such a linear thinker with not a creative bone in my body and I'm wondering if I will ever catch on to this seemingly simple aspect of quilting.
Any advice? Is there such a thing as a personal stippling coach?
The BSR should regulate your stitches nicely. If I were you, I would get to the nearest Bernina dealer, and have them show you the way your machine should be set up for stippling, how it should be working and how to use it to best advantage.
As for stippling, as some others have suggested, stitching anything new is much like drawing. Your hands and brain need to be in sync. I always draw designs that are new to me, again and again, until they are as natural as writing my name. You know all the junk mail we get? Those envelopes are great for doodling on.
Good luck with your stipple. It's just a matter of time.
10-19-2010, 05:34 PM
#126
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Mena, Arkansas
Posts: 1,351
kit'smamma wrote:
........... These 73 year old hands are getting pretty arthritic too. ...........if I do my usual death grip on the quilt along with the foot on the floor boards so to speak.
I use gardening gloves that have little rubber dots all over them when I machine quilt. It helps me get some traction on the surface so the "death grip" is not required. Also, on some machines you need to loosen the pressure on the presser foot for FM work.
Just what works for me; your mileage may vary.
........... These 73 year old hands are getting pretty arthritic too. ...........if I do my usual death grip on the quilt along with the foot on the floor boards so to speak.
I use gardening gloves that have little rubber dots all over them when I machine quilt. It helps me get some traction on the surface so the "death grip" is not required. Also, on some machines you need to loosen the pressure on the presser foot for FM work.
Just what works for me; your mileage may vary.
10-19-2010, 06:25 PM
#127
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Northwest Ohio
Posts: 1,851
Once you get past the middle of a large quilt the stippling goes a lot smoother. I have never done any other kind of quilting except a hand quilt once. And that was enough. Everyone likes my quilts because they look like puzzles when done.
Definite have already put a slider for my machine on my Christmas list, along with machingers and a few other things from this post. LOL Now have to look up all the websites so family will know where to go to buy them.
Definite have already put a slider for my machine on my Christmas list, along with machingers and a few other things from this post. LOL Now have to look up all the websites so family will know where to go to buy them.
10-20-2010, 07:53 AM
#128
Super Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Texas
Posts: 1,441
Well, I don't have your particular problem (I do okay at freehand stiples/meanders), but this topic has really been helpful to me because I am quilting a quilt with a star/moon/meander stencil, and it was/is driving me nuts. Looks okay, but nothing to write home about, and I had hoped that the stencil would make it easier than freehand. And probably it is better than I'd do with freehand stars, but still...
But all the great tips on FMQ and the encouragement really helped me too! And thinking about it taking 100 hrs to get really good helps put in perspective the probably 20 hours I've spent on FMQ.
But all the great tips on FMQ and the encouragement really helped me too! And thinking about it taking 100 hrs to get really good helps put in perspective the probably 20 hours I've spent on FMQ.
10-21-2010, 02:29 AM
#129
Super Member
Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Queensland Australia
Posts: 1,388
Originally Posted by littlehud
I love meandering but stippling is hard to me. What helped me most was to get a stencil and mark it on my quilt and follow that pattern. I felt more at ease with it after that. I love quilting gloves too. It helps me move my fabric.
01-18-2011, 03:48 PM
#130
Super Member
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Behind my sewing machine
Posts: 7,202
I really like this...I always do large ones but small looks great! I must try this!
Originally Posted by Eddie
I really like doing stippling, I find it really relaxing. To me, there are several things that make it go easier and look better.
(1) Correct speed - If you have the speed to high then you are "rushed" in trying to keep up mentally with the machine. If too slow, then the stippling will look jerky. Figuring out the right speed for you takes some time to get in the right "groove" with it.
(2) Looking ahead - As I'm stippling, I'm looking ahead to where I'm going rather than constantly watching the needle. This is a constant back and forth mental thing but it helps me not end up with myself painted into a corner.
(3) Develop a pattern - I try to keep the pattern curving and not allow myself to get into a squiggling line instead.
Below is a pic of wall hanging I did that had a lot of stippling in it. You can vary the pattern of stippling as well, so instead of doing a tight meandering stippling like I did in the background, for the inner circle I did a looping stippling. Lots of fun! :)
(1) Correct speed - If you have the speed to high then you are "rushed" in trying to keep up mentally with the machine. If too slow, then the stippling will look jerky. Figuring out the right speed for you takes some time to get in the right "groove" with it.
(2) Looking ahead - As I'm stippling, I'm looking ahead to where I'm going rather than constantly watching the needle. This is a constant back and forth mental thing but it helps me not end up with myself painted into a corner.
(3) Develop a pattern - I try to keep the pattern curving and not allow myself to get into a squiggling line instead.
Below is a pic of wall hanging I did that had a lot of stippling in it. You can vary the pattern of stippling as well, so instead of doing a tight meandering stippling like I did in the background, for the inner circle I did a looping stippling. Lots of fun! :)
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