PaperPrincess

I wish there was a magic bullet, and I know there are folks out there who are naturals at this, but the only thing that really works is practice. I read an article that suggested 15-20 minutes a day for a month. Don't practice on a quilt! Get some muslin or other inexpensive fabric and make a stack of 18" sandwiches. You need to get the motion down before having to also deal with the bulk of a quilt, and you won't be worried about 'ruining' something. You can just put another piece of fabric over one of your original sandwiches & go at it again. Use different color threads for each reuse so you can easily check the tension on the back. You will need to find out what works for you. If you have different darning feet try them all. Also, feed dogs down worked for me, but others like them up. Gloves are a must. A hands on class is also helpful.

quiltsRfun

Grab an inexpensive fat quarter bundle at JoAnn's or Wally's to use for practice and warm up. When you're done you can make them into zipper pouches. Don't worry if the FMQ isn't perfect. It will get better. Use thread that blends for your quilt. Choose an easy meander. I found a loopy meander easy and forgiving. When it's washed and crinkly no one will notice any wobbles.

mea12

and remember, "its only fabric!"

my-ty

I am also in the fearful stage and procrastinating (although house cleaning is below FMQ). Maybe today, I will try it again. Thanks for the encouragement.

ManiacQuilter2

There is nothing to fear. It is motor coordination like learning to ride a bike or driving a car.

1st Find a speed that is comfortable and observe the feed dogs moving the quilt.
2nd Be able to get to that speed again + move the quilt at the same rate that the machine did.
3rd Look ahead to where you want to go not at the needle.

Start with something small: make a dog quilt for your local animal shelter. Most dogs are not picky at what they lay on. It takes some practice. Try drawing lines and follow them. I found that easier to do than stippling. You can also do straight line quilting until you get the confidence to try FMQ. Good Luck.

Tartan

Make up some practice sandwiches with patterned fabric first. FMQ large flowers, do loops around a large polka dot fabric etc. this way you don't have to mark the pattern or follow it exactly. With plain fabric I find it easier to do some registration marks and then freehand a design. Trying to follow exactly on a line it is hard to keep your speed and hand movements good.

Mdegenhart

Get over your perfectionism and just do it. I think I was terrified that it wouldn't be "perfect" enough. Wade in!

mlt150

I was determined to learn knowing that I was not going to be great. You have to say this is my staring point and I will only get better by doing. My first runner I FMQ had tons of "points" and crossovers, but I got the "feel" of what FMQ was all about. I started with stippling with a busy pattern, front and back because it hides mistakes. Found that tiny stippling is easier than big stipping. I FMQ twin size quilts for my children and believe me when I done quilting I had the rhythm and even my quilting teacher who longarms said I was doing great! Matching thread is key while you are learning.

quiltsRfun

It was hard for me to control fabric speed and figure out where to go next. I tried quilting my name and other familiar words. Since my brain already had that pattern locked in it that helped me to get a smoother rhythm.

Manalto

Two suggestions:
1. Look at all the people who can do FMQ and realize you're just as capable as at least half of them.
2. Stipple. Even bad stippling looks good at arm's length.