Slider Mats and/or alternatives
#21
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Morris Plains, NJ
Posts: 1,802
I must be doing something right because my slider mat never moves around or slips from the extension table of my machine. When it gets linty I wash it in warm water and it clings like new. It is the Supreme Slider. It is years old, bought it when it was available to order and bought another for a spare but never have had to use it.
#22
I use ArmorAll on my sewing table and it works great for me. I finally learned to spray it on a cloth instead of the table so the floor isn't so slick that I fall down. Ask me how I found that one out
#23
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: Tallmadge, OH
Posts: 5,120
I have tried the "slider mats". One came loose and I sewed it onto the quilt. I just keep the feed dogs up, keep the area of the quilt I'm working on puddled, so nothing is constricting it, and RELAX. If you are pushing down on the fabric with a death grip, it's not going to move freely. Good luck and have fun.
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Mission Viejo, CA
Posts: 832
The slider supreme tears easily if it gets a little hole in it, but I use it because it grips very tightly, my machine has a removable table which has to be removed to change the bobbin. Too much work if I had to tape it down.
#25
I have made some feeble attempts at free motion quilting, but my fabric drags and it makes it difficult. I have read that these "slider mats" really help with that, but they seem a bit pricey to me. Is there an alternative, or a way to make your own without paying so much? Thanks!
#26
Super Member
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Nebraska
Posts: 3,252
I just tried a little experiment yesterday. I've been using the supreme slider since I started learning FMQ. I've mainly followed Leah Day's ideas and like her approach. Yesterday I was almost finished with the quilting on a new quilt and ran out of bobbin thread. And I have to remove everything to reach the bobbin on my Pfaff. Decided to try not using the slider for the last bit and I could tell quite a difference. The stitches were more jerky and moving for the curves was more difficult, so I'll be staying with my slider. I do need to remember to wash it though as I do have to tape it down now. Don't think I did when it was new. As for leaving feed dogs up, my Pfaff will not do free motion until feed dogs are down.
#27
Super Member
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Slidell, Louisiana
Posts: 6,951
I've never used one, read about too many on here sewing them to their quilts! I just clear off my cutting table, pull it up to my left and use it to support the bulk/weight of the quilt, and this helps a lot.
#28
No luck with slider
I have heard that silcone mats (maybe what quiltin-nannie was refering to?) work as well as the slider sheet and are much less espensive. I do think taping it in a few spots would stop the sliding of the slider problem ..... no pun intended. I think it would be worth the try since they are so cheap. And as others have said: puddle, puddle, puddle that quilt.
#29
sassysews2- Just wondering how big to cut the center hole. Should it be the square of the full bobbin plate size or just the size of the walking foot tip or even smaller. I don't want to sew it to the fabric as some have mentioned.
#30
Super Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Illinois
Posts: 2,140
Ukdame,
The hole on the Supreme Slider is only wide enough for the needle itself (that small space where the needle reaches down into the bobbin compartment (maybe 1cm x 1cm) It should cover up most of your needle plate & everything else on the base of your machine.
I will add that you also need to consider friction on the surrounding surfaces supporting your quilt -- especially if your machine is not sunken or surrounded by an extension table. I made my own DIY extension table with Whitman's Chocolate Boxes (it was a sacrifice to have to eat all those chocolates -- but it was worth it to further my contributions to the world of quilting . I just put them solid side up & taped them with masking tape to the bed of my machine (under the Supreme Slider).
I also found that putting my machine on a slight tilt (many people use doorstops; I just grab a roll or two of masking tape and tuck them under the back edges of my machine) helps the quilt move more smoothly. Probably part of that is that I can actually see better.
The hole on the Supreme Slider is only wide enough for the needle itself (that small space where the needle reaches down into the bobbin compartment (maybe 1cm x 1cm) It should cover up most of your needle plate & everything else on the base of your machine.
I will add that you also need to consider friction on the surrounding surfaces supporting your quilt -- especially if your machine is not sunken or surrounded by an extension table. I made my own DIY extension table with Whitman's Chocolate Boxes (it was a sacrifice to have to eat all those chocolates -- but it was worth it to further my contributions to the world of quilting . I just put them solid side up & taped them with masking tape to the bed of my machine (under the Supreme Slider).
I also found that putting my machine on a slight tilt (many people use doorstops; I just grab a roll or two of masking tape and tuck them under the back edges of my machine) helps the quilt move more smoothly. Probably part of that is that I can actually see better.
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