Maybe1day

I agree with the suggestions regarding making a practice sandwiched piece and adjusting the tension as required but I have to say that apart from this I have always found it easiest to ensure that my sandwiched quilt is really tight to begin with (no wrinkles in it) and that the pins are no more than 4" apart.

Just my 2 cents worth on what works for me. Good Luck finding a solution which works for you

Maybe1day

earthwalker

Just chiming in with a question if I may.....In what situation would you have the feed dogs down when using the walking foot....doesn't this negate the purpose of creating a dual/even feed? From my basic understanding, feed dogs are down when using a darning foot for free motion quilting.

janb

This is helpful to me too as I am getting ready to try
my very first at machine quilting. Appreciate all the hints and suggestions. Hope your quilt goes well.

Gillian

The suggestion for basting spray is good. Also, the suggestion for testing your stitches with a sample. This is always a good idea as thread size, needle size and fabric can change the outcome.
But two more important items to consider are: the size of your batting--if you are using a high loft it will always require more "babying" to quilt through and most people find that hand quilting is the only way with that. The higher the loft the more the basting you need to do. Also an ex-large hoop is useful although it needs to be moved, but it will definitly hold all layers together taught.

Quilted Horse

I'm not sure I agree with the back not being pulled tight enough before you basted. Sounds like tension trouble to me. If your bobbin thread is being 'unsewn' easily, that means it was not pulled up into your sandwich enough, thus the top tension needs to be tightened. This will pull up the bobbin thread more. I do agree that you make a practice sandwich using same types of materials as your quilt and practice on this until you get your tension right.
Good Luck!

sew_sew

Lots of good advice but I zeroed in on you saying the back thread pulled out easily, that usually happens when the bobbin tension is off. Take a breather before you get back to it. Hope to hear all worked out well after all the advice.

Arleners

I've got to agree with most of the advise already stated.
1.Take the sandwich apart and restack making sure you stretch the fabric tight.
2. Use 505 basting spray. It's the best one I have found it works well and doesn't smell
3. Experiment with a test quilt sandwich before you continue quilting your masterpiece!!!!!
4. Increase your stitch size
5. Try decreasing your tension.
6. Use either gardening gloves or 2 pieces of the waffle shelf liner on your hands to keep a slight tension on the fabric as you feed it through the machine
7. Try a walking foot.
8. Use a topstitching needle.

Good luck it takes experimenting and patience.

donnalynett

I basically do it this same way after I screwed up a few times. I use painters tape and tape the backing to a large dining table and then use quilting safety pins to pin all together. I don't think I've had a puckered backing since I started doing it this way.

teacherbailey

I vote for spray basting. That way, the back can't move around while you quilt....

writerwomen

We work on a number of sewing machines and these are a few thigs I have learned. Reduce your pressure foot tension, loosen your thread tension, don't use the walking foot, increase your stitch length (do these one at a time). Quilt from the center out. Chances are the loft you have chosen is too high. Did this once with a high loft and finally gave the mess to a thrift store where I knew a number of retired women who were avid quilters had the time and patients to pick thousands of stitches. Lay your project out flat and baste stitch by hand in rows going crossways to the way you plan to sew. First I would choose a new batting with the lowest loft possible. If your determined to do it with that batting and the other steps don't help- theres always the good old fashioned needle and thread. Also can hand baste the batting to the front and sew with the back layed on top facing up so that you can control it better.