Zyngawf

My stippling is scribbling and the fancy stuff I keep seeing looks very intimidating. I haven't even tried to figure it out.

DonnaPBradshaw

It takes a lot of practice with sandwiches ( using fabric of course).

RST

Are you talking about free motion quilting? One good tip is to practice drawing smooth stipples or curves or swirls -- whatever takes your fancy, on paper first -- get used to making the movements without having to think about it too much.

RST

Zyngawf

Really? People do that without some fancy gadget? It looks hard.

Tartan

Well, I watched a quilt teacher explain a technique she calls "scribbling" to micro quilt the background behind designs. It is tiny, like a micro stipple but it crosses all over itself like scribbling. She said it helps to make the quilting areas in between the scribbling to puff out like trapunto.

katier825

It was a long time before I could "scribble"! When I started off, my loops and swirls look much better than my stippling, so I did alot of those until I felt comfortable enough to move on. Practice is the key. There are Skillbuilder panels that you can sandwich and do.

http://about-quilts.com/store/fabric...practice-panel

You could even make up your own by drawing some of your favorite designs on muslin. Then sandwich and practicing following the lines. I recommend using a different color thread each time, then you can see how much you have improved as you go along.