Making a quilt is always a work of art, and when looking at some new quilts made at home with beautiful quilting designs made with a sewing machine, you can be amazed by the elaborate quilting designs quilters around the globe are making with their own sewing machine at home, as I know you might be wanting to give it a try, I want to share some Free Motion Quilting Tips For Beginners
What Is Free Motion Quilting?
Free motion quilting is to stitch together the three layers of a quilt (top, batting and back) with a domestic sewing machine. Many quilters around the globe are working today to do the quilting of their quilts by using their sewing machines, this is done by removing the feed dogs system on their sewing machines as this allows the quilters to move the quilt with their hands to create beautiful quilting patterns.
Free Motion Quilting Types For Beginners
Once you decide to try this method to work on the quilting of your quilts at home, there are some tips that will help you to learn how to do it by yourself.
1 – Try it, try it and try it.
By try it many time’s means, as a beginner it’s better not to work for the first time on a full size quilt, try it on a small sampler of small size, you can make a quilting sandwich with a block of 10 x 10 inches.
Use some fabrics that you don’t love much, the first sample might not be perfect and you don’t want to waste a nice fabric.
2 – Use thin batting for the quilting.
If you have at home some leftovers from a quilt, you can use that batting to make a sampler to work on the free motion quilting.
3 – Use fabric sticking spray
An easy method that will help you to work on the free motion quilting is spraying the three layers of the quilt sandwich with fabric sticking spray, it will help to hold the three layers in their place as you work on the free motion quilting.
4 – Try different quilting patterns
Free motion quilting is a quilting technique that will add some focal point to your quilt, at the beginning you can try some simple patterns, but as you get more skilled try some more elaborated designs and you can also come up with your own quilting designs.
Some of the quilting patterns good for beginners are:
Stippling
This is one of the easiest way to start working on the free motion quilting technique when you’re a beginner, all you need is to start on one point on your quilt and work on it to fill up an area.
You don’t need a pattern to follow and as you work on it, you’ll get used to move your quilt to get same size patterns.
Loops And Handwriting
Another good pattern to try when you’re working on your first free motion quilting is by trying to work with your handwriting, pick some easy words to work on.
It doesn’t need to be perfect, and keep trying and most of all have fun while you work on it.
Pebbles And Chains
I’m sure you have seen some beautiful quilts with small circles made on the quilting, this technique is made by making small circles with the free motion quilting and each circle needs to touch the next one on the line.
Lines of circles are called chains. You can fill up a space on your quilt with same size circles or try to do some bigger and some smaller, it will look great.
More Free Motion Quilting Patterns
As you keep working on this technique, once you get some practice making the traditional patterns, you might be tempted to try some designs on your own.
As you get more skilled working on the Free Motion Quilting, you’ll get more confidence to work on some new designs on your own making your quilts a piece or art, and unique.
Feel confident to try new patterns and try to mix some techniques, save some samplers before you start working on your quilt, by working on a sample first, it will help you to know some shortcuts on the pattern and it will help you to see how it looks when it’s finished.
Related Posts:
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Use The Same Color Thread Or A Different Color?
It will depend on what you decided as a quilter, everything is allowed and some quilts will look fantastic with the same color thread, while other quilts will be better when the quilter uses a different color thread to work with on the free motion quilting, but one thing is for sure, always use a good quality thread for it.
What Is The Best Sewing Machine For The Free Motion Quilting?
There are many good sewing machines that will help you to work on your quilts as you work on the free motion quilting. I can’t say one brand or model in particular.
You can find on the market many different sewing machines to work on, but one thing you need to pay attention to is whether you’re sewing machine has the ability to lower the feed dog system.
Most of the new sewing machines in the market today come with the ability to lower the feed dog system by pushing a button or pushing a lever, it won’t take more than 30 seconds to get your machine ready to start working on it.
Read Best Sewing Machine For Free Motion Quilting
Darning or spring free motion quilting foot.
Another thing to pay attention when you want to work on the free motion quilting with you’re sewing machine or when you look in the market to find a model to work on it, it’s whether it comes with the foot you need to work with.
Some models come with the darning or spring free motion quilting foot and some models come without it, on the second group you will need to purchase this foot apart. Most of the sewing machine brands have one available.
Free Motion Quilting Tips For Beginners – Final Thoughts
Modern time’s are here and quilting is a hobby that allows anyone interested to make a quilt, to work on this new technique adding your quilts, your own quilting designs, and quilted on you’re sewing machine at home.
As any other quilting technique you will need to make the first steps by making some samplers, before you notice you’ll be creating the most amazing quilting designs on your quilts.
It’s time to take a look at you’re sewing machine and see if it has all the features you need to start working on the free motion quilting, but if you’re sewing machine doesn’t have them, you might be wanting to upgrade it, you can take a look to the best sewing machine for free motion quilting.