ryandrake
A Brief Free-Style Quilting Instruction
Freestyle quilting takes a lot of practice to master. If this term sounds strange to you, its other name is free-motion quilting. Both terms refer to the same technique with which you lower the feed dog and take control of everything.
With this technique, the project can be pushed back and forth or to the sides, opening a whole world of possibilities and creativity.
If you are new to sewing, you should have a good beginner sewing machine
to practice and improve your sewing skills before moving to free-style quilting.
What Is Free-Style Quilting
Free-motion quilting is a way to add stitches to a quilt by sewing in several directions. In order to do this, the sewing machine you have must be able to do two things. First, it allows you to lower the feed dog and second, you can change its presser foot.
You control what the machine creates on the quilt, so some quilters use a good computerized sewing machine for beginners that has several stitch options to extend their ability.
Many sewing machines on the market let you do the first thing, but if yours does not, you can always cover the feed dog with a Supreme Slider. This piece of material is more than something to get the feed dog out of the way. Its surface is slippery so when you guide the project, it will slide right on the slider.
The presser foot that comes standard with your sewing machine is designed to work with the feed dog so when the feed dog is not there anymore, you need to switch to another foot as well.
Some sewing machines have free-motion feet. If yours does not, you can purchase a separate darning foot. A foot like this can fit most sewing machines for beginners.
If you are a learner, you should choose the
best rated sewing machines for beginners that are also suitable machines for free-motion quilting.
Prepare The Sewing Machine
Here are what you have to do to prepare for free-motion quilting:
I always test everything before I even sew the first stitch on the project. What I usually do is take a piece of batting, a piece from the top, and another from the bottom. I put the three layers on each other to make a quilt sandwich.
To secure the test piece, either use pins or suffice it. The next thing to do is to run a few stitch lines on that sandwich and see if anything wrong happens. If yes, fix it and keep testing the sandwich until you are happy with what the machine produces.
In case your sewing machine is not strong enough to sew through layers of fabrics, take a look at
top rated sewing machines for beginners at Crafts Selection website and choose the right one for your needs. They are more powerful and designed to work with thick fabrics.
practice
When everything is set, it is time to realize your design. You are having a blank canvas to draw on so feel free to do whatever you want with it.
Please note that you do not need a special type of sewing machine to master free-motion quilting. If it can satisfy the requirements above, the best sewing machine for beginners can surely be the one for free-motion quilting.
Freestyle quilting takes a lot of practice to master. If this term sounds strange to you, its other name is free-motion quilting. Both terms refer to the same technique with which you lower the feed dog and take control of everything.
With this technique, the project can be pushed back and forth or to the sides, opening a whole world of possibilities and creativity.
If you are new to sewing, you should have a good beginner sewing machine
What Is Free-Style Quilting
Free-motion quilting is a way to add stitches to a quilt by sewing in several directions. In order to do this, the sewing machine you have must be able to do two things. First, it allows you to lower the feed dog and second, you can change its presser foot.
You control what the machine creates on the quilt, so some quilters use a good computerized sewing machine for beginners that has several stitch options to extend their ability.
Many sewing machines on the market let you do the first thing, but if yours does not, you can always cover the feed dog with a Supreme Slider. This piece of material is more than something to get the feed dog out of the way. Its surface is slippery so when you guide the project, it will slide right on the slider.
The presser foot that comes standard with your sewing machine is designed to work with the feed dog so when the feed dog is not there anymore, you need to switch to another foot as well.
Some sewing machines have free-motion feet. If yours does not, you can purchase a separate darning foot. A foot like this can fit most sewing machines for beginners.
If you are a learner, you should choose the
Prepare The Sewing Machine
Here are what you have to do to prepare for free-motion quilting:
- Lower the feed dog or cover it.
- Change the stitch length to zero.
- Snap the darning foot or embroidery foot on.
I always test everything before I even sew the first stitch on the project. What I usually do is take a piece of batting, a piece from the top, and another from the bottom. I put the three layers on each other to make a quilt sandwich.
To secure the test piece, either use pins or suffice it. The next thing to do is to run a few stitch lines on that sandwich and see if anything wrong happens. If yes, fix it and keep testing the sandwich until you are happy with what the machine produces.
In case your sewing machine is not strong enough to sew through layers of fabrics, take a look at
practice
When everything is set, it is time to realize your design. You are having a blank canvas to draw on so feel free to do whatever you want with it.
Please note that you do not need a special type of sewing machine to master free-motion quilting. If it can satisfy the requirements above, the best sewing machine for beginners can surely be the one for free-motion quilting.