Advice for Free Motion Quilting on a Basic (Domestic) Machine
As I’m tackling my biggest free motion project yet, I thought I’d put together a little advice for anyone who is considering giving free motion a go. While I’m still no expert myself, I think tips from someone who still remembers what it’s like to be a beginner can be useful.
The Machine You Have is Good Enough—I use a Singer Heavy Duty for all of my sewing and quilting. It’s not fancy, it gets some hate online, but it’s what I have, and it works. While fancy quilting machines can have 8” or even 10” throat space (distance from the needle to the bulk of the machine), I have 6” and that has been plenty to do even a large throw quilt with an all over free motion design.
Start Small if You’re Nervous—You can start on a hot pad, pillow, or baby quilt if you’re worried about messing up and having a wonky design on a big project you spent a long time piecing. You can also do quilting that is mostly straight line and add some free motion detail for just a taste. Or you can jump in to a big project if that’s what motivates you to do it. I started on a 36” square quilt and then jumped up to a throw sized.
Don’t Stress About Design—if you see a design you like, look up a tutorial for it, then give it a go. Don’t worry if it’s the single best possible design you could choose for a particular project. I promise your project will look great with almost any quilting design. If you like it, go for it.
Draw it First—You have a design picked, but before you even put needle to fabric, grab scratch paper, a notebook, or a whiteboard (a sheet protector makes a good DIY whiteboard) and draw the design a few times. This will show you what you like and don’t like and what areas or shapes might give you trouble.
Mark Up Your Quilt Top—this is the one I don’t see a lot of people say. Small machines make it hard to see where you are going. It’s ok to mark your path. From a general guide of direction (like the spine of a feather) to literally drawing the whole thing out, do whatever you need to. It’s not cheating. I use a blue water-soluble pen, a purple air-erase pen, or white chalk (I’ve been burned by yellow staining things). If your project is precious just make sure you test the tool on a scrap to check that it comes out.
Only What’s Under the Needle Has to be Flat— Some people roll the excess, some people accordion fold it, and on my current project I’m literally just shoving it over (photo below). As long as what’s under the needle is flat, you can do anything with the rest.
Gravity is the Enemy—The less weight pulling on where you are working, the easier things will be. This is true for straight line quilting too, but I find it’s even more important for free motion. Working at a big desk or a dining table can be very useful for hauling the excess quilt up off of the floor. You can also pool it in your lap or even throw it over your shoulder.
Uneven Stitches Are Ok—If I practiced until all of my stitches were perfectly equal I would still not have a single thing done. Some of my stitches are too small to unpick even if I wanted to and sometimes they get to almost basting size. No one will notice but you.
Don’t Unpick—If you make a mistake in your design, just keep going. Stitch over it if you need to, but this is another thing where no one will notice but you. If it will bother you forever, of course you can unpick things, but if you try to make it perfect you will spend more time unpicking than sewing and that’s probably not fun for you (and this is supposed to be fun).
Try Different Feet—When I started, I hated the darning/hopping foot. It was weird to have nothing touching my fabric at times. I switched to a ruler foot that would drag along my quilt top and felt so much better. These days I’m back to the hopping foot because I built up confidence and it gives me better tension but you have to find what works for you.
Gloves and Extension Tables are Nice—You don’t need either, but grippy gloves and an extension table made me a lot more comfortable. I started with a cheap knock-off extension table and was eventually given a branded one to match my machine as a gift. The branded ones do stay in place better if you have the funds, but even the cheap one helped.
Get the Big Spool of Thread—Most free motion designs will be denser than most straight line designs. It feels like the designs eat thread for breakfast. I highly recommend grabbing the 1000 meter spools of Gutermann thread from Wawak—they are the most affordable I’ve found. White, khaki, or grey work for most quilts so don’t be afraid to stock up on those.
Do What Works For You—This is the most important thing. The goal is to enjoy the process and enjoy the final product. If both of those things are happening, don’t worry about doing things “the right way.” If those things aren’t happening, try something different…and if you’ve tried multiple things and still don’t like it, don’t be afraid to quit. You can make gorgeous quilts without free motion so don’t feel like you’re missing out if you don’t like it.
I’ll end her with a photo of my current project where I have almost 40” of quilt shoved into 6” of space to prove that it’s possible, but anyone else who also does free motion quilting, feel free to add on your tips!
