Let’s talk machine quilting

I wanted to touch on some quilting options for today. I had originally written a post about this and forgotten to hit save. In hind site it was a blessing because it was way to long. So I am going to break this into 2. Today I want to talk machine quilting options and in my next post I will talk hand quilting.

Firstly let’s talk one of the easiest options, long arm quilting. If you are fortunate enough to have a long arm machine this is a good option. You can put your quilt on the large frame and move the machine instead of the quilt. There are also people that run businesses who specialise in doing this for people. The downside is it can be a bit pricey but if quilting is not something that you enjoy, it might be worth the extra dollars.

When you get a quilt long armed, you might get the choice of custom quilting or an all over pattern. Custom quilting is usually more expensive because of the hours it takes to complete. Something that you will need to think about and talk to your chosen quilter about. An all over pattern is often a little cheaper. This might also be called a panto or edge to edge.

This is a quilt top I sent away to a long arm quilter.

Now you can quilt on a domestic sewing machine. This is something that I do personally enjoy but it does take some time. An easy option for this is what is known as dot-to-dot quilting. You choose points on your quilt and sew between the points. You will need to use your walking foot and if you like you can draw lines to make sure you are sewing straight. I am usually a little impatient and skip the line drawing but I am always happier with the result if I do. I use a stitch slightly longer than I piece the tops with, usually about 3mm.

My dot-to-dot quilting. I don’t worry too much about being perfect. It is the overall effect for me and I am always in too much of a rush to be finished.

Free motion quilting can also be done on your domestic machine. You will need a free motion foot and I recommend talking to your machine dealer about the correct foot if you want to get started with this. It is useful to take a class to learn some of the basics and when I was starting, or if I am going back to it after some time off, I always do a few practices pieces. These are smaller basted squares that you can practice a design on. I used to think about this as a bit of a waste of time but they do make some cute quilted placemats and it is a lot better than having to unpick quilts because you don’t like the way the design is working out.

My little Janome is my favourite machine to free motion on.

For this quilt I did both free motion and dot-to-dot quilting.

One of the key things with free motion quilting is being relaxed. My good friend that taught me how to do this would often start our lesson with a glass of wine so I would then be more relaxed when I started. If wine is not your thing, maybe choose a time of the day that you have no other worries (for me it is currently nap time) and get some practice in. Ten minutes a day will greatly improve your skill and build your muscle memory.

One of my practice pieces. I always do this to try new patterns to get the feel of them.

One other thing you can do to help with muscle memory is doodle the design on some paper. This helps your brain get used to the pattern and prepare you for the task. I have often sat in meetings for work doodling quilting designs.

I hope this gives you some inspiration. Remember we all start somewhere but it is important to get started.

Happy Stitching