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Introduction to Free Motion QuiltingBy Leah Day Free
Motion Quilting is the only way to quilt. Well, technically that's
not true. But many people just getting into free motion struggle. The idea of taking off that big, comforting walking foot and trading it for a skinny, dangerous looking darning foot just seems scary. Even worse, the idea of flipping a switch and turning off your feed dogs, those busy little teeth that feed fabric through your sewing machine, just seems wrong! It's too much freedom! What are you going to do?! Calm down. Breathe. You'll be fine. The reason for all the hysteria is due to a very big problem in the way quilters are being taught to machine quilt. Most quilters take a machine quilting class and are instructed to purchase a Walking Foot. This is very bad because walking feet can be very expensive. The last one I purchased for my Bernina sewing machine was over $150.
Walking feet quickly become the comfort blanket for most quilters. This is very unfortunate because walking feet have a HUGE limitation: A Walking Foot can only quilt straight or slightly curvy lines. This is a nightmare! It's like giving a kid a bike with set of gold plated training wheels. That kid is never going to learn how to ride without them because they were so expensive, you'll never want to take them off the bike. The worse part about walking feet is they're not really necessary. Seriously, you can use a free motion darning foot to quilt straight lines. This is absolutely the most versitile, necessary foot for a sewing machine, and they're also relatively inexpensive (especially in comparison with walking feet). The
only thing that a walking foot is
Hallelajuh! We have freedom! Here's the other items you will need for free motion quilting: The best way to get started free motion quilting is to create a quilt sandwich (top fabric, batting, backing fabric) the size of a fat quarter. Baste this sandwich with quilting spray or quilters bent safety pins. Using a ruler and water soluble marker, mark as many 4" squares on the fabric without getting too close to the edges. Now outline the lines you've drawn with quilting stitches. Try to find a happy medium between the speed of the machine and how fast you feed the fabric. Yes, it may take some time and practice before your stitches are even and consistent. Be patient! Practice filling up each square and then do it again. Piece together gift quilts and practice on them too. It may take 50 hours for you to feel comfortable free motion quilting or it may take 500. The time you put into practicing will make or break your ability. Practice
fun free motion with designs found at my blog:
DSD Online and content Day
Style Designs Online ©
Day Style Designs: Introduction to Free Motion Quilting
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So
armed with this extremely expensive foot, most quilters feel like
they should be able to quilt EVERYTHING with a walking foot. After
all, what good is it to spend all that money and not use it?
That
means that the only foot you really need for quilting is a free
motion darning foot.