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The Machine Quilting Adventure Unlock the secrets for beautiful machine quilting using your home sewing machine by simply watching this video on your TV or computer. |
To control your stitches:
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Use quilting gloves to help control the quilt as it feeds under the needle.
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Put your hands down on the area you are quilting, like a frame, with your thumbs touching. The area between your hands is the only area to pay attention to as you work.
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Have in your mind where you will be stitching and what kind of shape you will be making. Then watch the fabric where you want to stitch - not the needle as it is stitching.
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Practice stitching on a fabric sandwich (2 layers of fabric with a piece of batting between) about 24 inches square. Practice stitching various shapes, and pay attention to the sound of your needle. The goal is to move your fabric about 1/8 of an inch as your needle goes up and down.
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Make sure that the tension on your sewing machine is set correctly.
About thread:
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As a beginner, it is better to use light thread on light fabric. As cool as it sounds to use dark thread on a light fabric, every stitch will be magnified - and every mistake will also be magnified. If you want your stitches to show, you could use light thread on a dark fabric. For some reason, that combination does not show the mistakes.
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A lot of thread for machine quilting comes on a cone. That saves money and time (having to re-thread your machine). If your sewing machine does not have a built in thread stand, you could put the cone in a glass measuring cup, and let it bounce around in there.
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Be sure that the thread is coming off of the cone from the top, not un-rolling from the side. (I use this method, and have found that I need to place the measuring cup on the side of my machine, instead of behind it. For some reason the angle that it feeds into the machine makes a difference.)
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Happy Quilting!
Penny Halgren
Master Quilter
