How do you quilt on a home sewing machine?
Jan 9th, 2012 | Category: Frequently Asked Questions, Machine Quilting
This is one of the questions I am asked most frequently, but how do I answer it? What does the inquirer really want to know? Are they asking how to fit a large quilt in the opening beside the needle or are they wondering how the stitches are formed? It is such a big subject, many entire books have been devoted to it. How do I quilt large quilts on my home sewing machine?
I have decided to tackle the subject over the coming weeks in a new blog series on machine quilting. During this series we will consider:
Tools
~ for marking (and not marking)
~ needles
~ thread
~ batting
Resources
~ how-to books
~ quilting designs
Techniques
~ basting
~ starting and ending stitches
~ quilting straight lines
~ quilting free-motion
~ adjusting thread tension
We’ll talk about design and how to choose the right lines and shapes to bring your quilt to life. We’ll consider what features to look for in a sewing machine, if you’re in the market. We’ll look at quilts and other art forms for inspiration and motivation. And hopefully, by the time we’re done, you will know exactly how to quilt on a home sewing machine!
Good for you, Faye. If you put your mind to it (and practice, practice, practice), you can accomplish anything! I hope this blog series will help you along the way.
Kathy
Hi Kathy,
I am anxious to follow along on your machine quilting suggestions. I am determined to master, or at least get good at machine quilting. I am a hand quilter but would really like to machine quilt well.
Faye
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Hi Jen,
You can subscribe to receive my blog by email or by RSS feed. The links are on the right hand margin. You can also subscribe to my email newsletter which usually contains exerpts and links from recent blog posts.
Thanks for following!
Kathy
I look forward to reading the posts. Is there a follower section to join?
Hi Kathy – This is the one thing I really struggle with too. I can do in-the-ditch or straight line quilting with my machine but I am terrible at free style. I cannot keep my stiches even or the work looking like anything but a kindergarden’s scribble. I look forward to following your lead on this blog.
Blessings,
Carol
Hi Kerry,
It’s a Bernina 170 – a regular (although excellent) home sewing machine. I hope you enjoy the series.
Thanks for following,
Kathy
I am determined to get more comfortable with machine quilting this year so I can’t wait for your series. What kind of machine (I assume it’s a midarm) is in the photo?
Learning to machine quilt is my #1 resolution for the new year I can’t wait for your series to begin. thank you.
Hi Jacqui,
Thanks for your comment – I’m looking forward to working on the series too! Information about my table set-up is available in a previous blog post http://www.kathykwylie.com/blog/2011/02/setting-up-a-workspace-for-machine-quilting/, although we will probably cover the topic again during the series.
Thanks for following,
Kathy
I’m so excited to follow along, I’ve always struggled with larger quilts and can’t even imagine doing the type of quilting you are able to do on a home machine. Thanks for sharing.
Great subject! I look forward to reading the posts. Question 1
…..did you make the table yourself? I quilt on a Bernina or Singer treadle in a cabinet, so don’t need to raise the table, but I like the look of that table you have…it looks sturdier than those plastic folding tables. It also looks like the quilt would slide nicely over the surface. Sometimes those plastic tables cause drag on my quilts. Thanks! Looking forward to this series of blog posts!
Jacqui VMS