Machine Quilting

I'm teaching a Free Motion Quilting class starting in April at my LQS, Heartstrings and Heirlooms. I finished up the class sample over the weekend. In the class the students will do larger samples, but I needed a small book of designs to advertise the class. As you can see in the above end view, I used three different types of batting for my sample book - Quilter's Dream 100% Cotton, Hobbs 80/20 (80% cotton and 20% polyester), and a 100% wool. I used a tutorial from a recent Quilting Arts Magazine issue (the February/March 2014 issue) to make my little book. The instructions involved drawing some lines on a piece of fabric, then sewing on the lines with a walking foot to make a larger sheet and baste the layers together. Then you quilt your designs and cut the "pages" apart. The tutorial in the magazine was very good. If you are interested in making a book like mine, I suggest you get a copy of the magazine. Below is a collage of designs I plan to cover in the class. Along the top of each page I wrote the name of the design, the batting type and page number from the book I will be using for the class. In case you are interested, I'm using the book Free Motion Quilting with Angela Waters. It has become my go-to book for quilting ideas as of late.

Straight line quilting is a great beginner quilting technique, but there's a right way and a wrong way. Continue reading to see if you are doing it right!

I've had the chance to review the book Free Motion Quilting for Beginners (and those who think they can't), by Molly Hanson. I love that title! I'm a big proponent of quilting your own quilts, as you know, and I've read a lot of books about free motion quilting. I like how everyone presents the information in their own personal way....there is always more to learn! This book presents all the practical information you need to get started. More importantly, it gives you the confidence to jump in and give free motion quilting a try. There are 15 projects in the book that encourage you to start small and increase your comfort level with free motion quilting before you tackle something larger, like a quilt. What I love most about this book is Molly's tone of encouragement throughout the text and the projects. She is great at guiding you though the entire process! I've done a lot of free motion quilting and I love how relaxing it can be. I also know how easy it can be to get in a rut. I challenged myself to get out of my box, so to speak and try some new-to-me, designs. I gave this squared off stippling pattern a try and it went pretty well! I had to slow down and think about where I was going from time to time, but it was fun! I could see doing this all over a whole quilt. I also quilted a few swatches of different designs and I turned them into a set of coasters. Binding them was a little fiddly, but totally worth it! (I can say that now that they are done. Ha!) These are great because I not only used scraps of fabric, but scraps of batting as well. Hurray! I'm happy to count these as scrap project #94/101. If you would like the chance to win an e-book copy of Free Motion Quilting for Beginners, please leave me a comment in this post. In your comment, I'd love to hear what your favorite go-to FMQ pattern is. Or, if you are new to FMQ, I'd like to hear what pattern you would like to master. I will pick winner in a few days!

You asked and we delivered! 👏Part 2 of our “Quilt As You Go” video is up on our YouTube channel, where we answer all of your questions about turning your blocks into a final quilted masterpiece.✂️✨ Learn how to attach your quilt as you go blocks in two different ways using the stitch in the ditch method and the binding strip method! BONUS: Download the free holiday-inspired blocks featured in the tutorial.

The only way to improve skills is to practice, practice, practice!<br /> <br /> Sewing worksheets provide excellent sewing practice for beginners. Though, these sheets are also helpful for sewists of any skill level who might be out of practice with a machine.<br /> <br /> Instead of wasting fabric, using paper is a brilliant way to perfect your methods and movements. Looking for hand sewing practice? Check out our <a href="https://www.allfreesewing.com/Basics-and-Tutorials/Hand-Sewing-Practice-Sheets-PDF-NSM2021" target="_blank"><em>Hand Sewing Practice Sheets PDFs</em></a>.<br /> <br /> Sewing machines make fast work of projects but without patience and steady hands, you won't have the kind of stitching you're looking to produce.<br /> <br /> It's similar to "measure twice, cut once." Although you can always unpick stitches, that's unpleasant, time-consuming, and sometimes ruins your fabric. It's best to get it right the first time. That's where these printable sewing practice worksheets come in handy!<br /> <br /> No ruining or wasting fabric. These free six sheets have all sorts of lines and designs to help you perfect your machine skills.<br /> <br /> There are beginner-friendly lines, curves, and angles along with more advanced lines and curves for those who want a challenge.<br /> <br /> <em><strong>Note: </strong></em>Some of the curved lines will be easier to sew with a foot attachment. A <a href="https://www.allfreesewing.com/Video-Tutorials/How-to-Use-a-Walking-Foot-Sewing-Machine" target="_blank">walking foot</a> or something similar will help you achieve those quickly curving lines.

That’s my son Ben up there with the first Twin size quilt I ever made in 2008! Block tutorial can be found here (click here). I received a question about quilting a large quilt on a hom…

Learn how to machine quilt Matrix with Leah Day. Watch Leah quilt the design in a big square and follow along quilting a new design each week. At the end we'll put the squares together with an easy quilt-as-you-go technique to make the Marvelous Mosaic Quilt.

A four-part beginner level tutorial on free motion machine quilting, using a home domestic sewing machine.

Using a walking foot is the easiest and quickest way to quilt borders. Continue reading for 7 easy border quilting ideas using a walking foot.

Free machine binding quilt tutorial by quiltylove. This tutorial will teach you how to machine bind a quilt. Beginner friendly quilt binding tutorial.