How to Free Motion Quilt
"Once you get a good rhythm going, and a good muscle memory, and you get a good feel for how fast your body can move, then you're not really paying attention to how fast your hands have to move. You're just focusing on trying to make pretty designs, and practice getting those down." Lauren Jackson
Techniques via Bold Notion Quilting
Lauren Jackson, the quilter behind Bold Notion Quilting, teaches free motion quilting skills. She takes the time to explain how to tackle your free motion quilting machine from start to finish, emphasizing the importance of practicing, and offering helpful tips and tricks along the way.
"Don't let your machine tell you what to do - it's not in charge."
Lauren emphasizes practicing with your machine to get you to the point where muscle memory works to your advantage and you can concentrate on making beautifully stitched patterns.
In the video below, she walks us through the basics of free motion quilting, including:
- what the free motion quilting foot looks like, and how to attach it to your machine
- why you might want to apply silicone spray to your quilting surface
- how to thread the machine
- how to eliminate the drag and weight from working with a large-sized quilt
- why quilting gloves are helpful
- how to practice before working on your quilt
- which batting you should use for practice
- how to manage your machine settings
- how to tack down your threads
- how to change the length of your stitches
- how to focus on the length of your stitches
More From Bold Notion Quilting
If you like Lauren's teaching style and want to learn more about free motion quilting, be sure to visit her website Bold Notion Quilting, where you can see a Gallery of her work, enroll in a class, or purchase notions which she recommends.
Lauren also offers custom quilting services.
Her tutorial videos can be found here. Or, head straight over to Bold Notion Quilting's YouTube channel. Feeling social? Follow her on Instagram and Facebook!
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Techniques via Bluprint
For another tutorial, click here or on the image below to watch a video about several free motion quilting techniques, featuring Angela Walters. You'll see how you can use a ruler to do dot-to-dot quilting. You'll also see echo quilting in action.
Quilting Supplies
For free motion quilting supplies, visit Amazon's page that includes sewing machines, sewing machine feet, gloves, templates, and books and guides - or click on any of the images below. Happy quilting!
[Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases - at no extra cost to you.]
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