Posted on 26th September 2022
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Drawing and doodling free motion quilting motifs is a must before you put needle to fabric. Not only will it help with your hand-eye coordination but it will also create muscle memory for the motifs. This means that in the future (and after lots of doodling!) you’ll hardly have to think about how to form the various FMQ motifs whilst you are sewing them, leaving your mind free to concentrate on your speed and placement. Doodling is also great practice for creating quilting plans.
The tension of your sewing machine is really important when free motion quilting. Correct tension will produce even stitching on both the front and back of your project but incorrect tension can lead to unbalanced stitches, snapped thread and broken needles. Always check, and adjust if needed, your machine tension every time you sit down to free motion quilt. Have some scrap quilt sandwiches made up to test your tension before starting work on a project.
Practise makes progress! Very, very few people (and probably no-one!) will master free motion quilting overnight. The best way to get better is to just keep doing it. Even if you are only quilting on scrap sandwiches, put in the time to build up your confidence and your skills. Use up those fat quarters you never reach for and test out different motifs to get used to the different ways to form the shapes and spread the motif across your fabric. This might sound like a basic tip but I really think it’s true for FMQ. I was once the quilter who had tried it once, found it difficult, had hit a few snags and gave up because “it was too hard” but when I took the time to properly work on it and keep going it really paid off.
Look at expert free motion quilters for inspiration (and something to work towards…aim big, I say!) but always remember they have taken years and years, and thousands of hours of quilting to get to that level. You aren’t going to get there in a couple of weeks and that is OK!
If you have any stitch problems at any time during free motion quilting you should:
• rethread your machine
• swap to a new needle (and check it is the correct size for quilting, I use 90/14)
• clean your machine
Always do these simple steps before you try anything else as there is a good chance one of these will fix the issue.
Amy creates beginner patchworker digital courses and designs modern quilts with a traditional twist. At Coffee Rings Studio you’ll find her own blog with patchwork, quilting and general sewing tips and tutorials, plus her quilt pattern and digital course shops.
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