Free Motion Quilting Tips and Tools

We’re almost ready to start free motion quilting our first block for the Building Blocks Quilt Along! So far we’ve learned tips on marking the blocks and basting the blocks, so today let’s watch a video about the tools and settings I’ll be using for free motion quilting:

Just to reiterate the settings listed in the video:

Feed dogs – You do NOT have to drop your feet dogs (the little teeth under the foot on your machine). This is an optional setting and it should be used only if your machine seems to work better.

To test which works best, leave your feed dogs up and quilt through a 6 inch square. Then drop the feed dogs and quilt again and compare the two samples. You might see no difference at all. You might see a major difference. This is different for every quilter and every machine, so it pays to test and see what works best for you.

Stitch length – By setting your stitch length to 0 (or the lowest setting your machine allows), the feed dogs will continue to move up and down, but not feed your fabric forward.

Tension – No change –  If your tension is balanced and even for piecing, theoretically it should be balanced and even for free motion quilting. This only seems to change drastically when the feed dogs are dropped, which changes the mechanics of the machine.

Note: You may see stitch issues that LOOK like tension issues – large loops like this pulling up on the front or back of your quilt.

This might look like a tension issue, but it’s actually not! Notice how the loops are only happening in select, certain places? Notice how they are always happening in a similar curve shape?

If you have periods of good stitching intermixed with periods of loops (we call these “eyelashes”), chances are this is not a tension issue, but a speed / movement issue.

When you quilt these particular shapes, your hands are moving faster, but your machine speed is not increasing to keep pace. Instead of the thread breaking, it just pulls hard to the front or back.

So the solution to this issue is simple: increase your machine speed as you make that shape – OR – consciously slow down your hands so the balance is not thrown off.

The last thing you MUST have for free motion quilting is a darning foot.

The same rules apply for a darning foot as a piecing foot – you’ll need to find one that works with your machine, either from your dealer, or if your machine is compatible with universal generic high shank or low shank feet.

The one problem with darning feet is they are usually badly designed. If your foot looks anything like the one above, yep, it’s going to be a real beast to quilt with it right out of the package!

Check out the video right here on breaking your foot to make it work better.

After you break the foot properly, it will look more like the photo to the right:

You’ll be able to see your needle clearly, which will make stitching in the ditch and right on the lines much easier. It will also stop hopping up and down, which is quite loud, and makes the quilt more difficult to move.

No, you don’t HAVE to break your foot if you like it the way it is. Just like the feed dogs up or down, all of this is optional!

Now for some extra tools I find particularly helpful for free motion quilting:

Machingers Gloves – I LOVE these gloves for quilting because they give me such better control over the quilt. They are made of lightweight nylon with rubber tips that grip the fabric and move it exactly where you want it to go.

Josh also noticed that he felt a bit safer and less afraid of the machine needle while wearing the gloves, and I can remember this feeling as well when I first started free motion quilting. These days I feel naked if I don’t have gloves on!

Queen Supreme Slider or Supreme Slider – These are slick sheets that cover the machine and table and help your quilt to move smoothly over the surface. Making the block or your quilts easier to move around means less strain on your shoulders and back, and an easier feel to the whole process.

The difference between the queen and regular slider is size – the queen is double the size of the supreme slider. The bigger the slider, the more space it covers, and the more it will help big, heavy quilts to move around smoothly.

Little Genie Magic Bobbin Washers – These little Teflon washers are one of my favorite tools that I use all the time, in all my machines, for all sewing, piecing, and quilting. They go in your bobbin case (BOTH side and top loading), you wind your bobbin on top, and they simply help the bobbin to spin evenly.

There’s a lot of stitch issues that can happen because of the bobbin not spinning smoothly. Backlash is one of the most annoying – it’s when your bobbin thread gets jerked so fast it spins backwards, the thread tangles, and you end up with a massive birds nest on the back of your quilt.

The washers help to fill in the little extra space in your bobbin case and stop this kind of thing from happening. Generally they just help make your bobbin thread feed as evenly as your top thread, which makes the back of your quilt look as good as the front.

Now just in case you’re wanting to stock up on tools, you can find all of these tools available in the following kits:

Ultimate Quilting Kit – $50 – Machingers, Supreme Slider, and Little Genie Magic Bobbin Washers.

Queen Supreme Kit – $75 –  Machingers, Queen Size Slider, and Little Genie Magic Bobbin Washers.

A few other things you might want to have around:

It’s super nice to have a seam ripper, screw driver, and small container for pins and Pinmoors nearby your sewing machine. I always keep these within reach of my machine so I can easily pick out stitches or change needles.

Cheater needle – This is a self threading needle that makes hiding loose threads very easy in the middle layer of your quilt. I keep mine easy to find on a Pin Place, which is a small magnetic pincushion on a suction cup.

Whew! So that is absolutely everything you will see in the videos when I’m free motion quilting the blocks for the Building Blocks quilt.

Just in case you’ve missed some other tip videos, click here to check out all the posts shared on the Building Blocks Quilt Along so far.

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day