Free Motion Quilting Basics for Beginners

Are the weeks of June flying by or what?! Here we are for another Feature Friday and today I’d like to share a short video about the Free Motion Quilting Basics for Beginners DVD:

It was around November 2009 that the idea for this DVD really dawned on me, mostly thanks to the many comments from quilters on the project!

Everyone seemed to be asking the same questions: what machine do I use, how to pick needles and thread, how to set up a sewing machine for quilting, and how to quilt big quilts on a small machine.

I realized that I just needed to create one DVD to answer all the questions at once. Unfortunately, this project had more problems than a leaky bucket from the very start.

For one thing, I wasn’t able to start working on the project until January because of my kitchen remodel. When I was finally able to film the DVD, I shot the whole thing in 2 days, but then lost almost all of this footage when my hard drive crashed!

To add icing on the cake, once the DVD was finally finished, my manufacturer printed the second discs wrong, causing a massive problem for everyone who purchased the set first. Talk about awful! I almost swore off making new DVDs after that experience!

But once the dust settled and I had shipped out replacement discs to everyone who needed them, I found a new manufacturer and we haven’t had a problem since.

And despite all the problems creating it, this Free Motion Quilting Basics for Beginners DVD has already helped many quilters learn how to get started free motion quilting. Here’s a review from Suzanne C:

I just wanted to let you know I received my DVD’s and I have watched them and they are great!

You did a great job with filming and the information was really helpful. In fact one of the first things I did after I watched your DVD was go out and buy myself a stool for my sewing machine. I have have had it now for 2 days and I don’t know how I sewed without it. I love the fact that the stools actually lift higher than the standard chairs.

I am looking forward to applying all that I have learned from your DVD to my next free motion quilting project.

When I set out to create this DVD, I really had one mission: to create a video that would answer all the questions about free motion quilting and simplify the process for quilters just getting started.

One of the most common things I get asked about is basting. I can remember being totally confused by how basting was supposed to work, how tight I should secure the backing fabric, or how close the safety pins should be. It really is a tricky process to get it right!

In the Free Motion Quilting Basics for Beginners DVD I really explain this process step by step and share a new technique for securing the backing fabric using only 4 pieces of masking tape!

So that’s it for this feature Friday!

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day