Great Chat with Pat Sloan

Pat Sloan once again had me on her show – American Patchwork and Quilting Radio today and we had a great chat about getting started with free motion quilting: what issues most beginners struggle with, why free motion quilting seems so hard, and some tools and supplies that might make it easier to get the hang of.

Click here to search for and then download the podcast!

In the radio show, I mentioned a video teaching you how to break your foot to make it work better. Click here to see this video and find the generic darning foot I’m modifying. This foot will fit on most machines (not all of them) but you will need to know if your machine is compatible with high shank or low shank machines. Just google your machine name and “shank” and you can usually find that information easily online.

Also in the show, I talked about getting started free motion quilting and seeing some really UGLY stitches! This is totally normal! The key is don’t be afraid of it. Grab a layer cake or cut some 10 inch squares and give yourself permission to practice and play. It won’t be pretty, but you will learn a lot!

By the way, all the tools I mentioned in the radio show are available right here in our Quilt Shop. I only carry the tools that I actually use and find helpful for quilting on a domestic sewing machine. Here’s a run down of my 3 favorites:

Supreme Slider – This is a slick, Teflon sheet that sticks to your sewing machine and table and it makes your quilt slide and glide much easier. This dramatically reduces drag and that feeling of having to pull and tug on the quilt to get it where you want it.

Machingers Gloves – I swear by quilting gloves because I’ve used them since my very first quilting class and just cannot quilt as well without them. With gloves on I have much better grip over the quilt and a solid feeling of control. A lot of beginners complain of a “out of control” feeling and this can really help!

You can actually find all three tools in the Ultimate Quilting Kit which gives you a great deal on exactly what you need to get started.

Let’s go quilt!

Leah