Ruler Quilting on a Sit Down Longarm Machine

It’s time to finish up our baby quilt project! I had one last little corner to quilt and I decided to fill it with straight lines. The easiest way to quilt lines like this is to switch to a ruler foot and use a straight ruler to guide the quilting. Learn how it works in this new video:

Ruler quilting on a sit down longarm machine

Click Here to find all of the videos I’ve shared so far on quilting on the Grace Qnique 14+. I love this machine because it’s very simple and easy to use, but has a large harp space so it feels easier to quilt my quilts.

In this video I attached a ruler foot to the Grace Qnique and used a thicker style ruler I had cut specially for quilting on my longarm.

You need to use a thicker ruler for this type of machine because the foot hops and could potentially jump on top of a thinner ruler. If you’d like this ruler created for your longarm, we’ll need to special order a set of thicker templates for you. Click Here to contact us about the templates.

If you have a home sewing machine, you can use the Dresden Plate Template Set exactly as it’s cut right now. Click Here to find this ruler set for home machines.

I’m currently working on a new set of quilting rulers that will be available in both a thin version for home machines and thick version for longarms. I love quilting with rulers because it’s easy and fast and creates perfect lines every time.
I also attached True Grips to the back of the ruler to stop it from shifting on the quilt. Because we’re guiding the quilt under the needle, you need to be sure the ruler doesn’t slip as you move the quilt and ruler at the same time. 
Using the ruler as a guide, I was able to quilt straight lines at an angle below my Clouds quilting design to create Rainy Day! 
Ruler quilting on a sit down longarm machine

I love the effect of this design and how it finished off the edge of the baby quilt perfectly. In the last four weeks we’ve quilted the other designs in this quilt. As you can see, this is now one interesting baby quilt!

how to quilt a baby quilt video tutorial

I forgot to mention that I also pieced the back of this baby quilt with scrap blocks left over from the front. It’s a very different look to the front and shows off the quilting designs even better:

how to quilt a baby quilt video tutorial

How to quilt a baby quilt video tutorialWhich side do you like best? Do you think this baby quilt is too busy with five designs quilted over the surface or just right with lots of textures and different designs?

There’s a piece of me that thinks this is ridiculous, but most of me loves it! It makes no sense, there’s no rhyme or reason to the designs, but it kinda works. I don’t think the baby that eventually plays on this quilt is going to mind!

If you’re just finding this project, you can watch more videos on the other designs used in this quilt. Click the links below to find quilting tutorials on each design:





This baby quilt was originally designed and quilted in 2013 for the Craftsy class Free Motion Fillers Vol 1. It’s remained unfinished ever since, but now I’ve knocked it out in a very short time with four fun designs.

how to quilt a baby quilt video tutorial

Would you like to see more videos like this? Let me know in the comments below and I’ll hunt through my stash for more unfinished quilt tops that just need some simple, large scale quilting designs to finish them off. I’m enjoying finishing the projects and I hope you’re learning a lot by watching the quilting process.
Let’s go quilt,
Leah Day

LeahDay

Leah Day has been teaching online since 2009. She's the creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog filled with thousands of quilting tutorial videos. Leah has written several books including 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, Explore Walking Foot Quilting with Leah Day, and Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt.

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