Free motion quilting questions

Michelle, it almost sounds as though you may not have the presser foot lowered, even without the foot attached. However, I'm pretty sure that's not the case. I frequently have to adjust the tension when I'm doing free motion work, so I'd go ahead and play with that and see if you can adjust it so it will work for you. When you get that going, make a note of what settings you liked and with which thread; I always mean to do that so I won't have to go through it all over again the next time, but I always forget.

As for the broken thread, that may be because it's getting hung up somewhere along the line. Or it may be due to the jerky motions causing the needle to bend a bit and break the thread.

HTH, and good luck to you! I enjoy free motion work, and I hope you will, too. :)

One of the purposes of a presser foot is to hold your fabric firmly in place so the upper and lower threads can interlock properly to make a stitch. When you use a free motion foot or a darning foot, the foot goes down when the needle goes down to hold the fabric while the stitch is made. I suspect that at least part of your problem is that the quilt is not getting held down firmly enough. Can you get a free motion foot or a darning foot for your machine? If so, try that and see if it helps. There is also such a thing as a spring needle that you can use if you don't have the right presser foot. The needle has a little spring on it that holds the fabric in place while the stitch is made.

You probably don't need the index card taped over the feed dogs. If you set your stitch length to zero, they shouldn't move. And I've forgotten to put mine down and didn't have any problems; I probably didn't change the stitch length, either.

Julia > Just took my first plunge into free motion quilting. I can see that it

Without a presser foot, the fabric sandwich is probably not entirely flat against the machine bed. The needle carries the thread down through the quilt forming the loop the shuttle hook goes through. If the sandwich is loose, as when the presser foot is not engaged, the thread can pull out again, so the stitch won't be formed.

If you don't have or can't get a darning foot for your machine, I'd suggest hooping the quilt sandwich and holding it pressed flat on the bed as you free-motion. Loosening the top tension a bit may help too. Also, running the machine fast while moving the quilt slowly helps to avoid breaking needles, and over time, you will develop a rhythm so that your FMQ is more even.

I've heard it takes 30 practice hours to get some proficiency, and

Maria in NE PA

Michelle, check to see if you can reduce the pressure foot pressure. On older machines it is sometimes the "darning" pressure, or just a bit more. That way the pressure foot is down, but not hard against the fabric. When I do free motion on my Vikings I use an open toe applique foot and loosen the pressure foot pressure to about "1" or less. Even if I leave the feeddogs up I can move the quilt sandwich.

Pati, in Phx

Just keep telling yourself: 30 hours of practice! therefore the first attempt isn't expected to look like much, right? If you're still really unhappy about your progress after 30 hours, THEN you can complain about smooth.

You need a foot >Just took my first plunge into free motion quilting. I can see that it

I just discovered (last night in fact) that you don't necessarily need a dearning foot to free motion quilt.

Ever since I got my Kenmore 1914 a few years back, I've been trying to figure out a way to do darning/free motion with it, with absolutely no luck whatsoever.

This particular 1970s era machine is a super-high shank, with a 'left of center' needle. It's great to sew on, incredible visibility due to the high shank, and I have all the bits and cams (ducks, trees, fish, etc). There are feet galore with it, but even though the feed dogs drop it seems no darning feet were made by Kenmore especially for this machine; the book shows darning with no foot whatsoever and just having the fabric in a one of those wooden embroidery hoops to hold it taut.

Last night I was doing some experimenting (ok, playing around LOL) and got the idea of using the foot that comes with the monogrammer attachment...it's a kind of 'open toe' foot that it is very similar to the open toe darning foot I have for my Viking, just without any 'spring' in it.

I put on the foot, dropped the feed, lowered the tension and set the presser foot pressure to the 'darning' setting. Well, it worked like a charm and I was doing loops, hearts, leaves, etc. that came out very nicely. I was very pleasantly surprised.

-Irene

There is a free motion foot available for your Kenmore. Several members of my Florida quilt group own Kenmore machines, and they sell a package with a walking foot, free motion foot and 1/4 in foot. It will really help your quilting, as will practice, practice, practice!

After traveling hither and yon with a variety of electronic devices all with assorted charging and/or electrical adapters, I have decided to make a bunch of quilted Humbug bags of different sizes to hold the cords, adapters and other accessories for each device. I've been collecting novelty fabrics and have some with cameras, cell phones, computers, etc. I had a light bulb moment about 3 am this morning to use these bags to practice my machine quilting. They will still serve their purpose even is the quilting is less than perfect.

I love light bulb moments - I just wish they came later in the day!

Hi Julia,

Yes, it seems to me you are describing part of the problem--need a presser foot, but one that doesn't press too firmly. I may have to order one.

Thanks for the tip on setting the stitch to zero. That would make life easier. It's going to be a PITA to pull up the index cards every time I need to change my bobbin.

Thanks!

Michelle > One of the purposes of a presser foot is to hold your fabric firmly in

HA! Well, I've got 15 minutes under my belt. ;-)

Okay, I think you and Julia are on to something with the presser foot. It seemed like it needed some kind of a foot to me too.

Thanks!

Michelle > Without a presser foot, the fabric sandwich is probably not entirely

Hi Ladies,

Thanks for all the terrific suggestions. I now have had success. I set my stitch length to zero--no more index cards! As per the consensus, I chose a presser foot(not a darning foot, I don't have one--truth is actually don't know what kind of foot I am using, it's made of clear plastic and is light weight), reduced the presser foot pressure as Pati suggested, and voila, it worked like a charm!

Okay, now I've got 25 minutes under my belt; only 29 hours and 35 minutes to go, until I quit being spastic. HA! ;-) Can't blame the machine for that one.

I'm a happy camper. Thank you all!

Michelle in NV

Pati, > Michelle, check to see if you can reduce the pressure foot pressure.

Thanks Susan. I'm glad to know that about the Kenmore free motion foot. As I said in my "free motion quilting question success" post, I've got the kinks worked out well enough to practice with the mystery foot that I'm using, but I can use all the help I can get. The appropriate foot would no doubt be a benefit.

Best regards, Michelle in NV

Like you, I too just did my first attempt at free motion quilting. Everyone tells me it is just going to take practice. I use a quilting foot or embroidery foot on my machine and it is a big help. I just finished (yesterday) a queen size quilt that I did free motion. For the most part it came out ok. The good thing is that my BIL fell in love with it and bought me a new sewing machine for the quilt as a trade. I do feel odd since the quilt is not 100% but he knew it going into the deal. He purchased me a Brother SE-350. It is not a high end machine but will fit my purposes just fine. I am getting another quilt top ready to free motion quilt. I am pretty sure that I will get the hang of it fairly quick. If you have an embroidery foot or quilting foot try that and hopefully that will resolve your problem. Good luck and free sailing! Julia

Thanks for the tip, Julia. :-) I have a summer weight king size (no batting) that I'm just about finished machine quilting, then I'm going to sandwich one of my black, white, and red top and go to it. :-)

Very cool that your BIL bought you a new sewing machine for the quilt. I bet the quilt looks fine. I was amazed at how much more control the technique actually gives me. Yes, it will be a long time before I can do feathers and such, yet just playing with my one sandwiched block, I really thought my shaky attempts looked better in some ways (more artistic) than my usual straight line stuff.

This has really opened new possibilities for me. I didn't realize how stifled I felt because I've never been happy doing the quilting before. That's about to change. :-)

Michelle in NV

Another thing that helps is to have a little "scrap" sandwich to warm up on. I find it takes just a minute or so of doodling to get my rhythm and then I can work on my main project. Glad you're having fun!

Allis> juliasb wrote:

I can see how this would be very helpful, Allison. Even though I haven't done FM much (not up to an hour yet), it did take me a minute to tune into it, so to speak.

Thanks!

Michelle > Another thing that helps is to have a little "scrap" sandwich to warm up