stippling questions

1. Dogs down. (Although on some machines, some people like a bit of traction and leave them up. Experiment.)
2. No hoop. Baste well with safety pins! (Make sure when you baste that the backing is not stretched. When you release it, it will snap back and no longer fit the top!)
3. Darning, big foot or "free motion foot".
4. Stitch length set to 0.
5. Stitch type normal. (You don't want stitch width either.)

Tips: Practice! Most people who have done a certain amount of machine sewing will have a feel for how fast the fabric moves when the needle is going up and down at a certain speed. So that's about how fast you need to move the fabric sandwich. Slow for curves. You might have to adjust the top tension -my machine likes to free motion with the top set at the "zipper" setting. Organize a flat surface around the machine. For a small piece, the acrylic extension table might be enough. For big pieces, I dream about owning a fancy cabinet and make do with the ironing board at my left and a big extra table behind the machine to support the weight of the quilt. Use your hands to maneuver the fabric sandwich. Your extended thumbs on each side of the stitching area will form a little window. Some people get a better grip by wearing garden gloves with rubber dots. I usually remove the pins from a small area just before quilting it. (You really don't want to stitch over a safety pin.) Take a break every half hour or so. Remember to breathe and keep your shoulders relaxed. Roberta in D

"Tricia" schrieb im Newsbeitrag news: snipped-for-privacy@m7g2000cwm.googlegroups.com...

Hi, the only thing I will add to the wonderful explanation from Roberta is this: the faster you can go the better. I mean the speed of the machine. Put the pedal to the metal. It gives you smoother and more fluid motion.

Sunny

Tricia wrote:

DITTO!! Move the needle fast but the fabric slow. A big part of the problem most people have with stippling (Me included!!) is that they tend to start off moving the fabric nice and slow but then start moving it faster and faster. This results in an uneven stitch length and, on my machine, a tight bobbin thread but a much looser top thread! So, try to make the needle go fast but move the fabric slow. Oh -- another thing -- at least for me -- I try to never cross over my previous stitching. I know some stippling and meander quilting people do this but it just doesn't work for me. Only time I do cross over existing stitching is if I am doing a free motion design -- like a KITTY FACE -- and crossing over is part of the design. But then, that's not stippling so it's a totally different type of free motion quilting :-)! CiaoMeow >^;;^<

This might be one of those things that is very personal because I can't do MQ if my machine goes too fast. In fact I slow the maximum speed down by half so I can do the "floor it" without going out of control!! And I always try to do a practice bit on a scrap sandwich before working on a project - gets me into the right rhythm.

Also - always stop with the needle DOWN!

Good luck with it Allison

down

her choice

darning, definitely

doesn't matter -- feed dogs are down

straight

practice, practice, practice.

When I first learned, the teacher said to practice for 30 hours before trying a quilt. I came home and practiced an hour every night for a month. Maybe I'm slow, but it did take all of those 30 hours before I felt comfortable.

If the feed dogs are down, you really don't need to be concerned with stitch length.

Spray basting works well -- it keeps all layers together nicely and you don't have to worry about hitting a pin.

Julia > 1. Dogs down. (Although on some machines, some people like a bit of traction

This is something that varies by machine as well. My machines tension is electrinically controlled and I find that if I set my stitch length to 0 for free motion quilting it totally screws everything up.

I drop the dogs, use a quilting foot (embroidery/darning whatever) and set my machine to use a normal straight stitch with a 3.5 stitch length, for me, that seems to work prefectly.

My practice is postcards. You can do a lot of practice while actually making something rather than wasting fabric. Try different methods to see what works for you.

When I do stippling,

1 - feed dogs down 2 - no hoop 4 - darning foot 5 - stitch length doesn't matter since feed is dropped 6 - loosen tension 7 - remember to *breath* 7 - go fast

You might want to practice first :)

-Irene

-------------- You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough.=20

--Mae West=20

--------------

Tricia: Have you checked the books in stock? Most LQS sell several titles for MQ. Maurine Nobel has a terrific book called Machine Quilting or some such. That said, here is what I do with Pfilomina Pfaff.

1. Yes
2. No
3. Darning
4. Very short *
5. Straight

• length doesn't matter as the length will be controlled by the operator when dogs are down.

HTH. PAT

Tricia wrote:

Thank you all....

I shall pass on the advice to my co-worker even though in teh long run boss decided she didn't like the stipple look (oy!)...it's always good to get the advice and suggestions from others and I love having this group to talk to and ask questions about.

Pat: I did briefly look over what we had at the store (not easy to do at our place....the quilt books, patterns, etc. in extreme -- IMO -- disarray because we don't have enough space to properly display individual titles) and found her something on teh notions wall called a ?? Slide Easy??? or something like that.....

Thanks again all.....

I am a long way personally from stippling anytime soon.....I'm thinking a probably straight in teh ditch attempt at ma's table runner when I get the backing done and then get it layered up properly.....

T.

Pat > Tricia: Have you checked the books in