Friday, December 16, 2011

Free motion isn't a dance move...

I have heard so many of you wanting to start experimenting with free motion on your domestic machines and yet you don't know where to begin.  A great idea is keep a sketch pad handy, actually keep them all over the house and in the car.  If they are strategically placed in the house, you are more likely to pick them up and start doodling designs.  If you aren't sure what to doodle, you may want to pick up some books by Deloa Jones or numerous other freemotion quilters. We start the doodle process first to get the muscle memory in place.

Once you have doodled and feel comfortable with your design, now you can begin to practice on your machine.  The first thing you will want to do, prepare some fabric sandwiches.  The way I like to do this is cut 9x12 inch rectangles of fabric.  Cut some batting approximately 1 to 2 inches larger than fabric rectangles.  Place batting between two pieces of fabric, wrong side of fabric to batting. 
You can safety pin corners to keep fabric from shifting.  Next lower feed dogs on your machine.  If your feed dogs do not lower, you can put a piece of template over the feed dogs and masking tape around it. 
If your stitches are too long, you are going too fast.  If they are too short, you aren't going fast enough.
It is also a great idea to purchase a pair of gloves, it just seems to make the movement much smoother.

So this is the way to get started.  Its always a great idea to take classes.  There are alot of great instructors on the circuit, watch as the quilt shows start to pop up again.  If you have any other questions, leave a comment and I will get back to you. 

Good job on the answer yesterday, so today is:
On the fourth day of christmas my true love sent to me
__________ __________________ ___________
three french hens
two turtle doves
and a partridge in a pear tree.
9 days til Christmas... and only 8 shopping days. 
Marry Christmas and Happy Quilting!

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