There are several types of free-motion quilting, but put simply, free-motion quilting is when the quilter is moving the fabric and the feed-dogs are not. You can lower the feed dogs on most newer machines or you can cover them in older machines. You can mark the fabric so you have a pattern to follow or you can make up the pattern as you go. You can also pin a pattern in place and stitch through the pattern. I’ve done all three of those methods at different times.
The quilt top
You’ve seen this quilt before. I cut it and pieced it and posted a photo of the top in my blog on January 14th. I finished piecing the back and pin basted it and talked about quilting it last week. So here’s what I’ve found as I’ve quilted the quilt.
The traced pattern pinned to layers of freezer paper
The stencil was easy to trace. I used a fine-tip permanent marker on freezer paper to make my first pattern. I pinned together 6 layers of freezer paper and stitched through all the layers with no thread in the needle. I used an 80/12 needle. It would be better to use a 100/16 but I didn’t have one at the apartment. The larger holes would make the freezer paper easier to tear away later.
Stitched with no thread
I pressed the pattern on the quilt and, just to be sure it didn’t slip, I pinned it in place.
Pinned in place and ready to quilt
I free-motion quilted through the freezer paper pattern. I try not to be too compulsive. If I miss the stitching line on the pattern just a little, no one will know when I remove the paper pattern.
Quilting in progress
After I quilted the block, I removed the paper with no problems, though it did take some time. I’m pleased with the finished look of this block.
Quilting detail
The next evening, I used my pounce with blue chalk to mark a block, thinking I would save time since I didn’t have to remove the freezer paper pattern. There are no photos of this. After I’d quilted for a while, the chalk markings were hard for me to see and I didn’t do a good job. I missed a number of places on the design. I wound up unsewing the entire block I’d marked with the blue chalk.
I took a break from the free-motion quilting and I’ve stitched in the ditch to quilt all the colored blocks. Here is a hint for you when you stitch in the ditch. Place your hands close to the presser foot and pull the fabric on each side of the presser foot slightly to the sides as you stitch. When you are no longer pulling on the fabric, your stitches will just about disappear in the ditch.
Stitching in the ditch
Now I need to finish the free-motion quilting. I have the patterns in place for the next two blocks and hope to finish quilting this week. I must admit I’m ready to move on to something else. It feels like this quilt is taking forever.
Ready to finish quilting
But now, I’m going to get back to work. I’ve got things to write, quilts to pattern and so forth. Thanks for reading. I truly enjoy writing this every week.
Happy quilting!
P.S. Don’t forget to check out Quilters Newsletter TV: The Quilters’ Community. There’s lots of great information in these free-to-view weekly videos!
Thanks for sharing your tips. I haven’t seen anyone use freezer paper before and it will be something I will try.
I like the idea of using freezer paper. I think I’ll try this. I liked the results you got.
Great ideas! Thanks for sharing.
Wow, the thought of drawing the patterns onto fabric was daunting, I wish I’d known that you could use paper or freezer paper, I feel enlightened now! Going to tackle something complicated applying this
I need to try this. Thank you.
also press and seal works great
That is smart, thanks for the tip.
Am just now learning motion quilting. So far I like it.
Thanks for the idea – I use freezer paper to extend the life of the patterns I have for doll clothes, so this makes perfect sense. Wishing you much success in finishing a UFO. (Hoping I can channel some of that).
I have also done the same technique using thin tracing paper and spray adhesive. The paper tends to stick lot more than I think the freezer paper will. I’ll give it a try. Beautiful stitching!
Love it! Thanks!!!
I think that would be a good way to get into a new detailed freehand pattern. I think after you did a few blocks then you could see it in your mind better so it would flow better
I’ve used the quilting with freezer paper method on a couple of quilts except that I used my walking foot. One quilt had a double curved border design and for this it was very simple to do. Another quilt had some Japanese family crests and this was more of a challenge! Pre-sewing the designs would have helped with removing the freezer paper .
Keep in mind that ironing the freezer paper onto your quilt will flatten the batting if it’s polyester. Do use safety pins to help keep the paper in place.
I’ve since seen a similar method using Sulky Solvy but haven’t tried it out yet.
Thank you all! I’m so glad to give you ideas to encourage you to try something new.
Linda, thank you for the note about flattening polyester batting. I seldom use polyester so I didn’t think about giving my readers a heads-up.
Lynne, I’m going to have to try Press and Seal sometime. It might be perfect for those times you don’t want to press a block before quilting it.
Shirley, you are so right when you say after you’ve quilted a pattern a few times it becomes easier. Your mind knows where to go next. When I try a new pattern, I draw it on paper several times before free-motion quilting it. There is something about training the brain so it can tell my hands where to go.
Happy quilting!
Thanks for sharing. Getting ready to quilt my first quilt. Thanks again
Thanks! I will certainly give this method a try.
Enjoyed viewing your tutorial. I am just learning to free motion quilting…totally frustrated! Using a Brothers machine but something is not set correctly. Stitching one way is great but, when turning directions, my stitching skips for several stitches. Any hints or advice will be appreciated. Thank you for your thoughts and time.
I have been trying free motion quilting for the first time and I like the freezer paper idea., As I do like to do foundation piecing. Thanks for sharing.
Milick, my advice when your machine is skipping stitches is this; change the needle and rethread the machine. Be sure your needle type is a good match for the type of thread you are using. If that doesn’t fix the problem, it is possibly a machine problem. Maybe it’s time to have your machine checked by your favorite service tech. Good luck!