I am doing free motion quilting (FMQ), and work on a sit-down, domestic machine. I don't have rulers because I have chosen not to spend the money on a special foot and all the rulers. Straight lines are problematic when FMQ-ing. They are probably one of the hardest part of any design. I have done many of them and am not too bad at it, but I would prefer to avoid the imperfections that I invariably create. So I cheat. I put on a standard straight foot (actually my appliqué foot for visual clarity) and stitch with the help of the feed dogs. In the designs I am currently doing there are a lot of almost straight lines and they look so much better with the cheat method. I thumb my nose at the Quilt Police.
Is this really cheating? Of course not!! I believe that you need to do whatever will accomplish your vision. I am not a purist, but you need be sure it will work on your quilt without puckering either the top or backing. The only way to test this is to try it on your actual quilt. You might have to do a little ripping if it fails...so don't do too much for starters.
TIP: The best way to prevent puckering is to stitch all your piecing and appliqué in the ditch (SID) before you begin any fancy quilting. This way you have small areas secured. Every line of stitching takes up a little bit of fabric so there is just a little bit less to bubble up.
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Stitching straight guided by my favorite marking tool (Sewline Pencil).
Even those curved leaves came out nicely and there were no puckers. |
Another thing to think about is the size of your quilt. If you need to outline even a little 2 inch square, you will have to turn your quilt four times to make it around. This may not be practical on a bed-sized quilt. I make smaller quilts and have a machine with a roomy harp so I am not having a problem except that it is a bit of a nuisance. However, I think it is worth it to get the straight lines and even stitches. I also have the whole quilt well secured with lots of SID (every single seam!).
TIP: You can use your dual feed or walking foot, but the SID allows the use of a regular foot. I find it hard to maneuver my thick quilt under the dual feed foot. It depends on your machine and quilt.
Sew some happy seams this week. I wish you success in evading both the Quilt Police and puckers.
I love this post. I too use my domestic sewing machine for all my quilting, mainly straight stitch which I do with a walking foot and masking tape. But I have developed my own kind of 'fmq', technically not fmq as others would see it but it done without puckers on the back and without too many profanities along the way. If I want to put a design on the quilt (I never mark my quilts), I draw up the design on paper, cut it out and pin it to the quilt and machine around it. So NO, it's not cheating, just working out what is best for you to get the quilting done.
ReplyDeleteRight on! Do what works for you.
DeleteI agree - do what you have to do to make it work, and to heck with the quilt police. LOL
ReplyDelete