FMQ....HELP!

Wanted to FMQ my Valentines table runner today. Good thing I decided to do a practice bit first - total failure. I know I was being consistent with foot peddle and hand movement speeds but I ended up with long and short, loose and tight and skipped stitches. What's going on? It makes me think that I'm not being consistent with the speed of moving the fabric. Should I run the needle faster? Is it okay to use a fast needle and move hands slowly - would that be better? Any advice greatly appreciated.

I'm posting a couple pictures in my album because it won't let me do it here. You can't really see the loose stitches, but you can see the short and long ones.

Yep...that's pretty much what my fmq looked like at first too...I think it's perfectly normal! It takes at least 10-15 mins. to warm up and loosen up...and get a nice, consistent, comfortable flow of stitches. I do find setting my machine speed (if possible) to medium, pedal full down and hands moving quite slowly...but that's what works better for me...I'm still VERY rough and my stitches on the actual quilt are not as nice as on a small practice piece. They say it takes practice, practice, practice...and even then, every time is different for me! The long stitch is probably when you just slid a bit - that happens to me when I'm starting or stopping. Make sure (if you can do it) to keep the needle in the down position to help! Keep at it!

This is something I'm still working on too, but to me, it looks like you might want to speed up a little more and do less pulling of the fabric. : )

Looks like you need to speed up and that you are pulling the fabric, at least with my limited experience. I like the pattern to the FMQ. I spend about 10 minutes on a practice sandwich each time I begin to quilt to get everything going in the right direction and remember what it feels like. It helps that I have a stitch regulator but I will still get sections that have longer stitches if I pull the fabric too much.

I am sure it will be beautiful when you are done.

I've had the same problems, keep practicing and experimenting with your speed and keeping your hand movements coordinated to the speed you're moving your quilt. Maybe just taking a break will help.

Hi, I was just browsing and noticed your fmq problems. It is very difficult at first to master and it definitely takes lots of practice. Have you heard of Leah Day? For the past 3 weeks she has started "The Free Motion Quilting Project" and she is a wonderful teacher. I have been following and oh the tips. You may find it helpful to check out her site. Hope this helps.....

One more thing.....forgot to tell you that it is all free.....very nice for the year and nice of her....

practice, practice, practice and relax, relax, relax. As exeryone else said, just try different settings on your machine with speed and work out the best speed for you. I'm with A1angiem, I like my machine speed on about half to 3/4 and my pedal flat to the floor then I just have to remember to relax and go with the flow. When you are sitting at your machine take note of where your shoulders are. Are they tense and held up high? Remind yourself to drop your shoulders and relax them and the rest of you will automatically relax too. If you are tense you won't be able to move the fabric consistantly, it wll be more jerky. Drop your shoulders, relax and breathe, just like the midwife tells you when you are in labour.

It took me a full year of playing around and practicing untill I felt comfortable and adventurous in doing fmq on my quilt tops. I have alot of practice squares laying around my sewing room. I also know that thread comes into play here---some machines are picky with what type you are using.

Are you using any kind of gloves to help you grip your fabric? I use my klutz glove, but you can use anything, even shower gloves - as long as they are rough and will help you hold onto your project. It's especially helpful when you are doing a larger project, because the weight of the quilt seems to make it go where it wants. Having some grip helps.

Oh yes, everything goes much smoother with the gloves on. It really does make a difference to be able to grip the fabric.

I agree - gloves are a must for FMQ. They help you grip the fabric so much better. You can use garden gloves (new, please!) or Fons and Porter even makes quilting gloves. Just so they have the little plastic dots. Another thing that I have found that helps me - I FMQ from the bottom right, work across to the left, back to the right and keep moving up. If I work from the top down, I find myself stitching over what I've already done. I don't know if this is proper quilting, but it's worked for me for several years now and I'm pretty pleased with the results. Good luck!

Thanks everyone. All great advice. I do have gloves but I wasn't using them for the little test patch.

Nancy, something else that can cause skipped stitches is a dull needle, or a needle not heavy enough to go through all the layers. Try a new needle and see if that helps.

I'm very new to FMQ, but when I stop and then start up again, I get those kinds of jags. Almost like the machine startled me!

I love Leah Day. She has some very complicated stuff but she also has instructions for beginning FMQers. She has a really great Facebook page too. I'm just learning and I spend more time reading about FMQ than actually doing it, but everyone says to keep practicing, so I guess I should do that.

Looks great. Keep at it and try to relax. It does look like you might be pulling your fabric. I have to really remember to stop the needle in the down position and when I start again I have to remember to not pull the fabric. FMQ is so much fun after you get going. Have fun with it and keep up the beautiful work.

I've enjoyed reading everyone's suggestions. This thread has been a great review/prep for FMQ - practice, practice, practice, and of course relax and have fun :)

Lin

As everyone else said, practice is the key. Gloves help. In one series of videos I watched, the presenter suggested having a glass of wine first. I fully support drinking and quilting. Her point was to get you to relax. And yes, watch your shoulders. If they're up around your ears you're going to end up with poor FMQ and a neck/back ache. My advise: relax, put on some good music, and practice before you work on your final piece. I liked the warm up suggestion too. That will help you get in the groove.