Free motion quilting

[sewsoft]

Can anyone tell me can you free motion quilt with a regular sewing machine? I don't have a quilting machine with the extra high clearance or anything. I'd love to do it myself because it makes the quilt more special. I think I can use my embroidery foot to sew freely. Do you have any ideals or suggestions? Thanks

[ukquilter]

Re: Free motion quilting

from the hints and tips iv seen i think as long as you can drop or cover the dog feeds then you should be able to.

[debinmalaga]

Re: Free motion quilting

As long as you can drop your feed dogs you can, from what I understand. A large quilt will be a bit of a tussle, but you can do it. Smaller items are tons of fun to do, I love doing FMQ on runners.

[zenkitty]

Re: Free motion quilting

If you can't drop the feed dogs, just cover them up. Use the darning or embroidery foot. Have lots of bobbins filled before you start and have fun! I find I have more control over the stitiching when the machine is at a higher speed. Make some practice pieces to get the feel of it. Quilting gloves help as well....or something grippy for your hands.

[psha]

Re: Free motion quilting

Yup! Absolutely! I do all my quilting on my domestic machine named Cheapo..reflects what I paid for it!
Lower the feed dogs, set stitch length to zero, and you must have the darning foot. Mine didn't come with one (again..Cheapo) so I bought a universal one. I also got a walking foot for the stitch in the ditch. The best thing is to put a few small pieces together and practice, practice, practice! I have done 2 large queen size quilts on my machine..lots of pulling, pushing,frequent breaks and Ibuprofen..I got them done. It was an all over stipple pattern, so nothing fancy, but I was quite pleased. I am in the process of thinking about possibly, maybe, hopefully, getting a new machine and putting Cheapo into retirement! Good luck with your free motion!
Patti