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Free motion quilting

Hello everyone, I have just found this site and think its wonderful, My first question is regarding free motion quilting. I just purchased my darning foot and I am wondering, do I need to lower the foot to do free motion? My machine has a plastic thing i put over the feed dogs and this seems to give me less space for the fabric, it doesnt move very well and I read some where that my stitch length should be set to zero, is this true? My stitches on the bottom seem to be off too, I am thinking a tension problem so should me tension on the bobbin be tighter or looser?
Thanks in advance
Sue

Tags: bobbin, darning_foot, free_motion, quilting, stitch_length, tension

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Permalink Reply by HeyJudee on May 31, 2009 at 9:10pm: I am able to lower my feed dogs so have room for the quilt to fit under my darning foot. How thick is your plastic piece? There should be enough room to fit the quilt and lower the darning foot. No you don't need to set your stitch length at 0. I usually just leave it at my normal length that I use to do straight stitching. And you will probably have to change your tension. I usually have to tighten my needle tension. But depending on the thread I use, I sometimes have to loosen it (especially if I'm using heavier thread in the bobbin).
Here are some links with instructions and tips on how to do FMQ. Hope they help
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/machine-quilting-tips-and-tri...
http://www.skunkhillstudio.com/musings/process_fmq.shtml
http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2008/03/free-motion-quilting.html

And here are some videos that may help.
FMQ Videos; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Maire Machens on June 3, 2009 at 6:56pm: Hi, free motion is very fun but it does take some practice. yes, you do lower the foot and you might need to do some trial & error with the thread tension, don't change the bobbin tension. I have found using a stretch needle (any brand) makes free motion so much easier. Stretch needles have a longer scarf so the thread lies better, less thread breakage & better formed stitches on the bottom.
Maire; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Thea McCurry on June 9, 2009 at 7:28am: Hi keetch, if you are having trouble moving the fabric under the needle, try cleaning the bed of the machine including the metal plate under the needle. Use a silicone spray from the auto supply store, sparingly, and buff with a paper towel or soft cloth. If the quilt sandwich still won't slide under the needle, try using a self-clinging Teflon sheet on the sewing machine bed.
You must lower the foot in order to engage thread tension in any case. If you don't have enough room under the needle, try using a thinner, cotton batting. Polyester batting is not as flexible as cotton, and the high loft polyester batting is not a good choice for free motion quilting on a home machine.
Also, there is still no substitute for practice.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Katie on September 2, 2009 at 12:21pm: Hi I love to do free motion quilting.I have a Kenmore model 385.19606 machine.When I do my free motion quilting on my machine I have to lower my feed dogs.I usually leave the stitch length at my normal setting which is a 2.2 stitch length.Depending on the thread I use as my top thread for the free motion quilting I sometimes have to adjust my tension on my machine.My bobbin thread I usually use for the free motion quilting is Coats and Clarks All Purpose Dual Duty thread in a color that is the same color as my backing fabric.I also use a Schmetz 90/14 needle when I do all my quilting whether it is free motion or any of the other type of machine quilting I do.What type of machine do you have and how thick is the plastic piece that you have?Happy Sewing.Katie; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Lynne Demeter on September 2, 2009 at 6:48pm: I won't repeat all the good advice you've received so far. However, keep in mind that the speed you apply to your foot pedal and the speed that you move your fabric will affect your stitch quality. This is truly "a practice make perfect" skill. Make up some 24" X 24" quilt sandwiches. Practice with the thread you intend to use most and experiment with your needles. Use a black Sharpee and write on your sandwiches which needles you used on what so you can refer back. Watch as many online videos as you can, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER! The older machines just had the plastic piece place over feed dogs. You could also buy a new machine!!; ▶ Reply to This