Yes You Can Quilt Your Own Quilts

I quilted a long time before I actually quilted my own quilts – that is, I pieced or appliqued my tops and then had someone else quilt them.  Something about dropping the feed dogs and moving the fabric around to create a quilting motif just made me anxious.  I worried I would harm my machine or that my stitches wouldn’t be just right, or I would have to rip out my quilting stitches and start over…and over…and over.   It took me several years – far longer than it should have – to get comfortable with the idea of quilting my own quilts on a domestic machine.  And yes, a few years ago I did purchase a long arm, but I still quilt a fair amount of my quilts on my M7 Continental – especially the small ones.  I would like to share some tips and tricks in this blog to help any of you who still may be struggling with dropping those feed dogs and quilting your own quilts.

• Know your machine

Sewing on your machine and quilting on your machine are entirely two different animals.  With the feed dogs dropped, you control the stitch length and tension, not the machine.  So, it’s really kind of a different sensation.  And while a machine with a large harp isn’t a necessity, I would be lying to you if I didn’t say a larger harp makes quilting large quilts easier.

• Practice.  Practice.  And practice some more.

In order to get used to get the feel of your machine when you drop the feed dogs, you need to practice.  I really can’t emphasize this enough.  Orphan blocks are great to practice on.  If you don’t have any of these lying around, just sandwich up some fabric squares and use those.  Make sure they’re big enough so you can get the sensation of what it will be like as you manipulate a larger quilt through your harp, but not so big that the bulk is a hindrance.  My practice pieces are somewhere between 12 and 18-inches square. 

• Use the right thread for the job.

When you are practicing, it’s really good to use thread which contrasts against your fabric.  This way you can  see if you are controlling your stitch length during curves and when you change direction.  It makes it easier to check your tension and make corrections.  Another helpful habit I picked up was to make notes on your quilt sandwich.  If you particularly like a stitch length with a certain thread and motif, write that down beside that quilting area and hang on to it.  I purchased a notebook and some page protectors.  Every time I found a motif I liked, I would note any pertinent information in ink beside the quilting area, trim it to fit inside one of the page protectors and file it in my notebook.  I know this sounds like a lot of effort, but that notebook is a handy dandy thing to have around when I’m looking for quilting inspiration. 

Once you’re comfortable and ready to quilt your quilt, there are a few thread-y ideas to keep in mind.  Remember the lower the weight of thread, the thicker it is.  So a 30-weight thread is much thicker than a 60-weight thread, and will show up a lot more than a thinner thread.  If you want your quilting stitches to stand out, go for a heavier thread.  If you want your quilting stitches to melt into the background, try a higher weight thread, such as a 60, 80, or even 100 weight thread.  Most of the time a 40 to 50-weight thread is a great compromise.  The stitches don’t quite disappear, but they’re not prominent, either.  Polyester threads quilt just as well as cottons (sometimes even better).  You can use a different color thread in the bobbin (to match the back of the quilt) than on the top (to match or contrast with the front of the quilt).  However, having a different weight of thread in the bobbin than on the top can cause tension issues.  You may have to play with the tension to get your stitches looking the way they should.  My personal favorite quilting threads are So Fine, Bottom Line, and Microquilter –all from Superior Thread.  The thread colors I keep in constant supply are yellow, light pink, gray, and beige.

• Relax, relax, relax

When you try something new and unfamiliar or return to an action you haven’t done in a long time, it’s natural to feel a little tense.  When you feel your shoulders hunch up high enough to almost touch your earlobes, it’s time to chill out.  Relax.  Take a minute to get up and stretch.  Get a drink of water.  Have a glass of wine.  Do whatever you need to in order to dissipate the tension.

If you’re tense, it’s easy to try to speed the process up to remove yourself from a stressful situation.  Please don’t speed up your quilting.  You’ll only make mistakes.  Relax and keep a steady pace.  And here’s a reality check – all those quilters on YouTube that look as if they’re breaking speed records with their quilting?  Chances are, they’ve sped up the video to move things along.  They’re really not quilting that fast.

• If you can’t figure out what quilt motif to use, just stitch in the ditch.

When all else fails, start by quilting in the ditch.  That gives you a good idea of the block layout and can jump start your creative juices.

• Read the batting label.

Before you begin quilting, re-acquaint yourself with the batting label.  It will give pertinent information about how far apart the quilting stitches can be and still maintain the integrity of the batt.  Cotton batting with no scrim should be quilted with quilt lines which are close together.  Polyester and polyester blends can handle quilt lines farther apart.  Read the label to make sure you’re not under quilting. 

• Rulers are awesome.

A few years ago, if you wanted to use quilting rulers, you needed access to a long arm or perhaps a mid-arm.  However, many of today’s sewing machines geared towards quilters now have a ruler foot included, so domestic machine quilters can use those wonderful quilting rulers just like long armers do.   There is a difference between using rulers on a long arm and rulers on a domestic sewing machine.  With a long arm, you bring the foot to the ruler (because the long arm head is moveable), and on a domestic sewing machine you bring the ruler to the foot (because the head is stationary).

With either a long arm or a domestic machine, use gentle pressure to keep the ruler lined up with the quilting foot.  If you press the ruler against the foot too hard, the ruler can slip beneath the foot and your needle will hit it ask me how I know.  This breaks your needle and perhaps your ruler, can throw your timing off, and scares you to death again, ask me how I know.

• Start simple.

Don’t try to jump straight into feathers or curved cross hatches.  Try a meander, large-ish loops – anything with gentle curves.  I wouldn’t recommend quilting with rulers until you have a good idea of how your machine reacts with the feed dogs dropped.  A simple quilt pattern on a simple project is a perfect way to start your machine quilting journey.  You want to set yourself up for success, and seeing the texture fill in on a small quilt or easy quilt project is just about perfection.

• Don’t put it off.  Begin to quilt your own quilts as soon as possible.

One of the reasons I put off quilting my own quilts is this: It was never offered as an option in my beginning quilt classes.  My first quilting teachers hand quilted their own quilts.  I worked full-time and had two kids under the age of five.  There was no way I had the time to hand quilt anything.  My quilt tops languished in a closet until I had saved enough money to have them quilted.  No one ever taught me otherwise.  I knew quilting on my domestic machine was possible, but had no idea where or how to even start the process (these were the days before internet and YouTube). 

Don’t put it off.  Try quilting on your domestic sewing machine.  Start with a small, easy project and work your way into more complex ones. 

• Go easy on yourself.

We all have to start somewhere.  At some point, we are all beginners and need to accept we will make mistakes.  Don’t judge yourself by other machine quilters, or by what you see on social media.  Quilts shown on Facebook or Instagram are usually those quilters’ best work.  You don’t see the mistakes or the ripped-out stitches.  You’ll improve with each quilt.  You’ll improve faster if you practice (see hint #2). 

• Realize you’ll make mistakes.  We all do.

We all make blunders on our quilts.  I’ve been quilting for nearly 40 years, and I make mistakes in every quilt I make (but after all this time, I’ve really gotten good at hiding them).  I still rip out stitches.  I find a good show to binge watch and unpick my mistakes.  Don’t beat yourself up over mistakes or think you’re a failure and can’t quilt.  It’s only a failure if you don’t learn something from your errors. 

I hope you take this blog to heart and try quilting your own quilts.  You don’t have to quilt every one of them, but it’s nice to have this skill if you’re in a time crunch or simply don’t want to pay someone else to quilt them.  Even with a long arm and a great domestic machine, there are quilts I send to a long armer – if they need custom quilting or are king-size.  And there is no shame in that game.

When you do quilt your own quilt, let me know how you do!  For me, there’s nothing quite like seeing that texture which comes from quilting stitches.  This brings as much satisfaction as perfect points or nearly invisible applique stitches.

Until Next Week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix