Stitching

Re: Free-motion is jerky

charmullen — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:35:41 GMT

One of the biggest things we all do wrong while free motion stitching is pressing downward with our hands. You need a very light touch on your fabric. Fingertips only. This not only will make the fabric move easier but also relax those haunched shoulders and tension you are feeling in your neck. Remember to move the fabric with your fingertips and not the palms of your hands. Also make sure that the sewing bed has a clean surface, i.e. free of tape gunk, basting spray etc.

Re: Free-motion is jerky

Vicki LA — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:51:11 GMT

I find that I get more jerks if I can't easily move the fabric under the needle (if I'm moving all the quilt, instead of a portion of it) Instead of rolling up the fabric, I "scrunch" it up so I'm not trying to drag the entire quilt back and forth. Also fabric hanging over the edge of a table will creat jerks as it hangs up and is difficult to pull up.

Re: Free-motion is jerky

Caribquilter — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 14:49:51 GMT

Yes Barb, that is a great site, I immediately started practicing her daily exercises and boy does that help. She gives great tips and fun designs to exercise with. Thanks for passing the info to us. Myriam

Re: Free-motion is jerky

Barbara Veigel — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 00:47:45 GMT

If you do bleed on your quilt (I have on most of mine), spit on it! You have the same enzymes in your salava as you do in your blood. It works like magic.

Barb V

Re: Free-motion is jerky

Lorraine62 — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 23:40:06 GMT

whatever you do dont look away or you will sew through your fingertip like I did..dont worry I didnt bleed on my rhapsody quilt!!

Re: Free-motion is jerky

drywatergal — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 17:17:59 GMT

Before we got our LA, I did free motion on my regular sewing machine. What I had to do was put my iPod on and play II Divo music. Wow, did I ever relax!

Re: Free-motion is jerky

arlijohn — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:33:47 GMT

One of the things I find helpful is to make sure your chair is the right height and to be able to rest your forearms on the table. It helps you relax instead of tightening up.

Re: Free-motion is jerky

Lisaloo2 — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:09:52 GMT

thanks to you all for the great tips - especially the blog! I have the gloves and they do help but I think my big issues are my speed (fast foot, slower hands), thread size and the need to practice, practice, practice.... I have 2 little boys at home so time to do this is an issue, but I will keep trying. I've made some small fabric sandwiches and am going to look at my thread and try, try, try again. Thank you all - I will keep you posted.

Re: Free-motion is jerky

Quilnan — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:01:03 GMT

Like you, my early free-motion results were jerky. And like others have suggested, beginning with smaller projects along with practice on fabric/batting sandwiches was my solution. I had to baby-step it. Instead of starting with a full-size quilt, I broke it down into smaller more manageable steps. I got so I didn't hate my machine quilting efforts... in fact I rather liked them. Also found the gloves with gripper dots are helpful. Closing my eyes and visualizing the design, or even using a pencil on paper to draw out the design I would stitch, is very helpful to just get the sense of the motion. Then it's patterned in my mind and my action can follow more successfully. Good luck. Let us know how you are doing. Nancy

Re: Free-motion is jerky

auraquilts — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 16:40:20 GMT

http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/ Leah is terrific! Take a look at her site every day for a new inspiration!!

Re: Free-motion is jerky

robbieklow — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:37:26 GMT

Hi Lisaloo!

I'll second what the others said and add a few things:

Often the jerky line comes from moving the fabric too quickly in relation to how fast the needle is moving up and down. Get some felt scraps or make small sample sandwiches and see if running the machine faster helps. You don't have to go full speed, just a little faster and maybe slow down how quickly you are moving the quilt. As you get more practice, you should feel more comfortable running the machine closer to full speed.

Also, look at the type of thread you are using. A 40 or 50 weight machine embroidery thread will give you a smoother line than a thicker thread and it will look better.

Good luck and have fun.

Love,

Robbi Eklow

Re: Free-motion is jerky

jo goranson — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:29:55 GMT

See my post to "Free Motion Frustration". I think it will answer all your questions. If not, let me know and I will try to help you.

Re: Free-motion is jerky

Kathleen M Tenpas — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:39:06 GMT

One thing that I found VERY helpful, after the practice practice practice, was quilter's glovew - cotton glovew with little rubber dots on the palm side. They hold the fabric and really make it easier to move.

Re: Free-motion is jerky

Lisaloo2 — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 10:53:50 GMT

Thanks for your helpful ideas - and Barb, I followed your link and WOW! She is fantastic with lots of ideas (love the tutorials) - especially liked the cat hairball design... I think I am going to do what everyone suggests and practice - I am going to try some of the bloggers patterns on small squares until I get my yearned for technique down pat. Thanks, again for your help!

Re: Free-motion is jerky

barbsthreadart — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 04:59:13 GMT

Hi, this blog site is fantastic. http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/ You need to make yourself a cuppa and get ready for a session of learning and inspiration.. This young lady is creating a new free motion quilting filler pattern for each day of the year! There is a little video of each one and lots of info. tips and techniques. So helpful to everyone. enjoy! Barb.