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Machine Quilting Quilts
Spent the last two days quilting the Veteran’s Quilts and thought I would show you how I set up my table for quilting. If you are a member of the Tehachapi Mountain Quilt Guild, then you will see this in the newsletter, but I am posting it here for those who are not members.
If you are quilting with your home sewing machine, you might try clear vinyl on the surface around your sewing machine. You can see the table behind the sewing table, which creates a small gap. The vinyl eliminates places where the quilt can get caught.
If I was working on a really big quilt I would have cleared everything off of the table to the left of my machine, but since I am just working on a lap quilt, I just moved it to the side. I also would have taped down another piece of vinyl, to cover the cutting mat that shows at the top of the photo.
The vinyl has a cutout to fit around the back of the machine and is taped down with clear packing tape, so the quilt won’t grab the edges of the vinyl, as it is being moved around.
At the needle or feed dog area, cut a hole in the vinyl. I drew a circle with a Sharpie, following the edges of the needle plate. Place the packing tape on both sides, just clear of the feed dogs. This also keeps the vinyl from shifting. I found that I need to replace the tape before I use it again.
You could cover the feed-dogs if you are dropping them anyways, but I alternate between the walking foot and the quilting foot, so I don’t want to cover them.
I bought the vinyl some time ago, at a Home Depot, but many quilt shops and other hardware stores also carry it.
The clear packing tape is easier to remove from the vinyl than Scotch or masking tape. You could use painter’s tape, but it doesn’t stick as well to some of the surfaces. I’ve tried it and that is how I know. It is not fun to have the tape come undone, as you are working on the quilt.
Once I have the machine set up for quilting, then I try to get as many done as I can. Get more done when I work in batches.
Hope this works for you.
Tags: clear vinyl, machine quilting, orphan blocks, pre printed panel, Sewfasst, walking foot
Can u tell me how I can tell if my machine will do free motion quilting? There are so many beautiful quilts, and I would like to try this, but I just don’t know if my sewing machine can do it??? TIA
You might contact your local quilt shop and ask for their help. Most machines can do that, but how it is done with your particular machine is a whole different question.