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Tutorial: Free-motion Quilting by Vanessa G.

January 10, 2011


Hello HoneyBear Lane readers!

My name is Vanessa and I am thrilled to be sharing my machine-quilting tutorial with you today! I’m from Utah but currently reside in Florida where my husband attends law school. We have been married seven years and just had our first baby, Olive, six months ago. I am lucky to be home to take care of my sweet family and have spent the last six months trying to figure out how to best share my creativity now that time will allow it.
I have been quilting since I was sixteen but had little time to do it because of my former full-time banking career. I created Lella Boutique and am slowly adding items to my Etsy shop where I accept custom orders for quilts, stitcheries, and other decorative items. I am also starting a blog in February to document my crafting adventures while sharing the tutorials with you. I just found out that a couple of my stitcheries will be featured in McCall’s Quick Quilts in the upcoming May issue!

I have known Heidi since kindergarten. When she asked me to do this tutorial, I just HAD to do some digging into my old photo albums. Here we are, in all of our first-grade glory.

One of the first things people notice about my quilts is my swirly, freehand quilting. This machine-quilting method is not only stunning–but surprisingly simple. It is perfect for small projects like baby quilts and table runners. For larger projects, I recommend taking your quilt to a professional who will be equipped with a long-arm quilting machine.

Let’s begin!
Careful basting of the quilt beforehand is absolutely essential so the quilt layers won’t shift during freehand movement. Here are a couple of tips to help ensure successful basting.
  • Prior to basting the quilt and batting layers together, iron the quilt front and back pieces with a starch spray.
  • Make sure the back piece and batting are slightly larger than the quilt top. (If any kind of shifting occurs, you’re covered!)
  • Use a good quality basting spray. I love Sullivan’s Original Quilt Basting Spray.
  • As you baste each side to the batting, smooth away any wrinkles. For particularly difficult wrinkles, lift that corner of the quilt and gently lay down again–smoothing it as it lands on the batting.
  • Once the quilt is basted together, insert safety pins throughout the quilt–another precaution used to prevent shifting.
The next step is to prepare your sewing machine. Not just any presser foot will work–you need to change to a darning foot. (If you don’t have one, check with the manufacturer of your machine to see if they make one.) Lower the feed-dog on your machine to allow free movement of the fabric.
Position a corner of the quilt under the machine. Lower the foot onto the fabric. Activate the “needle stop down” feature on your machine so the needle will stay in the fabric when you need to take pauses.
Using both hands, move the fabric around in a random swirl pattern. Make frequent pauses as needed to adjust the surrounding fabric, remove safety pins, etc.
Don’t let your quilt hang over the edge of the table–the weight of the quilt will pull on the needle and cause unnecessary tension, not to mention make it difficult to work. Keeping the quilt on the table (or at least your lap) will make it easier to maneuver. Here’s a video to help show you what this process should look like. (Do NOT feel the need to go as quickly as I do–that’s how fingers get run over and quilts messed up.)
Practice, practice, practice! Before you attempt this on the quilt you have been laboring over for weeks, do a test run on scraps until you feel comfortable. Also check the back side periodically to make sure no fabric has bunched up. (Your careful basting will help avoid this!) Should this occur, you will need to pick the stitches out, smooth the area, and resume.
Ta da! Congratulations! Now you will want to quilt everything in sight.

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Filed Under: Catablog, guest post, machine quilt with free motion foot 22 Comments

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Lovely comments

  1. Nunurina says

    January 10, 2011 at 5:00 pm

    Muchas gracias por el tutorial y las explicaciones, yo siempre me preguntaba como se hacía.
    Me gusta mucho tu blog.
    Núria.

    Reply
  2. Valerie says

    January 10, 2011 at 5:29 pm

    Your quilts are beautiful! I have the foot…I've just never been successful. What is your tension when you free motion?

    Reply
  3. Mandy @ Sugar Bee Craft Edition says

    January 10, 2011 at 8:11 pm

    This is EXACTLY what I needed – thanks so much for the tutorial!

    Reply
  4. Vanessa Goertzen says

    January 10, 2011 at 8:51 pm

    Valerie: The thread tension has not been altered from its standard setting (5 on my Bernina). You could definitely experiment though on some scraps of fabric to see what you like the best with your machine! Hope this helps,

    Vanessa

    Reply
  5. Jackie says

    January 14, 2011 at 8:07 pm

    I'm wondering where you guys get your fabrics. My local fabric shops don't have fabric that is nearly as pretty as what you show.

    I was wondering if maybe you order online from somewhere.

    Thanks.

    Reply
  6. Vanessa Goertzen says

    January 16, 2011 at 9:32 pm

    Jackie: Are you going to a quilt shop or a chain? There is a world of difference. Quilt shops carry fabrics that are a lot better quality–generally a higher thread count. (They also tend to carry the cute brands we all like where chains do not.) Quilt shops are kind of snobbish–they won't carry a brand if the chains do. You may just want to explore other quilt shops in your area–or move to the online option. I have found that etsy has some good fabric stores–and I think one of them is a sponsor for Heidi (SkyReve?)

    Reply
  7. Vanessa Goertzen says

    January 16, 2011 at 9:33 pm

    By the way, I guess the sound wasn't working on the video link so I have reloaded it to my youtube account with the sound restored. Sorry I didn't catch this sooner!

    Reply
  8. Elena says

    January 19, 2011 at 12:06 pm

    Thanks for the tutorial! The sound cuts out midway through for me…what do you do when you're starting/stopping in the middle of the quilt? Backstitch at all?

    Reply
  9. Dana says

    January 26, 2011 at 3:43 pm

    Thanks for the tutorial!! So excited to try it out on my quilt that I've been working on at http://www.danamadeit.blogspot.com

    Reply
  10. Melissa says

    February 13, 2011 at 9:43 pm

    Thanks so much for the tutorial. I am about to attempt doing this for the first time and I was wondering what stitch length are you using?

    Reply
  11. marjorie says

    February 22, 2012 at 5:27 am

    I love the little puppy quilt. I have a GD that would love it too. Is there a pattern or link to it?

    Reply
  12. Stephanie says

    July 10, 2012 at 6:13 pm

    I just finished my first quilting class (super excited) and we did a very basic straight line machine quilting. I have wanted to do free range but am TERRIFIED! You make it look so easy! Can you use a walking foot? Or do you have to have a darning foot? Also, I don’t think I can lower the feed dogs on my machine. I hope this doesn’t make a huge difference…

    Reply
    • Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says

      July 12, 2012 at 3:59 am

      You can’t use a walking foot for free motion quilting but darning feet are not too expensive. Don’t be afraid of it–seriously! It’s super easy and very fun!

      Reply
  13. Mable Kropog says

    July 31, 2013 at 3:10 pm

    How do I set my tension, and is my quilt going to be so loose under my darning foot? I am having so much trouble I can’t get started?

    Reply
  14. teri says

    March 19, 2014 at 3:14 am

    Vanessa I tryed to go into your Esty store and it keeps coming up error. Could you send me a link please.

    Reply
  15. Leah Day says

    October 11, 2014 at 12:09 pm

    What a wonderful video and tutorial! Very well done! Yes, you’re most definitely right – practice is absolutely the key to free motion quilting.

    Reply
  16. De says

    January 15, 2016 at 3:05 pm

    Love the quilting on the red,white,black, quilt could you show a pic of the whole quilt, thanks, or is it for sale thanks

    Reply
    • Heidi @ Honeybear Lane says

      January 20, 2016 at 4:01 pm

      Thanks, but this quilt belongs to a friend of mine. Her blog is Lella Boutique.

      Reply

Trackbacks

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    April 19, 2012 at 12:16 pm

    […] Then baste the three layers with basting spray. Muslin on bottom, then batting, then printed fabric on top. Now you can use your free-motion or darning foot to free motion quilt this!! Need to know how to free motion quilt? Check out this tutorial. […]

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    September 23, 2013 at 7:22 pm

    […] Home Decor […]

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  3. Valentine's Awesome Quilted Artwork - HoneyBear Lane says:
    October 11, 2013 at 10:03 pm

    […] January 26, 2011 By Heidi @ Honeybear Lane 4 Comments Hello there! Please subscribe to the RSS feed so you don't miss any awesome posts from Honeybear Lane!!Powered by WP Greet Box WordPress PluginI love, love, love doing quilted artwork.   I would do it all day if I had time.  I would just sit there, piecing together small designs and then quilting it.  And thinking of new designs and new things to do.  It’s just freaking fun.   And since I got my new Silhouette (did I mention that I got one?  Hooray!) I have only tried freezer paper stenciling.  It’s such an easy and fun craft.  Addicting, too.  So I decided to try my hand at a little ‘freezer-paper-stencil-then-quilted-artwork.’  Catchy name, no? Want to do it yourself?  Well, I didn’t make a step-by-step tutorial since I did two things:  Freezer Paper Stenciling: Great tutorials HERE (Ashley at Make it and Love it) and HERE (Dana at MADE) and Free-Motion Quilting: My friend Vanessa shows you how to do HERE. […]

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  4. Quilted Easter Egg - HoneyBear Lane says:
    March 19, 2014 at 8:41 pm

    […] Using a darning foot or a free-motion quilting foot, quilt some designs across your rectangle.  Now is your chance to get creative and try out new patterns!  Check out this free-motion quilting tutorial. […]

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