Free Motion Quilting & Fabric Postcards

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Today I took the plunge and tried free motion quilting. I have had the foot for a while. So I got a scrap block and practiced.

Can anyone who quilts with a machine suggest why I am getting a little loopy on the back. Is my tension to tight or loose? It was hard trying to keep the fabric moving.

I also did this postcard.

My oldest son Tyler wanted to make a postcard. So he went through my scraps and sewed these pieces together. Not too bad. I did the rest of the work for him.

8 thoughts on “Free Motion Quilting & Fabric Postcards”

  1. OH….those are nice! And i LOVE Tyler’s (maybe it reminds me of TEACHERS and school!)

    Don’t know about your loops but your free motion quilting is pretty!

    Carol in Sweden

  2. Hi Holly,

    I like what you are making as always. I’ve been looking at your site daily waiting to the next new item to show up.

    I like that free motion! No idea about your loopy issues.

    Remember when you were a little girl and I was teaching you about the upper and lower tensions? I DO!

    I miss you so much,

    Love you,
    Mom

  4. i’m kinda where you are on the whole free motion thing…i know the loops are a tension issue…how to resolve it…no clue…sorry! it’s looking good…i think you are a natural!

  5. Hi. Some of your loops are caused by too loose tension on the top (turn the number higher) and by moving around the curve too fast. Try speeding up your foot and slowing down your hand–there is a “sweet point” you’ll find where you have good control, the stitches aren’t too big or too small. As a beginner, it’s better to start with a heavy foot on the speed pedal and just move your hands around. If you’re going to small you’ll get all peaks and angles. Hope this helps a bit.

  6. I also agree, your top tension needs to be tighter. If it’s currently on #4, try 5 or 6. If things just go more haywire, then reset back to 4, or whatever you started at. Then try to loosen your bobbin tension. Left is loose, right is tight.

    I have literally spent hours tweaking my own tension. I’d go too far with the bobbin adjustments, and it’d take me a while to figure it out. I’d get flipped up with the top tension, and make things worse… then I hit upon the magical combination and I’m happily sewing again! 🙂

  8. I love free motion – Leah S up there is who inspired me to try it a year or so ago!!! 🙂 I totally agree with her – and it took me forver to figure out that the top thread tension seems to do better set really high when you’re doing free motion, like she said, even 5 or 6! I very rarely have to mess with my bobbin tension. OH – and do you have speeds on your machine? It helps if you can set your speed regulator to a medium or slow speed, so you can’t run away with yourself. If you don’t have a stitch regulator, which I don’t, it helps you sort of keep your stitches uniform going slow for a bit and then working your way up to faster speeds. I still go really slow! Lol* Looks great!! 🙂 Good luck! 🙂

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