I have an old sewing machine. Not vintage, just old - like maybe 10 years old. When I bought it, it was intended for basic sewing - mostly home dec stuff, valances and curtain panels. I was quilting at the time, or at least I had made quilts in the past, and my (also old) used Singer's tension was on the fritz for the second time in a short period of time. I figured I could get a new machine for close to the amount of money I would spend getting the Singer fixed and serviced - AGAIN.
I purchased a Euro-Pro Craft n Sew machine that was getting decent reviews at the time. It has been a very reliable machine and it did everything I needed it to do, even hemming thick denim jeans. I have never had it serviced in all of these years! Granted, it got pretty light usage for most of that time. Cleaning out and sorting through my old stash - I found the bag and manual that came with that Euro-Pro machine. Plenty of extra feet in that bag that I never had any use for before.
Lo and behold! A free-motion foot and a feed dog cover... could it be? I could actually free-motion on this machine??? You may laugh at this, but here it is - My very first ever attempt at free-motion!
Now, the amount of gripping and pressure this took on my hands makes it pretty much impossible for me to imagine doing on any quilt. I don't think I could even wrangle a throw quilt through this process. I'll be sticking to the longarmers, but maybe I could get to the point where I felt comfortable trying this on something the size of a pillow or mini quilt? Who knows! Anyway, it was fun...
it looks fabulous for your first attempt. Just remember practice makes perfect :)
ReplyDeleteIs it supposed to be so hard to move the fabric? I mean this piece was very small - maybe 8 inches wide. I literally had to grip it with both hands and pull.
DeleteHey, great job for your first try! It's pretty exciting to think, "maybe I can do this," right? No, it's not supposed to be so hard to move the fabric. You should have an adjustment on your machine for the amount of pressure the presser foot has on it. On my machine, I have to set that to no pressure. That should help. If you've covered the feed dogs, it should be that which is dragging you down. The other thing that helps are gloves like Machingers, but even a pair of gardening gloves with nubby rubber fingertips would work. Personally, I use a pair of football receiver gloves from the sporting goods aisle at Walmart. They have a tacky gripping palm and finger surface. Hope that helps. Don't give up though, keep trying, but if your machine isn't cooperating, look for one that will. Maybe go to a store and try a machine just to get the feel of what it "should" feel like to FMQ.
ReplyDeleteI meant to say, "If you've covered the feed dogs, it shouldn't be that (the feed dogs) dragging you down."
ReplyDeleteI will try again! and the feed dogs were covered, so I'll check for a presser foot adjustment. Going to a store and trying FMQ is a great idea! Thank you!
DeleteI am a fairly novice quilter, this is my sixth year, I never sewed in my life before. I have been doing my own quilting on a domestic Janome. Everything from landscape to queen size. I must say though I can only do the queens for hour periods at a time. I fan fold my quilts, I find it easier to tuck in the bed of the quilt and also fan fold on my lap. Do about 6 to 8 inch widths. I have meandered, done a circle type of thing that looks more like a "David Austin" rose, it was supposed to be circles but couldn't do it, lol. So came the rose. The regular stippling, the wave and leaves. I don't really follow a pattern, just the one in my head and scribble stuff on paper. Adjust your tension, put the darning foot on and play with the speed of your machine. I love doing my quilts from start to absolute finish. Actually, I was too cheap to pay someone and would rather buy more material. I have made over 200 quilts of all sizes.
ReplyDelete