how to squeeze large quilt on the little hole of domestic SM

[judith n.]

hi there,
now i decided to quilt a large patchwork, but i found out that it is chllening to squeeze it in to the little hole of the sewing machine, any body could help with advice please.
tnx
becky /netherlands

[judith n.]

Try accordian folding the part that is between the needle and the machine. It's more flexible than rolling, and the folded fabric stands up, allowing you to get more in a small space.

[Teri L.]

try Paula Reid's fluff & stuff method. push the quilt in to the harp area (to the right of the needle) and flatten out the area around the needle where you're going to quilt.
I'll try and post pictures in a couple of days. Paula has a video available on her website. http://battsintheattic.com/

[Lorna B.]

Either roll or fluff and stuff methods work great. Ricky demonstrated quilting a large quilt on his domestic a while ago on one of the shows. I've quilted up a queen size on my old elna. It helps to be able to have a pattern where you can quilt one half then turn the quilt and quilt the other half upside down. That way only half the quilt has to get stuffed in there at a time. I think in the classroom section on machine quilting they demonstrate quilting a large quilt. Most important to have a table or work area large enough to support the quilt around you so none of it is hanging and pulling on the area you are trying to work on. I stack storage boxes around my small work area for quilt support.

[Sharon E.]

Yes, roll or fluff -- when half of it gets under the harp, remember you only need to quilt about the size of a potholder at a time. Ricky also demonstrated that.

[Sharon E.]

tnx every body for the advice, i will try it this evening
cheers

[Jules M.]

I'm in the stuff & fluff camp as well. Last fall I quilted a biggie... 103" square. It had a medallion center so once the areas all over were held down, I did the detail quilting in the medallion and worked my way out. I was quite happy to get to the edges.

[Jules M.]

Ricky also says to let the quilt kind of accordion fold over your right hand. That way it isn't all stuffed between your hand and the machine. I have been doing this ever since I saw Ricky do it and it is a huge help in moving things around.

[Jules M.]

well, it was much better with your advices!
tnx
i didnt like it, it made me stressed. so i think i will stick to patch working.
may be i will adopt the 'quilt as you go' method, that can be a good solution. i will try.
tnx again for all of you!
cheers
becky
NL

[Teri L.]

The process took a little bit of time to get used to before i really got comfortable with the process. Give it another go or two.

Teri

[Deborah W.]

I am trying to learn to machine quilt on my domestic machine. I have done one large lap quilt and found it quite awkward. Now, until I get better at it, I have been practicing on small wallhanginings and plan to make some placemats and practice free motion on those. Then I will just be concentrating on the process of quilting and won't also be worrying about how to move the bulk around. When I get better at the quilting, I hope I will be more comfortable with the bulk of fabric to contend with as well.

[Margo C.]

You might want to try one of Sharon Schamber's HALO aids for machine quilting on a domestic machine. I find that it give me lots better control of the quilt sandwich without causing so much tension in my shoulders.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SpmMYIDCrZw

https://www.purpledaisiesllc.com/cgi...on&key=223

[Terry K.]

Beckyezra, hang in there. Quilting is my favorite part of the process as it remindes me of doodling and coloring. I have machine quilted all of my quilts (Even a 110x110 sized quilt!) but one on my 1630 Bernina which has about a six inch harp. . .I use the puddle method. Although I would love to purchase an upgraded model, $$ is always in too short a supply so I'm thankful for the machine I have!

Littleflower has some great tips on her blog about relaxing while you are quilting and that helps tremendously. Believe in yourself and remember the more that you practice the better you are going to get. Now, even when I stitch in the ditch, I'm in free motion mode because it is easier for me to sew forwards or backwards or sideways than it is for me to deal with the feed dogs and a foot!! You might want to consider making some lap size quilts to build your confidence. Here are a couple photos of a baby quilt I finished last month.

Oh and the quilt I didn't quilt on my Bernina, I did on a longarm to try it out. While I was impressed with how fast the process was; I wasn't excited with how my quilting turned out and I decided that I might baste some quilts for awhile to practice. So there are learning curves no matter what method you are going to use.

[Judith R.]

Terry, thanks for posting the pics of your quilting! I love seeing how you quilted the bird. I'm gonna have to try this in one of my projects. You do great work!

[Terry K.]

HeyJudee, thank you for the most kind compliment about ny quilting.