We all know that it takes practice to get better at free-motion quilting. But practice is so much more fun when you are doing it with friends. Now you can improve your quilting skills and cheer each other on as I help you improve your Free-motion Machine Quilting Skills!
This Free-motion Challenge consists of a series of 10 videos on a variety of designs.
Before You Start
All that you need is your sewing machine or longarm, a quilt sandwich to practice on and a free-motion quilting foot. But here are a few supplies that I find helpful when machine quilting:
If you would like to quilt along with me on the same quilt, you can click here for the free Quilt Pattern or purchase the Quilt Kit by clicking here.
The FMQ Challenge Quilt kit includes the pattern and fabric for the quilt top and binding.
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Week 1: Introduction to the Challenge
In this video, I introduce you to the challenge as well as share some of my favorite machine quilting supplies!
Week 2: Meandering And Echoing
This week’s challenge will help you master the basic meander and will show how to add emphasis with echoing. In this free video, you’ll learn:
- How to quilt a basic meander machine quilting design.
- Troubleshoot your quilting to get the best result.
- How to echo blocks to highlight them.
Click here to download Week 1 Quilting Diagrams and Tip Sheet.
Books:
“Free-motion Meandering: A Beginner’s Guide to Free-motion quilting”
“Free-motion Quilting with Angela Walters”
Blog Posts:
Week 3: Continuous Curves and Motifs
In this week’s challenge, we will discuss an incredibly versatile design, the continuous curve. You’ll learn:
- How to efficiently quilt a space
- How to create motifs
- Be inspired to try this on your quilts!
Week 4: The Leafy Meander
In this week’s challenge, you’ll:
- Learn how to quilt the Leafy Meander Design
- Learn 3 ways to turn the design around
- See what this design looks like on actual quilts.
Books:
“Free-motion Meandering: A Beginner’s Guide to Free-motion quilting”
Week 5: Dot to Dot Quilting
Learn how easy it is to “connect the dots” on your quilt to create intricate machine quilting designs, without marking!
- Learn how to connect “dots” on a quilt to create intricate designs
- See how to quilt it with or without a ruler
- Get inspired with quilting eye candy
Week 6: Wavy and Serpentine Lines
Let’s take a break from straight lines in this week’s challenge. In this video, you’ll:
- Learn how to quilt wavy lines to create a lovely texture on your quilt
- See how to fix common mistakes
- Watch as I show how to break up larger areas using wavy line designs
Week 6 Bonus Video: How to Use Serpentine Lines
It’s one thing to know how to machine quilt a design, it’s a completely different thing to know where and how to use them on your quilts! With several different quilted samples, I show you how to use these designs on your quilts.
Week 7: Basic Swirl Meander
Week 7 introduces us to the Swirl Meander, a versatile design that’s a staple in machine quilting!
- Learn how to quilt the swirl design.
- See how to easy it is to quilt around areas.
- Troubleshoot common swirl frustrations.
Books:
“Free-motion Meandering: A Beginner’s Guide to Free-motion quilting”
“Free-motion Quilting with Angela Walters”
Blog Posts:
The Feather Meander
In part two of Week 7, we are going to learn how to quilt one of my favorite designs, the feather. In this video, you’ll:
- Learn how to quilt the feather in a meander.
- See how to easy it is to quilt around areas.
- Troubleshoot common quilting frustrations.
Week 8: Clamshells & Stacked Squares
Clamshells are a classic hand quilting design, but in this tutorial, they get a modern twist. In this week’s challenge, you’ll:
- Learn how to free-hand the clamshell design
- Create some different variations
- See the designs on actual quilts
Machine quilting stacked squares on your quilt is a fun way to create a neat effect! In part two of this week’s challenge, you’ll:
- Learn how to machine quilt with rulers to create the design.
- See how to change up size for varied effects.
Week 9: Wishbones
The Wishbone quilting design is perfect for sashing and borders, but it also fills in irregularly shaped areas as well. Plus, it’s easier than you might think!
Finishing Your Challenge Quilt
Now that the blocks are all quilted, it’s time to quilt the rest of your quilt! In this video, I give you three different finishing options!