Have you heard about my Free-motion Challenge Quilting Alongs? Think of it as spending time with me, your “quilting personal trainer”, as I help you improve your free-motion quilting skills while working through a quilt. Each “challenge” is a video series focusing on a technique or series of designs.
Ready for a Quilting Challenge?
We just finished up the third challenge, a six-week video series, Becoming Successful with Swirls.
It’s crazy to think of just how much we covered in this free series! In the first video, we started with the Basic Swirl and the Swirl Hook design. Both of which are perfect as all over designs.
Then, we learned how to add a little traveling to quilt concentric swirls.
Of course, we couldn’t forget pebbles and some more swirl variations. In each video, I showed how to quilt them on a sewing machine AND a longarm.
We moved onto elongated swirls, echoed pebbles, then we finished up the series (and the class quilt) by learning how to use swirls to make a super cool border design.
As I prepared the videos (as well as the free PDF tip sheets), I realized that when it comes to quilting swirls, there’s only a few things you have to remember:
Tips for Machine Quilting Swirls
1. Echo, Echo, Echo
As with most quilting designs, echoing is a great way to maneuver around an area, fill in gaps as well as build up designs. The main thing to remember is that you want to keep the spacing between your echo lines as consistent as possible. Doing so will help everything blend in together and gives the design a great all over texture.
2. Watch out for Sq-wirls
The most common struggle with quilting swirls is getting a nice round swirls……instead, sometime we end up with squared off swirls….or, sq-wirls. If this happening to you, try not to get frustrated. The more comfortable you become with quilting the design, the more your lines will smooth out. You can also try quilting a little quicker. The faster you can go (while still being in control) the more that momentum will carry you through the curve!
3. Keep it together
If you treat your quilting like a blob, you will have fewer gaps in your quilting. What I mean if you want to keep your designs close together and fill in any gaps as you are quilting. I think that most people will notice a gap in the quilting before they notice an error, so try to fill in those gaps!
Wanna Quilt Along?
Even though the Becoming Successful with Swirls challenge is over, it’s not too late to give it a shot! The videos will stay up on YouTube, so you can check it out at your convenience.
Watch ‘Em All
Here are links to all the videos and quilting diagrams:
Do you have a quilting friend you think would love to participate? Forward this email to them! Quilting is always much more fun in a group.
Join me for Facebook Live Q&A
If you have questions about machine quilting swirls, or free-motion quilting in general, join me August 22nd at 3pm CST for a Facebook Live Q&A. Plus I have a fun announcement……just saying!
The live Q&A will be on my Free-motion Challenge Quilting Along Facebook group. Click here to join the group before the Q&A starts. If you can’t make it, don’t worry, the video will be posted on the group page.
I love your videos. I have a panel with faries and a unicorn how do I decide what or how I should quilt in that area.
Hi Angela,
Love this blog,
I wanted to know How do you free motion quilt without pinning your quilts as I never noticed pins when you quilt.
Thank you.
So….Quilt show in Houston is only a few weeks away. You coming?
I’m ridiculously lucky because I live in the Houston area and this year I turn 40 – during the show! How fun is that? I just got my first sit down long arm too. I’m just having a great year and i saw you last year at the quilt show during preview night. You were my first Sew-lebrity ( shouldn’t that be a word?). I’ve enjoyed your videos so much and I’ve borrowed (stolen) my kids erasable doodle board and I’ve been practicing the motifs you demonstrate. My husband – God Bless Him – has this amusing smile on his face while I sit next to him on the couch practicing swirls, lines, and asking him “how’s that?” every 60 seconds. He tolerates my whimsy. Anyways, I sure hope you make the trek. It’s worth it! In today’s world, people are a bit….grumpy. I don’t know of a happier group of people that quilters and that makes the Houston Quilt Show my own happy place. There’s nothing like being in a building with 50,000 other deliriously happy people.
Angela Walters, thank you for this post. Its very inspiring.
Hi Angela – I’m wondering if you have information on putting together the quilt top for the swirls challenge – I’m wanting to use my stash fabric this time but I can’t seem to find info on sizes etc – I did see that “Instructions on how to prepare your quilt will be included” with the kit but can’t see that info anywhere else ?? Thanks 🙂