No matter the size of the quilt the way I hold the "sandwich" is the same. You want to use your left hand to hold all the scrunched up fabric and guide it where you want it to go, and use your right hand to keep the area flat and smooth. I recently lectured at the Ottawa IL guild and was asked a very familiar question -"How do you get your stitches so even?" There is a very simple answer and you all know the answer to it - PRACTICE! The more you do something the better you get at it and the more you understand how something works best for you. So get in there and practice. I keep a stack of quilt sandwichs next to my machine and before I start in quilting on anything I do a practice warm up.
I also test out my thread and design to make sure that is what I want to put on that quilt surface. And I always try to start with a new needle on every new project.
I also make sure that I clean out my bobbin area. Even if you are using polyester thread you are still using cotton fabric and batting and
alot of lint builds up in a quick amount of time inside the bobbin area. So I take off the throat plate and clean out the bobbin area with every new project as well. And on a very big project I clean the bobbin area in the middle of the project.
Remember our sewing machines are the tools we use and a good clean machine is going to work better than a beat up dirty one.
1 comment:
Frieda, this is GREAT information that you have been passing along. Thanks. One question. Do you ever block your work? What exactly is the purpose of blocking something? Thanks in advance.
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