Can I Free Motion Quilt on a Regular Sewing Machine?

By National Quilters Circle

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Hello! I would really like to take the class, Fabulous Free Motion Quilting, but I have a question. I have a quilting machine, but it’s really more like a regular sewing machine. Would I still be able to do this? Also, is free motion quilting okay to try as a beginner?



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NQC Answer

Hi there! Yes, free motion quilting can be done on a regular sewing machine. What’s important to note however is that you will need the ability to lower or disengage your feed dogs. On most machines this is a lever or switch found of the side or back of your machine. Check your manual if you are unsure whether your machine has this capability.

Other than that, free motion quilting is just straight stitching. There are different presser feet that can make it easier to see as you stitch – these are called “free motion feet,” sometimes called a “darning foot,” and can come in many different varieties.

Free motion quilting is typically done on a full quilt rather than a quilt block, however a “full quilt” can be any size you want! For example, in this particular class, Heather makes an entire art that is about the size of a sheet of paper.

And yes – free motion quilting can certainly be practiced as a beginner. In fact, it can be learned and practiced at any skill level. Some may even find that it is easier than sewing or piecing, as there is no measuring, marking, seam allowance, or anything to keep track of – It’s just simply doodling with thread!

Here are a few videos you could watch before trying out the class:

Hope that helps!

Ashley

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15 Responses to “Can I Free Motion Quilt on a Regular Sewing Machine?”

  1. Faruk Hossain

    I have experience garment sewing machine mechanics 12 year all sewing machine the

  2. Sarah M

    I am looking at 2 sewing machines and I want to Freestyle sew...would either a Kenmore modeling 385 12916890 or a SingerE99670 Beatles to do this?

  3. Daniellr

    I would to take a free motion quilting class.

  4. Girtha Fleming

    Would like to take a class in machine quilting

  5. Debra Briere

    Hi I am just wondering if any of your machine quilting videos talk about how to handle a queen size quilt on a sewing machine in order to be able to quilt it. Do you roll it, how, and where on the quilt do you start,middle, edge, etc. Most of the videos I have seen demos for are using small wall art quilts. I need to know how to deal with the bulk. I’d like to see how a professional would do it. Please let me know if you have a video or maybe it could be a future idea for one.

  6. Charlene Quinilty

    i have a singer stylist 834 straight stitch with a few zigzag options. it requires a feeddog cover plate. but when i try to sew it does not move. what could be wrong. I have right foot on also.

  7. June Campbell

    Hi. I am new to quilting and am trying to learn free motion quilting. The needle thread keeps breaking. I am using an old Singer Touch and Sew 26. I cannot lower the feed dogs on this machine but I can raise the throat plate to a position for darning. This seems to work. I have a free motion pressure foot that works on this machine. I have a fresh needle, sized 14 and I have fiddled with the stitch length and tension. The thread continues to break. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.

  8. Tonia Woodside

    I’m already a member How do I get videos

  9. Phyllis Kommert

    Should you set your stitches at a certain number?

  10. Virginia Alarcon

    I’ve quilted as beginner about 10 years ago & after cancer everything was shelved. I decided to start all over again. I bought a membership at National Quilters Circle hoping to get help & direction how I can start again. I hope to get back confidence but I feel lost where to start? I got a Scrappy Posies Pattern & so far cut my materials. But still not sure how to proceed. Please help.