How To Quilt With A Sewing Machine

To quilt, the first thing you need to know is that you will need a sewing machine. Quilting has to do with attachment or joining of two or more fabric together to produce a padded material that has a thicker texture.

The result of this process is known as quilt or quilted attire or clothing. Basically, quilting involves bringing together 3 layers of materials or fabric.

The materials or fabric sections that make up the three layers are the top fabric or piece, the batting, and the backing material.

While following the typical three layers of fabric requirement, quilting can be carried out in various forms. All you have to do is to adopt several styles.

If you are an individual who wants to know how to quilt using their personal sewing machine, you can start now.

It is never as difficult as it is being painted. All you need is to read through this article and follow the provided information.

This article was specially created for people like you. People who have a plan of learning how to quilt using a sewing machine.

In the end, this article will assist you in achieving your quilting dreams. The dream of quilting on independently.

Quilting With Sewing Machine Steps

Get a big table surface

To kick start your quilting career, there is a need to get a table that is wide or big enough to accommodate all of your working materials.

It is important you don’t give room to anything that could make you look or appear disorganized.

A big table that is big enough or with a wide surface will ensure your working materials are intact, without them dropping from the table.

It is the first step in preventing any form of problems that may arise with your sewing machine.

Also, if the quilt constantly drops down, it will disturb the good stitches you have made. For domestic use, you can pick up an option of making use of a drop in a table.

One of the challenges of using drop, if the likely difficulty that may arise from its arrangement.

While quilting, ensure you leave room for enough space on your left-hand side. When you consider this, it ensures you have the freedom of moving your left hand with no barrier.

Basically, for a lot of people, most of the designs are being done using the left hand.

Start Little

To be successful in quilting, there is a need to stay totally away from frustrations. The only way you can do away with frustrations is when you take it one step at a time.

Avoid having a lot to do at a time. Getting loaded up should never be an option.

Ensure you start quilting with your sewing machine as a pace you can manage and control. Start with the small unit to avoid burnout.

While starting with the small unit, ensure you do not take advantage of this by going for the smallest unit.

When you engage with the unit that is very small, it can as well lead to days, hours, and minutes of avoidable workload.

Also, this could lead to unnecessary injuries as you may unknowingly get the needle on your finger thinking it is the fabric. A quilting unit between 36-50 inches is good to start with.

Know how best to use your tools

While quilting, your fabric is always grouped into three different sections. Just as listed in the introduction, we have the top piece, the batting, and the backing.

At all times, ensure the batting and the backing are bigger than the top fabric.

A size between 2-3 inches is perfect. This approach is to ensure you do not go out of fabric as a result of the possible movement of fabric while stitching.

We have two different types of batting. These are the poly and the cotton batting.

In the process of fabric basting, the most common approach is the use of a basting spray.

But in the case of unavailability of basting spray, you can make use of safety pins as an alternative.

What makes the basting spray a better tool is how easy it makes sewing looks and the reduction in working time.

Other important tools include a very good iron- preferably those irons that are exclusively designed for quilting, scissors, chalk markers, a mat, and a rotary cutter.

Prepare for sewing

Ensure the backing piece is placed, down to the right side. Ensure the backing piece remains as flat as possible.

To achieve this flatness, you can either make use of a heating machine or a quilting iron.

Moving forward, apply the basting spray across the backing piece.

After you must have successfully applied the basting spray across the backing piece, follow it up by putting the batting piece of fabric on it.

Now that the batting piece is resting over the backing piece, repeat the same spraying process on the batting piece.

Apply the basting spray across the batting piece and place the top piece up, to the right side, on the batting piece.

Now that all sections have been properly placed and positioned, ensure you make them appear neat, nice, and flat. To achieve the desired flatness, you can make use of your hand or an iron.

If you are making use of poly fabric, ensure you make use of either your hand of a cool iron while trying to achieve the desired flatness.

After all of these steps have been followed, you are now ready to sew. Using the sewing machine, sew/close up all the edges. Repeating the provided steps, you can prepare as many blocks as possible.

While sewing, go for a simple shaped block

While choosing a block, ensure you go for a square and simple block, which should be on the diagonal.

This approach gives a very nice result. If you are thinking of coming up or creating an out of the world designs (Crazy designs), the simple shaped block will be absolutely fantastic.

While coming up with crazy designs, it is possible you get restricted from having straight sewing lines on your desired designs.

Avoid the use of stagy shapes. A stagy shape, especially when you invest heavily in more of it, brings nothing but misery.

Types of sewing machines for quilting

Mechanical sewing machine

This machine is also known as a manual or domestic sewing machine. While using this type of sewing machine, all related or associated settings are manually carried out by the operator.

The manually operated sewing machine is considered as a perfect choice for an individual who wishes to understand the basics of sewing.

Although they come with limited features, they are affordable and also easy to repair.

And for the sewing of thick fabrics, they are considered as unfit. Also, they come with an inbuilt stitch capacity.

An improvement of this type of sewing machine has been made. This new upgrade comes with a small LCD screen which makes the selection of stitching patterns easier.

Additionally, it comes with more features that are better than its previous models. You do not need to be a professional before you can operate it.

Electronic sewing machine

Sewing machines that fall under this category are considered as the new big things in the sewing machine world.

They come with enough sewing features when compared with the mechanical sewing machine.

The electronic sewing machine is believed to be a product of both the computerized and the mechanical types of sewing machines.

The electronic sewing machines are made for professional sewing, meaning they are the perfect sewing machine for top quilters.

This type of sewing machine comes with a lot of amazing features with up to 7 in-built stitch capability, and some brands or models come with an LCD screen.

The LCD makes it easier and faster for quilters to choose their preferred stitch pattern.

Unlike the repair of the mechanical sewing machine which is easier to carry out, the electronic sewing machine needs the attention of a technician upon breakdown or any experience or record of ineffectiveness.

Computerized sewing machine

This is the height of it all in the sewing world. They are known to be sewing machines with a high level of technology.

You can connect this type of sewing machine to your computer and the internet.

They are considered as the best fit for industrial uses and for large scale fabric designs.

Its inbuilt stitch capacity is between 50 and 200, a feature that is bigger than the other types of sewing machines on this list.

The outcome is considered to be extremely fast, an attribute that makes it super-efficient. It is expensive, although the price varies amongst different designs.

FAQ about Quilting Sewing Machine

What type of machine should I go for?

The type of sewing machine to go for depends on your level of experience in the quilting world.

If you are a beginner, it is expected to start with the mechanical sewing machine, and you can upgrade to the use of the electronic sewing machine as you grow and develop into a professional.

Remember, there are no rules that say you are restricted to the mechanical sewing machine as a beginner.

If you are running a large scale fabric design business, a computerized sewing machine can be a great try.

How does the electronic sewing machine work?

The electronic sewing machine is of two types. We have the ones that are powered by electricity, and we also have the ones that are powered by batteries.

The ones that fall under the category of heavy-duty are electrically powered.

Why can’t I use a hot iron on the poly fabrics?

Poly fabrics can’t withstand heat. They shrink when they come in contact with heat.

What if I don’t have a large table?

If you don’t have a large table, you can bring together different tables that can be easily joined together to form a large table.

Conclusion

If anybody tells you quilting is easy, it’s a big lie. To get it right, you need constant practice and a lot of patience.

No matter how hard it may appear, never be discouraged. Never quit. The key to being an experienced or a professional quilter lies in the constant use of your sewing machine.

With the information provided in this article, if fully followed, then you will be better within a very short time. Keep quilting.