So, it has been a while since I have spent time on my longarm machine, and I was missing it. I knew that the more time I spent away, the more I would forget. My muscle memory would start to deteriorate, and I would become frustrated with my tension setting. Therefore, I set aside time tackle some free motion longarm quilting practice.
There was a decent amount of flannel yardage in my stash I have been wanting to use. What to do? Make flannel quilted baby blankets! And use this as an opportunity for free motion quilting practice.
Determine a Design
The first thing I needed to work out was what design I wanted to quilt into this blanket. To do this, I suggest you pull out some paper or a whiteboard and start doodling. I began by practicing some feathers. Even though I really liked how they were turning out they did not seem fitting for the fabric print I was using.
Next, I began practicing some paisley, loops, stipples, flowers and swirls but nothing felt right for this blanket. I looked at the fabric some more and thought about the end use of this creation and it being a gift for a child, and it hit me. I wanted to incorporate some words into the quilting along with some motifs.
The result was quilting a pattern that included the words love, heart and blessing and the designs of a cross, flower, and heart. I want the child who receives this to know they are a blessing and loved. This felt right to me and knew I now needed to practice.
Practice on Paper or Whiteboard First
To practice my creation, I started out on large craft paper from the dollar store. Once I had the pattern down, I moved onto my whiteboard and spent a good hour practicing it repeatedly. After I was comfortable and confident, I drew my design out on an 8×11 piece of copy paper and taped it to the wall above my longarm for reference. My brain likes to wander and sometimes I forget what I was doing so this allows me to refocus and stay consistent.
You could always just go straight to your machine and practice. Once you have quilted material you could use it for so many projects like bags, placemats, throws, coasters and even a jacket! Let your imagination go wild. I have chosen this route a few times. One time I used old cotton sheets from the thrift store to create a quilt sandwich and let everyone who visited try their hand at free motion quilting. I still have that fabric and I am going to square it up and bind it as a memory quilt for us.
Time to Quilt
After all that practice it was time to head to my longarm machine and load the fabric. I had about four yards of flannel material with an owl pattern for the front and used a zig zag pattern for the backing. I loaded this onto my machine along with the batting and started quilting. Since I was cutting the fabric to size, I just floated the top material because I knew it was wider than needed.
Using this length allowed me to repeat the design, building muscle memory and improving as I progressed. I could see my loops, circles, lines and points improve. By the end I felt myself moving with smoother motions and more consistent spacing and sizing. I was getting into the groove and when I reached the end, I wished I had more material ready.
End Results
I was able to produce two baby blankets from this quilted fabric, and I am going to use the leftover fabric for other projects. I think a few doll blankets would be nice, maybe some coasters for children or even candle mats. The best result was the improvement in my free motion skills. Make sure you allow yourself time for your free motion longarm quilting practice. Now it’s time to quilt some of my quilt tops.
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If you would like a reference book that will provide examples and detailed instructions on free motion quilting, I highly recommend Free-Motion Meandering: A Beginners Guide to Machine Quilting by Angela Waters.
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