[bright music]
- Hello, quilters.
Welcome to "Easy Machine Quilting."
I'm Lori Kennedy.
I am a quilter and author from Stillwater, Minnesota,
and this is my third time teaching
for the Wisconsin Quilt Show.
I am delighted to be with you, and I'm really grateful
to the people at Wisconsin PBS, PBS Wisconsin,
for creating this show this year
and making it possible, a virtual show possible in 2020.
And I'd like to thank all of you for attending as well.
This is a new experience for all of us,
but I think it's going to be a lot of fun.
I love all aspects of quilting,
but my favorite is free-motion quilting.
I've written three books
about creative free motion quilting, and my latest book,
25 Days to Better Machine Quilting ,
was released earlier this year.
It includes projects as well as lessons to help you
to learn the entire, all about free-motion quilting.
And we're gonna talk a lot about that today.
Now they say, when you start a new adventure or a goal,
try a new skill, you should start with why.
And I think that's a great question,
except when it comes for quilters,
I think the why is way too obvious.
We quilt because we love fabric, we love thread,
we love to buy new notions,
and we love to mix it all up in new patterns.
So today, I thought it might be a little bit more instructive
to talk about who, who do we quilt for?
Or for whom do we quilt?
That might inform us as we start our study
of free-motion quilting.
The vast majority of us create quilts
for our family and friends, and we make charity quilts.
We make quilts to celebrate certain events,
like new babies and weddings and birthdays.
And we hope that our family and friends will really cherish
and love their quilts.
And we even hope that at some point,
they might love them enough that they'll pass them on
to future generations.
So I think if we really thought about it carefully,
what we are trying to create is heirloom quilts.
Quilts that our family will cherish
for multiple generations, perhaps,
and quilts that people in future generations
will come to know us by.
Now, I thought about calling this talk
"Creative Heirloom Quilting," but I was really afraid
that the word heirloom conjured up certain images
of very fussy quilting or hours and hours
of labor creating a quilt.
And I didn't want you to think about quilting in that way.
I think heirloom quilts are quilts
that our family cherishes,
but work with me a little bit and think about other ways
that your family, the people you're quilting for,
might really appreciate in a quilt.
Now, I know for my family,
one of the things that they like are fun quilts.
And we can use our motifs to create fun quilts.
I think it's important to, when you're creating a quilt,
to engage your sense of humor.
Don't just think of quilts
as being pebbles and feathers and fussy motifs.
The motifs can be a lot of fun.
The other thing that you can use motifs for is
to create personal quilts.
When you choose motifs,
I recommend that you find motifs that make your heart sing.
They should make you happy.
If you like birds, pick bird motifs.
If you don't like worms or the look of worms,
then don't quilt stippling or meandering.
Instead again, pick motifs that make you happy
because when you're happy quilting,
your quilts will reveal that or will show that more.
Also, your quilts can be personal to the person
you're giving the quilt to.
For example, my grandson, Hugh, loves dinosaurs.
So I created this little dinosaur.
I know it looks a little bit like a turtle,
we have a little work to do on this motif.
But you can make motifs that are personal
to the recipient as well as yourself.
I also think heirloom quilts tell a story
or can tell a story.
This is an example of a quilt
that I made for my grandson, Henry.
He loves trucks,
and so I created a little village quilt for him.
In each of the signs that are on the trucks,
I used names of the people in his life,
his mother and his grandparents and his aunts and uncles.
So this quilt tells his story,
and it's somewhat of a family tree.
It's another way to use your motifs to create fun quilts.
So I think it's important if we're, again,
if we think about who we're quilting for,
our family and our friends,
that to create heirloom quilts, we can tell a story
that can be personal and they're fun.
Now, one thing that you should notice
that I didn't say is that they should be perfect.
Your quilts do not have to be perfect
in order for them to be heirlooms.
So look beyond perfection.
And as you go forward with your quilting,
don't worry so much about perfection.
Worry about making the quilts fun for you.
Now, there is one aspect of quilting
that I think we should strive for perfection.
And that is in the stitch.
The quality of the stitch.
If you make quilts that, or your quilting line is perfect,
but your stitch doesn't look so nice,
your quilt will not look good.
However, if you have a little bit of a wonky circle,
but your stitch looks beautiful,
your quilting will be much, much, much nicer
and more acceptable, and more likely again,
to become an heirloom.
Now, the way you create a perfect stitch
is by helping your sewing machine do it.
The sewing machine has to make the stitch,
but there are some things that we can do to help it.
If you start with a clean and well-oiled sewing machine,
it makes it easier for your machine
to create a perfect stitch.
Now, when you're doing free-motion quilting,
because of the nature of the batting
and how quickly you are stitching,
you'll notice that you get much more lint built up.
So it's more important to oil and clean your machine
when you're doing free-motion quilting
than for other sewing applications.
Again, always start with a clean and well-oiled sewing machine.
Now because we're doing free-motion quilting,
we have to lower the feed dogs.
The feed dogs are the teeth-like projections
that rest underneath the sole plate of the sewing machine.
In normal sewing, they advance the sewing
or the fabric forward.
In free-motion quilting, we want to take control of that.
So we lower the feed dogs.
They're completely out of the way,
and that way, we control the quilt.
Now, another way to help your sewing machine
make a really beautiful stitch
is to use a single hole throat plate.
Most of our sewing machines come with a zigzag stitch,
a zigzag sole plate, it's much wider.
And it allows for the excursion of the needle
to go back and forth.
In some machines, it can be five or even nine millimeters.
If you instead acquire a single hole throat plate,
and usually again, this is an additional accessory
that you may have to purchase, that helps to support the quilt
from underneath while the needle penetrates it.
And you'll have a much nicer stitch
when you use a single hole throat plate.
Now, there are a lot of machine needles that you can use
for free-motion quilting.
My preference is the topstitch needle.
It has a large eye and a deep groove,
and it really helps protect the thread as it penetrates
into the bobbin case.
Again, helping your machine create a lovely stitch.
Now, this is gonna strike fear in some of your hearts,
but you must learn how to adjust the tension
on your sewing machine.
Pull out your sewing machine manual and practice.
Look up how it, what you need to do to change
and adjust your tension.
In free-motion quilting, we are using a wide variety
of threads and multiple layers.
So it is a little bit challenging
for the sewing machine to create a balanced stitch.
Our machines are calibrated with 50 weight thread
on the top and in the bobbin.
And then they're calibrated with just two or three pieces
of fabric going forward in a straight stitch.
Free-motion quilting is quite a lot more tugging
and pulling than that.
And again, because of the multiple layers,
it's a little bit difficult.
For most sewing machines,
you can adjust just the top tension.
You don't even have to touch the bobbin tension
in order to create a really nice looking stitch.
But just being aware that changing the tension
is going to affect the look of your stitch
is an important thing to start observing.
And once you do and start playing with it,
you'll see that you can create a nicer stitch.
Now, there are many foot options for free-motion quilting.
I know BERNINA alone has about 11 different feet
that you can use for free-motion quilting.
You cannot use the normal foot
that comes on your sewing machine.
You need a foot that has a little bit of this spring action
that releases with every stitch.
I prefer a foot that is open-toed and offset.
What I mean by that is it is not a full ring,
it's only a partial ring that's open in the front,
and the shaft is not directly behind the needle,
it is offset a little bit.
And what that does is it allows you greater visibility.
Most sewing machine manufacturers
have a variation like this.
So see if you can find that,
or at least find one that creates the greatest visibility
when you're free-motion quilting.
Now, once the machine is set up
and you have your quilt top done,
there are three things that work together
to create the look and your feel of your quilt.
And that is batting, thread, and motifs.
All of these three things work together
to create the look and feel.
If you change one of these, any one of these elements,
you'll change how your quilt looks.
So you want to be aware of that.
Let's start with batting.
Now, there are many batting fibers available
and many batting styles available.
All of them are just a matter of personal preference.
Just make sure you get a good quality.
And most of them are available.
There are many brands available that are good quality.
And then there's three things that you need to look for.
Look at color, loft, and spacing.
Now, if you are making a quilt that has a lot of white in it,
I recommend that you choose a white batting
or a bleach batting.
If you use a natural batting,
sometimes that shows through the white fabrics
and gives it a bit of a dingy look.
Also, if you're making a quilt that is very dark
or has a lot of black in it,
you might consider using a black batting.
That way, when some of the fibers migrate
through the stitches, which almost inevitably happens,
it'll be less noticeable if they're black,
if they're darker.
Now, the other thing to look at is loft.
Loft is just a matter of personal preference.
It is a combination of kind of density and thickness,
and it's really whatever you like in your quilts.
But be aware when you're buying different battings,
that they will have different lofts
and most brands have a range of lofts.
You just need to know what you like in your quilt
and choose accordingly.
Now, there's one thing to look at
on the label of the batting, and that is the spacing.
Every batting will show the spacing required.
The maximum spacing required for quilting.
You can always quilt closer than the maximum,
but not wider than that.
What happens if you quilt beyond the maximum number
is when you wash your quilt, it will tear.
The batting will tear within the quilt.
One of the biggest mistakes I made
when I started quilting was I didn't make samples.
And I like to say that samples are the cure
for disappointing results.
What happens is if you don't make samples,
you will be surprised by the result you get,
and it may not be wrong.
It may just be different from what you expected.
So make sure when you're making a quilt
to use some of the blocks, leftover blocks,
layer them with your batting,
and see how it looks when it's stitched.
It's also important to make sure you wash your batting samples
because after a quilt is washed,
it often has a very different look.
And you want to make sure that that's something that you like.
For example, cotton really wrinkles up.
And some people love that textured look and others don't.
Again, if you make a sample, you'll know what to expect,
and I think you'll have better results.
Again, there's three things,
batting, thread, and motifs that work together.
Now let's talk about thread.
Again, you want to always choose a good quality thread.
And three of the things that you need
to look at are the color, weight, and sheen.
Now, color is obvious,
and we're always drawn to certain colors,
but you'll want to start paying attention to having a range
of colors from light to dark and medium,
so that you start to develop a collection
that will really work towards what you're trying
to achieve in your quilt.
Weight is also an important characteristic,
and that is the thickness or fineness of the thread.
And sheen is another quality of thread
that you can look for.
It is how light reflective it is
and how much it shines, basically.
All of these are determined by the type of fiber
and the combination of fibers
and the way they're manufactured.
So you just have to look for what your preference is in that.
Now, if you're trying to make a focus motif,
you want to use a heavyweight thread in a contrasting color.
If you really want to see the motif,
the heavier the thread, the better,
and the more contrasting with the background fabric,
the more it will show up.
If, on the other hand, you want to create a texture motif,
then use a lightweight thread,
a very fine thread, in a matching color.
And then the motif will just blend into the background
and you really won't see it.
And sometimes that's the desired effect.
Now, threads are measured on a continuum,
their weight is measured on a continuum,
from 100 being very fine weight
to 12, which is about the heaviest weight
that you can use in a sewing machine.
Some machines don't really like 12 weight,
but that's the range that you can use.
50 weight is the weight that we use most frequently
for piecing, and it's considered kind of an all-purpose thread.
If it's finer than that, it would probably be a 60 or an 80,
maybe even 100.
And if it's heavier, it would be in the category
of about 40, 30, 28.
Now, all the manufacturers use different methods
for weighing these things.
So they're all little bit different,
and you need to be aware of that.
One of the best ways to check the weight
of your thread is really just by inspection.
Get in the habit of spooling off a little bit
of thread and looking at it.
After a while, you'll start to realize what is
a heavyweight thread and what is a lightweight thread.
I like to compare it to the thread
that I use most frequently.
So if you use a 50 weight thread, start looking at,
when you pick up a new spool of threads,
spool it out and decide, is it heavier than that
or lighter than that?
I think that's the best way
to really decide what is the weight of a thread.
Once you've chosen the thread,
then it's really important to compare it by stitching.
So this is an example of a practice piece
that I did using all white thread.
All three of these are white thread.
On the one hand, the 100 weight thread is so fine
that it almost picks up the color
of whatever you're stitching on.
In the middle, the 50 weight thread,
you might look at that as a focus motif and think,
"Wow, that looks really quite nice."
But if you compare it to the 28 weight thread,
you really see the impact
that a heavier weight thread will have.
So it's a good idea to use these practice trials
with different weight threads
to see what kind of effect you're going to get.
I rarely use 50 weight thread on top
for my free-motion quilting
because if I'm trying to create a texture,
you can see that that finer weight thread really is better.
It creates a better texture.
And likewise, if I want to create a focus motif,
while the 50 weight thread is nice,
the 28 weight thread really has a better impact.
Again, if you make a sample,
you'll be able to see it more clearly.
Now, here's another sample
that's really important to look at.
When you're making quilts
that have a lot of contrast in them,
where there is like a dark teal and this white, for example.
If you were to choose a white thread,
you can see how it really shows up a lot on the teal,
but it drops out completely on the white fabric.
Likewise, when you choose a dark teal,
it disappears on the dark fabric,
but is very, very visible on the white fabric.
So if you want to use just one thread,
you may have to choose a compromise,
like the medium colored teal,
and that will show up evenly on all the pieces.
Again, there's always the option that you can change thread
in the white section and change thread for the teal section.
But if you want to use one thread,
you're gonna really have to look at the different effects
that the color makes.
Now, once you've chosen your thread,
now it's time to choose the needle size.
So whether you're quilting or sewing,
the needle size is determined by the weight of your thread.
So choose your thread weight first,
and then the needle size.
If you're using a 50 weight thread, which is in the middle,
you will use a size 80 or 12 needle.
Here's a little chart showing, comparing the sizes.
So if you're using a 50 weight thread,
you want the size 80 needle, start there.
And if you are using a finer thread,
you need a smaller needle.
If you're using a heavier thread,
you use a heavier or a higher gauge needle.
Now, you might want to take a screenshot of this,
but it's also, you can come to my website,
lorikennedyquilts.com, and this is available there,
and it's also available in my books.
But if you always remember to use the correct needle size,
you will avoid shredded thread and skipped stitches.
And generally, you'll get better stitch quality
from using the right size needle.
Now, before we move on,
I just wanted to talk about bobbin thread as well.
I like to use 50 weight bobbin thread.
You can use cotton or polyester,
and I like to use it in a color that matches the top thread.
You get a nicer looking stitch with that I find.
Now, you can use a lighter weight thread,
and that means you can get more yards on the bobbin,
that means you can stitch longer.
So that's fine,
but I wouldn't recommend using a heavier weight thread
in the bobbin.
Usually it just doesn't last as long
and often, bobbin cases don't like the heavyweight thread.
So I always use 50 weight cotton in my bobbin.
Find a bobbin thread that works for you and stick with it.
That would be the best way to go forward.
Now we get to my favorite part, of course, motifs.
Motifs are the thing that really add personality
to your quilts.
You can use them for design focus or to create texture.
It's really important when you're learning motifs
to doodle first.
Doodling helps you develop muscle memory
so that when you get to your sewing machine,
you don't hesitate when you're quilting
and you'll get a much smoother line.
I also like to use the time when I'm doodling
to create new designs and to combine designs.
It's a great way to just really get your creativity flowing
and get the ideas generated before you sit down
at your sewing machine to quilt.
And the other thing to do while you're doodling is
to determine the scale of a motif.
So you might decide you want a flower motif,
but you need to also look at it
within the context of your quilt.
Do you want a big flower or a small flower?
So all those things are done in the doodle phase.
One of my favorite motifs is to use your handwriting,
to use my handwriting.
And I love to see that in other quilts.
Cursive writing is primarily a continuous line.
So you have the muscle already for a continuous line design,
which is what all free-motion quilting is.
You want one continuous line.
Now there are a few exceptions, the letters I, T, J, and X,
because you have to dot those or cross those.
You have to doodle some variations
so that you can do that
without having to pick up your pen,
you can't stop and move your needle like that.
So what I do is, as I come sweep up for the I,
I put a circle on it before I sweep down.
And likewise for the other letters, T, J, and X.
Letters make really great motifs just as they are.
So here's a little quilt that I made
with the letters Q, U, I, L, and T.
And you can see just by repeating
those letters over and over again,
it really creates a real pretty design element
that you can use.
And again, because you already have the muscle memory in it,
it's a great way to start.
Most letters are a continuous line.
And so they're very easy to stitch.
You can stitch words, you can stitch phrases,
and they look great.
When you're doing the letters I, T, J, and X,
just remember to add the dot or the cross
before you come down.
And again, if you practice this in doodling,
it'll be really easy.
When you're doing a phrase, I usually just add a little,
a wavy line between the words to separate the words,
and that makes it very readable.
I would encourage you to use words, phrases
in your handwriting in your quilting.
It's a great bridge to free-motion quilting.
One of my favorite motifs is Flower Power.
It's one motif that I think everyone should learn
because it makes a great texture motif,
as well as a great focal motif.
And there's many variations of it
that really will suit many different quilt styles.
When you're stitching Flower Power,
all you do is start with a little curl
and add scallops all the way around the curl,
and then you reverse directions and add another set
of scallops all the way around.
You just keep adding more and more scallops,
and you can grow it to be very large,
to fill a large space, or you can make it small.
If you would like the motif to be a flower,
simply add a leaf.
And then if you'd rather it was just texture,
don't add the leaf and it'll look like texture,
just a textured pattern.
It's really easy to start a new flower.
Anywhere along the path, you can add a spiral
and make a new motif.
So again, this is a really easy motif
and one everyone should learn.
There are many variations of it.
Here's Flower Power as a focus motif,
and here it is as a texture motif.
So it's a great motif, very versatile
and a lot easier than stippling and meandering.
Another one of my favorite motifs is to do a messy spiral.
Spirals can be the standard spiral where you evenly curl in
and curl out are challenging.
But if you try a messy spiral where you just make a circle
and stitch over the previous line of stitching,
it looks great.
If you add a dash and then make a messy spiral
and more dashes, you can create a background fill motif.
Another one of my favorite ways to use messy spirals
is just to link them all together.
It's a great way to fill a small border.
And then thirdly, if you add leaves
to a row of messy spirals, it really looks like a row
of roses or flowers.
So this is a really easy motif for everyone to use.
And I highly recommend practicing that
with your doodling.
What I'd like you to get from today is that
creative motifs make quilts heirlooms.
If you have fun when you're quilting
and you personalize your quilts, they will tell a story.
And for most of us again, who are making our quilts
for our family and our friends,
that will be what makes quilts cherished for years to come.
Don't quit before the quilt magic happens.
Quilting, machine quilting is a skill like any other.
It takes a long time to learn.
But if you enjoy the process,
you will go forward and you'll have a great time doing it.
And you'll make quilts that are heirlooms.
Be sure to doodle every day,
that really increases your muscle memory.
It expands your creativity, and you'll have better success
when you're free-motion quilting.
Again, if you have fun when you're quilting,
your quilts will be fun.
So that's the most important thing to learn today.
I'd love for you to join us
for "25 Weeks of Better Quilting."
It's a program, a quilt-along that's available on my blog.
It's free.
You can do it at a self-paced way
and I think you'll learn a lot from it.
There's a lot of different topics
and we cover a lot of things.
Remember, a quilt without personality is just a blanket.
So let's go out there and make happy quilts
that are heirlooms.
Thank you very much for joining us.
And we hope to see you next year.
Happy quilting!
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