Machine Quilting 101: Practice, Practice, Practice

Welcome to week 4 of my Machine Quilting 101 Series! If you'd like to check out the previous weeks, click away:

Week 1: Introduction
Week 2: Pre-basting Prep
Week 3: Basting

Today we will be talking about practice. Not a very popular topic, I would wager, but there really is no way around it. As much as you (or I) would like, you can't buy experience!

There are two kinds of practice that I will talk about today.
1. Practicing on a swatch before each quilt or project.
2. Practice, in general, that helps you improve your skills.

Before you start quilting your main quilt (or project), make a test swatch. Make a small quilt sandwich out of the same exact materials that your quilt is made from, including the batting. This is the perfect place to try out your quilting design, marking tools, thread color, tension, stitch length...all of it.

This is the little swatch I made before I quilted my shimmer feather pillow. It doesn't have to be big....this one is only about 6" x 7.5". This swatch was so important because I went out on a limb by using purple thread and I used a new to me chaco liner in BLUE. I didn't plan on washing the project after it was finished, so the test swatch was crucial. It also allowed me to test out my stitch length. If you are free motion quilting, this an excellent time to check your tension. Making a practice swatch only takes a few extra minutes, but it's invaluable.

Now, let's talk about practice, in general.

My husband is a musician. Last Tuesday night when he and I went out to dinner with some other musicians we were talking about "putting in your 10,000 hours". (Studies show that 10,000 is the amount of practice time one must put in to become an expert at any given skill.) I dug up this article on the same subject. Very interesting, isn't it? I'll be mulling that over for the next several days!

Ok, so my advice...

Start small and work your way up! You can practice quilting on so many different items. Think of it as a 12 step program, if you will. :)

1. Coasters or pin cushion
2. Mini Mat
3. Placemat
4. Purse
5. Throw Pillow Cover
6. Pillow Sham
7. Wall Hanging
8. Baby Quilt
9. Lap Quilt
10. Twin Quilt
11. Queen Quilt
12. King Quilt

(I added the links just for fun.)

As you build your confidence, increase the size of your projects. Or else you could make a million quilted pin cushions. Ha!

Practice on ugly fabric and use strips of leftover batting in between. No pressure whatsoever!

Practice writing. Practice doodling. Practice new-to-you designs. I tend to use the same practice piece over and over. Change the color of thread to make it more interesting. (It's also a great way to use up some leftover bobbins in odd colors. I only have 10 bobbins for my Juki, so this is a problem sometimes.)

Practice on pieced blocks. This is something I've learned by dabbling (ever so slightly) in long arm quilting. Practicing on a piece of muslin is easy. Practicing on a pieced block (or a pieced quilt top) is definitely more challenging.

Ok, so now, as if showing my ugly practice swatches hasn't been revealing enough, here is my first ever free motion quilted quilt.

I wish you could see it in person, because it's so...you know....special. The front isn't TOO bad, but the back...oh, Mylanta! This ought to give each and everyone HOPE that you can become a machine quilter as well, if you just keep practicing!

A few years ago I was tempted to rip out the stitching and re-do it, but I decided that it's good to have a quilt to look back on and see where I started. As scary as it is. :)

Thankfully, things have gotten a little bit better since then!

I hope this has been helpful to you! If you have any practice tips to share with others, feel free to leave them in the comments. I love hearing from you!