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Quilting Research: tips for walking foot quilting

  • May 31, 2021
  • 13 min read

Hello Friends and Welcome!


I've spent the last few weeks researching walking foot quilting to prepare to quilt a long time UFO, Simply Woven. So far, I've shared some common walking foot designs, as well as the design I've chosen for quilting Simply Woven, and this week, it's time to get started!


Walking foot quilting is a lot like sewing a seam; the fabric is fed under the needle using the feed dogs in the machine, but this time with a little help from the foot. What makes it different is the weight and size of the quilt.


Quilting a project like mine, which is close to queen sized, has a lot of bulk, which makes manoeuvring the project more difficult. Quilting is also different because it's much more visible on the finished project. Skipped and uneven stitches are now on the outside of the project for the world to see rather than hidden away inside.


With those thoughts in mind Friends, let's take a few minutes to look around my workspace and apply the tips I found during my research! I'll be focused on setting up the machine, coordinating my thread and needle, and troubleshooting along the way!



Preparing the Workspace


Both my research and past experience with walking foot quilting agree that the way you set up your sewing machine and workspace can really effect the results of your quilting. A good and comfortable set up will help you to quilt safely and with more consistency, resulting in better quilting!

This is what my workspace looks like now. It is very much a beginners' workroom, occupying an unused and un-renovated space in the house, and without any permanent furniture. The square table holds my machine and is used for sewing, while the side table is used mostly for storage since I don't have any shelving in the room.


Though it may not be the most aesthetically appealing place, it is perfectly functional and I've worked on many of my projects there! Now that we've seen where I'm starting, let's start preparing to sew!


Remove clutter and other obstacles. Currently, my sewing room is pretty disorganized and there are a few things out on the tables that don't need to be there, so my first step will be to tidy up the clutter since that will get in the way of my quilting.


This isn't a tip I found in my research since it's probably pretty intuitive to most people that you should try to keep your workspace organized, but it still felt important to mention. If my space has become this cluttered, I'm sure some other people find themselves in the same situation!


Placing your sewing machine. For most projects, sewing machine placement isn't something that you need to spend time thinking about. When you want to sew, you put your machine on a table and sew, it's not that complicated. But when quilting, especially a bed sized quilt, it's really important to have extra table space around the machine to support the bulk of your project.

When quilting, you want table space behind and to the left of your machine for the quilt to feed into, giving the quilt a place to rest where it's out of your way. If the space is too small, the quilt can bunch up and push against the natural feed of the machine, resulting in smaller stitches and tucks in the fabric. If the quilt falls off the table, it can pull on the fabric under the needle, warping your quilting lines, stretching the fabric, or causing the machine to skip stitches.


In front of the machine, you won't need a lot of additional space, keep the machine close to the edge of the table so you can reach it easily and sit up straight while you work. Any part of the quilt that overhangs on this side can be bundled up in your lap or draped over your shoulder to support the weight.

Here's what it looks like when I place my quilt in the machine. Having the side table gives me a little extra table space to support the quilt on that side!


Set up an extension table. An extension table is a sewing machine accessory that wraps around the needle plate to make the workspace larger. Most machines come with a small extension table, which often includes a storage compartment, here's mine:

There are also larger extension tables that you can buy separately, or make yourself. These are commonly used for quilting because they provide so much extra space for you to place your hands while handling large quilts.


Yvonne Fuchs of Quilting Jetgirl has a great tutorial for making your own extension table if you'd like to give it a try!


An alternative to the extension table is an inset sewing table. These are tables with a hole cut in the shape of the sewing machine, allowing it to rest inside the table with the needle plate level with the tabletop.


These are all helpful tools if you have them, but are not altogether necessary. I only have the small extension table that came with my machine, so that's what I will be using.


Attach a walking foot. Once you're happy with your machine placement, you'll want to switch your machine foot to the walking foot attachment. After all, it's not walking foot quilting if you don't use a walking foot!

I shared some information about attaching a walking foot in one of my earlier posts, including this Howcast video by Jennifer Wiese of Workroom Social. If the video doesn't help you get your walking foot set up, try asking at your local quilt or sewing store!


If you don't already have a walking foot, and are planning to buy one, you'll need to know if your machine is high or low shank. If you buy a foot that's wrong for your machine, it won't fit when you try to attach it. You should be able to find that information in your sewing machine manual or on the manufacturer's website using your machine model.


Set the stitch length and thread tension. Before you start quilting your actual quilt, you'll want to test your machine settings. Make a quilt sandwich using excess batting and fabric that's big enough to fit both your hands on. It helps to use a fabric colour that contrasts your thread so you can see tension problems more clearly. I labelled my test square with 'top' for the top side and 'bobbin' for the bottom.


Thread your machine with the top and bobbin thread you plan to quilt your project with. You can try testing with different threads to make it easier to see tension problems, but the settings for the test thread may be different then your project thread.

Next, set your stitch length. Most sources recommended a stitch length of 2.5 to 3 on the machine, or 8 to 12 stitches per inch. The length you choose will depend on your thread weight and personal preference. If using a finer thread, you should use a smaller stitch length, or a longer stitch length for thicker thread. You can use your test square to try a few different stitch lengths and see which looks best!


I'm using a standard 30 weight thread and prefer smaller stitches so I set mine to 2.5.


As for tension, you will probably need to use a lower tension for quilting than you usually do for piecing. Set tension to 0, then sew a line of quilting across your test piece. Beside the line of quilting, record the settings of your machine.


Increase your tension by 1 and quilt another line on the test square, once again labelling it with the machine settings. Repeat these steps until the top thread doesn't show on the back of your test square and the bobbin thread doesn't show on the top.

I labelled each line of stitching with T for tension and L for stitch length. Based on my tests, I think I'll try using a tension of 2.5 and a stitch length of 2.5. Since they are the same it will be easy to remember, but I wrote it down on my test square just to be safe. If you're like me and work on several projects at once, it can be easy to get your machine settings mixed up.


With all of these steps completed, here's what my workspace looks like now:

I put away a lot of things that didn't need to be out, including my serger, and organized the things left out on the storage table so they would be more accessible. I'll be keeping my test square out as well, in case i need to adjust my machine settings.


In case you're wondering, it took me an hour to complete all of those steps, and now that I have, it shouldn't take nearly as long the next time I want to sit down and quilt!



Quilting your Project


With all those preparations out of the way, I can finally start quilting Simply Woven! Here are a few additional tips I picked up from my research.


Mark the quilting designs onto your quilt. Based on my research, it seems like a lot of people recommend marking your quilting design before you baste your quilt. I assume this is so you can avoid placing pins or basting thread in the way of your quilting. Obviously, this is not what I did, but I'll keep it in mine for next time.


Some patterns, like stitch in the ditch, don't require any marking since they follow seam lines that already exist in the quilt top. And improv designs don't require any guidance at all since they are created abstractly and in the moment.


However, for those designs that do benefit from marked guidelines, you'll want to think about how to go about marking them.


For more detailed designs, you could mark using chalk or a special marking pen. Some pens are removed by heat and will disappear after ironing or a trip through the dryer, others are removed by soaking the quilt in water. Chalk can simply be brushed off and something like pencil should come off in the washing machine. Regardless of what type of marking device you use, test it on a scrap of your quilt fabric to be sure it will actually disappear before using it on your quilt.


Straight line designs can be marked with masking tape or painters tape, as long as it's removed in a timely manner. This method is best used the same day you plan to quilt; lay down a strip of tape along the line you want to quilt, then remove it when quilting is done. A strip of tape can be used 3 to 5 times, or until it stops sticking to the fabric.

This is how I'll be marking most of Simply Woven. Normally echo quilting wouldn't require marking, but because of the flaws in the piecing, I want to mark my lines so they'll look good from both sides of the quilt.


Beginning and ending a line of quilting. The proper way to start and end a line of quilting seems to be a matter of personal preference. I read about several different methods in my research, but here were two that seem to be most common.


It should be noted that these methods all refer to quilting that begins and/or ends in the middle of a quilt. Any quilting that goes off the edge of the quilt will be caught in the binding and won't need extra security.


The first method is to back stitch. This will create a small amount of overlap in the thread, but if you stitch accurately, it is barely noticeable. When back stitching, you are sewing over stitches you've already made and the needle pierces through the earlier thread to create a sort of knot. This secures the thread so it won't come loose, and the thread ends can simply be cut off close to the quilt top.


The second method starts by taking a single stitch, which can be done using the hand wheel. Once the needle is back to its highest position, gently pull the tail of the top thread to bring the bobbin thread up to the top of the quilt so it won't get tangled in the stitching. Some sources say to do this with the foot up, others say down, and many don't specify.


From this point, lower the foot if you haven't already done so, set your needle into the same place the bobbin thread comes through the quilt, and start sewing. If you want a little extra security, sew a few very small stitches before switching to full length quilting stitches. Switch back to the smaller stitch length to end the quilting.


Once you've completed your quilting, tie the top and bobbin threads together close to the fabric, thread them through a hand sewing needle, and bury them inside the quilt sandwich in the same spot the seam started.


If you've never buried quilting threads before, check out this video tutorial by Pile O'Fabric!


Here are some samples of each method:


The smaller stitches in the sample on the left aren't very obvious but add security. The sample in the middle just starts with a full length stitch but with the knotted end feels secure enough. And the final sample on the right shows the effect of a back stitch; very secure but more obvious on the surface.


Quilt anchor lines first. Some quilting designs feature anchor lines, these are long, often edge to edge lines, that form the framework of the rest of the quilting. In the case of Simply Woven, I have a few edge to edge lines of quilting that will be done first.


In a quilt like my previous one, Rainbow Railfence, there were a lot more anchor lines. They are the long diagonal lines that form the large diamond shapes. I've traced overa few in the picture below so you can see what I mean.

Quilting anchor lines first allows you to remove some of the basting pins so there aren't as many obstacles while quilting the more detailed areas.


Some designs don't have long anchor lines. In these cases, the best plan is to start quilting from the middle and work towards the edges!


Quilt slowly. Remember when you're quilting that there's a lot of material going through your machine, so in order for it to be able to keep up, you need to quilt slowly. Quilting at a consistent and slow pace will keep your stitches even, and give you a lot more control over the project!


Some newer machines have the ability to set a sewing speed, kind of like cruise control on a car, to help you sew at a single, consistent speed. My machine doesn't do this, but with practice, you can get really good at maintaining a slow speed using the foot pedal!


Roll your quilt to save space. When quilting a really large project, you may find that it's difficult to keep tract of the whole quilt at all times. This can result in tucks in the backing, or even quilting a corner into the middle of your quilt.

To avoid this, you can roll up the excess quilt length to keep it organized and out of your way. This is especially helpful if you have a lot of fabric in the machine's throat space as you can see in the picture above!


If you want to keep the quilt rolled up like this for a long time, you can secure the roll with pins. If you want to be able to roll and unroll parts of the quilt while quilting, trust the weight of the fabric to hold the roll in place. I have never tried pinning or securing my quilt when it's rolled up, and I've had no problems with it unrolling or getting in the way.


Keep the needle down. Any time you stop quilting to move your hands, adjust the fabric, or rotate your quilt, do so with the needle in the fabric. This will prevent the position of the needle from changing and will make your stitching look a lot neater on the finished quilt!



Troubleshooting


Even after all the preparation we've done, there's still a chance that something could go wrong. If you find that your thread is breaking, stitches are skipping, or tension is inconsistent, there are a few things you can check on your machine to fix those problems!


The common acronym I came across in my research was TNT: thread, needle, tension. Always adjust your machine in that order!


Thread. Try re-threading your machine, both the top thread and bobbin. Sometimes the thread doesn't catch every important loop and hook along its path, or it falls out while quilting.


Always thread your machine with the foot raised. Raising and lowering the foot locks and unlocks certain tension catches inside the machine. If the foot is lowered, the machine will likely not get threaded correctly.


Check that the bobbin you're using is the right brand for your machine. Every manufacturer will use slightly different bobbins, and those tiny differences can have huge effects on the look of your seams. If your bobbin isn't the same brand as your machine, you might want to try a different one.

In this picture, you can see that the two bobbins are very different shapes. The bobbin on the right is the Singer brand that matches my machine, so that's the one I'll use to quilt. The bobbin on the left is fine for sewing regular seams, but the difference in shape means it might not catch every stitch perfectly.


Needle. If re-threading your machine doesn't fix the problem, the next step is to change your needle.


Needles wear out over time and use, and a dull or warped needle won't sew as well as a brand new one. If a needle that has been working great for a log time suddenly starts skipping stitches, it doesn't mean you're doing something wrong, just that the needle has sewn a lot of projects and it's time for a new one!


You should also consider the compatibility of your needle, thread, and project. Some needles are designed to sew certain fabrics, for example there are stretch needles for stretchy fabric and denim needles for thick, heavy fabric.

Some sources recommend top stitch needles for quilting, at my local store I was advised to use microtex chrome needles, which I believe are more of an all purpose needle. I'm sure either will work well enough for most projects, but it's a good idea to experiment with different needles to find the ones you like best!


Once you have a needle you like, make sure it's installed correctly; facing the right direction and screwed in tightly and securely!


Tension. If your machine is still not sewing properly, the tension may need be adjusted. Record the current tension then make small adjustments, half a number at a time, testing each new setting between adjustments.


Tension should be the last adjustment you make as re-threading and changing the needle will fix most problems.


If none of these adjustments have fixed the problem, you may need to get your machine serviced. This is especially important if you've noticed your machine behaving strangely in other ways, such as making odd noises.



Friends, I feel so much more prepared now to start quilting! My last quilt took over a year to quilt, but now I have more information and experience, and a better quilting setup, so I expect this one will be done even faster!


As usual, you can find all the sources I looked at during my research listed at the end of this post if you'd like to check them out! If you have any tips or stories about walking foot quilting, I would love to read them! Feel free to share in the comments below, in an email through my contact page, or by sending me a message on Instagram @vafibrearts.


To keep up with my quilting progress, check out my Project Updates, posted every other Thursday, or follow me on social media!


Until Next Time Friends, Happy Quilting!

VA


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