Today’s Topic: Four Ways to Grip Your Quilt Better
Welcome to Week Seven!
of The Better Machine Quilt-a-long based on my book 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting.
Find all of the previous Lessons HERE.
Sign up for emails of the class HERE.
Good Morning, Quilters!
Our focus this week is on creating even stitches.
In order to consistently achieve even stitches you need to move the quilt smoothly and maintain a steady needle speed.
And in order to move the quilt smoothly, you need to grip the quilt somehow.
Hand Position
In Week Five we introduced the proper Hand Position:
Place your hands in an upside down heart position, with your thumbs a short distance apart and your first fingers pointing slightly inward. Find a relaxed position, with your elbows down. Apply a slight amount of pressure to your finger tips and through your thumb. This is your HOME position for quilting.
The slight amount of downward pressure may be enough grip to move the quilt smoothly. This is my preferred method. I use this method to grip my quilts 90% of the time.
Quilting Gloves
Quilting gloves are the most common aid for gripping quilts. While I personally don’t like to wear gloves, many quilters love them and wear them whenever they free motion quilt. Quilting gloves come with a variety of options.
Machingers, Grabaroos, and Sullivans are the gloves I see most frequently in my workshops. (Be sure to check sizes before ordering.)
A few years ago, I picked up a pair of Swan Amity Gloves at a quilt show. While I don’t like most gloves, I found these gloves very comfortable. The fabric and the cut out fingers allow your skin to breath. In addition, they provide a slight amount of compression which feels like a massage to tired hands.
If you’re ambivalent about gloves–give these a try! (Not an affiliate link!)
Shelf Paper
Small squares of shelf paper can also provide a little grip. The rubberized surface helps your fingers grip–just like it does under your dishes. Shelf paper is economical (your guild could probably share a single roll) and portable. Try cutting different sizes to see what size works best for your hands.
Quilting Hoops
Quilting hoops are another great option for gripping a quilt. This is my second favorite option.
Unlike embroidery hoops which have a top hoop and bottom hoop, quilting hoops are single and sit on top of the quilt. The underside of the hoop has a “grippy” surface and allows you to move the quilt smoothly.
I like the lightweight (gray) hoop by Viking Free Motion Guide Grip (Similar to The Gypsy Quilter Gliders. )
The Viking hoop is lightweight and what I really like is the shape of the “handles” which fit the natural, curved shape of your hands. I feel the tension in my hands relax when I use the Viking Guide Grip.
The Martelli company makes a set of pretty red, hoops for BERNINA. While I prefer the handle shape of the Viking hoop, the Martelli hoops are heavy. The weight of the hoop helps support the weight of large quilts. I use the Martelli hoops whenever I need more control on large quilts. Martelli makes a similar hoop in black HERE. These rings are a complete circle, which I generally don’t like, however, it appears there is a depression or opening so the presser foot can be moved out of the ring without knotting off. In general, I would avoid full circle rings for this reason.
Quilting Pads/Disks
Another gripping aid comes in the form of pads, paddles or discs. They come in a variety of shapes and weights with a grippy surface on one side. Just rest your hands on them to grip the quilt. I have used (and recommend) the Grip&Stitch by Clever Craft Tools.
And I like the weight of the Martelli Paddles though I find them a little small for my large hands. They offer a larger paddle with a handle that I would like to try.
One Size Does Not Fit All
The key is to recognize there are many options for gripping your quilt. Gloves are the most popular, but if you don’t like gloves, try something else. Or, try tailoring your gloves-like snipping off the first finger and thumb-to suit your quilting style better.
Also, try different gripping solutions for different quilts. For example, most of the time I don’t use gloves or hoops, but once in awhile I just can’t seem to get a grip. (This has happened more in 2020–I can’t imagine why!?) I like to use the lightweight hoop when my hands are tired and when I’m quilting teeny tiny motifs like pebbling. When I’m working on a large quilt, I might use one of the BERNINA weighted rings, and when I’m in a tight spot, I like the Clever Craft Tools, Grip & Stitch discs.
The Trick to Quilting
Find tools that work for you. Good quilting tools make all the difference and last a lifetime.
When YOU have fun quilting….YOUR quilts will be fun!
So get a grip!
What’s YOUR favorite gripping tool/accessory?
We’d LOVE to hear!
Signed,
the Knute Rockne of Quilting…
Wait...he was the coach of the Gipper, not the Gripper!
Nevermind….
Signed,
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy Quilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to LKQ. For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com. Thank you!
PPS…This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. If you choose to purchase–at no additional cost to you–I may receive a little “pin-money”. Thank you for supporting LKQ in this small way!
PPS...More Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 has a Troubleshooting Guide on page 36
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18 comments
Tena D
I love my Grab-A-Roos gloves. They are light weight, stretchy knit fabric, with grippy dots on the fingertips, and they are cool. My hands don’t get hot wearing them.
Linda Neubauer
In addition to garden gloves, I sometimes find inexpensive on-size-fits-all knit gloves with tiny rubber dots on the palms that substitute for more expensive quilting gloves.
suzi leong
Hi, I have used the Grip Its on a 70″ x 80″ and it saved my shoulders and wrists.
most of the design was vertical and the Grip Its held the quilt in place well as i sewed. It was a tshirt quilt
sashed with batik. The tshirts were backed with june taylor fusible.
marsh70bellsouthnet
My favorite gripping tool right now is rubber fingertips. I use two on each hand and that seems to give me good control. Too hot in Louisiana right now for gloves!!
Lori Kennedy Quilts
Great idea! Sometimes simple is best.
Lorraine Doyno Evans
I like the shelf grippers the best. I don’t have to take anything on and off and if I can’t find it, it is easy to replace if lost. I do make sure I know where it is before I FMQ so that I don’t accidentally sew it to the underside of the quilt.
Marta
Shelf Liners/grippers ! I wondered what the name is. I have never used them to line a shelf. However, I have used them for everything else imaginable. I love a little piece for pulling a needle thru when sewing with perle coton.. I sewed a whole small quilt by hand once…just to try it. Now I have a new use,,, FMQ YAY! Thank you !
Lori Kennedy Quilts
Lol!! I’ve done things like that before!
Suzanne
OK, gonna fall back and punt! With gloves on…. I usually use Machingers, but often go bare-handed. I don’t have any valid reason why, I think it’s just how I feel at the time. I also have a couple of hoops, similar to the Viking ones you pictured, that I tried back when I first started FMQ. I only tried once but I hadn’t had much practice and got frustrated so I put them away. So here we are, a few years later and I think I’m going to pull them out again because I really need help with my pebbling. Thanks for the advice Lori!
Donna Sofokles
I bought a pair of gloves at the gardening center! They’re cheaper than ones in quilt shops, come in several sizes and are vented so your hands don’t sweat. Did I mention that they’re “rubberized “ so you can get a good grip. I love’em.
N Wilson
I use gardening gloves also. Cheap, light. Rubberized texture on the “working side”. Cut 2 fingertips off of each hand and you’re good to go.
Martha Chadwick
I also use gardening gloves. I started using them because they were cheaper than specific for quilting. I did have a pair of “quilting gloves” years ago but wore them out! The gardening gloves I have are thicker but it works for me. Thanks for the “cut the tips of two finger out. That will help grab threads and such.
Angie Terry
I have the Martelli hoops (2 sizes). My right hand is paralyzed with fingers bent, I couldn’t FMQ without these hoops because I can hold the knobs on the hoop, but cannot move the quilt with other options, can’t wear a glove, or hold other grips. Martelli sells an additional knob shape that some find more comfortable.
susan hilsenbeck
I was a fan of Machingers and shelf-liner, but recently (after a class with Sue Nickels), I have switched to using finger tips (actually, tip to middle knuckle) cut off of household cleaning gloves, like Mr. Clean Ultra Grip. I use them on the first 2 fingers of each hand and find them very comfortable and effective. Size matters — they should be tight enough to stay on and loose enough to get off easily, so I have them marked for which goes on which finger (my right and left hands are not the same size).
Debbie
Another product that is a little larger than the Martelli grips is Grip-its. Looks like an acrylic ruler with rubber feet. I like both products depending on the size of the project I am quilting. https://sewingmates.com/grip-its-for-free-motion-quilting.html
Cheri
When I use my domestic machine I use the gypsy quilter guiders. I do like them, however I am only doing a small sandwich and it works fine with that size, I am not sure what a large piece would feel like.
Karen Girard
Unfortunately the Viking grip appears to be no longer available. I was hoping something like that would help my wrist and thumb problem as they get very sore
martinapril
I have only used gloves so far but looking to move my game. Good th hear about some of the products I wanted to try. I was thinking about the discs but I have large hands so those don’t sound the best. Might check out the other larger paddles.
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