How to Create a Smooth Glide For Machine Quilting

44 responses to “How to Create a Smooth Glide For Machine Quilting”

1. Following an online source, I took a folding table, added stiff insulation board to achieve correct height, cut out for machine and covered all with cheap Joanne vinyl. Works wonderfully!

2. I had never used a supreme sliders before this class. I had one that came with some machine wilting rulers I bought. It makes all the difference. Last week, I quilted two samples and things just weren’t going well. Partly because there thread matched too well and I couldn’t see what I was doing and partly because I’d forgotten the super slider.

   When I am fmq a large quilt, I put chairs behind my machine to support it.

3. So glad to see you recommend the Supreme Slider. I use one all the time for FMQ. It is good to tape it down, as I have sewn through mine. They are expensive, so it’s best to protect the investment.

4. Lori, I have all of your books. What am I missing in your shop?

5. I purchased a silicon oven liner, taped it down, and cut out where needed, works great!

   1. Now THAT’s a #10 on the best, most clever idea list!!!

      1. Thank you, inexpensive,I bought mine at bed bath and beyond and have used the same one for about 8 years, with new tape now and then.

   2. I was going to ask if anyone had tried oven liners! Are they all silicone? I have seen oven liners on Amazon.

      1. If you are in Australia Aldo have then for 4.99 this week

      2. I meant Aldo.

      3. Cindy, I have used them and they work fine. You can get bigger ones for a lot cheaper.

      4. I, too, have used the silicon mats. After I sewed through my Supreme Slider, I tried these mats. They are larger and inexpensive.

      5. Thanks for your replies. I will look for these. I have sewn through TWO supreme sliders! And I will check at Aldi, but here in MN, though I’d love to travel to Australia. I have a good friend in Melbourne.

6. I can’t sit my sewing machine table against a wall, so I use two dog grooming bars attached to tables set up at the back of my machine table. The bars are adjustable height. From them hangs a leash-type cord and I have attached a padded clamp to each. When I quilt a larger quilt that would fall off the tables, I clamp the back edge of the quilt to the clamps. I adjust as needed. They hold the quilt and keep me from having to struggle with it. I got this idea from Pearl Pereira of P3Designs.com.

   1. Wonderful idea

   2. I have the same set up, very helpful to fight the gravity issue. Instead of the leash with the clamp on it I used heavy duty elastic with my clamp attached. Works great! need a new supreme slider tho- sewed through mine while quilting my last quilt.

   3. I also don’t have room for a table behind my table. I saw that dog grooming idea on Pinterest, but then I also don’t have room on the sides to add them, so I devised my own quilt holder by installing a decorative curtain rod on the wall behind my table and use bungee cords and huge binder clips to hold the quilt up when doing a lot of quilting in one area. I also have a bungee cord and binder clip on the floor lamp to my left to help with the drag from that side. The system works well, but only when doing a lot of quilting in one area…too much readjusting of the binder clips if doing a large area and moving along quickly.

7. I found silicone barbecue mats at Costco. 3 or 4 in a box for around $12. They.work great. Just had to cut a little half inch hole for the needle area.

8. Some time ago (but not in a winter month) I read the suggestion online to buy a cheap roll-up sled and tape that to the table around your machine to provide a super smooth surface and help further reduce friction. While I use a Super Slider, I haven’t tried the sled idea because they are not available in summer! Has anyone actually used one for this purpose?

   1. There is a You Tube video made by Sew Very Easy showing how to use this. Title is something like “Using a snow carpet for quilting”

   2. I have used one and think they work as well as the supreme slider. Just have to tape it around the edges.

   3. I bought one but find it very hard to keep it fixed in place.
      The silicone slider is much easier to handle. Have also tried silicone spray but didn’t do too well with that either.

9. I have a sit down longarm and I taped two Flexible Flyer 611 Flying Carpet sleds (from Amazon) on the table. I used the overlay that came with the machine as a template to cut out the center.

10. I like my silicone mat. However, DON’T FORGET TO LOWER THE FEED DOGS. My mat has a few needle marks and it is hard to cut the fabric from it.☹️

    1. I get better results by keeping my feed dogs up. My super slider has been chewed up by the “dogs” so I tape a piece if template plastic. with a needle hole cut into it, to that area of the slider and it works great. No more feed dog teeth marks in the slider and no fear of slider pieces in the machine.

11. Maybe Free Motion Glider? I love your signoffs! Anyway, I don’t think you need to put the tables in a corner…I just have a chair with a tall back against the opposite side of the table and it stops the quilt very easily. Has never gone under or over. The glider is great, but love the suggestions from everyone. When I first started FMQ, I actually put Press n Seal over the work area, and it worked really well, but did leave a residue on the machine arm that was annoying to remove. The glider is much better. Had not thought to tape it down…will do that next, AND lower the feeddogs! Love the series. Thanks, Lori!

12. I have my machine in a Sew-Ezi table which has a slick top surface. I can butt up this table to my work table of the same height, a large table top bought for $50 at HOM to which my husband added sturdy legs. I am considering purchasing the Sew-Ezi grande to extend my work surfaces. Has anyone used this?

    I also purchased a polish kit at a MN Quilters convention, though you could use turtle wax for the same result, I believe. The idea is to polish your sewing table top to decrease friction.

    Also suggested at a retreat was to turn your sewing machine 90 degrees so that you are working facing the needle end. This is to allow you greater ease of movement left to right, i.e., without fighting the throat size of the machine. You still have it front to back so I’m not sure how much you gain with this. It may depend on the quilt or the motif you’re using.

13. My sewing table has a hinged flip up extension on the back of it just for this purpose. I’ve seen same idea on IKEA tabletops if you want to use their components to create an extension on your own sewing table. It helps not just when FMQing, but when working with large quits, adding binding, etc.

14. I’m wondering…would the same type of vinyl we used to make our “dry-erase” mats work for this??

    1. I don’t think so—because that vinyl seems almost sticky to me.

       1. What about the oven mats someone mentioned?

15. I use the extension of a desk for my sewing machine with a Sew Steady table. The left side of my quilt is on the desk itself and is well supported. For support as my quilt comes out of machine, I place my full-size ironing board behind the extension and adjust the height to about and inch above the desk height. The quilted quilt piles up on the ironing board (because of the added height). This works well for me. I use a Supreme Slider after taking a thread painting class. Supreme Sliders should be washed off or through running water before use to further reduce friction and to clean them. The teacher of the thread painting class sent me to clean it before I started. The fuzz and lint on it were gross.

16. Until I bought an Arrow table a year or so ago, I was often frustrated. But the Arrow is great. I can’t face the wall, so I sit with a window on my right and the left-end extension up (about 4 add’l. feet of space) and if I’m working on something big, it also has a HUGE extension that can be lifted up behind the machine and slid from side to side as I reposition my quilt. It’s really good for preventing drag. I’m very lucky to have it, thanks to a sale and a generous hubby. They can be ridiculously pricey for what they’re made of (MDF), and they’re NOT easy to assemble. Still, with hubs help, we got it done.(If anyone is interested, it’s the “Bertha” model.)
    I have a Supreme Slider too but often forget to use it. The acrylic insert and top of the table are pretty slippery already. I never thought of using silicon spray; sounds like a good idea.
    As far as other challenges go, my dog couldn’t care less about sewing and neither could my female cat. Now if I could just teach my adorable, highly affectionate male cat that I don’t need his help when quilting, I’d be in great shape!

    I’m not so good at making up funny names, however, – Guru of FMQ?, Mistress Anti-Grav?, Queen of Slide? (that isn’t vulgar is it?-I hope not)

17. My Janome sits in a cabinet I had custom made. It’s a great cabinet but I really needed it to have an extension. My hubby built me one just about a week ago. He finished it to a very smooth finish and he attached it to my cabinet with hinges. It folds down flat after I use so I can have it close to my wall. It’s awesome!! It has really helped with the friction problem!

18. Hi Lori,

    What an entertaining post! Love your writing style. It had me laughing. I will try the crazy carpet idea first as they’re super cheap from the Dollar store here in Canada. If it’s good, I’ll let you know!

    Claire

19. Just a comment today… the owner of a quilting shop told me to use turtle wax and not buy a slider out of her shop !!
    After I was home , i took one look at the turtle wax and said, “Self, we are not putting that stuff on our sewing area! ” I am sure she was trying to save me some money,,but…..nope.Anyone else like it?

    1. Husband made my sewing machine cabinet and used Johnson paste wax; wipe on, let it dry and then buff it, beautiful i also use a supreme slider to glide over machine top, and as per instructions with slider, wash it off or use baby wipe to clean it periodically

    2. I have used TURTLE WAX on my sewing machine bed and extension table for years. It’s worked well for me. You just have to be sure to rub it in well to remove any residue.

20. I use the Supreme Slider and love it. I have also used my ironing board set up behind me to take the weight off when I throw the quilt over my shoulder. I adjust it so that it is the same height as or slightly higher than the top of my shoulder. It doesn’t seem to tug that way. I really do need a table set up on the left side of my sewing cabinet, however.

21. I use Super Sliders all the time. I recently moved into an unused space over our tractor garage. I have a large work table that my brother in law built from plans that I had. Then I bought an Arrow II portable table for larger machines and set that up in front of the work table along with two little portable tables with adjustable height then taped all the lines where the tables meet with white duck tape. My husband installed bungee cords from the ceiling to which I attached clamps to hold the bulk of a big quilt. Also I want to try a silicon oven liner to cover more surface in my quilting space.

    1. Even though my table has a good-sized extension out behind my machine, I’ve been thinking about using bungee cords and clamps as well. Would you be willing to share how your hubby did it? I’d appreciate it very much. Thanks!

22. I’ve been using a Supreme Slider for years and love it. If you have a machine with a drop in bobbin, taping it would mean untaping and retaping every bobbin change. I have never taped mine and have never had it slip. I do rinse the threads off the back periodically. I’ll bet those of you who sewed through yours didn’t clean the back of them.

23. I use a Slidex Mat made by Benartex. I love it. I do periodically wash it so the threads and dust that gather on the back over time are removed. This keeps it from sliding. I have not needed to tape it. Love all the other ideas if and when this one no longer works!!! I have a cabinet for my machine that has an extension that I put up when quilting large projects or quilts. I am definitely going to try the ironing board at the end To help keep larger quilts from falling off the end. Putting it up against a wall doesn’t work with this table, although that was my usual set up with my former sewing cabinet. Love all the tips!!! Lori, I think your name should be Free Motion Guru. :o) :o)

24. I use the Supreme Slider and I really like it. When not in use I keep it rolled up with the paper it came with rolled with it (a la jellyroll) it still sticks well and I’ve never had to use tape. I will however I will wash it off now that I know.