Today’s Topic: Which Direction Should I Quilt?
Welcome to Week Ten of The Better Machine Quilt-a-long based on my book 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting.
Find all of the previous Lessons HERE.
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Good Morning, Quilters!
Today we are starting Lesson 10 of our 25 week quilt-a-long: Directional Stitching.
To practice directional stitching, we will create the Sunny Day Medallion Quilt using variations of the Four Fun Motifs we learned in Lesson 8.
REMINDER–There’s still time to WIN a subscription to American Quilter Magazine. Read and leave a comment in this post–share YOUR little victory!
Directional Stitching
Whenever you begin stitching, you may wonder…
Which way should I stitch this? Should I stitch this from right to left or from left to right. Should I stitch from the top towards the bottom or the bottom-up?
This is an opportunity for you to do a little creative problem solving. There is no right or wrong answer, but there are a four things to consider:
Natural Preference
Field of View
Quilt Size
Motif
Natural Preference
Because we read and write from left to right, it is natural for most quilters to prefer to quilt from left to right. (As I write this, I wonder if it is different for left handed quilters–if YOU are left handed, please leave a comment whether your natural preference is to quilt from left to right or right to left. Thank you, in advance…)
Choose your natural preference whenever possible. I am right handed and always prefer to quilt from left to right.
Greatest Field of View
Another advantage of quilting from left to right or right to left, is you have the greatest field of view. You can easily see where you have already quilted and where you are going. This helps you to space your motifs as you are quilting.
Stitching from top-down allows you to see where you are heading, though you have a restricted view of where you have already quilted.
Quilt Size
The size of your quilt will also influence directional stitching. When you are stitching a small quilt, rotate the quilt so you can take advantage of your natural preference or to create the greatest field of view.
On the other hand, when your quilt is very large, you will have to stitch in the direction that best accommodates the bulk of the quilt. For example, when stitching a queen size quilt, it will be easier to quilt the lower border from top down–so the bulk of the quilt is not squished in the harp space, than it would be to stitch it from left to right.
Motif
Some motifs are directional and may feel more natural when stitched from left to right. For example, it is easier to stitch The Sailboats (Page 116 of Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3) from left to right than top-down. On the other hand, Silly Spirals are fairly easy to stitch horizontally or vertically.
YOUR Choice
When you are faced with the dilemma–Which way should I stitch this?—remember, there is no right or wrong answer. In fact, sometimes it feels like all your choices are wrong…Choose a direction and try your best.
Later this week, I’ll offer a few tips that have helped me.
Exciting Week of Quilting
We have a busy week! We will look at ways to make directional sewing easier, set up and stitch The Sunny Day Medallion quilt, doodle and have a winner for the giveaway! Stay tuned!
YOUR Upside Down Quilter,
Loopy Lori
aka Dizzy Daisy
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!
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22 comments
Ann
Hi Lori. Being right handed my natural preference is left to right but I have just done some loops towards me, which I could not have done a few weeks ago. Having an open for foot does help, along with the slider. I tried quilting gloves for the first time too…love them!
My victory is doing some FMQ using metallic thread! No tangles, no breaks no birds nests. I even got similar sized stiches ! Joy! It’s going to be a little surprise gift for a dear friend. When I think back to my very first piece i posted on Facebook a few weeks ago I am pleased with my progress… thank you so much.
Kimberly Anne Brandt
What is the largest quilt you have ever quilted on your home machine Lori? I still have not been able to get the results I want with larger quilts and the shifting batting when wrestling with a large quilt.
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I have quilted several queen sized quilts and one very large king. It is challenging at times!
Shirley Sylvester
As l have a Bernina EQ + am working on a King size applique guilt,which has 12 16″ finished blocks + sashing + borders.l stabilise whole guilt 1st but when l outline appliques within squares l like to quilt towards me.Find l have better idea of where l am going.
I always say “your quilt,whatever works for you + gets the job done”.
Cheri
Being a right handed person, I always go left to right, if possible. Since I started FMQ, however, I have been able to adapt to what quilting needs to be done, so any direction for me works after I have doodled a bit or tried a practice piece. Getting that backwards motion in my muscle memory is getting better each day.
Rosie Westerhold
I’m pretty much a lefty, and I preferred to quilt left to right on my DSM. Since I got my longarm, I have learned to quilt motifs in all directions as you can’t easily turn a quilt when it is on a frame. I do have to practice on paper first in order to do that. Always a good idea when quilting any new design.
Rhonda R Goss
A lefty who prefers to quilt top to bottom but I can go all directions. Size of quilt and turning the quilt makes me go different directions.
Patty Woods
I’m a leftie. I tend to go from right to left, but after doing these exercises I think I quilt better left to right, but have to stop and practice on paper several times otherwise I will do some things backwards.
Vicki
I haven’t really thought of my preferred direction. I guess it is from left to right, but depending on the motif, it might be from the centre out, or I might rotate the quilt to minimize bulk and do it upside down.
Sally Broste
Your earlier lesson to write on our quilt left to right and then right to left was a doodle and quilting challenge and I did it! And your repeated suggestions to doodle have made so much difference in what I can actually FMQ. Thank you a bunch!
Susan Coolidge
Love this series, you explain things so well. Please keep writing your books!
Mary Oolders
I’m a 100% lefty. I don’t write from left to right, rather I turn my paper 90 degrees clockwise and write like the Chinese, from the top right down. This is also my favorite way to FMQ! I’m only doing small projects at the moment and I can turn my project so I always work top to bottom on the right edge.
LAURIE B
My machine doesn’t like when I go right to left, nor back to front. I usually have to turn the quilt in some way or another. A small quilt is easy. But I quit doing larger quilts because it’s harder to turn.
Jan Wooler
Like some of the other lefties that have replied, I have worked at not having a preference. I tend to follow drawn lines when I quilt because I usually want a very specific motif; being able to quilt in any direction facilitates that style of quilting. It seems that left handed people have to be able to adapt to doing things in an unnatural way because there are far more right-handed people in the world — that’s not good or bad, it is just the way it is.
Sandy
I am left-handed and I usually quilt from left to right on my Sweet Sixteen stationary machine. Since there are some common aspects between a sewing machine and the Sweet Sixteen, I chose that machine; and of course there is the space requirement that is less for this machine. With a sewing machine, you feed the fabric from front to back, but I am very comfortable with feeding the fabric from back to front allowing the bulk of the fabric to rest on the table in the harp space. I usually start in the center with ditch quilting and then remove all those safety pins. The quilt is much lighter without the safety pins!
Bibi Bellotto
I’ve been quilting for some time now, and have purchased a long arm because I was never able to get even stitches and be able to see my finished quilting on my domestic. Being right-handed I mostly quilt left to right and top to bottom even on the long arm. You are my “go-to” quilter for design ideas and I have all three of your books. You are the best, Lori. Thanks so much!
http://www.gwynedtrefethen.com
I’ve taught myself to be able to quilt in all directions. Being left handed doesn’t impact this at all. It is a much bigger deal when writing by hand, because the left hand naturally drags over the ink just laid down smearing the ink. No need to worry about smearing the thread. 🙂 I create art quilts. This impacts what motifs I use and the need to change threads regularly to blend into the background, accent it, or even create contrast. It also helped me select a wide harp sit down, so I didn’t have to quilt my quilts in a narrow channel than roll the quilt, like you do with a long arm. Visibility is key. I want to see where I am going. So, I will quilt right to left, left to right or top to bottom within whatever section I am working.
Mary
I am left handed and seem adept at doing the opposite such as turning left when told to go right. When quilting, I am always searching for the best sight line, and I naturally have the ability to stitch any motif in any direction , though I still need practice to smooth it out. I am loving these small projects as I can see what I’m doing. I’ll go top to bottom but stop frequently to see what I did.
Ellen Oppenheimer
Normally, left to right. But I was wondering before I read this if you were going to talk about where to start. I usually start in the middle of the whole piece and work my way out and if that’s the case, I go left to right and then right to left- depending on the design of course.
Lori Kennedy Quilts
I will make sure I discuss that.–Thanks for the reminder!
Barb Despen
I am left-handed, but as you say, we’ve all learned to write left to right, so that is my preference for quilting as well. I guess I do alright stitching right to left on my Tiara (which is oriented like a longarm) though. I don’t like that direction on my Bernina 440, as then the quilt is getting bunched up in the throat space. I like going top to bottom alright, but don’t like going bottom to top, as it’s hard to see where I’m going.
Lori Kennedy Quilts
Thanks, Barb for the left-handed perspective! There is no perfect answer–especially as the quilts get large!
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