“The art of quilting has been around for centuries. It has, of course, changed throughout the years, though, due to technology. People no longer have to spend hours and hours painfully stitching each inch of the fabric. Fabulous new, technologically-advanced sewing machines can now do hours’ worth of work into just mere minutes. There are so many new sewing techniques that have opened up with these advancements, too.
Rob Appell, host of the YouTube channel Man Sewing, provides many excellent tutorials on some of these techniques. Rob is passionate about sewing and uses his excitement and energy to inspire others to love it, too.
In this tutorial, Rob covers the technique known as “free motion stitching.” After completing the front of your quilt, there’s still another step left – the backing. While you can just add a basic layer of fabric as your backing, why not add some flair to the back of your quilt since you’ve already spent so much time on the front? Why not?
Free motion stitching adds just one more layer of beauty to your masterpiece. Just as the name suggests, this type of stitching is basically “freehand” drawing using your quilting machine. It might sound extremely difficult, but Rob’s video breaks everything down so well. With a bit of practice, just about anyone can do this. Rob even provides a pdf of practice patterns for you to use.
It is always best to get a basic backing design together before you start the actual stitching process. While it is “free motion” stitching, it’s more than just random stitching all across the back of your quilt. A good tip is to work in small sections, so you don’t take the chance of ruining your whole back.
If you learn anything from this tutorial, it is that the secret to making free motion stitching is one word – control. Get comfortable with your machine and fabrics so you can comfortably control all the aspects of creating a fabulous free motion stitching. It is so important to control how hard or fast you move your quilt.
Circles, curves, and swirls are usually the easiest designs to start with, so practice on some leftover fabric until you get comfortable and are able to accurately control your fabric.
In less than twenty minutes, Rob Appell teaches you everything you need to know about free motion stitching. He includes lots of good tips and tricks for everyone, from beginning to experienced quilter. Once you get the hang of it, you’ll definitely get addicted to free motion stitching everything.”
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