So many quilters are missing out on a really creative part of the quilting process because they are reluctant to try free motion quilting. I believe that all quilters should learn how to free motion quilt, but the question is: what is the best way to learn? Is it in an in-person class? One-on-one teaching? Through a video course? While these are all ways to learn free motion quilting, I believe the best way to learn is in an online membership. I also believe that The Quilter’s Way is the best online membership for people who are on a path to improve their free motion quilting. You probably think that I am biased because I host The Quilter’s Way but let’s explore the pros and cons of ways to learn free motion quilting and you will see why I feel the way I do.
Self-taught
When people first consider learning free motion quilting the “self-taught” path often appears to be the most tempting. Thoughts like “how hard can it be?” and “I just need to watch a few YouTube videos” immediately pop into your head followed by “why should I pay money to be taught something that I can learn for free?”. For some people the self-taught process will work but most quilters don’t get very far down this path before they realize how daunting the task can be.
The huge diversity in the free motion quilting technique will require spending hours browsing through innumerable narrowly focussed videos, blogs, books, etc. which might be okay if you don’t mind wasting time – time that could be spent working on your projects. In addition, without a structure to the learning, quilters often find themselves overwhelmed with the sheer volume of tips, tricks, and advice that is available resulting in them being “stuck” without knowing what the next steps are. There’s no one to encourage you to help you with this and, if you aren’t disciplined, it can be really hard to learn on your own and what journey to follow. How many times have you heard someone say “I found this tip on the internet but I don’t know what to do next”?
In-person Course
Many quilters, who have discovered that being self-taught is not as much fun as they thought, turn to in-person courses. This is where you go to a quilt shop or a show (local or further away) for a course on free motion quilting taught by a real live person who is in the room with you. No technology, just a real live person who teaches you the technique and answers your questions. There are other quilters in the room with you all trying to learn the same technique as you at the same time. What could be better than having access to a real live teacher and a group of quilters that you can make friends with? While I would agree that in-person courses are a good way to learn (I have taken quite a few in my time), there are a number of problems that can be grouped into two categories: convenience and poor access to on-going help.
Let’s start with convenience because it is the most obvious disadvantage with an in-person course. By its nature, you have to adjust your life and learning to the constraints imposed by this type of course. You have to make time in your schedule, travel to the class location, and either bring your own machine or learn to operate the machine that is in the store or at the show. Depending on the flexibility of your lifestyle and your proximity to the class location, these inconveniences may not be a big disadvantage but if you have a busy life this can be a major commitment requiring a lot of adjustments to your schedule.
The other disadvantage, poor access to on-going help, is subtle but in some ways a bigger obstacle to learning. You may be thinking “what do you mean by poor access to on-going help?” when the teacher is right in the room with you. You would be right if you were the only pupil in the room and managed to learn everything so perfectly that you had no problems or questions once you started using the technique in your own studio. Well, that is never going to happen! You will be in a classroom setting with limited interaction with the teacher because he/she has to support the learning of ALL the students in the class whose behaviour can really impact your ability to learn. Who hasn’t been in a class where one student monopolizes the teacher’s attention and slows down the pace of the course until it peters out to an unsatisfactory conclusion? The other major problem is that you do not have access to the teacher (or anyone else) once the class is over. I’m sure that you have found out that the hardest part of acquiring new knowledge is not learning the technique but in applying it in the real world after the class has finished. It’s amazing how many problems or questions pop up afterwards that were never addressed during the class. With the class over, you are now on your own to solve the myriad of problems that you will encounter as you use the technique “for real”.
One-on-one Teaching
The most obvious way to address the disadvantages of in-person classes is to hire your own personal teacher who will provide lessons that match your schedule and is “on call” to help you solve any problems you encounter when using the technique. If you can afford this solution – go for it! For most of the rest of us this is more expensive than we can afford.
Video Courses
Video courses are a great way to learn techniques because of their convenience. Not only can you choose the time, place, and teacher for your lessons, you also set your own pace. This means you can move as fast or as slow through the course, even skipping areas that you are already familiar with or replaying particularly tricky parts of the lessons. Being able to replay a lesson to refresh something that you missed the first time is a big step, unfortunately, it does not solve the problem of lack of access to help completely. Video courses, by their very nature, provide a narrow view of the technique without access to additional information related to the topic. In addition, they may not provide a way to have questions answered by the teacher or anyone else. This disadvantage becomes apparent when you begin using the technique in your own project and find that the course does not address the specific issue you’re having. This is when you miss the ability to ask a question of a real person (especially the teacher).
Online Membership
The final (and best in my opinion) way to learn a quilting technique is to join an online membership. A well-run online membership provides all the conveniences of a video course combined with the ability to get help and support from the teacher and other members. Since the training often includes video courses, you get all the convenience of learning through videos (access to the training at any time and being able to work through it at your own pace) as well as being able to watch the training video when you are actually doing that technique. At the same time you will get access to the host or the teacher in the courses as well as advice and support from other members who will have a wide range of experience with the technique.
There are a couple of disadvantages with an online membership. The first is that although it is fun to interact with the members online it is still not quite the same as interacting with them in person. The other disadvantage is that not all memberships are run the same way. Some memberships are nothing more than a subscription service, similar to Netflix, where your monthly fee just gives you access to content with no support from the teacher or interaction with members. Others are poorly hosted and may be disorganized without any structure to the training or the member interaction. Finally, some memberships just have a “bad vibe” that is not welcoming or suitable for learning and improvement. They are like visiting a poorly hosted Facebook group full of conflict, negativity or trolls. Luckily those type of memberships don’t last long but it is important that you find one the fits your personality and has the environment that suits your learning goals.
The Quilter’s Way
Finally, I want to talk about my membership, The Quilter’s Way. Not only because I host it but also because I want to show how I have considered all the things I have been discussing when designing the membership.
The Quilter’s Way is online 24/7 and hosted on an easy-to-use software platform that is accessible via computers, iPad or phones so members can participate anytime from anywhere in the world.
There is a structured step-by-step path including training and courses to help quilters make the improvements that they want.
Sources of additional material, such as interviews, articles are available outside the formal courses to augment the training.
I am accessible to the members via posts, articles, direct messages and emails to ensure that they get the support that they need. As the host I am careful to ensure that the “atmosphere” in the membership is positive, welcoming, supportive and, of course, fun.
Interactive live sessions are held using ZOOM (free software) to foster discussion between members and to explore new ideas.
The interaction between the members is amazing with lots of people providing advice and support, and many friendships being established between people who would never meet in any other way because they live halfway across the world from each other. Members in The Quilter’s Way are committed to improving their quilting skills.
The only thing that The Quilter’s Way does not provide on a daily basis is live in-person interaction mainly because members live a long way from each other. A number of us have managed to meet up with each other while traveling during our vacations and we have had lots of fun.
Summary
I have summarized the pros and cons of the different ways of learning free motion quilting so that you can see them in a glance. As you may have guessed I am very proud of The Quilter’s Way and this table will reflect my opinion that it is that best way to learn free motion quilting, however the pros and cons are laid out so you can decide for yourself.
Pros & Cons of the different ways to learn free motion quilting
Start your learning right now!
Download the free Get Out of the Ditch! guide to learn how to start free motion quilting by clicking here.
Check out my course “First Steps Into Free Motion Quilting” by clicking here.
OR
Join The Quilter’s Way by clicking here.
P.S. Do you strive to improve your quilting skills? Do you want to have fun doing it? Do you want to meet other quilters in a supportive, safe environment? If you answered “yes” to these questions, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. Don’t wait another day! Join now.