Book Review: Walking Foot Quilting Designs

One of the problems that many quilters have is how to free motion quilt their projects. If you are one of those quilters, I can reassure you that you don’t have to. What?! Yes, you do have to get your quilt sandwich stitched together, but you don’t have to do this with free motion quilting: you can quilt your projects using your walking foot.

I recently discovered “Walking Foot Quilting Designs” by Melissa Marginet and wanted to share this book with you.

Walking Foot Quilting Designs is a small book that is packed with helpful walking foot quilting designs. As it is coil bound, you can have it right next to your sewing machine so you can easily refer to it as you are stitching out one of the designs. I really like this idea, because it is so very helpful to have the quilting information close at hand.

Melissa includes information at the beginning of the book about using your walking foot to quilt your quilts so you can get yourself and your machine properly set up. The book itself is divided into sections so you can quickly go to the one in which you are interested. You’ll find triangle designs, spiral designs, etc.

Each design is broken into several steps so you know exactly how to create it on your own sewing machine. The first lines that you’ll be stitching are in red in Step 1 and then these lines are shown in black in Step 2 to indicate that they have already been stitched. This makes it obvious which part of the design has already been stitched and what your next stitching will be.

Melissa also includes variations of the different designs as well as designs appropriate for borders and corners.

I think that the book will be helpful for both beginner quilters and more advanced ones: beginners could choose to stitch the initial part of the design, while more experienced quilters could do all of the steps for added complexity.

To see more of Walking Foot Quilting Designs, you can watch the video below or on my YouTube channel.

Using your walking foot to quilt is a great way to become familiar with the technique of quilting a project and to build your confidence so you are ready to eventually tackle free motion quilting… or you might just stay with walking foot quilting.

You can get your own copy of Walking Foot Quilting Designs from Melissa at http://www.melissamarginet.ca/.

Creatively,

Download the free Get Out of the Ditch! guide to learn how to start free motion quilting by clicking here.

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Personalize Your Janome 9400

One of the options on my Janome Horizon Memory Craft 9400 QCP is the ability to change some of its settings so I can customize the machine to my specifications. I can't change everything on the machine - I'd have to have one custom built to do that - but there are many features that can be adjusted to my liking.

I know that some quilters like to hear everything that their machine is doing and receive these confirmations in the form of "beeps". For other quilters, these beeps can be quite annoying and distracting. The Janome 9400 allows you to adjust the volume of these "reminders" or even turn them off entirely. 

Another option allows you to change the brightness of the machines' LED screen, so you can make it brighter or less bright, depending on your preference. 

You can even turn lights on or off on the machine, if you'd like.

Watch the video below or on my YouTube channel to see all of the customizable options of the Janome 9400.

What options can be customized on your sewing machine? Leave me a Comment below to tell me what options you have changed on your sewing machine and why you did this.

Creatively,

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P.P.S. Check out our newest FREE mini-class on creating hanging tabs and using the pillowcase method for wall hangings and small projects.

Walking Foot Comparison: Janome vs Bernina

One of the sewing machine feet that I absolutely have to have is the walking foot. Some people call this a dual fee foot or an even feed foot, but I always use the term "walking foot". 

What is a walking foot and why do I believe it is so important? The walking foot works with the feed dogs to move the top fabric along at the same rate as the bottom fabric. This helps to avoid a situation where the top fabric is being moved along at a quicker rate than the fabric you are sewing it to (the bottom fabric). 

When do I use the walking foot? I use it when I'm stitching borders to the sides of my quilt top. I also use it for quilting. I use it to stitch binding on to my quilt. See? The walking foot has lots of uses!

Some walking feet come with the sewing machine when you purchase it while others are an additional cost. I strongly recommend that you purchase a walking foot if one didn't come with your machine. It is a foot that you will use over and over again.

You will find marks on some walking feet that indicate the 1/4" mark or 1/2" mark. This can be very helpful when you want to stitch a 1/4" seam. It's also helpful when you want to stitch a 1/4" or a 1/2" away from a previously stitched line.

As I have both a Bernina sewing machine and a Janome one, I was able to show you the difference between their walking feet.  The video below or on my YouTube channel shows you these differences.

If you have a walking foot for your sewing machine, take a closer look at it. Does it have markings to indicate a 1/4" or other measurements on it? Leave me a Comment below to tell me about your sewing machine's walking foot and how you like to use it.

Creatively,

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Learn About the Grip n Press

Christmas is less than a week away! Are you ready? I'm just about ready - there always seems to be last minute baking and wrapping to be done. I'll be taking a break over the holidays to spend time with my family, so there won't be a blogpost or YouTube video next week. 

I hope you have a relaxing and joyful time with your family and friends and I'll see you with new, fresh content on January 2, 2018.

I recently took a look at the Grip n Press by Bear Thread Designs, Inc. As the name implies, this is a product that both grips and allows you to use it as a pressing surface. Let's take a closer look at this helpful item.

One side of the Grip n Press is a black, rubbery surface, while the other is a shiny, silver one. The black surface grips, while the silver one is where the pressing will be happening. Once you've smoothed the Grip n Press down onto a flat surface, you can put your fabric on top of it and then press it. So it's really a portable pressing surface! 

Once you've finished using the Grip n Press, you can roll it up and store it in a cardboard tube (a paper towel tube is great for this). Since it is portable, this makes it perfect for taking to a quilting class or retreat.

NB: I would be cautious using the Grip n Press on a surface that isn't heat resistant, just in case the heat of the iron might damage it.

To see the Grip n Press in action, watch the video below or on my YouTube channel. 

View fullsize

Please leave me a Comment below advising of other uses for the Grip n Press.

Creatively,

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P.P.S. This post includes affiliate links. If you purchase an item through these links, I will receive a small monetary amount that helps me to continue creating FREE content for you. Thanks!

What is a Grip n Grip?

I recently took a look at the Grip n Grip by Bear Thread Designs, Inc. You may be wondered what the heck is a Grip n Grip? I was wondering too, so let's take a closer look at it.

As the name implies, the Grip n Grip's primary goal is to grip to something. Lucky for us quilters, the Grip n Grip works really well in gripping what we usually work with: fabric!

The Grip n Grip is a rubber-like substance on both sides and both sides grip in the same way. You just need to smooth it down on a flat surface - an ironing board or counter top - and can then put fabric on it and it grips the fabric and stops it from moving around. This is so helpful when you want to mark or draw on fabric, such as when you are making a quilt label.

I've found a few other uses for the Grip n Grip and you can see these in the video below or on my YouTube channel. 

What other uses do you think the Grip n Grip would be helpful for? Please leave me a Comment below if you have other ideas or if you have used the Grip n Grip in your quilting studio.

Creatively,

P.S. Did you know that Chatterbox Quilts provides FREE content to those on our mailing list? Yes, we do! Sign up here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. You'll be glad you did :)

P.P.S. This post includes affiliate links. If you purchase an item through these links, I will receive a small monetary amount that helps me to continue creating FREE content for you. Thanks!