Machine Quilting Tutorial Roundup

I think we can all agree that YouTube is pretty awesome.  Gone are the days of searching for the right class to learn a technique.  In fact, many of the sewists I’ve talked to have learned how to sew completely through online tutorials.  And if you ask me, that is pretty awesome!

I was lucky enough to learn my basic sewing skills from my mom, a master at sewing clothing, home decor and toys.  But when I started machine quilting I was on my own. All of my knowledge on the subject has come from the internet, and today I want to share a few of my favorite tutorials in case you’re looking to learn yourself.

First, you’ll need to prepare your fabric for quilting.  Wendi Gratz has a great video showing you how-

I have to admit, sometimes I’m too lazy to use all those pins and I prefer to reach for the spray baste.  Rose Smith will show us how to do that-

If neither of these basting methods appeal to you, never fear!  It seems like every quilter has her own special technique.  This article on Craftsy steps you through 4 separate methods.  But don’t get too overwhelmed- you just have to learn one of these 🙂  Pick the one that looks easiest and stick with it.

Once your quilt sandwich is all made, it’s time to quilt!  If you’re looking to quilt straight designs, a traditional method like ‘stitch in the ditch’ will work for you.  If you want those curvy, organic quilt designs you’ll want to learn how to do free motion quilting.

Here’s a good video, also by Wendi Gratz, for straight line designs-

To start out with free motion quilting, the video below from FaveQuilts.com is a good tutorial.  She does a basic stipple stitch (also called a meandering stitch) which is probably the most popular free motion stitch right now, it’s also easy to learn.

In the video she mentions you’ll need a free motion quilting foot, this is the one I have and it works great.  I also suggest getting gripped machine quilting gloves like she uses.

Once you are comfortable with this stitch, you can move onto an endless amount of free motion quilting designs to help personalize your quilts.  This article on Craftsy.com lists a lot of fantastic resources for a beginning quilter who would like to expand her free motion knowledge.

I hope these videos will give a jump start to your quilting experience.  Have you found any great quilting tutorials to share?