Here's a picture of my latest bag. You can read all about it in THIS post.
Now for the new look! All of the bags I've made so far have used a standard "grid" design. By that I mean, I sewed a bunch of lines going one direction (on the diagonal), then I criss-crossed those with diagonal lines going the opposite direction. I've seen something called "Free Motion Quilting" and have been reading about it for months now. I even bought the special foot for this a couple of months ago. However, it wasn't until recently that I ventured to actually try this. I started on scraps, but got brave enough to try it on a bag that I had cut out but had yet to quilt.
You may need to click on the images to see the details, but in this type of quilting, you move the bag around on the sewing machine whichever way you want to stitching to go. You have to lower the little "feed dogs" (those metal bars that pull the fabric through the foot as you sew). My old machine didn't have this feature, so I was so happy to get a machine last fall that was able to do this! By doing this, it's almost like you're "drawing" with your needle, but instead of the needle moving, as a pen would, you move the fabric to create the designs. I did what I have learned is called a "meandering" stitch. It works for me. I meander all the time. I thought it would look pretty with this bold print. I will tell you that I have the thread color memorized (it's Coats 1840 if you wondered!) and am still working on more PINK bags, so I may need a refill of that thread!
I also decided to buy some actual quilting thread and used that on this bag. The all cotton thread has a feel that is almost silky. It's not at all what I expected, but I love how it feels. It's a fun change and it opens up a new area of quilting for me. There are about a gazillion different "free motion" stitches you can do, so I have a feeling I'll be "trying" this method for a LONG time!
Thanks for stopping by!
No comments:
Post a Comment