Free-Motion Quilting Made Easy: 186 Designs from 8 Simple Shapes
Many quiltmakers would love to be able to machine quilt their quilts. Machine quilting at home on a domestic sewing machine is faster than hand quilting and cheaper than sending quilt tops to longarm machinists. It also allows quiltmakers to complete every step involved in making their quilt.Eva Larkin set out to teach herself the secrets not only of machine quilting, but also of creating quilting designs that didn't need to be marked on the quilt top and weren't just overall meandering or stitching in the ditch. Within a year, she was teaching others what she'd learned, and this book captures much of what she has passed on in those workshop classes.The book is presented in the style of a workshop with exercises for readers to practice what they've learned. At the heart of the book are eight basic designs, each of which has at least five variations. Each design is relatively simple to stitch without hours of practice or any time spent marking the quilt top. Samples are shown.Larkin has also included a chapter on how to decide how to quilt your quilt, which many readers, I m sure, will find enormously helpful. She provides a systematic approach along with a gallery of designs to inspire.This is a very practical book; it's intended to be used as a workbook, not as a theory text that you will read and store on your bookshelf. If you're ready to have a go at free-motion machine quilting or, if you've tried and not experienced much success, this book is likely to be a very useful companion. --Megan Fisher, Australian Homespun-Complete Craft BlogThis is a well-written, detailed, step-by-step instruction book on how to learn machine quilt on your home sewing machine. Good basic instructions on mastering thread tension, controlling stitch length and quilting in smaller sections. Larkin moves the reader slowly through the process of learning, recommending exercises on both paper and fabric "sandwiches." Larkin says, "My favorite designs are those that are easy to quilt, add texture to the quilt top, and require little marking." She relies on eight basic, easy to master shapes for all her designs--the oval, loop, lopsided figure eight, tulip, heart, triangle, diamond and flower.If you're ready to take the plunge into machine quilting or ready to move past stitch-in-the-ditch and stippling, Free-Motion Quilting Made Easy is a great tool to step you through the process. --Quilting on a Budget blog