I made this quilt top several months ago and then waffled forever (as usual for me) about how I wanted to machine quilt it, finally getting some ideas from Lisa Calle, whose work is amazing. I have to say that I really love free-motion work (especially feathers), though I have a long way to go before being really good at it.
Most of what I’m doing on this piece, though, will be ruler work, a technique that is intended to be very precise. However, doing ruler work on a domestic machine isn’t quite the same as doing it on a longarm; instead of holding the ruler steady on the quilt and moving only the machine head with the opposite hand, it’s sort of backwards. While holding the ruler steady on the quilt, I have to then move the heavy/bulky quilt sandwich and the ruler at the same time. It’s somewhat easier to do on a small piece, but with a large quilt it’s much more difficult; it’s almost inevitable that the ruler will shift at least a little while moving everything under the needle. That shifting destroys the precision of ruler work. 🙁 I’ve tried using sticky dots on the back of the rulers, but I’ve since switched to using this product, which does a much better job of helping to keep the ruler stable. Still, I’ve done a certain amount of ripping out stitches already!
If you’re going to try ruler work, be sure that you get actual ruler-work rulers, as they are thick enough not to slide under the needle. You will also need a ruler-work foot (#72 for my Bernina) in order to prevent the foot sliding under the ruler and causing major damage.
2 thoughts on “Torture!”
I love ruler work and have gotten very good results using skateboard grip tape. It works like a charm. I have tried so many of the quilt company products and off label uses of other types of tape. I am a firm believer in the grip tape. I love your work. d
Thanks so much, Denise! I did try skateboard tape at one time, but I really felt that it was hard on the fabrics. Maybe I’ll give it another try, though. Thanks again!