Do we have a darning plate to allow free motion stitching on the Babylocks? I know you can’t lower the feed dogs …
I would use the Viking but it has a thread sensor so that makes it unusable for my need.
Greetingsstrong textFree motion on the Zest
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To free motion quilt on the Zest you need a free motion/darning foot, and the feed dogs have to be covered by a plate.
I have not seen either at DMS. You can ask Amelia if there are parts put away somewhere.
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I suspect that we don’t have that equipment.
Although we might be able to buy some.
edit: We might. I’ll have to go look at the boxes we have of fancy feet. We might still have to acquire the plate to cover the feed dogs.
edit 2: Darning plates look moderately cheap. A search for them mostly turned up offerings on Ebay, but we could probably ask at Mr. Sewing Machine. S/b under $20.
This answer from google made me laugh, so I’m sharing it:
Common free-motion quilting mistakes involve technical issues like unbalanced tension (causing loops), thread breaking, skipped stitches (often from wrong needle/speed), and fabric puckering (due to instability or poor tension). Planning errors include diving in without a plan, not practicing, expecting perfection, getting stuck in corners, and poor movement (bad form), which leads to uneven, bunched-up, or messy stitches
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Greetings. If you do set up for free motion on the Babylock, try it out with a similar weight/density sandwich before you commit on your project. I have only done straight line quilting on the Babylock, and only with a low loft batting, because the motor/power is geared for lightweight fabric use.
I have also used the Pfaff 130, again for straight line quilting, and it sewed like butter. But the online blogs (Reddit etc) show people have had issues with smelling “scorched or hot” smells in the course of FMQ on the 130. Also, I have never seen a FMQ foot for the pfaff—again Amelia would be the one to ask. The manual for the 130 is on the shelf underneath the machine.
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Thanks! (also thanks Beth @dryad2b)
I actually don’t plan to use thread. I just want to needle-punch some waxed paper and then use that as a tracing template on my “real” project.
I usually do that on my lesser Viking (which is in the shop right now) and then I do the FMQ on my other Viking.
It’s a one-time need so it is not worth investing in additional equipment. I was only interested in the Babylock because it doesn’t have a thread sensor. If someone wants to do FMQ at DMS, then I endorse the Viking for that.
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Seems like a pounce wheel would be easier. I assume you are making the holes to transfer a pattern to another material.
Pounce wheel is a good idea.
I pin the waxed paper pattern to the quilt, stitch through the paper, then tear it off. When I make the waxed paper pattern, I layer 6 - 8 sheets of waxed paper together to reduce the number of times I have to stitch a pattern and it’s good practice for when I stitch it with thread.