Quilting tips and tricks with Handi Quilter
From relative beginners to those who have been quilting for years, we all come across problems in our craft from time to time. But some questions can be harder to find the answer to than others – is the cause down to technique, a maintenance issue, or even the capabilities of your machine?
We’ve teamed up with the experts at Handi Quilter to bring you five tips that can help you enhance your quilt-making. Alongside these must-know tips, you’ll discover how their long arm quilting machines can make your quilting a whole lot easier.
Quilting tips and tricks with Handi Quilter
Clean all surfaces before starting
If you’ve been sewing and making quilt blocks for even a small amount of time, you’ll know how important it is to regularly clean and maintain your sewing machine. It’s generally recommended that you have your machine professionally serviced every 2 years, or even annually if you use it a lot.
However, it’s also important to keep your work surfaces and accessories clean too. After all, you don’t want to ruin your precious quilt with a dirty smudge of oil or dust. It might be tempting to use cleaning products, but these can actually leave greasy residues that may mark your fabric. Similarly, alcohol will sterilise surfaces but it can dry out and damage some materials like rubber.
The best thing to use is a micro-fibre cloth, which is great for picking up any loose threads and fibres from previous projects. Use a small brush if you need to clean mechanisms. A can of compressed air spray can also be useful, but be careful with more complicated machines, as you could potentially blow wires or parts out of place.
For Long Arm Quilting machines, Handi Quilter has a top tip of using leftover batting scraps to clean rails and tracking bars. Dust and lint will settle in tracks over time, so it’s important to clean out any grooves as well as the surfaces. Remember, if you’re getting little jogs or jerks when using your machine, it’s time for a clean!
Finish what you’ve started
While we all love making a fresh quilt block or learning new techniques, it’s fair to say they don’t always end up in a finished quilt. Maybe you don’t quite have the funds to send them off to a commercial quilting service, or perhaps it’s that you find trying to squeeze a quilt sandwich into a conventional sewing machine is always a challenge.
Long arm quilting machines tend to require a lot of room, but there is a solution for home quilters… stationary long arm quilting machines!
If you’re tight on space or mostly work on smaller projects, an ST (stationary) machine like the Handi Quilter Moxie ST is a great option. Stationary machines don’t use frames but instead are fixed to a table. They won’t take up much more space than a full-size conventional sewing machine, but will give you the capability of creating a quilt from start to finish.
The large throat space provided by the long arm on these machines means you have much more room for your quilt to fit through, and you can roll it up in the throat space as you progress. As the quilt is not attached to a frame, you will need to take care to ensure your quilt stays straight, but art quilters and free-motion quilters in particular love these machines as they offer tons of control.
Different directions – quicker quilts
Think a long arm quilting machine is just for finishing your quilts? Think again! A long arm machine can dramatically speed up your creative process, meaning more time for making.
The key is that long arm quilting machines feature multi-directional sewing, rather than the one fixed direction of your conventional sewing machine. When combined with quilt rulers (or even just going freehand), making a complicated quilt block can take half the time.
For example, imagine a quilt block featuring a star shape. On a conventional sewing machine, each new line will require you to stop and reposition your block so that your stitches are at the correct angle.
With multi-directional sewing, you simply adjust your quilt ruler to the new angle and sew in that direction. Check out this video by Handi Quilter to see how quickly you can work with rulers and a long arm quilting machine.
No one wants wrinkles
You’ve spent ages carefully crafting those quilt blocks, and you’ve made the tricky decision to finish the quilt yourself… only to find that it’s got all wrinkled (or even worse, pleated) when you’ve tried to fix those quilt sandwich layers together.
There are a few steps you can take to combat this. Press the backing so it is flat, without creases, and press the quilt top too, making sure the seams on the back are flat. Check the batting to see what the recommended distances are for quilting. Don’t forget to keep checking the back of the work as you fix the layers, to ensure the backing fabric is still smooth.
If you’re after precision quilts, a long arm quilting machine with a frame will ensure your quilt stays perfectly in place for every single stitch. With a longarm machine, the frame stays stationary, and you move the machine, so as long as you get the initial setup correct, you can just concentrate on the quilting.
There are a few different-sized options for frames. For example, the Handi Quilter Moxie XL has the option of an 8 or 10 foot frame, as well as straightforward features, easy-to-use controls, and 18 inches of throat space to get creative.
Take a look at how it’s done and learn even more tips and tricks on how to keep your quilts straight in this video from Handi Quilter.
Go pro with Pro-Stitcher
If you’re getting really serious about your quilts and want to take things to the next level, then opting for a computerised quilting system could transform your craft.
All of Handi Quilter’s longarm machines (with the exception of stationary models) come with the ability to add Pro-Stitcher. This computerised system guides your machine through your custom designs quickly and precisely, rather than requiring time-consuming free-motion.
By taking your quilting into the digital realm, you have access to unlimited design capabilities alongside being able to create larger projects, all while maintaining precision stitching and stitch regulation. Remember, by handing over the timely process of finishing your quilts to Pro-Stitcher, you can spend more time enjoying what you love – making!
As well as being able to fully programme your quilting machine, you can still switch between free motion and Pro-Stitcher computerized stitching with the touch of a button – meaning you can still get creative and add your own unique handmade touch.
Not sure if you’re ready to go digital? Not to worry! Handi Quilter’s machines, such as the Amara 20 Long Arm Quilting machine are Pro-Stitcher ready with all necessary cabling pre-installed, so you can always choose to add it at a later date if you wish.
More long arm quilting advice from the experts
These are just a few of the tips and tricks that come with years of experience of using long arm quilting machines. When you decide to take that next step in your quilting journey, Handi Quilter has a huge range of resources online to help you understand your machine and unleash your true quilting potential.
As well as HQ’s workshops and the HQ Academy, there is a 26-part series of Handi Quilter video tutorials to help you truly make the most of your machine.
We’ve also teamed up with Handi Quilter to help create a guide on how to find the right long arm quilting machine for you. For even more advice, tutorials and testimonials, head to the Handi Quilter website.
