![]() ![]() Some lines, a quick wash, and trouble areas will basically vanish. You could use your walking/piecing foot or a ruler for these, whichever you prefer.ģ) Flatness- Borders and other troublesome areas are ideal candidates for straight lines because they are a useful way to “massage” puckers and buckles into submission. While I don’t have hard and fast rules about this, or hardly anything with quilting for that matter, I do have some general guidelines for when I’ll opt for straight lines in a heart beat. When to Use Straight LinesĪs I mentioned, I like to mix free motion quilting with more geometric motifs because I think it creates a really cool effect. Ruler work is amazing because it allows you to have the precision of straight lines without breaking the flow of free motion quilting. If you’re doing something like straight lines in a border, turning the quilt every few inches quickly becomes a royal pain in the patootie. The downside to this method, of course, is that you have to turn the quilt every time you need to change the direction of the line. As a general rule, if I want to quilt straight lines on my domestic, I just use (and recommend) a piecing foot or walking foot. Still have questions? We're happy to help! Send Amy an email.I love mixing free motion quilting and straight lines- it creates great visual contrast and changes up the process. ![]() (These may be Berninas, Jukis, as well as a few others.)Ī regular hopping free motion foot is not a ruler foot and is not safe to use with even a thick ruler. Sewing machines using a hopping style ruler foot must use 1/4 inch (6mm) thick rulers. Low shank machines can use the above in some instances (to the front and sides of the foot) but also benefit from the thinner 3mm rulers. High shank sewing machines using a non-hopping (standard) ruler foot can use 1/4 inch (6mm) and 4.5mm rulers. Their feet hop and need that extra thickness. Long arm machines must use 1/4 inch (6mm) thick rulers. When a thinner ruler is needed, it is wonderful to have such! But in Amy's experience, thicker rulers are easier to maneuver, and in the event that a quilter with a low shank machine moves up to a bigger machine, odds are good that the new machine will be a high shank machine and will use the thicker rulers. This may differ from what the manufacturer of the template or ruler may say. In this case, on a low shank machine, a thinner ruler is desirable.īecause Amy actually uses these rulers, we note in the descriptions which rulers/templates need need a thinner version and offer it as a choice. These rulers have a concave or interior shape. But some shapes wrap around the foot a bit and end up behind the foot. ![]() However, low shank sewing machines ( How to tell the shank type of a sewing machine) and a few other sewing machines (Pfaff with IDT, the Janome 66) don't have enough clearance behind the foot and under the presser foot shaft for these thick rulers to be used behind the foot.īehind the foot is an awkward place to use a ruler or template, so for most, the ruler or template would be placed in front of the foot. Many thanks to Amy's husband, Eric, for this silly picture! Ruler ThicknessĪny sewing machine equipped with a ruler foot can use a thick, long arm ruler. Typically 1/4 inch (6mm) thick, these templates are easier to grasp and very sturdy. Quilting with rulers can really improve your free motion quilting if you are a beginner as well as give needed structure and design to the more experienced quilter. ![]() Also referred to as templates, and more properly so, these are used for ruler work, to guide your free motion quilting for straight lines, smooth curves, and/or specialty shapes. ![]()
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