For ages I was looking forward to trying out free motion quilting on the Singer 15K treadle, but first I had to clean up the machine. Then I had to find a suitable foot. I was lucky enough to find this hopping foot in a second hand shop in an attachments tin, along with one or two unremarkable oddments.
A few weeks later, I eventually took the plunge...
It is interesting that on close up photos you see things that you wouldn't necessarily have noticed otherwise. Was it me who caused that nick on the right hand side by bashing the needle down onto the foot (all part of the learning process) or was it the previous owner?
Here is the brimstone butterfly again. I have just finished quilting around the edge of the appliqué.
To give it a bit of extra body I added an extra layer of wadding to fit the shape of the appliqué.
Once the extra layer was tacked in place and trimmed, I used pins to hold the layers in place around the butterfly and stitched around it, using the method shown in yesterday's post.
So there you have it. Stuffed butterfly. Sounds like a delicacy from the declining Roman Empire.
A warm welcome to Allon0711 and Madakamom - thank you for joining as followers!
After all the work I put into the appliqué on the Diamond Jubilee wall hanging, I had to work out the best way of quilting around the edges before I launched into the free-motion quilting.
The ideal foot to use was the adjustable cording foot, usually used for zips. Not only is it adjustable, but also it is hinged, so it rides easily over the inevitable bumps.
The red arabesque at the top of the hanging was nothing but curves and corners, but the cording foot made relatively easy work of it.
I was pleased with finished effect - the blanket stitch edging really stood out in relief.
Often an old Singer machine will have a quilting foot with the attachments, together with a quilting guide.
Once the foot has been attached to the machine, the rod of the quilting guide can be inserted through the groove at the top part of the foot.
The quilting guide can be inserted from either the right or the left, depending on which way you want it to face.
I have to admit that I have yet to master the use of the quilting foot. There has been too much rumpling and skidding going on, which may be partly due to the fact that I have only ever tried it out with synthetic wadding.
The other slight problem I have had is that I am used to occasionally letting my finger touch the front part of the foot while I am sewing. This gives no trouble with a regular foot, but because with the quilting foot there is such a short distance between the front of the foot and the needle, I have had the needle come down on my fingernail a couple of times. Stupid, I know. Fortunately I have always had tough fingernails, so the needle has come off worst - just a slight bend making it come bashing down on the side of the foot with my next stitch.
