Mechanical Magic

Color is also important. Choose a backing color so the thread used in the bobbin will be no darker than the lightest color of the quilt top. If the bobbin thread shows on the top due to tension problems or "pop-ups," just use a pen to color the thread so it disappears on the top. Dark threads will show on light-colored fabrics in the quilt top.

Consistency is important too. Avoid fabric with loose grain as it can stretch and distort, causing pleats and puckers on the back of the quilt. A fabric too tightly woven may also cause difficulties with not enough "give." Many manufacturers offer extra-wide backing made specifically for this purpose. Be sure the fabric isn't too stiff after washing.

Preparing the Backing and Quilt Top

• The backing fabric should be pre-washed, pressed with starch for stability and ease of movement across the sewing surface. If there are seams in the backing, take smaller stitches and press these seams open and they will be almost invisible to the eye after quilting.

• Quilt top should be pressed well with starch. Use starch throughout the piecing process with pre-washed fabrics. It gives them stability and aids in piecing, plus it creates a nice smooth surface for marking. Excess fabric won't develop between pins or quilted areas as readily if the top has been pressed with starch.

Choices for Quilting the Designs

• Select a thread then pick the corresponding needle size. If you use a needle that's too large, you will get large and permanent holes in the quilt that allow the bobbin thread to sneak through to the top and show. Tension is more difficult to adjust if the needle holes are too big, and it's all but impossible to get the top and bobbin threads to balance nicely. For heirloom style machine quilting, a fine thread such as #60 two-ply cotton embroidery works very well, or a #100 silk or nylon monofilament. With all these, choose a fine bobbin thread, preferably in the same color or in a color that will blend well with the top thread. A #60 2-ply cotton embroidery thread for the bobbin is a good choice.

• Sharp needles, rather than Universals, work best for machine quilting. Quilting Needles also work well, but do not come in a small enough size for the finer threads. A #60 Sharp needle and #100 silk thread or nylon monofilament work wonderfully together to get beautiful stitches.

• For a heavier thread such as a 3-ply cotton, a larger needle will be necessary. A #70 or #80 Sharp or a #75 Quilting Needle will work well with this thread. If the thread frays or breaks, you probably need a larger needle or a new needle. The top tension many times needs to be reduced a number or two so that the top thread isn't too tight and doesn't break during quilting.

Posture and Hand Positions

• It's best to machine quilt with the machine set in a cabinet or table, flush with the surrounding surface. You can then rest your arms much of the time and quilt with your hands and fingers, getting much better control and preventing pain and fatigue from holding your arms in the air.

• Press hands flat and use them as a "hoop" to keep an area taut while quilting. Don't push so hard that the quilt moves in jerks and stops, but lift lightly at the same time and the quilt will move smoothly. Be sure and position your quilt on surrounding surfaces to the left and back that support it so you have no weight or drag on the quilt and it moves easily.

• Try other ways to hold or grip the quilt and find the way that works best for you. Gather up the quilt in each hand and use it as "handles" to help move the quilt, rather than pressing it down flat.

Order of Quilting

• It's best to figure out a "plan of attack" before you go to the machine. First stabilize the quilt in an overall grid with "in-the-ditch" quilting in construction lines, then you can really quilt in any area you want, because the quilt has been locked in and each small division won't move. You could even do the border first if desired.

• To build "muscle memory" so you really perfect quilting skills, repeat a design over and over and don't quilt one thing, then another. For example, if the quilt has a feathered wreath in all the setting squares, quilt them all, one after another, before you do another type of quilting such as lines or stippling.

• It's best to quilt around the applique or piecing and then any designs in those areas first, then after you are warmed up, start in the designs themselves, and finish with lines and grids, echoes and curves, and then lastly, do the stippling.