January 16, 2026
Happy Saturday-
Hope you have been doing well. This week has just been super busy with just finishing the holidays and getting back to the swing of things.
Every year I start the year with high goals with some goals that I reach and some I do not. My goal is to improve the number of completed versus ones not reached. Hopefully you are still progressing with in your goals.
This is my first free motion quilt. It has been a process. The issues have been tension. Staying consistent in the size for free motion. Additionally, the longarm hits a spot in the quilt and would jam up. This happens where several fabrics come together, and the spot is hard.
The tension was the biggest issue. Several times I believed it was fixed. It was not. After several frustrating hours, I realized that I missed a step when using the tension gauge. It makes a big difference when you push it down until it clicks in place. Once that was figured out, the tension was fine.
Consistent free motion on the quilt. I have one part of the quilt the meandering was a lot smaller. Then the rest of the quilt bigger. I probably need to be right in between both of them. This should come with practice.
Overall this was my first quilt with free motion. I realized pretty quickly that I have a lot to learn.
When I bought the longarm, I was told not to pick out when you make a mistake. This was the best advice that I was given. I did pick out some when the tension was not correct but left everything else in. Now that the quilt is done, I don’t even notice the mistake.
What have I learned?
- Check your tension before starting the project.
- Match the bobbin thread with the backing fabric.
- Continue to practice free motion there is so much to learn.
Do you have any tips for beginners on the longarm? I would love to hear it.
Happy Saturday,
Valerie
The Saturday Seamstress 