Free-Motion Quilting Essentials

Class Preview

Free-motion made easy! Get step-by-step guidance for beautiful results.

Getting Started

Meet returning Craftsy instructor Christina Cameli as you explore free-motion quilting in a fun, relaxing environment. Discover what types of thread and machine feet to use before setting up your machine and making several test stitches to assess the tension of your top and bottom threads.

Wiggles & Loops

Try your hand at a series of beginner-friendly stitches as Christina shows you how to sketch and then stitch a series of wiggles, loops, ribbon candy and meandering designs. You’ll learn how to fill straight, angled, wide and narrow spaces, hiding irregularities in your designs as you work.

Spirals & Sharp Points

Make a variety of round and rectangular spirals without backing into a space that’s too small to stitch out of! Christina shares tips on sketching or simply imagining the starting and stopping points for your designs, and demonstrates sewing spirals of all shapes and sizes.

Circles & Traveling

Develop new skills as you create a series of designs that require re-tracing your steps as you stitch. Christina demonstrates her methods for creating pebbles, ovals, vines, feathers and a new spiral variation that will add cheerful and sophisticated notes to your next quilt.

Radiant Designs, S-Curves & Arcs

Next up, try your hand at dramatic-looking S-curves and arcs that can be as classic or modern as you want them to look. Christina demonstrates radiant designs like flowers and stars, including ways to connect them with meandering lines, and shares additional tips for creating symmetry or asymmetry.

Adding Emphasis & Mashups

Hone your new free-motion quilting skills as you explore ways to mix and match the designs you’ve learned so far in class, mashing favorites like pebbles and ribbon candy together, and controlling which elements pop or recede into the background. Follow along in the downloadable quilting exercises!

Putting It All Together

Step back from individual blocks and assess your quilt as a whole as Christina shares helpful tips on design considerations, how to avoid breaking thread and breaking large spaces into smaller, more manageable areas. Finish the class with a tutorial on quilting a large project on a small machine!