Escape the Ditch: Empower Your Quilting

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Take charge of your quilting and gain free-motion confidence! Expert Helen Godden shares empowering techniques to make quilting fun again.

Liberate Yourself From the Ditch

Meet Helen Godden and start class by understanding why free-motion quilting may have challenged you in the past. Get comfortable with 360 degrees of sewing, and learn how to properly mark your quilt for guidance, not restriction. Warm up with a few simple grid-based motifs including cathedral windows and jigsaw puzzles.

Taming Your Stitches

Learn how to gain control of your stitches and achieve a consistent stitch length. Find out how to create smooth corners and sharp points when you mean to! Helen shares some fun new motifs including kangaroos, spirit dancers and more.

Consistency & Crossing Over

Create basic curves and circles with consistency, not perfection. You’ll practice stippling and discover several more forgiving fillers along the way. See how to travel and avoid getting stuck in a corner as you apply your fillers to your quilt top.

Maintenance & Tension

Helen shares basic machine maintenance tips for fuss-free quilting. She’ll show you how to identify and diagnose tension issues, and how to adjust tension for proper stitches.

Feathers & More

Learn how to quilt a basic feather with ease by eliminating unnecessary stitching. Helen shares several fun variations, and you’ll see how to connect motifs so you can travel without breaking any thread.

Let Your Quilting Tell a Story

Get inspired! End class by learning how to tell a story through your quilting. You’ll practice seeing beyond piecing lines to simplify your quilt designs.