The Secrets of Free-Motion Quilting

Class Preview

Unlock the secrets to free-motion success and flawlessly stitch your quilts with confidence!

Nestled Designs

Meet quilting instructor and author Christina Cameli, then dive right into learning about nestled free-motion quilting designs such as pebbles. Christina demonstrates how to adapt your designs by adding stitch patterns inside the pebbles, and how to play with other nested shapes such as ovals, squares and triangles. You’ll see how to recognize a nestled pattern within a completed quilt so you can re-create it in your own quilting!

Beads on a String Designs

Beads on a string is a low-stress, high-impact design that’s fun to learn and modify. Christina walks you through the basic structure of the design with simple pebbles, asterisks and flowers, then shows how you can add apparent complexity by interlocking shapes or adding a few filler lines. Learn Christina’s tips for tackling such designs on a larger quilt and see how to deconstruct the quilted designs from finished quilts that inspire you.

Emerging Designs

Christina demonstrates how emerging designs can “grow” across your quilt, with each new element sprouting like leaves between two others. Practice with a simple paisley or leaf shape, then add internal complexity with pebbles, spirals and s-curves. Christina shows how to work with these designs along an edge, and how to fill in any empty spaces between designs.

Echoing Designs

Is there an echo in here? If you’re quilting along with Christina, the answer is yes! Get a handle on the structure of echo designs and how they can build on each other across your project. Learn strategies for getting in and out of tight spots and recognizing echo designs in other quilts so you can re-create them in your own.

Climbing Designs

Use climbing designs to quilt the borders of your project, or use them as an all-over motif. Christina demonstrates how you can sketch out and then stitch climbing spirals, leaves and flowers that build on each other as you progress, and how to plan for corners so your stitching flows naturally and beautifully. Mix up your climbing designs to fill in a larger space. Christina shows you how!

Branching Designs

You’ll get lots of practice traveling along previous stitching lines when you use a branching design in your quilting. Sketch your designs along with Christina to get a feel for the movement, then try stitching elegant curlicue branches adorned with small and large leaves. Christina also helps you deconstruct a branching design from an already-quilted piece so you can replicate it in your own work!

Follow-Along Designs

Follow-along designs grow along a stitched or marked central line, making it very easy to plan the path of your quilting. Christina shares strategies for creating your designs and stitching them out and offers lots of variations to consider. Learn how to spot and re-create such designs and how to combine them for borders or an all-over pattern. You’ll be eager to start practicing them right away!