Free Motion Machine Quilting and Embroidery or Thread Painting
- elsakarr
- May 2, 2011
- 2 min read
Free motion is what the word implies. It is the ability to manually move the object being stitched in any direction the operator wants. To describe free motion, or free style, stitching on a sewing machine, a basic understanding of how a sewing machine works is necessary. In the usual machine stitching, the fabric is held in place and stitched in a straight line, either forward or backward. Granted there are zig zag and patterned stitches on modern machines. The sideways motions in these operations are accomplished by the needle moving in preprogrammed directions. The fabric still moves straight forward. This is how it works:
Machine with foot over feed dogs
Using the photo as a reference, there is a flat metal plate with a hole in it at the base. This is the throat plate. The threaded needle goes through the hole and loops around the thread from the bobbin underneath. The two threads looped together make the stitches. Under and poking through the throat plate is a pair of metal bars with teeth. These are the “feed dogs”. Above that is a “foot” which holds the fabric against the plate and feed dogs when engaged, or lowered. The action of the feed dogs is what moves the fabric forward (or backward) as the stitches are formed. We have to bypass or eliminate this action in order to be able to move the object being stitched freely, in any direction we choose.
Machine with darning foot
Most modern machines allow you to “drop” the feed dogs below the plate so they don’t touch the fabric. (My first machine purchased in 1957, had this function.)Also the foot is replaced with a “darning” foot which hovers above the fabric instead of holding it against the plate. Now the operator has complete manual control over the movement of the object being stitched simply by where and how she moves the object with her hands. The size of the stitches depends on how fast or slow she moves the object and how fast she is running the machine. So the operator can go sideways, back and forth, or in circles. I used free motion quilting on “Back Yard Gems” and “The Road I Traveled”. I also did some free motion mixed with straight stitching on “Hot Air” and “Chinese Coins”.
For thread painting or embroideries, threads are built up with various sized stitches in controlled areas to make a picture or design. Different colored threads can be blended to produce shading or shape. A close look at the samples on my site will show the stitching, blending, movement and directionality of the stitches.
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