QUILTsocial | Issue 07

Tips for using the
free motion foot
We start a new project. It's a rag quilt
and a perfect opportunity to practice
free motion quilting. Here are tips for
using the free motion foot you don't
want to miss.
The Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 960Q
is a fabulous sewing machine for free
motion quilting. If you want to learn
more about this sewing machine, you
can check out this QUILTsocial post
when I first introduced the Sapphire
960Q.
This is a great project to use up scraps. I
used up a lot of batting scraps by joining
them together. If you'd like to learn
how to do that, you can check out this
QUILTsocial post.
I didn't have enough of the backing
fabric to make complete squares, so
I pieced some of them. Same thing
for some of the squares for the top
– I simply pieced a couple of pieces
together and then trimmed to the
correct size. No one will care and no one
will likely notice either!
Choose the Free Motion Technique icon (bottom left)
Husqvarna Viking Sapphire 960Q
Supplies for the rag quilt
You can make the rag quilt as big or as
small as you'd like. I made mine 7 x 9
blocks for a total of 63 blocks.
For each block, you need a 7" square of
backing, a 7" square of fabric for the front
and a 6" square of batting.
I used flannel for my backing and my
top. Flannel is very forgiving when it
comes to free motion. The nap and the
slightly extra thickness help to conceal a
multitude of sins.
Supplies for one block of the rag quilt - backing,
front of block and batting
Q
56 .com | issue 7
UILTsocial
Backing squares and batting squares were joined
when necessary
Setting up the Sapphire 960Q for free
motion
There are a number of features on the
Sapphires 960Q that will make free
motion quilting very easy and it only
takes a minute or two to set it up.
To set the sewing machine for free
motion quilting, I simply touch the Free
Motion Technique icon (the bottom left
button with the squiggly line).
A pop-up screen appears allowing you
to choose between Free Motion Floating
and Free Motion Spring Action. I've
explained the difference between these
two in this QUILTsocial post.
I chose the Free Motion Spring Action
mode because the thread that I'm using
is heavier and the spring action works
best for that kind of thread. The feed
dogs are lowered automatically. I love that!
Choose the Free Motion Spring Action for heavier
thread
This is how the screen looks once you
have chosen the Free Motion Technique.
The presser foot diagram changes and
the Free Motion Technique icon is
highlighted in green. The tension is also
automatically adjusted and the stitch
length remains at the default setting
of 2.5 because once the feed teeth
are dropped, the stitch length has no
bearing on the actual stitch length.
Photos by Elaine Therault