First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting: 24 Projects for Fearless Stitching

by Christina Cameli

Overview

Baby steps to awesome quilting • Just start stitching! Practice free-motion quilting with 24 easy-to-achieve projects • You’ll make simple quilts, embellish kitchen towels and clothes, personalize a messenger bag, and so much more • All projects are freehand and require no marking Ready, set, sew! Learn the basics, gather your supplies, pick a project, and start stitching. With a refreshingly new approach to free-motion stitching, First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting encourages you to make something beautiful while improving your free-motion quilting skills. You’ll find 24 projects and quilts that are light on assembly so you can spend most of your time stitching. A handy troubleshooting guide ensures success every step of the way.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781607056737
Publisher:	C & T Publishing
Publication date:	03/22/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	144
Sales rank:	825,483
File size:	76 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Christina Cameli is a nurse, midwife, and quilter who enjoys finishing quilts on her domestic machine in addition to teaching free-motion quilting classes for beginners. She lives with her husband and children in Portland, Oregon, and shares her adventures in patchwork and quilting at AFewScraps.blogspot.com.

Table of Contents

Contents [Chapter title]
Introduction
Necessities
Basics
Tips and Techniques
Designs
Small Stitched Projects
Wiggle Bottom Cushion
Reverse Stitched Table Runner
Fishbowl Purse
Botanical Placemats
Loopy Bucket
Gift Bags
Pebble Pillow
Little Bowls
Zigzag Potholders
Wood Grain Zipper Bag
Messenger Bag
Good Advice Wallhanging
Simple Quilts
Strip Sampler
Big Square
Fireworks
Leaves
Second Star to the Right
Quilt as You Go
Embellished Projects
Kitchen Towels
Scissor Skirt
Spiral Pillowcases
Adrenaline Molecule Shirt
Branchy Scarf
Stitched Cards
Sewing and Quilt Construction Techniques
Troubleshooting
About the Author
Resources

Editorial Reviews

First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting is filled with tips and tricks and all kinds of great information. And to top that off, there's a ton of crazy, great projects to make!

11/4/13 happyzombie.com

Ease into the wonderful world of free-motion quilting with a kind and informative teacher who guides you every step of the way. Cameli shows you how to achieve the best results for many popular quilting motifs, in addition to giving 24 projects to help you master the techniques. Even seasoned quilters will enjoy the variety and ingenuity of the creative projects.

February/March 2014 Quilters Newsletter

Ready, set, sew! Learn the basics, gather your supplies, pick a project, and start stitching. With a refreshingly new approach to free-motion stitching, this book encourages you to make something beautiful while improving your free-motion quilting skills. You'll find 24 projects and quilts that are light on assembly so you can spend most of your time stitching. A handy troubleshooting guide ensures success every step of the way.

11/1/13 Down Under Quilts Magazine

I love the small projects included in the book that incorporate free-motion work. What a brilliant path to practicing stitching skills. Learning to free-motion quilt can be slow going if you’re waiting to be good enough before tackling a large project. Doing mindless practice quilt sandwiches gets boring! My favorite thing about Christina’s book is her approach to getting us to practice: Small Stitched Projects! Simple construction and good design make the projects perfect for practice. It includes all of the technical know-how needed combined with a game plan for how to get practice time in with something to show at the end of a session. With such limited time to create and sew it’s a brilliant approach!

11/4/13

This book not only offers tips and techniques, but grounds you in the basics. Once you're ready to go, try one of 24 projects to help you hone this new skill.

6/1/14 Stitch

Christine's easy-to-assemble projects are the perfect way to practice beginning quilting skills while making gifts and accessories for friends and family. After learning how to set up your machine for quilting and gathering the basic tools and notions necessary, simple instructions will show you how to try out the stitching designs provided. These designs work well with the given projects such as various bags, placemats and wall hangings.

November/December 2013 Machine Quilting Unlimited

I have to say, I've reviewed lots of free-motion quilting books. Of all the ones I have seen, I rank this one in the top two. The thing I like so much about this one is that it walks you through the stitches and free-motion quilting, and then the author offers some great fun and practical projects that will allow readers to practice those very stitches. Most of the projects are small and are great confidence builders. Can you believe that are 24 projects packed into the book??

2/3/14 Jo's Country Junction

This is a totally great beginner’s book. At the start, Christina lays out exactly what you need to get started. She walks you through cleaning your sewing machine, and explains about darning presser feet and extension tables and quilting gloves. She also explains the best kinds of thread for free-motion quilting. Turns out, it’s not a huge investment to get started on this craft. The next section is all basic techniques for FMQ. This section is beautifully documented, with well-lit, well-staged photos and lots of them. …And then there are many pages of sample designs to get you inspired to quilt. I’m so impressed with the instructional quality of this book. I’m having trouble articulating this well, but I feel like, as a beginner, this book gives me just enough instruction to get started without overwhelming me.

11/18/13 Craftypod.com

Ready, set, sew! Learn the basics, gather your supplies, pick a project, and start stitching. With a refreshingly new approach to free-motion stitching, this book encourages you to make something beautiful while improving your free-motion quilting skills. You'll find 24 projects and quilts that are light on assembly so you can spend most of your time stitching. A handy troubleshooting guide ensures success every step of the way.
--Down Under Quilts Magazine, 11/1/13

Christine's easy-to-assemble projects are the perfect way to practice beginning quilting skills while making gifts and accessories for friends and family. After learning how to set up your machine for quilting and gathering the basic tools and notions necessary, simple instructions will show you how to try out the stitching designs provided. These designs work well with the given projects such as various bags, placemats and wall hangings.
--Machine Quilting Unlimited, November/December 2013

I love the small projects included in the book that incorporate free-motion work. What a brilliant path to practicing stitching skills. Learning to free-motion quilt can be slow going if you’re waiting to be good enough before tackling a large project. Doing mindless practice quilt sandwiches gets boring! My favorite thing about Christina’s book is her approach to getting us to practice: Small Stitched Projects! Simple construction and good design make the projects perfect for practice. It includes all of the technical know-how needed combined with a game plan for how to get practice time in with something to show at the end of a session. With such limited time to create and sew it’s a brilliant approach!
--pinkchalkstudios.com; 11/4/13

First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting is filled with tips and tricks and all kinds of great information. And to top that off, there's a ton of crazy, great projects to make!
--happyzombie.com; 11/4/13

This is a totally great beginner’s book.

At the start, Christina lays out exactly what you need to get started. She walks you through cleaning your sewing machine, and explains about darning presser feet and extension tables and quilting gloves. She also explains the best kinds of thread for free-motion quilting.

Turns out, it’s not a huge investment to get started on this craft.

The next section is all basic techniques for FMQ.

This section is beautifully documented, with well-lit, well-staged photos and lots of them.

…And then there are many pages of sample designs to get you inspired to quilt.

I’m so impressed with the instructional quality of this book. I’m having trouble articulating this well, but I feel like, as a beginner, this book gives me just enough instruction to get started without overwhelming me.
--Craftypod.com; 11/18/13

I have to say, I've reviewed lots of free-motion quilting books. Of all the ones I have seen, I rank this one in the top two. The thing I like so much about this one is that it walks you through the stitches and free-motion quilting, and then the author offers some great fun and practical projects that will allow readers to practice those very stitches. Most of the projects are small and are great confidence builders. Can you believe that are 24 projects packed into the book??
--Jo's Country Junction; 2/3/14

From the Publisher

Quilter and blogger Cameli (afewscraps.blogspot.com) introduces novices to the basics of free-motion quilting on a home sewing machine. The book combines the best aspects of most free-motion quilting books into a beginner-friendly package that includes a narrative introduction to the fundamentals, sample free-motion quilting designs, and simple projects that help stretch sewists’ skills. Cameli doesn’t delve too deeply into advanced techniques, but her quilting philosophy—“done is better than perfect”—will resonate with many.

Verdict Beginners who are interested in straightforward information on how to use a home sewing machine for free-motion quilting will appreciate this concise introduction, while more advanced free-motion quilters may prefer recent books by Angela Walters, such as Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters or In the Studio with Angela Walters.—Nanette DWalters, such as Free-Motion Quilting with Angela Walters or In the Studio with Angela Walters.—Nanette Donohue, Champaign, P.L., IL
(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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