How To Quilt With Quilting Guide Bar
A quilting guide bar is an attachment to a sewing machine that evenly spaces the straight stitching rows. It is unnecessary to stitch a single line, to begin with, and then continue following that line repeatedly to create quilt patterns.
The quilt patterns may be traditional cross-hatch, decorative stitch repeats, or the blend of various stitch types or lines to quilt.
Some like to quilt it straight through massive embroidery designs via a lightweight thread so that it does not take away from the stitch design itself.
Do you know how to quilt with a quilting guide bar? Keep reading this article to acknowledge the process to quilt with the quilting guide bar.
How To Quilt With Quilting Guide Bar
Contents
Sometimes the stitching we want to align with is more comprehensive apart than the width of the foot. For the same, various Quilt guide bars have launched that attach to the machine feet in different ways to help us repeat rows of stitching that are further apart from the foot markings.
Different types of guiding bars are there, including the even-feed guide bars to aid in the alignment of already stitched rows.
They are utilized with machine models that may have white screw-on their walking feet. Second is the border guide foot that works well to align decorative stitch lines while placing the double decorative stitch strictly between the two stitch lines.
Since it is a transparent view, you can check where the previous stitching lines exist.
The third one is the sliding guide foot is the one that accesses you to align your previous rows of stitches. The sliding guide is highly adjustable and locks itself into place when you check out the width between the stitched lines.
This foot is excellent as it adheres directly to the foot holder on the sewing machine with just a simple click in place.
So, to quilt with a quilting guide bar, you need to follow some steps. In brief, the steps include installing the quilting guide bar to the sewing machine. After putting in place your quilting guide, insert the fabric below it.
Align the front of your quilting guide with the line you draw on your material to guide your stitch. Now, you need not draw multiple reference lines.
Take a string and set your quilting bar on top of it. By simply changing the width of the stitch along with the quilting bar, you can have a more accurate stitch!
This is a great time saver and provides more neat and organized work! Let’s now have a detailed discussion on the steps and methods to quilt with a quilting guide bar.
Steps To Quilt With Quilting Guide Bar
With the help of a guiding bar on walking foot, quilting can become more manageable and smoother. Quilters are told that they should own one but don’t know how and why.
The walking foot will develop thick laters of the top, backing, and batting in quilting, so we don’t require the pleats or ruffles on the backside. It can only be used to quilt the body and the layers while possessing a smooth binding.
While quilting with a guide bar requires two sets of toes, one is of a plastic set with gripper teeth, and the other one is a metal base. the gripper set lifts when the presser bar raises for the upstroke.
Step 1 – Begin With Stitching.
While starting the quilting project, you need to start with stitching over the edge to keep the edges straight and stabilize the fabric.
Step 2 – Stitch The Ditch Around The Border
After completing the stitching over the edges, you need to stitch around your piercing, that is, your border. Suppose you are quilting a candle mat, then teacup is the focus. So, you need to stitch around the teacup’s outer surface and then the ditch.
You need to stitch straight lines in the borders or other areas so that the edges are accented. You can also add a frame of style to your stitching.
Here, the guiding bar installed in the walking foot will help keep the lines straight and at a certain distance. You can insert the bar in the holes of the foot with the guide bar.
Step 3 – Set Up A Distance
You know, you need to remember the accurate distance to keep in between the quilting lines. Here, you need to set the desired distance between the quilting rows with the seam guide.
You can set it for 1inch between the quilting rows and place the focus on a 1-inch line. Now, please put it on the machine in-line using the needle.
You need to move the guide bar until it gets lined up with your seam guide’s left edge. Now, sew the first stitched line, then while guiding the fabric sandwich beneath the guide bar with seam line, sew the following line.
Step 4 – Continue The Process Until It Is Completed
You now need to continue with the process to get the lines complete. the guide bar will cover the intervals of about three-fourth inches up to two-and-a-half inches. For the breaks below a three-fourth inch, you can use the toe openings as the guide.
What Is a Good Length To Stitch A Quilt With A Guide Bar?
The purpose of using the guide bar in quilting is to pull off the quilt sandwich layers through the machine. It prevents tucks and puckering on the backside. the best stitches are the ones that host forward movement like the straight stitch.
For straight stitching, it would be best if you set up the stitch length of your machine to 2.5-2.0 or approximately 8 to 12 stitches an inch.
The range will work great for machine quilting, but you need to use the long stitch length for sparkling or shiny threads. The long stitch provides a broader area for light to create lustre over the thread.
If you are utilizing thicker threads, the long stitch is good, as, with short stitches, it will look forced.
For the monofilament thread, go for short ones to hide the thread as light boasts less area to produce shine.
The mock hand quilting requires a triple stitch and extended needle tension to produce the look. the machine comprises clear or monofilament thread in the needle and the cotton thread in the bobbin.
The monofilament’s extended tension pulls the cotton bobbin to the top in a three-stitch portion, followed by the single stitch with monofilament thread. Here, the guide bar moves back and forth with a walking foot to create the stitch.
Can You Sew the Reverse Stitch with A Guide Bar?
Uneven fabric feeding is the biggest problem that you might have faced while sewing multiple fabric layers. When this job is done, the fabric produces wrinkles and affects the overall finish of the project. to avoid this, a guide bar on a walking foot is used.
When you use walking foot, it grips the fabric layer and moves it at a similar palace where the feed dog moves the bottom fabric layer. the question of whether reverse stitching is possible with a guide bar is something you should know. the answer to this question is no.
You cannot sew the reverse stitch with the guide bar. It’s because the walking foot is not a designer for reverse sewing. When you see the walking foot sewing reverse, the machine’s feed dog moves backward with the fabric, and the walking foot’s top feed dog moves forward. Hence, you cannot undertake reverse sewing.
Do You Need To Stitch The Ditch Before Quilting?
Stitching the ditch between the quilting borders will help you stabilize your fabric while preventing any sort of distortion and maintaining the straight lines throughout the quilt. If you are stitching the ditch, you should do it before appending any quilting design in your sashing or border.
Crafting has always been a deep-seated passion of mine, one that has flourished and evolved over the years.
I've dedicated considerable time to both studying and practicing in the realm of fashion and sewing, amassing a wealth of experience and skills.
It brings me great joy to share these insights and experiences with you all, hoping to inspire and foster a similar passion for the art of sewing.
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