I had no idea what to try for my first attempt at free-motion quilting. This video was an excellent tutorial with very clear directions and helpful advice. You are a great instructor!

Thanks for the "floss your top thread under the presser foot" to pull up the bobbin thread!!!! I love it!

There are those who try to teach and there are those who are born instructors... You are most certainly in the second of these categories! Thank you so very much.

This is my first time watching Rob and I learned so much as I am a beginner. In a few minutes he taught more about tension than I have learned in all my years of sewing and I am 70 years old! I think most educators forget to teach the basics and why they are important and what to look for when you are having a problem so you can fix it. Thank you, Rob, for sharing your expertise with us. I will watch more of your programs and take more notes for future reference!

I love your idea of starting FMQ with the Big Circle, Little Circle method. I can't wait to make up a few sandwiches to practice more on this. Thank you for the tutorials. I love them.

Wow! Best beginner free motion tutorial I've ever seen. Thanks so much for explaining the why's..."why'd it do that" and "why should I do it that way"! And I LOVE that thread trick of bringing up your bobbin thread!!!

Three years later but THANK YOU! Wish I had found this three years ago. Jenny's mentioned you several times and always thought I should check out your videos but then my the end of here I'm ready to work on the project and forget later! So glad I finally did. I've been wanting (and attempting) to try FMQ for years. Every video I've watched just made things more confusing. First try with this video and I have a lovely sample block. It feels SO good. Also starting and stopping was never discussed in any of the other videos which is a big thing for me to get past, so again: thank you.

I have been practicing FMQ for a few years now, never with great results. Practice pieces were as far as I went but your videos changed all that. Since watching them last week, I have graduated to a full quilt and it's looking good. Thank you for giving me the courage to graduate!

I'm a man and I'm just beginning to sew, and I discovered this video in Oct of 2018. This was really helpful. Thanks for taking the time to create it.

I learned more from this video than I have from watching countless other FMQ classes. My problem has always been consistency with stitches, and once you explained the mechanics of how the stitch was formed and the push/pull of FMQ, it totally made sense! If cartoon light bulbs existed, one would have appeared over my head at that moment, haha.

You know why I love Man Sewing? You explain the basics that I missed somehow despite a beginner quilt class, workshops and junior high sewing class. Like, needles. You talk about which needles to use. THANK YOU! And this is an AWESOME primer for free-motion.

I was really happy for the tip on how to tell if you're pulling your fabric too hard and why starting with circles is important. None of the other videos I've watched have shared that kind of information. More tips like that would be great!

I liked the way you brought your bobbin thread to the top. I consider myself a novice sewer/quilter and I would try to avoid the bobbin to the top thing at all costs only because the way I was shown was a real PITB. Thanks for all of your great quilting tips!! Keep on quilting!

Found your video so easy to watch as you get straight to the point. Most of us are snatching time in a busy day to watch a tutorial. I have been getting "caterpillars" in my lower thread. Thanks for the advice to use two colour cottons so I can work out where my tension problem is.

I have had ago with small circles and it terrified me I thought I was doing it wrong. I have watched others doing free motion and they make it look so hard. So thank you, after watching this I know It doesn't matter if my circle over laps another it blends well and I can do this and thank you for the tension advice.

Thank you for sharing your knowledge of machine quilting on a home machine. I gave it a go today and I ended up with something that look like cobblestones I guess. But I’m definitely going to Switch to making circles. Thank you for all your tips and tricks :-)

I am brand new to free motion quilting and need to practice a lot more. I appreciate your tips. Very helpful to a complete novice.

Lol, did my first test piece of FMQ today! I'm excited to try a few/lot more test pieces before I try it on a quilt though. I really enjoy hand quilting the larger quilts but thought the machine quilting would be great for any of my smaller projects! Great job on the tutorials, Rob, so glad you and MSQC got together!

Thank you so much! I just learned the answers to a lot of questions I had. Just started practicing last night on my free motion quilting with my new Singer machine. Probably not the best for free motion but I’m new at sewing and it’s what I could afford to spend on a new hobby. So far so good and I will keep practicing and some day get a Baby Lok like yours. Thanks again for all your help.

I am a new quilter and I want to start quilting my own pieces but have been too hesitant! I can't wait to try after viewing this clip. Thank you Rob.

Rob, you always crack me up: your comments help me feel like you're a guidance counselor giving me therapy for when my machine quilting is going to REALLY STRESS ME OUT! And, sure enough, when I start to tense up, my shoulders rise, my speed gets jacked up, and my tension in me is echoed in the quilting. YAY! Thank you for being you and sharing helpful info not only about how to, but also WHY we might want to, do things a certain way. Things I'd like to see: the steps between designing free-motion quilting designs and thread-painting, then how you'd quilt something after thread painting. Thank you.

Many thanks, Rob you are so clear and precise this is the best video I have seen, from someone that has never been able to do free-motion, I am off to try it now.Shirley Campion (U.K.)

Superb tutorial! really clearly explained. Loved the fact that Rob used his own small inconsistencies in stitch length to demonstrate how to avoid these in future. Just great!

I am new to free motion quilting, I have a stock of fabrics to use, just need some simple tips to get started, looks like your tutorials are easy to understand after viewing! Thanks so much for these free motion quilting tips!

I really appreciate your honest, "look I made a mistake" videos ... Especially this video on free motion. You give excellent pointers on why this happened and how to fix it. Thank you!!

It's so refreshing to see a man sewing! Awesome video

This is a great tutorial on FMQ! I so excited to see a new one too. Thanks for all the handy tips Rob!

I really want to start free motion quilting. I've researched a lot instructional materials on you tube and/or craft websites. This video has included so much that I haven't seen before. This would be my favorite of all videos because it has new material for me. Thank you for being so detailed so beginners like me.

Thanks, Rob. I've watched many tutorials on free motion quilting, but this make more sense to me. I really appreciate you addressing the points of pressure foot, needles, other tools, body positions, and how to stitch -- not just how to make the designs. Very down-to-earth.

Thank you so much Rob for your detailed explanation on free mothion quilting. I feel like I now have the confidence in myself to start my very first sampler. Machingers on my hands, quilt sandwhich pinned together, your video palying next to me....ready...GO!

Rob, thanks a million. I had a notion you were not suppose to cross lines when free motioning. It left me terrified. Delighted to see this. Thank you for making it so easy. Keep the ideas coming.

That looks like so much fun. I just bought my first sewing machine, having only used one more than 40 years ago. I can’t wait to try quilting.

I really look forward to watching all of your videos, Rob. You and Jenny are my favorites. You have a way of breaking things down so easy for a beginner like me, yet make projects that look complicated. I would love to take a class from you sometime!! For now I just have to be content with watching you here. Much love.

I love how you explain everything so clearly you make it easy to learn and a lot of fun.

Great tutorial...easy to follow and shed loads of common sense talk not too much jargon. A pleasure to watch! Many thanks.

Watching Rob Appell's free motion quilting tutorial has taken some of the fear and stress from my beginner journey. I can now enjoy the learning process instead of thinking "what a mistake I made in the purchase of this machine." I love the floss tip for pulling the bobbin thread through. That, alone, will save me frustrating minutes. I know about muscle memory, so I'm committed to make those circles until I do them in my sleep.

Just finished watching your free motion quilting basics tutorial. You covered so many of the questions I would have asked. I have only done straight stitch quilting, but looking forward to free motioning with your tutorials. Thank you sooo much. The first time I saw a video tutorial of yours was when you were making a skateboard quilt with Jenny Doan. Keep up the good work.

Hi Rob. I've just found your videos.... FANTASTIC. ☺ I've been making quilts for 15 years but have always let someone else do the quilting. You've inspired me to finally have a go myself...... Wish me luck and keep those videos coming. 😊

Thank you Rob! Just took my first learn to quilt class and could not get the hang of free motion. Your tips especially about tension and the correlation between machine speed and your speed of quit movement made sense. Very useful, i will try again! Love your videos!

Love the Jerry Garcia doll on the shelf behind you !Teaching quilting is your super power !I just ordered a hopping foot and extension table..I look forward to trying free motion quilting!Thanks for all the great instructions as well as the inspiration!

Just watched your basic free motion quilting tutorial for the first time. I like your style and perhaps with time I will be able to do FMQ much better I actually have a longarm that knows much more than I do and I really want to learn to use my domestic machine more on smaller projects. Thanks for all you do for quilters.

Thanks Rob for the excellent tutorial. I learned more from your tutorial than in my free motion beginners class. Will continue to watch your tutorials; you make it very easy to understand.

Thank you another man that sews ! Love all your KZfaq shows ,Great really.

I look forward to your tutorials each week. I am Australian and reasonably new to quilting so really appreciate catching up and learning so much from the very experienced American quilters like you and Jenny Doan.

Great information! Helps take the fear out of FMQ even for the beginner. Practice and relax are the keys to successful FMQ.

As always I have learned from your video. I really liked the wax on wax off referral, that made my mind click on what I was doing wrong. Thanks so much!!

Thank you very much Rob for your enthusiasm and great teaching. I have started quilting my first quilt following your instruction on stitching in the ditch and now I would like to try a few free-motion stitching throughout the quilt. I understand it is better to start in the middle of the quilt and work my way out...hopefully it will work. Thank you again!

Thank you for making things so easy to understand! Thanks for doing this on a regular machine!

I so appreciate your teaching, Man Sewing. You make things crystal clear and illustrate all the steps. And you make things simple too. Wow, what a teacher! Blessings.

Really helpful, maybe the best I've seen so far on free motion quilting for a newbie like me! Thank you!

I'm so grateful to have found your tutorials here! I'm a new quilter and I can see I'll be learning a lot from you!

This is the one I love. It gave me the enthusiasm to go back and try free motion quilting one more time! I can't say I love it yet, but it no longer intimidates me and I understand what my machine is doing and why! Thank you sooooo much for the encouragement to try it again!

I really enjoy your tutorials you're right down to earth even showing when things go wrong makes me feel less like a dummy. In my head now I feel I will get right this time, we'll see thank you so I am learning so much from you , you are a great teacher🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗🤗

Rob, I think you are an excellent teacher. Love learning from you. Thank you.

Rob is a brilliant teacher. Because of his tutorials I have had the confidence to try free motion quilting.

thank you, I have watched a few free motion quilting tutorials on KZfaq and I have learned so much more from yours then any others! Very informative!

What a wonderful tutorial. Actually, the best one I have seen. Thank you so much!

I haven't even watched this yet but I'm so excited! I've been wanting to try this and just yesterday realized my machine came with a quilting foot! Can't wait to get started.

Thanks for the tip on using the tail of the needle thread for bringing the the bobbin thread to the top of the quilt when FMQ. I love that tip and use it all the time now.

Love watching his tutorials. Learn something new every time I watch one.

Imperfect scenarios help us troubleshoot what really goes on in our own sewing rooms. Thanks so much for helping us improve our skill sets. I enjoy your videos so much! Your energy is inspiring.

Perfect, brilliant, the basics I have been looking for. Now feel I can at least attempt to quilt on my machine. Clear, concise, humurous, thank you sooooo much. Fingers crossed.

I just love your tips from the sewing machine to this! It's awesome. Enjoy enjoy the videos keep these and the sewing tips coming! Great for us new ones learning all this fun stuff!

Oh my gosh. I have been looking a different videos and can not tell you how happy I am that I watched this when I did. Can you accidentally on purpose have things go wrong and show us how to fix it. I was quilting, only my 2nd time at free motion quilting, and had the same thing happen. I remembered what you said and I rethreaded both bobbin and top and then things worked better. THANK YOU!

I love the way you explain things in fun easy to remember terms. I haven't quilted in a long time and am going to start again soon once I get my sewing room set back up as my daughter was living in it for 2 years until she got back on her feet. I've only made 2 quilts and they were both hand quilted but I'm anxious to do machine quilting. I have discovered the 'quilt as you go' technique and will be ordering a Teflon mat for my machine. While I'm waiting for that I am going to be watching as many of your videos as I can!! Thank you for taking the time to make these.

You are amazing! Love your energy and talent. Thank you for your informative, and inspiring tutorials. Have not tried free motion quilting, but it is on my list because of you. Have to say I also love your designs. It's a pleasure to witness the transformations you create on established designs. So pleased I found you.

Thanks for your wonderful videos. Most of what I have learned is from your video series. I am slowly learning free motion and you make it much easier with your clear demonstrations. Thank you

You always have good ideas and many times your comments make us think of ways to compare our stitching to other things. Thank you

As usual, I have been spending DAYS looking for directions on quilting, and FINALLY found this perfect, extremely helpful, enjoyable tutorial. Thanks Rob, again!

Loved this video.I have been very afraid of FMQ for some reason even though I have been a professional seamstress for 35 years. After watching this video I am inspired. I am going to my sewing room to give it a go! Thanks for your easy and informative teaching manner.

Rob I just want to thank you for all of the great instructions and tips you give. I love watching and following along during your videos!!

I love men who sew! They bring a whole new element of design and technique which is great! More men sewing! It's so great to see :)

As a beginning quilter, I find your videos to be inclusive, interesting, and fun to watch. I like your energy and style of instruction. Thanks for helping me get started!

Great video ! Thanks for taking the time to show how it's done and taking the fear out of free motion. I enjoy all your videos.

Thanks for this tutorial. I'm still learning this technique, and this one is very helpful, :-)

Rob, I love your work. So explanatory and easy to see. Years ago I used to draw pictures with FME but haven't done any in a long time. I must get back to it. Great job!!!

Love your tutes Rob! I always machine pieced the top, but hand quilted my project. Learning to machine quilt will make my projects go much quicker! 😊

I just found you this evening and am binge watching, you are exceptional at explaining the how's and why's. I have used home embroidery machines for 20 years but just started the quilting and free motion technique. Thank you so much.

Oh man, you made it look so easy. You sew just like you draw with needle.I can feel your passion in sewing. Awesome!!

Love this tutorial! I'm a new quilter and love free motion. It's my warm up companion before the music gets turned up and work commences :). Every time I watch it I learn something new or am reminded to check tension, speed on curves or other important things I'm still working on. Thanks so much!

I am very impressed with Rob & his teaching methods. I’m planning on watching is other videos. Thank you Rob!

I really learned a lot. Thank you so much. A friend gave me some heavy weight fabric that is 65 inches wide and about 2 yard lengths. I plan to cut it into Dog kennel sizes and practice free motion quilting on them. I will mark off 12 inch squares and practice the circles first. I have bookmarked this page and may have to watch several times. Thank you for the lesson.

Your basic tips on how to troubleshoot thread tension, the reasons for long vs. short stitches etc. are super duper helpful. Chances are the people who are watching these videos on FMQ are not as seasoned as people such as yourself and pointing out those 'head-scratchers' is really amazing! I am super intimidated by FMQ and your videos (along with all MQC videos) have really helped me break through. Thank you!

I have had a difficult time with meandering. Now that Rob said think of hearts-I feel a bit more confident and will definitely try agin! Thanks, Rob!

This is my favorite Man Sewing video (so far!). I have rewatched it a few times.

Hi Rob, For me the biggest challenge is to do free motion quilting on bigger quilts on a regular sewing machine, but I'm still trying and learning from you and others on the net. Thanks for this useful and practical tutorial ;-)

Great tutorial - now I feel much more confident in doing my first free-motion quilting!! Thanks Rob!!

What a great tutorial for me before I begin.. I wanted to know about pressure on foot as well as tension. Thank you.

Rob, you didn’t say how you do your tension on the machine. I never know which direction to turn it and it scares me to change it. Keep bringing the videos to us because we all need to learn lots of things especially as we get older!

This was so helpful. I haven't done free machine stitching in a long time. This was a great review. Thank you for the tips and especially the bobbin info. Great examples...I won't give this up.

I am a beginner fmq and thank you for your instructional videos, as I feel I am finally gaining some confidence with my work.

Loved your FMQ tutorial. I wish you had a list of patterns to work on since I am a beginner at FMQ. I watched several videos but no one really mentioned patterns to work on to build muscle memory. Can not wait to do a quilt from beginning to end on my own without sending it out to be done! Thanks for doing all the tutorials!!!

Rob, this was an excellent tutorial on FMQ basics. I learned a lot about upper and lower thread tension! thanks! The biggest problem that I have when quilting is managing the bulk and weight of a Twin, Full, or Queen sized quilt. No one shows in tutorials how to manage this bulk and how to avoid drag so that the stitches are uniform. Can you possibly show a "real" quilt, larger than lap size, and how you manage the bulk and drag in an upcoming tutorial? Thanks so much!!

This is great - have added the tutorials all to my list. Very helpful. Perfect - thank you.

Rob, thank you so much for making this video. I have not yet tried free motion quilting but I did have tension issues with my regular sewing projects. I look forward to watching more of your videos.

This was an excellent video. You are a wonderful teacher and a joy to listen to and learn from. Im know at this and you inspire fun and confidence!!

I am a beginner free motion quilter and love doing hearts..... all kinds of heart shapes including on the border, they are so easy and forgiving.

Rob love these FMQ videos... I finally purchased a sit down long arm (it arrived today!!!) and will be using your videos to fine tune my skill. I'll post a pic when it is set up and I have my first 'sandwich' ready! Thanks for doing these - and congratulations on your 4th Anniversary! Well done!!

Thank you for these tension tips and consistency tips. This has cleared up a lot of my FMQ issues!

I have to say, your video is Most enjoyable, to the point, and not a lot of fluff ( "ands, uh, dumb chattering sort of stuff). You know your craft, and it shows in your conversation and explanations. Excellent, I thoroughly enjoyed listening and watching.