How I Plan My Free Motion Quilting Before I Start

One of the hardest parts of free-motion quilting can happen before you ever sit down at the sewing machine: deciding what to quilt where.

Before I start quilting, I like to spend a little time looking at the quilt and making a plan. I think about which areas I want to emphasize, where I want more or less texture, and how the different quilting designs can work together across the quilt.

In this video, I’m planning the free-motion quilting for my Light in the Dark Mini Quilt, but this same process can be used on just about any quilt.

👉 Want to make the whole project with me? Start the Light in the Dark Mini Quilt Class here.

👉 Already enrolled in this class or part of Quilty Club? Your lessons are waiting in your dashboard.

Start by Looking at the Quilt in Sections

Instead of trying to come up with one quilting design for the entire quilt, I like to break it into smaller areas.

For the Light in the Dark Mini Quilt, I can look separately at the foreground, background, and border and decide what each section needs.

That makes the planning feel much more manageable.

I’m not necessarily trying to make every section completely different, either. I want the quilting designs to work together and feel like they belong on the same quilt.

Think About What You Want to Stand Out

Quilting can change how the piecing reads.

Areas with denser quilting tend to recede a little, while areas with less quilting can stand out more.

So while I’m planning, I think about which parts of the quilt I want to emphasize and which areas I’m happy to let sit more quietly in the background.

This is also where I start thinking about scale. A small mini quilt usually needs quilting designs that fit the size of the piecing without overwhelming it.

Sketch Before You Quilt

I like having some kind of visual plan before I start stitching.

It doesn’t have to be perfect, and it definitely doesn’t mean I can’t change my mind once I start quilting.

The goal is simply to give myself a direction.

Once I’ve thought through the different areas and sketched out a few ideas, I feel much more confident moving to the sewing machine.

FMQ Rulers I’ll Be Using

For some of the quilting on this mini, I’ll be using free-motion quilting rulers.

These are the rulers I’m planning to use:

• Creative Grids Machine Quilting Tool: Slim
• Clamshell FMQ Ruler (affiliate link)

You absolutely do not have to use the same quilting designs or tools that I use. The important part is learning how to look at your quilt, divide it into areas, and make a quilting plan that works for the project in front of you.

See the Quilting Plan Come to Life

This planning lesson comes from my Light in the Dark Mini Quilt Class.

In the full class, we take this plan to the sewing machine and work through the free-motion quilting one section at a time, including the foreground, background, and border.

So if planning the quilting is the part that leaves you staring at your quilt wondering what to do next, this lesson is a good place to start.

👉 Want to join me? Start the Light in the Dark Mini Quilt Class here.

👉 Already enrolled in this class or part of Quilty Club? Your lessons are waiting in your dashboard.