Getting Ready to Quilt

This is another one of those, 'if you don't sew, look away now' posts.

Machine with its integral flatbed, which I rarely use as is too small.

One of my dreams (well, one of the very many, along with Brad Pitt knocking on my bedroom door and Godiva asking me to be their official chocolate taster), has been to own a flat bed sewing table.  If you don't know what that is, it is a table that your sewing machine drops down into (usually by some sort of lifting device (see, I'm really technical today).

You might ask why I would need one.  Come on, someone ask, I feel like I'm alone here!  Well the simple answer is, the type of quilting I prefer (free motion), needs the quilt to be moved in all directions, at a regular pace.  That isn't easy at the best of times with a large quilt, but when trying to sew on the very small bed of a sewing machine, it can be very difficult to achieve, as you have more of the quilt to support as you sew.  Now a quilt may not feel heavy to you, but believe me, when you have to hold that weight, with your arms at a certain angle, and then move it around in a fluid movement, it becomes very heavy, very quickly.  An extended flatbed supports more of the quilt.  Simply put, it becomes less tiring on your neck and shoulders, and the quilt is easier to move.

Having never lived in a country where they are for sale, I did try to have one shipped to me from Australia, but they refused.  I eventually had to resort to building my own, with the aid of a You Tube video (where were we without You Tube?).
Basically, you build a nest in polystyrene, that your machine fits into.  As I was unable to find polystyrene of the right thickness, I used several sheets of thin ones, which I glued together.  Similarly, larger sheets were unavailable, so I built two separate tables.  I abut these against each other for larger quilts, or use a single table when working on small pieces.

Once stuck together, each table was covered in a large piece of plastic sheeting, which aids the smooth movement of the quilt.  The plastic also prevents the two blocks from slipping away from each other, as the plastic 'adheres' to itself in a temporary bond.

It was a tad difficult to carve out the polystyrene around the sewing machine, as that part of the machine is angled.  Here is the bit that the sewing machine sits in.  I should add that once I had cut these bits, I covered it all with some heavy duty sticking tape, which helps protect the polystyrene as the machine is moved in and out of position.

For those of us for whom a custom table isn't going to arrive on Christmas morning, this is a usable and cheap option.  Those tables can set you back quite a few bucks, but lets be honest, this table (unlike the custom one) isn't going to take pride of place in your sewing room.

I have to say that this has worked really well for me.  I have had it on the go for a few years now, and haven't had to do any restoration to it and it has survived a house move.

The downside is that it gets a bit messy as unless you cover the underside and all the edges completely (which I didn't), you start to get little balls of polystyrene come off and float around your room. Mind you, this only happens when I remove the table from its home-made storage bag.  I suppose it would also be easy to damage if you don't carefully protect it during storage.

I made this bag (well, more like a gigantic pillowcase really), so that I could put the table away when I had finished with it, to protect it against dirt and the surfaces against damage.  I used some of my African fabric to do this.  I think one of the reasons I get those bobbles, is that I made this a bit snug, making it difficult to remove the tables from the bag, as they are stored right side together, which sticks them together.  Removing them from the bag does take a bit of effort and I think the abrasion comes from that effort.

Would I rather have a custom table for my machine?  Of course, in a heartbeat.  Am I likely to get one any time soon?  Not a chance.  In my situation this has worked really well.  You might want to consider something similar yourself if you have trouble with your free motion quilting.

To view the You Tube how-to video, click here.