Heart-shaped machine quilting patterns make the perfect finishing touch for any quilt with love or romance as the theme. The three free motion quilting designs shown here use hearts in three very different ways to say “I love you” in stitches. All three of these designs can be “drawn” directly onto the quilt as you sew, with no need for preplanning, marking, or measuring.
See the photos at the bottom of the page for a sample of each pattern. Click on any photo to enlarge it.
Hearts and Loops Machine Quilting Pattern
This very flexible design is based on a simple loop-the-loop pattern with hearts added between the loops. You can make the loops and hearts as big or small as you like, depending on the space you need to fill. While the photo at the bottom of the page shows one loop between hearts, you can loosen the design by putting several loops between hearts, instead of one. The hearts can be attached to the meandering stitch line either at the center top of the heart, between the two shoulders, or at the bottom point. See Photo 1 below for an example.
Echo Quilted Hearts Machine Quilting Pattern
To make this design, you draw a heart with the needle, then echo stitch larger and larger hearts around the central shape. New hearts can sprout from the original one in any direction. You can create very graphic and even surreal effects by elongating or bending the hearts. This design is much more intensively stitched than the meandering hearts and loops. It makes a dramatic filler for plain blocks or relatively small areas. See Photo 2 below for an example.
Double Hearts Border Machine Quilting Design
This linear design is great for medium to narrow borders. It consists of two lines of interlocking hearts, one line facing up, and the other line facing down. Photo 3 at the bottom of the page shows the direction of stitching.
Practicing Quilting Designs for Machine Quilting
The secret of mastering any free-motion quilting pattern is to practice until you develop the muscle memory that makes the design come out of the sewing machine needle smoothly and fluidly. But don't be afraid to make mistakes while you're learning. I've found that most people are thrilled to get a homemade quilt and never notice any errors you may make in quilting, even if they look glaring to your quilter's eyes.
Christine Mann - Christine Mann writes about quilting, home decor sewing, and creativity in daily life.
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