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When a quilt is machine-quilted, a continuous line of thread is visible on both the top and the back of the quilt; therefore, you must choose a lightweight thread to work with. Threads are numbered in such a way that the lighter the thread, the higher the number. Before quilting your project, make a sample sandwich of the backing, batting, and top fabrics that you will use in the quilt and try different threads to achieve the effect that you like. You can even choose an invisible thread if you wish.

Machine needles are numbered ⁷⁰/₁₀, ⁸⁰/₁₂, ⁹⁰/₁₄, and so forth. The finer the needle, the lower the number, so ⁷⁰/₁₀ or ⁸⁰/₁₂ are suitable for both piecing and quilting with lightweight or invisible thread.

A walking, or even-feed, foot is essential to prevent tucks from forming in the quilt top or backing. This foot is used with the feed dogs up and therefore is the best technique for designs with continuous, fairly straight lines. You can turn wide curves and pivot, but you cannot turn tight curves. It is used for stitching in the ditch, simple outline stitching, and stitching in a grid design. For tight curves or freehand quilting, you will need to use a darning foot with the feed dogs down.

When you are using a walking foot, the machine controls the direction and the stitch length. In general, the stitch length needs to be longer than that used for regular stitching. To start and end a line of quilting, set the stitch length to very short and stitch about eight stitches, and then snip off the loose threads close to the surface of the quilt.