Okay, I’m OBSESSED.

Suzy Quilt’s Adventureland quilt looks like SO MUCH FUN and I need to make one. 

I was super bummed that I missed her quilt along for the pattern, but my quilty duties were tied up elsewhere finishing up a wedding quilt. 

So instead I’m quilting this one solo and going over my options for quilting it and since coming up with quilting plans can be a tough nut to crack, I wanted to share my plans with you too!

If you’re quilting up Adventureland and need some machine quilting ideas, I’ve got four very different plans coming at you today to give you a creative jumping off point. 

Feel free to copy these plans exactly, or tweek the ideas to fit your own style, and if you have a totally different way that you machine quilted it and want to share, be sure to share in the comments at the end!

Quilting Plan Difficulty Levels

Here’s my thing, I honestly don’t believe in difficulty levels when it comes to free motion quilting. 

These designs are as simple as doodling on a sheet of paper and just because one has curves where another has a straight line doesn’t necessarily make it harder, just more involved or time consuming. 

As the definition of an ambitious beginner I believed anything I set my heart on I could achieve and no “difficulty level” label would stop me from tackling whatever designs I fell in love with. 

And I 100% believe the same for you. I don’t want any label of “beginner” or “advanced” around to keep you from using the quilting plan that speaks to you. 

Nothing is too simple, and nothing is too advanced. Just go with whatever design speaks to you and the skills will eventually follow!

Ultimate Key to Machine Quilting Success…

…regardless of the complexity of the quilting plan, is the basting. 

No matter what quilting plan you ultimately choose, getting a strong baste is key, and Adventureland is a special kind of quilt that assembles on the diagonal which presents a special kind of gotcha that you’ll have to watch out for. 

When your quilt has two large seams running diagonally through the center, depending on how densely you quilt, you can get a not-so-fun rippling effect as the diagonal section stretch over the seam. 

A strong baste goes a long way to preventing this, and sometimes I even find that I need a little extra help and throw some safety pins in as well to keep everything where it should be. 

It also helps to quilt from the center out so if you are doing a special quilting design in the background areas of this quilt pattern like the dot-to-dot and custom quilting plans below, try starting at the inner most point of the background triangle and work out towards the edges. 

3 Adventureland Inspired Quilting Plans

Straight Line 

Time Commitment: Low
Tools for the Job: Walking foot and quilting bar
Techniques to Learn: Stitch in the ditch

Every time I sit down to think about a new quilting plan, I always include a straight line option. 

Not necessarily just straight lines that run the full length of the quilt, but an option that uses just straight lines in it. 

I’m a girl that loves a clean quilting design and the simplicity of straight lines just sings to me. 

So even when I am leaning towards something a little more detailed, I always put effort into creating a straight line option. Many times it ends up becoming my favorite out of the bunch and ultimately winning the battle!

This option is more about stitching in the ditch but you get the same effect. 

Because you are just stitching over the seams you already sewed, you can likely finish this quilting plan in an afternoon or two. 

Using your walking foot, stitch in the ditch on both sides of the strips in the design. I love this look because it outlines each of the patches and defines each fabric as its own shape. 

For the background fabric of this quilting plan, we are going to echo the shape at a density of about 1/2” to 3/4” using the quilting bar to help keep our spacing. 

When you echo it, use a spiral design so you can completely cover the shapes in echos with one line of stitching, only starting and stopping once for each background shape. 

The strips are 2 inches wide so using a much smaller density in the background will cause the strips to look like they are popping up off the quilt drawing attention to the X design as a whole. 

All Over Pantograph

Time Commitment: Low
Tools for the Job: A fun pantograph template
Techniques to Learn: Introductory Free Motion Quilting opportunity,

The thing I love about pantographs is that they are no-fuss options.

Find a pantograph that coordinates well with the design or fabrics of the quilt and just go with it.

You don’t have to concern yourself at all with the patchwork seams, or deciding what goes where. You just set yourself a straight line for the first pass, and you’re off and running.

If you like a no fuss quilting design but are tired of a basic straight line quilting, grab this free machine quilting stencil that will make machine quilting super quick and easy. You can even quilt it with a walking foot on your home domestic sewing machine.

Not sure how to use a machine quilting stencil? Check out my full tutorial on quilting stencils here and get started with that Adventureland quilt!

Custom Free Motion Quilting

Time Commitment: Medium
Tools for the Job: Walking foot, free motion foot
Designs You’ll Practice: Straight line FMQ, Ribbon Candy, Orange Peels, Pebbles, Stitching in the ditch

It’s not every day that you fall in love with a quilting plan so hard that you can’t wait to get started but this one did it for me. 

Before getting too deep in the free motion quilting, we have some stitching in the ditch to complete first. 

Stitch in the ditch for every seam of the quilt top EXCEPT between the strips that will have designs spanning across the middle. AKA the orange peel, the ribbon candy, and the horizontal  lines.

While stitching in the ditch doesn’t necessarily have to happen first, it will lock in that basting for when we got to free motion quilting. Not only functional but pretty at the same time. 

Mark out each of the free motion quilting designs shown above on the jelly roll strips and get those quilted up next. Consider matching your threads with each set of jelly roll strips you’ll be quilting over. 

Leaving the pebbles for last, start at the inner most point of the background triangle and work towards the outside to avoid warping or shifting of the patch.