How To Use Heart Border Template For Free Motion Quilting

Do you have a hard time figuring out what type of quilting design to use for your quilt borders? Or maybe you are looking for a gorgeous all-over quilting design you can do quickly and effortlessly. In either case, we have the perfect solution and that is our Heart Border Template.

The Dabline Heart Border Template can be used to add a sweet border to any quilting project, or it can be used to create an edge-to-edge design for an entire quilt top. This template is just one we offer in the Dabline Quilting Template Set.

Make sure you Set Up Your Machine for Quilting with Templates before we go over how to use the Heart Border template.

How To Use Dabline’s Heart Border Quilting Template

We suggest practicing the motions of the template under your needle before you actually start stitching on your quilt project. This will help your hands and mind get used to the movements you will be making to achieve those precious little heart borders.

To begin practicing use a practice quilt and place the grip on top of the practice quilt. Next, place the template inside the grip and line up your FMQ foot with the start position of the template.

You can practice moving with the template either with your sewing machine off or you can practice with it on by removing the top and bobbin thread. This will allow you to figure out what speed you want to go with the needle and not have to remove any unwanted stitches.

When you are ready to practice the movements, slowly start moving the grip and template, following the curve of the template with the edge of your FMQ foot. You want the foot to always be touching the edge of the template. Take the movements nice and slow. Also make sure you are moving smoothly, not hurky jerky.

When you reach the stop position…Stop! You are now ready to flip the template over so it is a mirror image of what it was for the first movement. Now follow the curve of the template down till you reach the bottom of the template at the next stop position.

Practice these movements as much as you need to so you feel comfortable and confident that you can do the movements smoothly and evenly.

As soon as you are confident in your movements, then do a few practice hearts on your practice quilt using the previous instructions, only this time add thread and have your machine on.

Once your practice hearts look great, then you are ready to start sewing on your quilt project! Keep in mind, slow and steady wins the race; there is no reason to try to speed through it when you are just starting out.

The Dabline Heart Border Template is a versatile and handy instrument to have in your arsenal of quilting tools. It can be used for a wide variety of projects such as:

  • Baby quilts
  • Quilt borders
  • Edge to edge quilting
  • Table runners
  • Pillows
  • Tote bags
  • And so many other quilt projects that need an extra layer of quilt cuteness.

We here at Dabline are passionate about all things quilting and crafting and we strive to make our products easy to understand and fun to use! We sincerely hope you have a blast creating beautifully quilted projects using the Heart Border Template and grip.

To learn more visit our YouTube channel

Share your art with us – tag #dablinestore on Instagram.


2 comments


  • Patti

    I have a bernina bernette 77 that has an RX free motion quilting foot. It has an oval shape to it. Can I use that foot or do I need to purchase a different foot


  • Anonymous

    I have the same set which I bought from Amazon. Thank you for this tutorial and video. I struggled to find content on how to use my templates.


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