Machine Quilting: Managing a Large Quilt Sandwich Question: For a year I have been learning free hand quilting by machine and I find it very difficult to move my work smoothly and with constant speed. Often my movement is blocked because the heavy quilt won't come over the edge of my working table. Can you give me some advice or suggestions where to find information about feehand machine quilting and what kind of sewing machine is best to do this kind of work. Answer: I do all my quilting on a regular size Bernina sewing machine. For large quilts I push together several tables, desks, etc. so that the entire weight of the quilt is supported on the table top. It is much easier to move the quilt under the arm of the sewing machine if it is not dragging over the edge of a table. Sometimes I spray a little silicone on the table top to make it more slippery. To get the quilt under the arm of the sewing machine, I roll, pleat stuff and drag........whatever is necessary to get to the place where I'm going to quilt.
Hexagon Tutorial with PLASTIC TEMPLATES Finally....my 'Hexagon' tutorial everyone has been asking for... So here goes... I do a lot of my sewing in the car while traveling... so I rough cut my pieces out while in the car as well. I cut the templates 3/8" larger all the way around the template. Most people tell you to cut them 1/4" larger... but with the plastic templates... if they are cut out like that and are not dead on center... the templates will start to pop out. They tell you to cut 1/4" larger because they are figuring on most people hand quilting this project when it is completed... and any bigger than that leaves an extra layer of fabric to quilt through. My solution....go in and trim up any excess. Also...if you cut it at a 1/4" larger and don't have it completely centered... you will have weak points in your quilt... where it isn't quite a 1/4" seam. Place a pin through the middle of the hole and back through to hold the piece while you work. Fold over the first corner until you have a crisp edge and tack two tacking stitches.
a string quilt block tutorial – paper pieced method I’m so blown away by all the wonderful comments on my string quilt, now aptly named ‘Kaleidoscope’ (many thanks to Kerri who was the first to suggest it, followed by 9 others of you who had the same thought!) I think it’s just perfect. And now, a quick tutorial – I had a few requests for a tutorial on making this type of quilt, so I figured I’d oblige (it’s the least I can do, right?). To start, you’ll want to decide on the size of your blocks. Cut squares of your desired size from the copy paper and set aside. Decide on your fabrics and cut strips of a variety of widths. I wanted to have a small strip of white separate the squares in my quilt, so I cut 1″ strips of a solid white fabric. Next we’ll temporarily attach the white strips to the paper squares. Now you can start sewing on your fabric strips! (please ignore my wrinkly fabric! Align the edges and sew with a 1/4″ seam allowance. Sew along this edge (right through the paper), then iron open with a dry iron.
Hexagon Tree Skirt – Tutorial – ModernHandcraft Hi friends! Continuing my Hexie Holidays projects with today’s tutorial showing you how to create a lovely Hexagon Tree Skirt! This tutorial uses the same basic steps of applying hexies to your project as my Hexagon Mini Quilt. Materials needed: Main fabric 32″ x 32″ square – Essex Linen in BlackBorder fabric 4 strips 5″ WOF (width of fabric) – Timeless Treasures Soho WhiteBatting piece 45″ x 45″ - I used precut crib sized battingBacking fabric 42″ x 42″ (at least) – Soho Solids WhiteBinding fabric – 6 strips 2.5″ WOF (width of fabric) – Soho Solids White4 strips of ribbon cut 12″Spray basting glue, or pins for basting quiltThread – white for your main quilting, red for quilting around your hexies60 hexies – for these you will need 60 paper templates & 60 squares of scrap fabric cut 2.5″Aleene’s Fabric Fusion GlueScissors, rotary cutter, acrylic ruler, cutting mat, iron, pen, clear bowl or cup Step 1: Step 2: Step 3: Step 4: Now you can lay out your square and make sure every thing is even.
Machine Quilting The WWQP How-To's Introduction For many quilters, machine quilting is a way to quilt those tops that seem to go together faster than they can be hand quilted. All machine quilting falls into one of two catagories, machine guided (feeddogs up) or free motion (feeddogs dropped or covered). With a few special feet, almost any sewing machine can be used for machine quilting. Equipment and Supplies Sewing Machines Any sewing machine can be used for machine quilting, but some machines may require special considerations or adaptations. Another consideration is the size of the opening between the needle and the motor of the machine. A final sewing machine consideration is the size if the machine's motor. Needles The sewing machine needle is the least expensive, but most important part of the sewing machine. Different types of thread require different needles which are engineered to form the proper stitch with the given thread. Thread Tips for Machine Quilting
Pat Sloan's QuiltersHome: Pat Sloan's "Lucky Charms" Sew Along - Part 5 - The end! The Holly version of Lucky Charms and... The Flower version made as only a center Let's sew those sides on then chat quilting it! Cut 4 strips 1" x WOF and sew to the center. Trim off the long ends .... and be sure the corners are square Now sew 2 opposite sides to the quilt. Pin pin pin... the sew the 2 sides on Press towards the sashing. Ta Da!! Wheeeeeeeee! I use 2 rulers for a piece this big. Here I'm using my biggest Sullivan Square and the Yardstick Ruler which is 37" long. Once again be sure your corner are square. Trimmmed up! Let's dish quilting.. as that is what you are REALLY here for isn't it? I am going to show you the center on the flower piece. Remember I blanket stitched through all 3 layers on the flower center quilt? Drop your feed dogs and be sure you have your darning foot on You could echo quilt the center, but I'm not much of an echo quilting girl. And I like to quilt on the applique... a feathery thing in the center and then a line on the petals worked like this. All done!
Binding Tutorial I receive many queries regarding quilt binding, specifically machine stitching the binding, and would like to clarify a few technical, but not difficult, binding matters. I almost always make continuous cross-grain binding, There are several very informative tutorials available online which are clear and easy to follow. I particularly like the instructions given by Amanda from Crazy Mom Quilts in her quilt binding tutorial which can be found here. I do have a few of my own tips, things that work well for me: To determine the length of continuous binding needed I measure the quilt top and side, multiply by two, and add at least 25 inches. I cut my binding strips 2.25 inches wide, quite narrow as I prefer the look of a narrow binding. I join the binding strips with a diagonal seam as follows: Joining binding strips end to end . By piecing strips together with a diagonal seam you avoid having too much bulk in the one spot along your binding. I join the ends together with a diagonal seam:
Pat Sloan's QuiltersHome: Pat Sloan's "Lucky Charms" Sew Along - Bonus Project Do you remember these that that you trimmed away? We are going to turn it into a mug rug!! with applique if you like! A BONUS project from your scraps! These are VERY skinny strips so you will not have perfectly straight lines.. and I LOVE that part of how it looks! Keep stitching until... you have a square! Trim the square as large as you can. Pick some applique fabric. OPTION - no applique... if you do this option skip down! I layered the batting now so the top of the mug rug is 'firm'. I decided on black thread so the shapes would stand out.. We are almost done!! pin leaving an opening to turn Sew all around the edge... doing a back stitch at the start and finish. (remember I blanket stitched through the batting.. which is what you see here) Turn right side out, press the mug rug and be sure the edges are folded in. Ta Da!!! Warning.... these are very Addictive! So GET STITCHING and remember to share your photos at the Flickr Group! NEXT LESSON is sewing on the sides and quilting!
Skapligt Enkelt Pat Sloan's QuiltersHome: Pat Sloan's "Lucky Charms" Sew Along - Part 4 tutorial Let's get stitching! I'm using my Aurifil 50 weight thread from my kit. The thin thread blends in so the thread is not a 'feature' on the project. (CLICK HERE TO SEE THE COLORS) For the Holly and berries I'm using these 3 thread colors. For my flower quilt these 2 threads! If you have my "Learn to Applique" with Pat Sloan book.. get it out! Let's do a test piece so you can get your stitches right. Pick a contrasting thread color you can see. Try your default setting first for the Blanket Stitch. It's too narrow for everyday use. Now increase your stitch length and try that... increase it again..writing the numbers as you go. How should the stitch look? AND zig zag is also set to be JUST A BIT less than 1/4" You want the straight stitch to be ON the background and NEXT TO the applique fabric.You want to be sure you do not have a gap between the applique and straight stitch.You also don't want the straight stitch ON the applique shape Do NOT draw on your real project. Stitch to the corner