May we discuss Quilting?

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Hi KG,

There's an existing thread where seasoned quilters post that may help:

May we discuss Quilting?

I'll add your thread to that one later as your question may help others.

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Patchwork_Quilt

KG wrote: »

I have a kingsized patchwork quilt which I started ages ago and I figure winter is a good time to finish since I can stay in, not spend any money and keep warm by sitting under the quilt as I sew it...

Anyhow - It all started great and I have sewn all the patches and panels for the front together and have a piece of material for the back (or rather 2 pieces whcih I will join down the middle). I also have a big bit of wadding for in the middle.

Thing is - now I have sew all the patches and panels together I haven't got a clue how best to attach the wadding and the back. I figure I can sew down the sides and even down the side panels with a sewing machine but I'd like to sew round each of the patches and all that bulk won't fit through the sewing machine. I am guessing then I will need to sew round the patches by hand (through the top and the wadding and the back).

But I am very nervous of starting. Can anyone recommend an approach? I was thinking about:

- sewing the two bits of material for the back together
- pinning the wadding, back and patchwork together inside out
- sewing all round the outside first with the sewing machine then pulling the last bit through a small hole and hand sewing that up
- then starting in the middle and hand sewing round all the patches
- then putting the sewing machine round the outside panel.

But I am worried that it will end up being too baggy if I don't stretch the material / wadding the same all the way round.

Any seasoned quilters out there who can help me get out of this conundrum??

KG

When I make my quilts, I get the front and back completely ready. I would recommend using a new (cheap) 4 tog duvet for the insides, as it has a cover that keeps the wadding together. I then attach the front to the back, leaving half of the final side (the bottom) undone. Turn so that it is the right way out. Use the top&back like a duvet cover and put the wadding inside. Then, and this is CRUCIAL, spread the quilt out and handstitch the wadding to the top or bottom - depending on where you can hide the stitches - in several places. For a double quilt, I do this about eight times, just using a few overstitches each time. This stops the wadding from moving about. Lastly, I fold the remaining raw edges together and handstitch them together from the right side. This can be quite neat but will provide a way in if repairs are needed in the future. I will bookmark this page as I am quite useless and try and look again tomorrow to see if you need any further help.

Smithills

Hi KG
At my evening class, my teacher is an expert quilter. I hope I can explain what she tells us to do well enough for you....:o The way we do it is to work from the middle to the outside edge- by securing your edges and turning inside out, you are storing up a problem for later. I've seen a friend do this- she started at the edges, then began quilting in the middle. As the fabric tension changes, you can get movement between the wadding, the front and the back. She ended up with a few tucks and wonky squares/rectangles!

Your wadding doesn't want to be too thick either- otherwise you feel as if you are wrestling! The way we've been taught is:

1. Spread your quilt out, right side up, on top of wadding, on top of backing. Secure all layers together with safety pins, just to prevent any slippage.
2. Take a long length of tacking thread, as wide as your quilt plus a bit, and sew tailors tacks across the quilt half way between top and bottom, from left to right.
3. Take another length of cotton, as long as your quilt plus a bit, then sew halfway between the sides, from top to bottom.
4. You'll now have 2 lines of tacking, effectively dividing your quilt into quarters. Now the hard work begins- working from the centre, sew tacking stitches in vertical and horizontal lines, so you end up with a grid of tacking, covering the grid. Space these every 3-6"- up to you, I'm sure the really dedicated quilters do it quite closely. I've seen a gizmo that will put plastic tags through quilts- just like the way tags are attached to clothes, but with much smaller tags. If you want to short-cut, this would be one way- but no idea how much they cost. (I think it's called a Gimble gun, but don't quote me on that...)
5. After all that, your quilt won't slip. You can now start to quilt! Remove all the safety pins and begin in the middle. Roll the fabric on the left of your working area of your quilt into a long sausage (from the outside edge to the centre) so that you can fit it under the machine. Work your way from the centre out- you will have to remove it from the machine and re-roll it to get access to all of it. This will be time consuming, but you will always have a warm quilt on your knees when doing it!
6. To finish off, cut strips of all your quilted fabrics about 2.5" or 3" wide. Mix them up to get a good colour blend, then sew into a long piece- say 3" by as long as the perimeter of your quilt, plus a bit. Don't forget you'll lose a little every seam allowance. Press all seams open then fold in half, seams facing in, so you now have a long strip 1.5" wide by as long as your quilt perimeter
7. On the right side of your quilt, machine the strip all the way round to attach to the quilt. neatly overlap the ends. Place the raw edge of the doubled strip to the edge of your quilt.
8. Now, wrap the folded edge over the edge and onto the back of your quilt, and hand-sew into place- it looks really neat and finishes off the quilt a treat.

I'm getting ready to make a big quilt at the moment- just building up my stash, then need to decorate my bedroom to get the colours right :rolleyes:. Good Luck with completing your quilt!

Patchwork_Quilt

Much better! Do this!

2cats1kid

Hi all! I'm clearing out my accumulated stash and was looking for something to do with all the fabric bits that I have gathered up over the years. I don't have enough to do a "proper" quilt, and to be honest my sewing skills aren't up to it either (I'm a bodger LOL). But those crazy quilts look just the ticket and I could use up some of my lace and buttons and such too. So I shall be having a go at one of those. I like the idea of a crazy quilt tote bag so that will probably be the first project.

This probably won't happen any time soon as I have a ton of knitting etc. to do, but wanted to say thanks for the thread as it has really inspired me.

katiejones

My dearly beloved (?) has bought me a bag of fabric scraps from the fabric shop lol (big bag for a fiver) because the last time we were in there i said "oooh could make cushion covers".

So any idea how - or where i can get some info?

Please help - don't want to waste it and it would give me something to do in the evenings

luckys_mum

Type into Google 'Free Patchwork Patterns' there are always loads of sites offering free patterns. Just have a look through and choose one you like.

Penelope_Penguin

katiejones wrote: »

So any idea how - or where i can get some info?

Why, here, of course I'll add this to the existing thread on quilting where you'll find loads of ideas, website and book recommendations.

Penny. x

spugzbunny

Hello!

I have a few quick quilting questions - doesnt that have a lovely ring to it??

I was watching Kirstie's home made home last night and I'd really like to start making a patch work quilt - one that I can spend years on you know?

My Qs are:

1. Can I hand sow it rather than use a machine as I'd like to do this as a sat in front of the TV excercise! What stitch would be best to get the straightest effect?
2. Would you make alll the squares seperately, then sow all of them together or do you make one top layer of all the sqaures then attached the padding and bottom layer as one?
3. Would you stic to one fabric (ie. cotton) or mix it up a bit??

Oooo I'm excited!

csarina

You can hand sew a quilt, you need to use 100% cotton fabric and yes squares are simple. Go to your library and see if they have a good beginners hand book for quilting or get a magazine...either popular patchwork or patchwork and quilting, both have instructions for beginners in. You make the top of the quilt first and thne quilt the batting and backing onto it.

Another alternative would be to see if there are any quilting classes near where you live.

I could give you instructions but it would take up too much of the forum.......its not as simple as it may seem. Accuracy is king, 1/4 inch seams throughout, to be honest unless you are doing a hexagonal quilt, its quicker by machine, you can spent time hand quilting the top to the sandwich. You will also need some supplies a quilting ruler, cutting board and rotary cutter plus fabric, thread, backing and batting. Look at Creative grids website, that will give you some idea of things you would need. sned me a PM if you need more details.