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Quilting 101
How to make a quilt.
How do you choose the best design for your project? How do you
make a quilt?
There are many choices and
each project raises more possibilities. But somehow you have
to decide what design to use on this project. Indeed, this is
only the first of many decisions you will need to make in creating
your beautiful quilt.
The design you pick will guide you in selecting the right fabrics,
patterns, tools, and other materials needed for your quilt.
You might, however, see a
gorgeous piece of fabric and think to yourself, "Now this would make
a beautiful quilt." In this case the fabric itself may dictate
the design features you choose.
These three must work
together: design, fabric, and pattern. A great design can be
ruined by choosing the wrong fabric or pattern.
So how do you choose?
1. Imagine the finished
product first. Try to see through your mind's eye, what your
quilt will look like when it is done. Dream a little.
2. You might use one of the
many software programs available to help bring practical definition
to your project. Use the program to draw out your ideas.
You can arrange, group, and sort quickly and easily.
3. If you don't have
software, try using pencil and paper. Draw out your thoughts.
Do whatever it takes to define your finished project.
4. You may prefer using
certain techniques or tools. Consider how these might affect
the construction of your quilt. You have many options
including paper piecing, patterns, and stencils. If you prefer
a specific quilting process, use it to layout the design of your
quilt.
5. A beginning quilter
often, learns one way of doing things, and practices that approach
on several quilts before attempting new and different approaches.
Keep in mind quilting should be fun, so avoid stressing out over
having to master whole new sets of skills on each new quilt project.
6. When you use small pieces
to create a block, it is called piecing. While there are
several different ways to do this, one of the first thing quilters
learn is to use the traditional 1/4" seam allowance. This will
affect how you cut out your fabrics, how you lay them out, and how
they go together.
7. You may choose to
embellish you quilt blocks with appliqué, embroidery, or stenciled
designs.
8. When you use a block
design approach, eventually you have to join the blocks together.
Before joining them, however, it is essential that you square your
quilt blocks to insure that they are all exactly same size, shape,
and uniform. Then you may complete the assembly.This again may be
done in several ways, but Block to Block and using borders are
the most common.
Once you complete all your
blocks, and you have assembled them together, we say that the quilt
top is finished. There are still some big steps before we can
say the quilt is done.
BATTING: The next step is to
select the backing material and the batting or fill material for
your quilt. There are different types of batting
including all cotton, all polyester, and blends of polyester and
cotton. Ask you local quilt shop or teacher, about what
batting they recommend for your project. You may prefer one
type over another or you may decide based on your current project.
All you have to do is open the bag and unroll it. This type of
batting comes in different lofts or thicknesses, the thicker the
loft, the warmer the quilt.
BACKING: Color, texture, and fabric content are considerations when
choosing the backing fabric. Generally, the backing fabric is
not as important as the quilt top, so you may get by with a little
less quality fabric or even a lower thread count fabric. Generally,
you want a woven fabric because you want it keep its shape instead
of stretching. There are larger width fabrics, but in many
cases you will need to seam the backing fabric together to make it
just a little larger (2" all the way around) than the top. Before
using backing there are a few things you will need to do. First,
trim off the selvage edge. Then preshrink the fabric to
prevent shrinkage after the quilt is finished. Finally sew
three lengths of the fabric (equal widths) the length of the
backing. Finally, press the seams to one side.
ASSEMBLY: Lay the backing down on the floor with its wrong side up
and right side down. Roll out the batting smoothly over the backing
fabric. Trim the batting about one inch shorter than the backing
fabric and one inch longer than the quilt top.
Center the quilt top on top of the batting face-up.
BASTING: The three layers of
the quilt are now ready to assemble. Before attempting to finish
sew, however, the layers must be temporarily fastened together.
This may be done by simply pinning the three layers together. Sewing
with a long straight stitch will Baste the layers together.
Begin in the center of the quilt. You may use running stitches or Z
stitches for basting.
MACHINE QUILTING: You are
now ready to quilt the finished project. The most common way to
achieve this is by machine quilting. With smaller projects,
this can be accomplished with a standard sewing machine, but with
larger projects some type of machine quilting frame is required.
The new Grace Quilter does a great job for the home, but there are
many quilt frames available. The quilt is rolled onto a frame
and sewn together according to specialized templates or by using one
of the following techniques.
STITCH IN DITCH: A common
practice is to use the sewing technique of stitching in the ditch,
or sewing right into the seam itself. With a little practice,
the thread almost disappears.
ECHO DESIGN: You may decide
to use Echo Design which is stitching along the outline of the block
repeating lines of stitches every quarter inch to create repetitious
sections of very heavy quilting.
OVERALL QUILTING: You may
choose to use an overall quilting design using square grids, diamond
shapes, or clamshells. This approach does not follow the
outline of the block but ignores it.
HAND QUILTING: Hand quilting will require quilt frame, or a large
hoop. Hoops are more portable, but require more basting. Once your
project is secure you begin stitching the three layers together in
very small uniform stitches, using the design you chose earlier.
Start With about 18 inches of thread and begin working in the centre
of your project, quilting toward the outside edge.
TYING: Hand quilting is
often viewed even by hand sewers to be excessively meticulous.
An alternative is typing the quilt together ever four inches or sew
using a think twine.
BINDING: Now that the quilt
is quilted, all that remains is to finish the edge. Double
check the square of the quilt before beginning and adjust as needed.
Then bind the edges by using bias strips of fabric or pre-cut bias
tape sewn on one side, folded over and sewn on the other.
You may now hand your quilt
over a solid quilt rack for display.
AUTHOR:
Donna Trumble is a professional designer, seamstress, author, sewing
educator, and sewing business owner. She leads several
Sewing Show And Tell groups in her stores guiding participants to
shop sewing machines and learn about sewing and quilting.
RESOURCE:
For more information on sewing show and tell groups, check out
"Sewing, The World's Greatest Hobby"
by Donna and David Trumble. And check out the local Sew And
Quilt Stores in Killeen, Temple, and Waco, Texas or at
www.sewandquiltstore.com.
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