How do you quilt? I know to lay out the layers, but how is the actual stitiching done? Is there a certain way

Question

I have some embroidered squares to assemble into quilt tops, and I would like to outline the embroidered areas with a quilting stitch.

Answer 1

I assume you're talking about hand quilting. Experienced quilters use needles called "betweens" - the more experienced they are, the shorter the needle they use. For a beginner, try a lower number for a longer needle, like an 8 or 9. Use thread made especially for hand quilting - it's stronger, a little thicker, and usually treated with something to keep it smooth and help it pull through the layers easily. Don't cut off too long a piece - you should be able to pull it through without overextending your arm and without the thread twisting.

Thread your needle and tie a knot in the end of the loose end of the thread. You can put your quilt in a frame or hoop of some sort - different quilters use different techniques. Don't make it too tight - you should be able to move the fabric within the hoop. Insert the needle through the top layer, run it through the batting for half an inch or so, then pull it up through the top layer. Pull all the way through until the knot is against the fabric then gently pop the knot through the fabric and into the batting.

The stitch is essentially a running stitch through all three layers - down through all three, across the fabric a small distance, up through all three, across a small distance, etc. In quilting, they accomplish this by using a rocking stitch. You put one hand beneath the fabric to stop the needle. This finger is going to get sore until you build up a callus - try putting a dab of New Skin or even a drop of super glue on the spot. Just don't touch anything until it's dry! The top hand holds the needle, and you will need a thimble of some sort. The thimble should have dimples that will hold the end of the needle. You don't grip the needle. Instead, you put the tip of the needle on the fabric, put the finger with the thimble at the end of the needle, then gently push down ever so slightly until you feel the needle come through underneath. You rock the needle back up through the layers until it breaks the surface, then rock it back down, then up, etc. until you've picked up several stitches on the needle. Give it a push to get the needle through all of those stitches, then grip it and pull the thread through. Start with the rocking stitches again. An experienced quilter can make 12 stitches in one inch (count what's visible on the top as a stitch). A beginner would be lucky to manage half that. The size of the stitches is less important than the consistency. A consistent 6 stitches per inch looks much better than a long stitch, three short stitches, two long, another short, etc.

There are variations on the traditional quilting stitch, depending on how you prefer to hold the needle, which finger has the thimble, what kind of frame or hoop you use, how loose the fabric is, etc. Check out the websites below, and google "hand quilting" for more. It's very important - regardless of the method you use - to keep your wrist straight. Hooking your wrist can lead to all sorts of hand, wrist, and arm problems, including carpal tunnel. Take a break frequently, and stretch your hand to relieve any pressure.

If you're comfortable with a more rustic look, try using a thicker thread, like a pearl cotton, and take bigger stitches. If you're doing this deliberately it can look very nice.

When you get to the end of your thread, you need to knot it and bury the knot in the batting, just like when you started.

Answer 2

Hi! You'll need to first baste the layers (top, batting, and backing) together. This isn't the same thing as basting a turkey ;-), what it means is that you will take big stitches to hold the layers together so that they don't shift when you do the actual quilting. What I do is baste a large grid pattern across my quilt, making sure that the layers are smooth and that there isn't any puckering. Then it is ready to go into a hoop or frame for quilting (I always have used a large embroidery hoop, but use what you feel comfortable with).

The way I quilt (I'm right-handed), is to put a thimble on the middle finger of my right hand. I then insert the needle on the top of the quilt an inch or so from where I plan to start my quilting line and come up where I want to start my quilting---just gliding my needle through the batting. (I mark my quilting pattern either with a water soluble marking pen or with a dressmaker's pencil---depending on the color of my fabric). Then, I pull the thread through the batting until the knot in the thread "pops" and ends up buiried in the batting.

Then, I take a tiny stitch though all three layers, and using the finger with the thimble on it, I kind of rock the needle up and down until I have several stitches on the needle. I use my other hand to guide the needle from underneath the quilt. At first, it will feel really akward and you might only be able to catch a stitch or two on the needle. Don't worry about it, it will become easier with time. If you are making straight lines, you will probably find that you are able to get quite a few stitches on the needle at a time. With curved quilting lines, you will need to be careful to just do a couple stitches at a time so that the curves look neat.

When you reach the end of your quilting line---or your thread starts to run out----make a tiny backstitch on the bottom of the quilt and then run the needle through the batting, so that you can bury the end of the thread in your batting. I usually run the end where I plan to do some more quilting, so that the quilting stitches will tack down the thread.

I nearly forgot to mention that the type of batting you use will determine how far apart your quilting lines will need to be. Most packages of batting will give you that information right on the package. In general, your quilting lines will need to be closer together if you use a cotton or wool batting than if you use a polyester batting. However, there are a few bonded cotton battings out there that you don't have to quilt as closely. I prefer working with all cotton fabrics and battings, but every quilter is different.

It's really, really hard to describe the quilting process, and I have really done the best I can, but I would suggest going to your local library and taking a look at some of the basic quilting books. Or, you could buy one. There's a book out there called "That Perfect Stitch" by Roxanne McElroy that you can buy at Amazon.com for about $16 or $17. Or, you could buy a book by Rodale Press called "Flawless Hand Quilting", which is also good. That one is out of print, but you can find used copies on Amazon for about $3.

I know I gave you quite a bit of information, and some of what I've told you might be hard to understand since you are new to quilting. If you get stuck or have any questions, feel free to contact me by email and I will answer your questions as best I can.

Happy quilting!

Answer 3

I use my machine with a walking foot for simple outline quilting or in-the-ditch quilting. Actually, I use my machine for freehand quilting as well--just lower the feed dogs and use a darning foot or a clear free-motion foot. Much less time consuming than quilting by hand--at least for me. There's tons of books on machine quilting out there, here's a couple that I like...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1564770745/104-1582075-3314360

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1574329006/104-1582075-3314360

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1574327968/104-1582075-3314360

I wouldn't start off working on something you really care about (like your embroidered squares), I'd get a little "cheater" panel, and practice on it.

Answer 4

this isn't a query for Atheists yet for geologists (those heathens). The "tremendous Flood" became community and to the voters of that area it appeared as regardless of the actuality that the entire international became flooded. If only they might have lengthy gone on line to work out if all and sundry else became flooded they could have generic. yet then there became plenty they did not study lower back then so as that they created gods to describe the unexplainable. One for rain, yet another for the sunlight. One for fertility, yet another for flowers. when they found out that earth became round and orbited the sunlight and under no circumstances any opposite direction around the earth sciences grew to grow to be the intense tech field for the sensible up and comers. the go with for a god to describe why the sunlight rose interior the morning and set interior the nighttime became no longer as needed without caution. what number unexplainables are left for us to agonize about? we haven't as many gods both. through the way if Moses only took 2 K9s and all some thing are mutations, isn't that evolution? Any geology textual content e book will inform you about the layers of sediment, you do not go with me to inform you about it.

Answer 5

Laborious though it may seem, hand stitching is the way. Stitch it diagonally to make diamond shape patterns

Answer 6

I watched grandma do that as a kid on her lap.

Answer 7

you might find these instructions helpful:

http://www.quilt.com/

http://www.roserushbrooke.com/tutorials.html