Quilters, I need some advice?

Question

I am making a quilt for my baby (girl due in oct) and have some questions.
Description: Snowball 9 patch. The focus fabric is Raggedy Ann and Andy squares. RA&A are wearing their traditional red and blue clothes, but the background fabric is pastel colors(pink, purple, yellow, orange). For the corners of the sb, I used pink polkadots. The nine patches are yellow and purple polkadots with the center square cut from the RA&A background. I am putting a pink polkadot border on it. Since there seems to be more yellow in the front, I think I am going to use the purple polkadots for the backing.

Now for the questions: What color thread should I use? maybe varigated pastel thread? Should I stitch in the ditch of all seams? Do I even have time to hand quilt it before the baby comes in October? I probably have access to a frame, but would like to take this project with me, can you tell me about lap frames? Any advice for a first time handquilter would be greatly appreciated! God Bless!

What kind of batting is best for handquilting? I generally use low loft cotton.

Answer 1

I use the q snap frame when I hand quilt things that need a frame....
you could use a varigated thread but I would use a single color personally.....
In the snowballs why not try quilting a heart around the motif of RA and RA? the 9 patches I would either quilt in the ditch or cross hatch them but if not hearts in the snowballs I would quilt in the ditch
BUT and this is important - what did the batting say is the max inches apart the batting will allow.....
I would have time to hand quilt it but I can't say for you not knowing your quilting experience and again it depends on the size of the quilt....good luck


Addition to batting question ONLY use cotton,wool or silk batting for safety reasons when using for a child. Poly batting MELTS in fire and the heat of fire melting onto the chikd, Natural fibers do not......

Answer 2

A lap quilting frame would be great . You can pick up one at a Wall-Mart store ,or probably a craft store they aren't very expensive. You can take them with you where ever you travel .
I love to stitch the ditch and then the thread wont show on top of quilt. You can use a thread color that matches the lining.
It shouldn't take to long to quilt it. I love real soft cotton, but if you are going to wash it a lot you need something that is a little tougher .Just ask the store lady where you purchase your cotton that you will be washing the quilt ,she will recommend you a good cotton . Hope this helps you. Queen Bee

Answer 3

I don't have much experience with regular quilting, but my first regular quilting project was completely hand done. I would use a neutral thread that would blend like, maybe, a light pink. Hand quilting takes a lot of time, but stitching in the ditch would be the easiest way to go. You can, of course, do this on the machine as well. If you did that you could still do some outline hand quilting of selected figures on the fabric. That always looks special. Good luck with your quilt!

Answer 4

I am a hand quilter and I also rec the q-snap frame.. you can take it anywhere and you do have enough time to do a good job quilting it. I would not rec hand quilting the 100% cotton batting. I prefer a cotton and silk or wool blend...cotton blossom is the brand name I use. It is a bit more expensive than cotton or poly, but it works up like a dream and is very warm...It is available at Joannes and I will not quilt with any other. I prefer the silk blend, but the wool works up well too. I only make quilts can wash and i have machine washed both with no ill effects. You can load 5+ stitches on the needle on this batting and the quilting interval is 3 inches.
Good luck and keep on quilting...
Jane

Answer 5

When you machine quilt a quilt I was taught that you should stabilize it first by quilting in the ditch with clear mono filament thread. After you do that the varigated pastel thread would be perfect for machine quilting.

Hand quilting would be good too. You just need a small round quilting frame since you want to take it with you.

A baby quilt is small and lends itself to either machine quilting or hand quilting. It is the perfect first quilting project and doesn't take a lot of time.

As to batting, there is a Quilter's Dream Angel that is especially for babies and it is fire retardant.

Have fun!

Answer 6

I personally thought I would love the variegated threads too, but on hand quilting, I find it really takes away from your fabric designs. I like to use tan or white for most everything I do. If I were you, I would test a small area of similar fabric with the thread you plan on using.... both front and back (even if you just throw a 2 inch block through your sewing machine) just to see if you like it.... that way you don't have to rip stitches that are sooooo time consuming

Good Luck! Enjoy!

Answer 7

Last question first - for wash-ability and not having to quilt super closely, use a low loft polyester like Fairfield or Mountain Mist. http://qnm.com/articles/feature8/

If you stretch your quilt and pin it (use the little brass pins like from the dry-cleaner's), you can then carry it around and quilt it using a hoop. My favorite is a 14" hoop as it's easy to reach the center. I do all my quilting by hand and it really doesn't take long to quilt something as small as a baby quilt. I'd work 1/4" in from the seams on the patches and then quilt around the outline (and maybe some details) on the Raggedy Ann & Andy figures. You'll find a lot of information on making a quilt here: http://quiltersvillage.com/basic/

Answer 8

I still consider myself to be a "first-time" handquilter because I am still working on the same quilt. I am a much better quilter now that I use a frame - not a lap frame. For me, learning to quilt / practicing good technique was too difficult while holding on to a lap frame. I got a floor frame from JoAnn Fabrics made out of PVC pipes (very lightweight and able to disaassemble). Good Luck.

Answer 9

I use a beige or black thread no matter what color the fabrics are. Your fabrics are quite vibrant and busy, so I would go with a thread that will stay in the background. I always machine quilt in-the-ditch or shadow-quilting around motifs, so I can't advise about the time frame for hand quilting.
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Answer 10

use the white cotton batting if you can and i would just tie quilt it, but you could sew in the ditch if you like. a varrigated pastel would be nice.