hear a lot about "quilt police". just wondering, who actually makes the quilting "rules". I have a lot of books on quilting by various authors and there are sometimes different methods given. it bugs me b/c when our ancestors made quilts - the pioneer women etc, they didn't appear to follow "rules" and we never say they did it wrong. so who actually has the right to suddenly make rules on how things have to be done. is their a quilting law book or something? if i want all my seams to be 1/3" rather than 1/4" what does it matter? as long as all the seams are the same size? maybe it just the baby boomer in me but i sometimes resent having to follow all the "rules" that are made by so called quilting experts.

I guess the only rules that might count are the guidelines for quilts that are entered in shows and will be judged. They definitely have ideas about what's right or not. Otherwise, I don't think there are too many. I'm mostly self-taught, so I just have to do things the way it seems to me would work. Example: For a long time, I didn't know how to make flying geese, so I had to make 2 hst's and put them together. Worked ok! (O:

I agree! I do what feels right to me!

The Quilt Police is more or less a joke, except in the case of those who show their art, and I suspect that the judges use magnifying glasses to check out every inch.

But otherwise, like the Tooth Fairy and others, the Quilt Police is a joke. Personally, if they were real I would hear them pounding on my door and my cats would hide from the screams of the sirens!!

It's your own quilts and you should do them just like YOU want, and if others don't like them, tough!! Should you make more than you want to give away to friends and family, think of children's hospitals, wounded soldiers and women and children in distress in shelters. They don't care what quilts look like, it's the warmth that matters, and in the end, that is what a quilt or lap robe is about, warmth. The love that makes it adds to its value.

There are few rules that I follow...
Avoid bias edges whenever possible
A consistent seam is very helpful in constructing quilts
Try to remember to change needles and rotary blades before they cause problems :roll:
Interfacing can make quilting much easier when using stretchy fabrics
Just because someone says a technique/block is hard to make/do, isn't necessarily true
A clean machine causes less problems than a lint filled one :wink:

Other than that? I have probably broke more rules than I have ever dreamed of following LMBO :D:D:D

I have no idea on who makes the "Quilting Rules". And it is probably a good thing I don't, LOL!! About the only rule I try to follow is the 1/4 in seam. And that is because of 1/4 in presser foot makes it easy to keep my seams straight. If the Quilt Police were real, they would have arrested me for breaking almost every rule. :mrgreen:

Some of the "rules" are only meaningful when mathematics are applied. Like when working with triangles, the way you measure 1/4 inch seams help you (or should help you) get the tip of the triangle to be at the edge of the seam. Also, if you participate in a block exchange, the final size matters. Many machines have a 1/4 inch foot but not a 1/3 inch one, and when following a pattern, the measurements are made so that if you use a 1/4 inch, you end up with certain size block. Is up to you to change all that and do your own thing, but in some blocks you may not necessarily like the final result. In the end, is your quilt and your fabric. Just have fun with it.

The only rule that must be followed is.......enjoy what you do!:)

The only 'rules' are guidelines to make it easier to make a quilt, not to insist on conformity. As others have said, it's your quilt-do as you wish. The 'quilt police' are just for laughs.

I don't know who makes the rules. I don't pay any attention to 'rules' any more. I make the quilts I like to make & don't give a rip about what someone in some book or magazine might think about it. If I like it, that's good enough for me.

I think of the "Quilt Police" as my own inner voice telling me what looks good--Pattern, fabric, color, combinations, etc. And yes, if you are going to enter a contest, the judges would be the quilt police!

DITTO!!

You make your own rules for your quilts.
The only time following "rules" is important is when you're following someone else's pattern and expecting the same result they got.
Otherwise, "what rules?" works for me.

To me the rules are just guidelines that generally make things work better or make a process easier. I don't even call them "rules" when teaching. Instead, I say there are "suggestions" that we may (or may not) want to follow. Doing so makes us better at our craft, and who doesn't want to be better? So we read and take classes to learn new techniques and to improve for our own satisfaction. As with most things, we have to make decisions based on what works for us at the moment and based on common sense.

The quilt police are like the fashion police, they exist in a strange kind of way, but after a while who really cares? I still wear my jeans, tee shirts and athletic shoes because to me comfort is more important than fashion. Do people find me dowdy and unfashionable? Absolutely, but it doesn't matter one bit if I'm comfortable.

That's right!!! I agree 100%.

If quilters jail is a Retreat I may just call the Quilt police to be arrested!

If the "Quilting Police" knock on my door they better have a BIG ticket book.LOL.
I quilt for the enjoyment of it.

I believe that some of what we think of as "rules" are really tried and true methods that have evolved over many, many years from the experience of others. If you want to use other methods, and they work for you, go for it!

be aware--- the quilt police are out there you see them at quilt shows taking great joy in pointing out to one another their percieved mistakes on the quilts on view ---poor things we need to feel sorry for them they would not konow real joy if the fell over it---quilt tricks /hints tried +true however is our heritage and should be passed on willingly to all who will listen as a valuble resource--just like this board

I never thought to try any thing other than a 1/4" maybe because my sister in law owns a quilt shot. haha.... I try hard but still find it difficult to make a steady seam. Quilt Police? I'm way behind never heard of them.

Well said.
Ditto ditto ditto.
Annie

U til I'm showen a "law" written in stone. In other words I maske my own "rules" in quilting.

maybe you are having a problem because you are calling them RULES... i don't really know many quilting RULES but i do have some great books with wonderful (GUIDELINES) that have helped my quilting get better and better.
and some of the (guidelines) basic...this is the way it's done type of thing...
you asked what if i want to use 1/3" seam instead of 1/4" seam....well, if that's what you want to do for YOUR project...what ever works for you...
but you will have problems if you use (other peoples patterns) because QUILTING PATTERNS ARE DESIGNED FOR 1/4" SEAMS if you change your seam allowance you have to adjust every part of your pattern...that is certainly your choice to do...i think most of us at some point (re-do) the math and change our seam allowances ect...but every pattern you buy...is going to start with the 1/4" so it seems like it would be easier to just find your 1/4"...in clothing contruction the seams used are 5/8" seam...so those of us who started 100 years ago making clothes have had to re-learn and adjust our sewing to apply it to quilting. different applications require different techniques...has nothing to do with anything as negative as (RULES) just has to do with (centuries of experience) and someone writting down the guidelines to make it easier for everyone. :thumbup:

Amen sister.

When I took my first quilting class back in 1984, everything was hand pieced & hand quilted. These were not my first quilts, but my first classes! Before that, I mostly read the directions & followed them, but not necessarily to "a T." I learned a lot that way. The teacher for those first classes would say something like, "You will ALWAYS . . ." Sooo, I ALWAYS did it whatever way I was supposed to. My favorite one is PRESS TO THE DARK! I haven't always pressed to the dark. I press the way a particular seam wants to go, or for the way the piece will be the flattest. Alex Anderson called it something like "for the best construction."

When you are hand piecing, things pretty much turn out perfectly if you are piecing properly. Corners will match every time, etc. However with the introduction of machine piecing, we have become a bit more lenient as to what is is "perfect." However there still are some who seem to think that there is one and only one way to do somethings. We sometimes not so lovingly refer to them as the "Quilt Police."

Back in the September/October issue of McCall's Quilting magazine, there was an article about copyright law. It took us all off our feet. Talk about Quilt Police. They (McCall's) even published a follow-up article as so many of us expressed our concern over the future of quilting and quilting shows in the future because of what this woman said. They tried to smooth over what she said, but I don't think it worked. Personally, I thought the original article was rather hateful in tone. Kind of a, "You better not do this or else!" flavor to it. The follow-up article still had the same tone to it. :evil:

My biggest concern is the showing of a quilt. I don't agree with the article. I made the quilt from a pattern in a book, magazine or pattern that had been bought. What I do with what I made is my business. If I chose to hang it in a local quilt show, I don't see where that is a problem. Can you imagine if you had published a pattern and everyone around decided to make that quilt and show it in a show. AND everyone decided that they must contact you for permission to hang it!!! You'd be swamped and have to hire a secretary to respond to every request!

Perfect example of how silly this is - In October our quilt club had a small, one day show. The ladies who organized the show were concerned that they might not have enough quilts to fill the space, so they came over and "raided" my walls. They were hanging the show in the morning. I did not have permission, and there was no time to obtain it. What's a gal to do?

While the origin of the quilt is not on the label - if there even is a label, when I submit a quilt to hang, I write the pattern info on the registration form. That is usually put on the card attached to the quilt and it's pinned to the FRONT of the quilt. How many of us either get the gloves on or ask for someone to turn the quilt over so we can see the label? When we gift a person with an outstanding quilt & they decide to hang it in a show, are they going to ask you for the info so they can contact the pattern designer about hanging it? Let's get real!

My thoughts on the Quilt Police is to let 'em come. I don't make quilts for anyone else, but me! If I'm happy with them, that's good enough for me. If they hang in a show & if the Quilt Police can even find this town that's on the edge of nowhere on the day of a show, let 'em look!

I hope this doesn't seem rude, but most of us are sweet, kind, lovable ladies and gentlemen who just want to make quilts with absolutley no ulterior motives.

If you aren't making your quilts to enter for judging in shows, do whatever works for you!

My dog Branston inspects my quilts and is pleased with them all. He is my favourite quilt police inspector.

The only rules I follow are the ones I make up! I do try to be consistent with seam allowances and try to keep stitching even when quilting, but anything else that people say or write or publish are just suggestions. Do what makes you happy and do your own thing. As long as you are happy with your work--your the only one who really matters.
I agree if you plan to enter a large show, they do have certain rules you have to follow, but they are just that, rules to follow if you want to enter.
I also agree that "Quilt Police" is kind of a joke. I actually have a shirt that says "Quilt Police". Has a little dude with rulers, markers, tape measure and rotary cutter etc then Quilt Police in an arch over his head. Get lots of laughs with it. Found that at a quilt shop right before I hosted a quilting bus tour. My fellow hostess and I both got one. Had a ball with it on the bus.

I love rules. When I was younger I thought they were stupid, useless, I could / would do better, or at least my own thing. Now that I'm older, I appreciate rules. The can keep u from making costly mistakes in quilting and ur life. Most rules come from a mass of common sense and r tryed and true. I am not talking about a simple color choice or using a different seam allowance....when I first began piecing I jumped in with both feet but no idea what I was doing, THANKS to this board, I found out some proper ( rules ) ways to fix my diaster in my sewing room, and I have a lovely quilt to show for it.

Well said!

As you pointed out, even the "experts" disagree about the rules. Just do what you love. Enjoy it. The only "rules" are those that you set for yourself.

I think I am going to change my screen name to "The Outlaw Quilter" if there are quilt police, I'm breaking every law and not caring a bit.

PS. I also wear white after labor day and have managed to evade the fashion police now for a long time too :-)

My now 90 year old aunt taught me to hand piece when I was 15 and she taught me to use 1/4" seam allowance.

I think that that was probably used from the beginning bore out of necessity. A much larger s.a. on small pieces would have been difficult to get to lay flat (remember we have electri iron and they might have finger pressed) and all he s.a. would have distorted the block. Also, the limited access to usable fabric probably forced a very conservative approach its use.

Those women were no different from us. Through trial and error they problably figured what worked best and the 1/4" s.a. for piecing became a standard.

I think it is important to remember that all this "rules" are really just guidelines. The people who write the books are offering us lots of options. It is our responsibility to determine which work best for us. We are very fortunate to have so many options.

My grandmother wore out scissors, used newspaper (if she was lucky enough to have it) for templates and wore out a treadle machine, which was probably near impossible considering how many of them are out there for us to enjoy.

Sometimes when I am using a rotary cutter, I think of my granny sitting by the Warm Morning heat stove and rug hooking by kerosene lamps because her newly acquired electric had gone out again.

I am seeing more and more template quilts in magazines again. Just shows us that what is old is new again. There was probably something soothing about sitting by that heat stove in the evening and tracing templates onto fabric and then cutting them out. I love this memory. How fortunate that we are able to quilt for pleasure rather than out of necessity like those quilters who helped to perfect the art we enjoy so much.

Do what you want to do!!! As for seam allowances, just make sure they're all the same and remember your blocks will be smaller than stated in the pattern....if you use a pattern!!!

I'm a baby boomer as well. Will be 65 in January. I'm not one to follow rules either regarding this art form. Of course I realize there are some basic rules of thumb to know to even get started but than again I believe I'd fit best in the Crazy quilting arena more than the traditional way of todays quilting.

The quilt police as you state mostly are I believe with juried quilts at shows. Those that want to follow those rules usually are the ones who enter their projects in them.

I most likely will never do what is coined a traditional quilt. I'd rather play with my fabrics/fibers and fabric paints and applique "crazily" and it be one of a kind than for it to look like everyone elses.

I just go about doing it the way I want it done and enjoy my efforts no matter if anyone likes it or not.

what quilt police? it is your quilt do it your way and don't worry about anyone else. a mistake? Can you see it on a galloping horse? in reality, it is design change.

In my studio/my world (LOL) I make the rules!

*I* make the rules!!!!! :lol:

Honestly, I do things the way I like them. Maybe they`re not "traditional" or whatever...but it works for me, and I am happy with the outcome. Until I start showing quilts for judging, I'm gonna do what suits me an my quilts and makes ME happy. If you want a 1/3" seam, more power to you.

My cousin is a professional quilter and told me "there are no rules"...If you like it and it works for you, your the judge....So I do my own thing trying to learn a few things but if I like it...it's my rules....

Soryy, no real police! But when other quilters say something "should" be done one way or another, I suspect it's becasue it's the "way it's always been done". I'm sure using a template was radical at some point, and then using a rotary cutter, now the GO!. But other things like 1/4" seams are there becasue most people find that easiest to use, and it gives quilters a common measurement when following patterns. But if 1/3" suits you better - go for it!