Thread: Question for hand quilters

A few ladies at our church are forming a group to make quilts for young girls coming out of sex trafficking. We would like to hand quilt, which I have done for years, but in a hoop. I am having a hard time finding good, thorough information on quilting in an old floor frame. We want to quilt together as ladies did years ago. I think the teaching of hand quilting will fall to me. Oh, dear! What I've found online shows little in terms of quilting in all directions. I've always had the luxury of quilting toward me or toward the left, since I can turn the hoop. We simply cannot afford to send our tops out for long arm quilting, and would like them to be all made by hand, anyway. I do have 2 floor frames. Bless you in advance. You all are so knowledgeable!

Originally Posted by Gramie bj

Grandmas Grace, an Ruth quilted with several of there friends around a floor frame. I remember them all working in the area directly in front them. Both were right handed and worked from right to left, and top to bottom. Lady on the right worked in he same direction. Her left side stich line ended where Grandmas right side began. Does this help, or even make sense?

It does make sense. I don't worry much about us "running into one another" with our needles. I am mainly concerned with the direction I will be pointing my needle. I am used to always aiming the needle toward myself or to my left, since I am right handed. With the hoop, I simply move the hoop around, so I can always quilt in the same direction. With the old floor frame, moving the quilt isn't an option. Alas, I must aim that needle away from me sometimes or to the right, which goes against my usual method.

Quilting in a floor frame isn't as hard as you might think.You sew the quilting stitch in the exact same way. l use an abs snap frame now,a bit smaller, but same teçhnique as the floor frame l used for years.You simply turn your wrist, and sometimes must bend your arm & turn in your chair a bit if it's an awkward angle. l find that sewing left to right is most difficult, as l am right handed...but that can easily be remedied by simply ending off & starting the marked line from the right and sewing left. A good thimble with proper dimples all around really helps. You will be learning as well as your students!

Google or search
"Hand quilting on old floor frame" and you will get lots of info. Read Gwen Marston's posting.

I have quilted with a church group around a floor frame for quite a few years. I found that it came quite naturally to quilt in all directions after a little practice. Be sure to mark the quilt before you put it on the frame because it is easier to mark on a hard surface. We quilt on Monday mornings and I find it is my favorite part of the week as we laugh and visit while we quilt. How nice to provide the comfort of a quilt to those who need comfort do much.

If I recall correctly, Jinny Beyer talks about quilting in all directions on a floor frame, in her book Quiltmaking by Hand, with photos.

I belong to a group at our local senior center. We make quilts that are raffled off to benefit the center's programs. I long ago taught myself to quilt with both hands so I don't have any problems going both directions. I am a little slower with my left hand. I prefer the leather thimbles. I use one on my right thumb and another on my left middle finger. The group only quilts for a couple of hours on Monday mornings. At this point we are a year ahead of ourselves. I am the youngest at 65. Our oldest member is 90 and is currently out of commission as she broke her wrist.