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Does anyone have any helpful tips of the trade that I should know about when starting a quilt? And any recommended backing that is the best for one who hand quilts? I plan on hand quilting all of my quilts and I would love any advice that people have. Also any other tips that people know about that they learned through their quilting life that I would only learn from mistakes and experience? I'm so eager to begin but I'm also hesitant and I would love to do this first one right the first time.
I wish you the best of luck. Are you going to quilt as you go? Is it applique, pieced or whole cloth? Do you like your quilts super warm, really bulky, or very thin? All of these factors go into deciding what kind of batting you will want. I've been trying to learn everything for years and I'm still a beginner even though I read and read and read.
What do you mean am I going to quilt as I go? I assume that when I am making a quilt technically I am quilting as I go...right?
No dear, you are speaking of quilting your quilt layers together after you have made a full top, with your hands making the stitches. "Quilt as you go" (QAG) is placing a backing, a batting, and pieces of a top, usually in squares or rectangles, that are stitched through all three layers, so when the square is done, it only needs to be attached to another square. It is already quilted during the creation of it. Go to youtube.com and put quilt as you go in the search box. That will make it much clearer than I have. Also, look for one that is hand quilting, and you will understand the difference.Originally Posted by mickey13
If you always do, what you have always done, The results never change. Change is the wings you give yourself.
Thank you so much. I appreciate everything you have suggested. It's such a big help.
Good for you to try hand quilting! You will need hand quilting thread, needles (called betweens) a hoop or frame to keep your 3 layers stretched ( though some quilt without a hoop) a quilt top, quilt batt and backing fabric. Cotton quilting fabrics should be used in construction of the top and either cotton quilting fabric for the back or good quality muslin.
It is best to start with a small hand quilting project like a table runner to get started. Perhaps a piece of nice cotton fabric for the top that you can quilt along the fabric design or along a hand drawn design.
Thank you for the tips,you seem to give some great advice. Is muslin soft like cotton? What's the difference between the two? Where would I get muslin, a fabric store?
I took a beginners hand quilting class even though I had been hand quilting for years. And one of the things she did was provide each student with a quilt sandwich of 15 in square - some of it had a design lines and most of it did not. She told us to just sew without the lines so she could view what level she was teaching where to focus - but she also said that almost everyone needs a warm up period, so before you quilt your sandwich - take a few minutes to warm up on this scrap sandwich. That was 15 years ago but I still do it because I don't hand quilt that often and a bit of a warm up helps get the rhythm. Also there is a great book out there for hand quilting. "That Perfect Stitch" by D. MacEleroy. It is well worth the money.
I will look into it,thank you. I will probably buy it or if I mention it enough I might get it for Christmas from my fiance.
When I taught quilting I did just that, gave each student a practice sandwich.I told them to date each one they filled and it was lovely to see their smiles as they saw the improvements.I still use a practice piece to warm up as I now have bad arthritis.Also don't beat yourself up with tiny stitches at first,even stitches are more important.It's great to know so many still like to hand quilt.
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