Does anyone tie quilts anymore?
 

I didn't think that was done much anymore but I just had a woman approach me about tying a quilt for her. She said she had a woman who would tie her quilts for $25. I told her that was a steal and she should call her again. I can't imagine tying a quilt for $25 but not sure what I would charge either. I haven't seen a tied quilt in years. Does anyone still do that? These are wedding quilts for her grandchildren so I'm assuming they are big enough for a bed.

I've tied a few. They are holding up very well. One was a scrap quilt. I used different colors for the ties so they blended in with the fabrics and were not as noticeable as if all were the same color. I don't like to draw attention to the ties.

Absolutly, I don't do my own quilting so yes some of them get tied instead of turned in to get quilted. My most recent one was a baby quilt with 3d years and tails before that was a tshirt quilt for my daughter it gave us the look a puff and feel she wanted. $25 just to spend a couple of hours to tie a quilt isnt that bad depending on the size of it, and how close the ties need to be.

I just did my first tied quilt as a Christmas gift. My gran tied ALL of her quilts but it felt "risky" to me for some reason, so I washed it four times before I gave it away, just to make SURE everything stayed together! It held together just fine, and all the washing frayed the ties which I think made them look nicer and I imagine helps make sure they stay tied. (I used pearl cotton #8, worked great. My gran always used yarn scraps but I don't really like how bumpy the knots are.)

I have a king-size quilt I am finishing for our bed, and I want to double-batt it. I quilt my quilts on my DSM; it has a 9" harp but shoving a double-batt king-size quilt through has been something I've been putting off and dreading. But now that the other quilt went so well, I've decided to tie it! I didn't have any good ideas for the quilting anyway, and since I want this quilt to be extra warm I think tying makes more sense anyway - leaves more loft to trap heat. I just have to get my hiney down to the store and find some brown pearl cotton for the ties. :)

Even though we normally do not tie we still do tie some quilts. some quilts just call to be tied and also it seems the tied quilts are warmer and have a better drape then machine quilted quilts. I really like the look of ties and sometimes combine it with regular quilting. Indeed $25 seems a steal to have some one tie a large quilt. Of course it also depends on how they do the tie.

My sister's "SOSE" (significant other, spousal equivalent) asked if she and I could repair a quilt his mother made. All 5 could use the repair. These quilts are very old. His mother worked in a textile mill and so did he. He made thread. Anyway I went to look at it. The batting needs to be rearranged or replaced and it also needs to be retied. He asked if I would trade labor for the FW he has. You BEtcha. It works. This I know for sure. This is a full size quilt.

That sounds like a great deal to me!! Nice!

I still tie quilts, although not as often as I used to, it just depends on the batting now, for me to tie. I use embroidery floss and tie about every 2", which is a lot closer than people who tie, tie theirs, but I really like the closer ties.

pocoellie, would love to see one of your tied quilts. I think tied quilts are charming and old fashioned, in a good way.

I tie all my quilts as I don't have a machine to quilt. People here like the old fashioned way and often ask for it to be tied. They say it is warmer than a quilted ones.

Yes,I tie mine it is quicker I just enjoy making the tops.

My sister does. She has Parkinson's and cannot do the hand quilting any more.

I'm in a group that akes Linus quilts.Some of the ladies love to sit around a table together and tie them,so I sew as fast as I can to make tops to keep them going. These are more mature ladies who tied quilts in their younger days,and these quilts are really tied!

The first quilt I made, just 5" squares, 2 colors just alternated....I tied with yarn( did a square knot) in center of each block, then decided to hand quilt diagonals across points of squares...now looking back at it( made around 1985)... Quilting is primitive stitch( large).....poly batt...not too thick....smiling now thinking I really did not know what I was doing/neighbor helped.....and I still use it.....not daily...alternate yearly with others I have made.....that was the beginning of this amazingly satisfying, calming journey!

The first quilt I made, just 5" squares, 2 colors just alternated....I tied with yarn( did a square knot) in center of each block, then decided to hand quilt diagonals across points of squares...now looking back at it( made around 1985)... Quilting is primitive stitch( large).....poly batt...not too thick......and I still use it.....not daily...alternate yearly with others I have made.....that was the beginning of this amazingly satisfying, calming journey!

And I really think the warmth factor is affected by heavy quilting...the batting is there to capture and hold warmth, if it's extremely compressed, it can't do its job......JMHO. I will duck as the arrows are slung.....

a couple years ago i helped my elderly aunt make a quilt for her twin bed. she chose the fabric from JoAnn's and she wanted it tied with the green yarn. she loves it!
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*** I tie one occasionally.
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*** I love the poofy look it gives.
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bee3, if I could figure out how to post pics I would post one of a tied quilt I did for a local store owner.

QuiltnNan, what a nice picture, the quilt is lovely! would love to see more photos of tied quilts

I only tie comforters. Just made and tied three comforters. Never tied a quilt. I used to hand quilt, gave it up - too slow.
Now I only FMQ my quilts and use Polyester batting. Warmth without the weight.

You wanted pictures
 

bee3. Here are 2 pictures of the last two quilts I tied. My daughters t shirt quilt and My great niece to be piggy quilt the third one is one I just helped my daughter make for her boyfriend's new baby niece. .

Billi, i love your quilts, so comfy looking !

Billi, love the quilts. I started on this quilting journey when I was a kid, so I tied my first 20 or so. when i was about 18, someone told me I wasn't quilting if I tied it. (this from a quilt store owner) so at that point, I started hand quilting. I've sent 3 out to be machine done, and I machine quilted 3 myself. but i'm a hand quilter. I'd love to tie a quilt again. and this topic just made me want to do one again. I think ill need to make a quilt to tie.

I will occasionally tie quilts depending on the batting loft . I do find them warmer than machine quilted quilts and like the look.

I put ties in prayer quilts, then the knots are tied by members of the church as they say a prayer for the recipient. For home use, I tied a quilt on the back - I needed it held together and the machine I had then wouldn't quilt. I preferred not to have the tie ends show on the front. It looks good - the slight puff from the batting, but no strings.

I tied 2 quilts a couple of years ago when I was in a tiny studio apartment and had no room for a table to hold the bed quilts for machine quilting. made the quilts for my nephew's bunk beds (he loved them). now that I have more room to work with, I'll probably stick to the machine quilting - nothing fancy yet - just stippling and stitch in the ditch.

Nanny, your french general quilt is beautiful

irishrose2, I would love to make a prayer quilt

I think a tied quilt is softer than a machine quilt. Seems some of the machine quilts are so heavily sewn they look like cardboard.

Anyone else learn to "speed tie"? I am not really sure I can explain but basically, you tie one and then without cutting, go to the next spot, put the needle in and tie and go to the next spot. You end up with a grid of yarn/thread atop that you clip in the middle of each and all done.

Also, years ago at a church quilt day the ladies did "inside-skip-the-tie". Again, hard to explain. The needle went in through the fabric and came back up the same as if gonna tie but instead went in and up again then in again but this time only into the middle of the sandwich. From here you went to your next tie spot, came up and did another "inside-skip-the-tie" knot. I always wondered how this type held up with years of washing; if the connecting strings inside snapped or tightened and made the "quilt" bunchy.

I wonder if you can tie a quilt by just sewing x's instead of ties, like cross stitch, has anyone tried that?

I feel like some quilts patterns want to be tied. I have done several that I tried several quilting patterns on and ended up tying them. One has been on my bed since 1981. lost a few strings, but these are easy to replace. Since it is on the bed summer and winter both, it is washed at least twice a year.

So what did they charge to tie the quilts?

My mom left a big box of double knit fabrics all cut and ready to sew. They are too heavy to wrestle through my sewing machine so I tie them. The grandkids love them. They are fabulous to take to the lake, camping, and to carry in their cars for winter weather.

I have done this with a small baby quilt it worked ok could have been my sewing skill or th method but I feel like I replaced those tacks more than on anything I had ever just tied.

Also Yobrosew, I didn't know that they way I tied a quilt had an actual name "speed tying" or there was a different/better way. I've used a variety of different yarns and treads one time I tied a quilt with ribbon that was a pain in my ass and the only time I stitched and tied as I went with out the grid. I have never heard of the other inside-skip-the-tie I would like to see that demonstrated.

I put quilts on my 100 year old quilting frame, and make ties in the center of blocks. Ties in the corners sometimes have to go through too many layers of fabric.
Some ladies make their ties very loose, I tie mine tight. Loose ones are probably warmer, as the batt retains its lofty quality and so keeps in the heat.
My granddaughter and I tied a quilt once with pearl cotton. They all came loose. We had to re-tie them and then put Fray Check on each one. Some still came loose, and now that quilt is in my sewing room waiting to get completely retied with wool.
Wool ties never come loose. The more you wash them, the tighter they get.
Some are cut 4 inches long. I cut mine to less than 1 inch.
Ties can add a lot to a quilt top. I think using many ties really looks nice.

maviskw, thats good to know about the wool ties. Do you mean wool yarn or do you use something else?

this is the way aunt kay and i tied her pink/green quilt

I like to use my decorative machine stitches to "tie" especially baby & kids quilts so they don't pick at the yarn or thread.

Yes I like it too - you're giving me ideas!! LO