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Am I on the right track with my quilt?

Am I on the right track with my quilt?

Old 06-22-2018, 09:50 PM
  #11  
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Here are my tips for learning to enjoy the quilting process as well as the piecing.

1. Heavily starch your backing fabric before creating your quilt sandwich. I like to use a 1:1 solution of Sta-Flo liquid laundry starch and water. I use my kitchen island and "paint" the starch on using a large wall painting brush to saturate the fabric. Then I toss it in the dryer, and later iron with steam. This stabilizes the backing fabric so it is much less likely to pucker or fold on you while quilting.

I also give the top several layers of spray starch. Spray starch is not as heavy, but still helps a lot to stabilize the fabric. If you don't want to go the heavy starch route with the backing fabric, at least give it a few layers of spray starch.

Spray starch helps even with an already-basted quilt if you start having problems with puckers and tucks. Just lay out the sandwich on a large flat sheet, spray starch from the edges towards the center, let dry, then spray again. A fan speeds up the drying process between layers. Then turn the sandwich over and do the same on the other side.

2. I like using 505 to spray baste the quilt sandwich. An advantage of spray basting is that it "glues" the 3 layers together continuously (unlike pins, or widely spaced basting threads). Elmer's washable white school glue also works in this way. Before using either of these methods, use the "search" function on the board to look for tutorials. There are tips in the tutorials that save one from some common mistakes.

3. Ditch stitch-in-the-ditch!!! I started out with SITD but soon realized that it is nerve-wracking for me and quite unsatisfying because I hate the inevitable little deviations from the ditch. It took a lot of practice before I became reasonably good at free-motion quilting, but FMQ on a domestic machine (unlike FMQ on a frame) still always seems like "work" to me. Quilting should be fun! For me, on a domestic machine, this means using a walking foot and sewing organic, curving lines. Here are a few examples of what this kind of quilting looks like:
https://quiltingdigest.com/quilt-gen...-walking-foot/
http://www.sewmamasew.com/2014/04/qu...foot-quilting/
This is *way* more fun than SITD!!! Plus it goes much faster.

4. To make quilting create subtle texture rather than standing out as a design element, I like to use Superior's Bottom Line thread (a relatively fine, 60wt polyester thread), and I choose a color that will blend in with the backing fabric. My favorite color for this is #623, silver. It seems to blend with everything from white to black. Glide is a heavier polyester thread (40wt) that is great when you want the quilting to stand out a little more, and adds a little shine. I no longer use cotton threads for machine quilting as they create more lint, break more easily, and when used for dense quilting stiffen the drape of the quilt. Polyester thread, in contrast, can be used for dense quilting without stiffening the quilt.

Hope this helps!

Last edited by Prism99; 06-22-2018 at 10:01 PM.
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Old 06-22-2018, 10:07 PM
  #12  
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"quilting by check" means paying someone else to do the quilting part of the process.

this includes sending it to someone that does hand quilting and/or sending it to someone that quilts on a big apparatus called a "long arm" The people that operate them are called "long-armers."

Last edited by bearisgray; 06-22-2018 at 10:09 PM.
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Old 06-23-2018, 03:54 AM
  #13  
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Welcome and congratulations on experiencing all the joys (and some of the disappointments) of quilting. You've been given good advice so far. I quilt small items myself, but anything larger than a baby quilt goes to a long-armer, so therefore, I do the "quilt by check." The cost of that limits how many large quilts I make, but it is worth it to me, because I don't enjoy neck/shoulder/back pains that come with hefing a large quilt through my domestic machine.
So you may decide to do that, too, or after watching You Tube videos, you may figure out a way to make the sandwiching and quilting more pleasurable for you.
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Old 06-23-2018, 04:24 AM
  #14  
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If you have an embroidery machine, there are many designs you can purchase that will work beautifully. Some people don't like the hooping, but I don't mind as long as the results are beautiful. Others here have given you good advice. I just want to add that it is important to find a way that works for you--whatever it is-- and continue your journey into quilting.
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Old 06-23-2018, 04:33 AM
  #15  
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Welcome to the board and quilting. I'm glad you got a walking
foot. It will help feed your fabrics through easier. As others said it takes practice but you will get it. I also prefer the piecing process over the quilting. That is why I have so many UFOs. But I am working on completing some of those. Using a long armed is an option but can get costly so I hold that option for special tops
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Old 06-23-2018, 05:57 AM
  #16  
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welcome to the group! everyone makes quilts in their own way, I love to do my own thing from fabric shopping to stitching the binding on, but I will admit that the pinning and sandwiching are my least favorite part. I highly recommend a walking foot, it will help feed things more evenly. One thing I had to learn when I started sewing was to let the machine feed things thru, I had a habit of pushing my fabric thru which messed up my tension and caused tucks and wrinkles. I do FMQ but my favorite is walking foot quilting, there are entire Craftsy classes on walking foot quilting. Start simple and don't be tempted to get a whole bunch of expensive fancy stuff for a new hobby just yet, a few things can make it a tad easier (like a walking foot, rotary cutter) but spending tons of money doesn't buy skills, time and practice do. Don't forget to buy fabric that you love and have fun!
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Old 06-23-2018, 06:42 AM
  #17  
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Don't feel bad if you don't the sandwiching and quilting part. I took classes with a gal who was fantastic at making kaleidoscope quilts; she was awesome at it but hated the quilting part; she had stacks of them. I don't know why she never sent them out to be quilted but that is an option for you. Don't stop the creative process if you never come to like finishing them; there are plenty of people out there who do like to do that.
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Old 06-23-2018, 06:55 AM
  #18  
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After you finish your quilt, wash it immediately! It hides a multitude of sins and it looks so much better. If you don't prewash your fabric (and I don't) it might be wise to throw a color catcher into the wash along with the quilt just in case some of the colors run. Mostly they won't but an ounce of prevention is wise.

Quilts don't have to have battings! These make great summer quilts. I once took a sheet and just stitched and flipped odd scraps all over it and machine stitched them down building out from the center. No plan, just random. It is still one of my favorite quilts because it's light and therefore easy to pack, use, and cleans like a dream. That quilt has been everywhere and is still ready for many for more uses.

FYI, there are many quilts in my family and my home that have the "beginner's tucks" in their backs. They are still quilts, still useful and still loved 40 years later - the ones that haven't been loved to death. I still find the actual quilting part my least favorite process so I support longarmers. I also quilt green a lot like our grandmothers and great grandmothers did. Used all cotton clothing is in a lot of my quilts. They look like the real deal and feel wonderful. This recycling frees up funds to support my favorite quilting friends; yep, my longarmers!

BTW, any quilt you give away that is "loved to death" is the biggest compliment ever. Kind makes the tiny tucks you made quilting not matter so much, don't you think?
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Old 06-23-2018, 07:13 AM
  #19  
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Welcome to the boards! My machine has a 6 1/2" (approx) throat & is hard to quilt large quilts. It's doable but take a lot of manipulating of the quilt. I now generally only make baby & lap size quilts mainly for that reason. I can't afford to send my quilts out for quilting so I do them at home on my domestic sewing machine. I am in the process of piecing blocks for a large, king size quilt for myself and am planning on using the Quilt As You Go method for that when I am finished with the blocks. That is the method where you piece a block & then make the sandwich with the batting & backing & then quilt that one block. When you have all your blocks made, you are done with the front, batting, backing & quilting. All you have to do to finish it is put on a border (if you want one) and bind it.

I don't like making the sandwich as I have to crawl on the floor to do it & that is not fun at my age. I do use a spray adhesive sometimes to help keep everything together before I pin baste it. I also stretch the backing & tape it to the floor before I put the batting on top of it. That seems to help keep it from getting puckers & bunching up in areas. I have gone to our local senior center & used some of their big fold up tables to sandwich my quilt so I don't have to crawl on the floor. They let me use the tables for free. Your church or library, etc. my let you use their tables also. You will find that after the quilt is washed you won't see as many mistakes. I've also learned to try to match my thread to the back instead of the top as the back shows more of your quilting.

Between this board, you tube videos & friends you will be just fine in your quilting adventure. We love pictures here & would really like to see that first quilt you made if you have the capability of taking & posting a picture.
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Old 06-23-2018, 07:20 AM
  #20  
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Your thoughts are my thoughts. I love choosing the fabrics, piecing and binding. Unless the item is very small, runners etc, I leave the actual quilting to the the longarmers.
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