dn2erth4u

I'm new to quilting (and learning a lot with each project). One of the things I'm having a tough time with is trying to figure out what to quilt where. What are the designs you fall back on? Thank You.

dunster

Welcome to the board. A lot of design choice depends on how you are quilting. On a DSM? On a longarm? If so, do you use pantographs, robotics, or free motion? Are you comfortable with rulers? While you can technically quilt any design using any machine, the actual choice often depends on your equipment and your skill level.

I get a lot of design inspiration from other quilters on youtube, in blogs, or in books. Angela Walters is a good one to watch but there are lots of others. It also helps to take classes at quilt shows. Some of these focus specifically on how to decide on what to quilt where. But for most of us it's an ongoing question. I have a quilt loaded on the longarm right now. I've stabilized it with SITD, but I'm still waiting for inspiration for what designs to use with the actual quilting. Good luck!

joe'smom

That's the million dollar question! If you have access to a library, I recommend Alex Andersen for the hand quilting perspective, and Angela Walters for machine quilting. Also, there's an eye-opening book called, 'Quilting Makes the Quilt,' which you could probably find for cheap on amazon if it's not in your library.

If you're a computer person, I would guess there are endless tutorials and YouTube entries on that subject.

Welcome to the board and to quilting!

Onebyone

I don't look at the quilting that much on a quilt. I look at the color and pattern design. Lots of quilts make the custom quilting the focus and they are beautiful just not that important to me to want all that on my quilts. I started out with cross hatch or matchstick, doing it myself and when a LA does it I ask for edge to edge any swirly pattern. I rather the pattern design show then the quilting.

QuiltE

.......... or hand quilting?

Welcome to the QB!
A lot of times my inspiration comes from quilting I have seen here on the QB. I keep a file in my computer of cut and pastes of quilting ideas, that are do-able for me.

Sometimes, I know exactly what I want from the get-go, even before I have the flimsy made.
Sometimes, I am totally stumped and left to wonder, if I should decide on the how-to-quilt part, before I even decide to make the quilt!!

Good Luck! ... but most importantly, be kind to yourself, through the quilting frustrations!

As you

Iceblossom

Sometimes I get inspiration while piecing, but for me choosing the quilting design is the hard part! I just don't think in the dimensional aspects some quilters are so good at.

I typically do scrappy projects that are rather busy -- what I've found is that intricate quilting typically does not show so well in my style of piecing. Also, due to allergies and pets, I wash my quilts a lot. Once I got a machine that has a serpentine stitch, that is my go-to solution for no inspiration, simply follow some sort of grid with serpentine stitch.

For other than serpentine grids, I can do an ok large stipple design. It does take some getting used to especially if you don't cross over any quilting lines -- don't get stuck in corners! I can do more intricate quilting on the borders or on small projects and often buy paper pantograms or stencils for those. You can (with strong thread and a strong stitch and a strong tolerance for peeling paper) transfer the design onto parchment paper (I buy at the dollar store) and sew through paper and everything. With the vision issues I have, it is worth the time and tedium to draw out the design and then remove the paper rather than try and mark the quilt top.

petthefabric

Welcome to QB.
All of quilting is personal choice. Only judged quilts have “rules”.
The more dense the quilting pattern, the stiffer the quilt. The batting pkg will list the recommended density. For wall hangings, stiffer is fine. For cuddling, soft and snuggly.
Currently, most of my work is for charity. So soft and fast is the criteria. The easiest is diagonal lines 4-6” apart. Serpentine is very nice. Walking foot helps.

illinois

My opinion is that the quilting should compliment/enhance the piecing. I do simple machine quilting on my domestic machine that is usually straight line or stitch in the ditch. But I mostly am a hand quilter and use more decorative designs when doing that. I appreciate some long arm quilting if it compliments the pattern but I don't get it when someone has spent hours piecing and then has a longarmer do pantograph all over that work. It's like taking a work of art and letting someone scribble all over it. But I'm showing my age and that I come from a hand quilting family. My apology to those who are offended by my opinion.

petthefabric

Yesterday used poly poof batting. Been a long time. Now I remember why I hate that stuff. So here’s a little about batting.
poly-plastic isn’t comfortable. Gives high loft.
wool gives high loft, is warm. Todays wool batt is washable
the best drape is rayon.
silk is expensive
80/20 cotton/poly is the standard. Here in Florida 1/8” is used
another option, in Florida, is no batt with flannel back.

Onebyone

I 've used most all types of batting. My favorite I have been using is Missouri Star Dream Batting. It is very soft and drapes perfectly.My quilting looks better. I would suggest buying the smallest size to compare to other batting. I buy packages of it when on sale.