Almost Finished - Need Some Input, Please
 

I am in the process of finishing my quilt top, I just busted my stash and did a ton of 9-patches (5.5in x 5.5in), I don't have a lot of room for fabric and I'm hoping to start in on my sister's DWR the beginning of next year and I need some input from you awesome ladies!

The picture below only shows a small portion of the quilt, the finished size is going to be around 93 x 104 (roughly, I don't have my notes near me) and my fiance and I have been going back and forth on how it should be quilted and finished. I'm going to be using a low-loft batting, I want it to be warm but without a bunch of bulk because we have two medium-sized dogs (really, they're big babies) that sleep with us on a queen sized bed and their heat output is horrendous sometimes.

My original intention was to stitch in the ditch using a white thread, there's not a whole lot of white in the quilt, I thought it would be kind of a nice way to introduce some contrast. However, that has been knocked down because my original sewing machine is in the shop waiting on a part, so I am sewing this on a mini-machine and the space under the arm is entirely too small to send a quilt through. This will be done before I'm able to get my machine out of the shop and this quilt was born out of severe necessity, my last comforter blew up in the washing machine in spectacular fashion.

I remember my grandmother's quilts and one of her 9-patch quilts was tied off at the intersections and that's what I've decided to do, but, it raised a couple of questions, so I thought I would post them here and see what everyone thought. I tried asking my older sister if she remembered grandma's quilt, she said she did but couldn't remember all the details, so here it goes....

Should I use embroidery thread (white), or would yarn (white) do the trick better?

I ask this because I am slightly worried about bearding from the batting once this quilt begins to get used and laundered. The needles I would need to use to tie the intersections off would leave bigger holes in it, so I'm trying to alleviate that problem the best that I can. I know that batting technology has improved over the years to stop this issue, but I still have that thought in the back of my head.

Last set of questions (I think), should each intersection be tied off, or should I alternate intersections, both by columns and by rows - I hope that makes sense?

Grandma used both the embroidery thread and yarn and she tied off all the intersections on one quilt, then alternated on another, so I know it's more or less a personal preference more than anything, but I'm kind of in the middle of both.

Any thoughts??


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I would recommend Warm and Natural batting.

I think more ties are better because the more ties, the less stress there is on each one.

My daughter's dogs shredded a quilt I made for her. I am also suggesting throwing a sheet over the quilt to protect it from the dogs' paws and claws. They did not chew on it or anything like that - it just got worn quickly from their getting off and on it. The dogs were setter/lab size.

Some people use perle cotton or crochet thread for their ties.

I tied my quilts for the first 10-20 years. Basic craft yarn makes big holes in the fabric as it goes through double even if you tie it single (hopefully that makes sense) and can be hard to push through as well as needing a huge eye in the needle, but there are some yarns I would use. At this point in my quilting, I'd go with some sort of embroidery thread and I would go at every 9-patch block intersection. I've seen a lot of tied quilts that are one stitch in the middle square. Buttons can be a fun way to tie a block, if you don't have a button collection they have cheap craft button collections, but they make the quilt top only, you do not want to lay down on a bunch of buttons.

Keep in mind, that if you do a simple tie at the corners, when you get your machine back you can use the ties as basting and quilt it all down again and remove the ties.

Oh my goodness, I never considered crochet thread and I've got a lot of it, when I'm not quilting, I'm filet crocheting or tatting!

I have Staffordshire Terrier/Catahoula mix pups and they usually sleep under the comforter and sheet, but also never thought about throwing a sheet over it, what a great idea!

Never thought of that, I can do that at my leisure or in the spring when I'm ready to switch out for something lighter!

I also have used pearl cotton embroidery thread to tie quilts with....works ok and at church we use double sports/baby weight yarn...it is thinner then regular yarn and easy to work with.

I used DMC embroidery floss to tie 2 Log Cabin quilts I made. Over 20 years later the ties have kept everything in place.

I am not familiar with DMC embroidery floss and wonder when using it if it is the floss that comes in shanks and consists of 6 strands. And do you use all six strands. My kids like tied quilts and would be interested in trying this method. Thanks. Grammasharon

I have used both DMC embroidery floss and crochet thread. Either works well. I'm not a fan of yarn, because it seems to "ball up" at the ties after washing. I do tie fairly close together. Maybe about 2 inches. I would tie in each of the print squares. Love the bright colors. It's a happy quilt!

Grammasharon, yes, DMC is the floss you describe.

When tying quilts I have always used DMC thread. I do crazy quilts from time to time and I always tie them. Over the years the thread has held very well. I don't have any pets but human movements and pulling will also be very hard on a quilt.

The floss comes in shanks and consists of 6 strands. I use all 6 strands.

I have used DMC floss in a quilt and it has lasted for years. My grandmother used yarn to tie her quilts and I still have one that she did and it has lasted over 100 years. Sorry about your sewing machine-I would be lost without my machine. Hope you get it back soon

I prefer embroidery floss when tying. I only use 3 strands. Sometimes it is fun to mix two colors, like two strands of one color and one of another. I did a knot every 3" when I use to tie. For your quilt every intersection would work well.

I have been somewhat lost without it, but the mini-machine I picked up on Amazon has been an absolute workhorse, I picked it up when I realized I was into a major issue with my main machine and my backup machine seized up on me completely. I'm glad I picked up the mini-machine, I'd be going stir crazy not being able to sew if I hadn't!

I don't know how big your patches are but keep in mind the recommended distance between quilting when deciding where to put your ties. Personally I am not a fan of using yarn as I think it doesn't stay nice over time. I prefer to use perle cotton or crochet thread. As you know, there are several weights of crochet thread so lots of options there on how many strands to use.
I recently watched a Donna Jordan tutorial that she demonstrated tying a quilt. After making the knot, she put a drop of FrayCheck on top of it to reduce the chances of it coming undone. That was a new one for me and something to consider.

If you plan to have pets on the bed, I assume they'll sleep on top of the quilt. Please be aware that this puts some stress on the ties if you're tying it. It puts stress on the fabric, too, but that should be OK if it's cotton (or mostly cotton). I used embroidery floss to tie a quilt for my son, and after some years of sitting on it and having cats sleep with him, the floss yanked right out of the back of the quilt, creating huge holes. I had to deconstruct the whole quilt and throw away the batting and the back before I could restore the quilt to its former "glory." Even then, I had to repair holes in the top. I highly recommend machine quilting!!
Also, if you use cotton batting between a cotton top and cotton back, you shouldn't have any bearding.
I really like your quilt top and it is worth spending a little more time on so that it lasts and you can enjoy it for many years to come.

I too definitely recommend that you watch Donna Jordan of Jordan Fabrics video.

I think these are great suggestions. I tend to like the look of the crochet or pearl cotton much better than the yarn. The cotton thread has much less bulk, but is still strong.

When I give a quilt, I send care instructions which include a suggestion that, if folks want to keep the quilt for very long, they should keep their pets off of them or protect the quilt with something. Knowing how much work, time, and thought go into each quilt, it's sad to see them quickly destroyed.

If you treat the tying as "basting" until you are able to machine quilt, I would tie the corners of the 9-patch blocks. If needed you could also tie the center square of the 9-patch.

Many really old quilts were tied with wool yarn, over the years the yard would become like a button as it felted with washing and use.

I used embroidery floss (DMC brand) to tie the first quilt I ever made, 30+ years ago. I have had to redo some of the ties over the years, but it has held up. I just used cheap lofty poly batting. I did not know any better at the time. I had to whip stitch it together, but it too has help up to use.

I do not worry about a quilt wearing out. I make quilts to be used and enjoyed, not saved as an heirloom. I do not make bed quilts, I make picnic quilts, lap quilts, cuddle quilts, baby quilts, wheelchair quilts etc. Quilts that will see use, wear and tear. Oh, I also make quilts for pets. It is a great way to use up practice quilts.