I hand quilt all my quilts. A good thimble is a must. Since I live in Florida and don't need a thick quilt, I sometimes omit the batting and use flannel as my backing and this is really easy to quilt by hand. I pin my quilts and use a hoop. Give yourself plenty of time.

Hand quilting is a great skill, takes some time to develop--use very good needles, the smaller the needle the better the stitches will be. I listen to music, helps keep the rhythm even. If you are lucky enough to find a group with a large floor frame, you will have wonderful times.

Find a good quality, comfortable thimble. I love Roxanne thimbles - you get a custom fit and they are so comfortable that you forget you are wearing it.

I am piecing together Grandmother's flower garden pattern with 1930's reproduction fabrics - been doing this for several years now and find it relaxing and good therapy. So far, that's all I've done is the piecing and like it very much. Most people say it takes too long, and it does, but I love it so far. Enjoy and take your time - just do a little at a time and then the next thing, you'll see some beautiful results!

I handquilt. I started out looking for consistency, and got it fairly easily. However, I wasn't happy with the size of the stitches. Okay, fast forward after many hand quilted items. I couldn't find any #10 between needles. I had #12s, #9s, and a whole lot of #8s. Where the 8s came from was, and still is, beyond me. However, I perservered with what I had. I tried the 11s... they bent. I tried the 12s... too tiny, but no bending. Then I tried the 8s. Yeah, the needle is bigger. I can actually hold it without my fingers cramping up after 20 minutes. And, the size is getting shorter. I love it.

I do not quilt in a frame or a hoop. I am able to control the quilt better, and can use it to keep warm in the dead of winter. I guess this is why I don't handquilt much in the summer. It is too darn hot.

However you go about handquilting, enjoy the process. All comes in time.

I have a drawer full of thimbles and the one with the ridge is the best of all.... I use #10 James quilting needles and have the quilt loose in any of the three frames I use for hand quilting.... I love to hand quilt and am working on one with my guild members as a gift ..... It is a sampler and we used all civil war reproduction fabric....
As long as there are folks like us who love the process, hand quilting will live on:)

There is the Thimble Lady's long needle , very loose in the frame style, there is a short needle, looser in the frame style. i have been hand quilting for years. go for consistent stitch size first, then shorten the length of the stitches. i like the leather thimble for right hand and go ahead and go for callouses on the under finger. seems like the prick lets me know when to rock the needle back up. though now i do a hybrid of the short needle and Thimble lady style, using a short needle and i don't get the prick pain so much. Whee, what a run on sentence. Oh well, i'm not changing it. i also domestic FMQ when i'm trying to get something done faster.

I like to, but don't always find the time.
Tips I found useful:
thread several needles, I like betweens, no longer than 18 inches due to tangling, I wind them on cardboard I have cut, so I am ready for the next one. I have trouble seeing to thread, so I thread several to not get frusterated while hand quilting.
strech fingers often. do not stay tight and sew more than an hour without streching. you will get sore.
I like matural beeswax to run thread over, it glides thru fabric so nice that way. Each time I start a new needle, I run the thread over my wax and sew with it. I found it doesn't work to do them ahead of time.
don't try to get too many stiches on needle, small even stiches are easiest when you only have a few stiches on needle before pulling thru.
have fun!

I hand quilt on panels that are intricate -Pennsylvania Dutch type panels where there are lots of little things to outline or not to outline. It's very relaxing. Since I am a novice, I keep a balloon handy to pull the needle through! Maybe it's not the right way to do it, but I enjoy it so much! What a tension reliever. I use the stick-on pads for my fingers, no hoops, and tiny needles.

There is so much good advice here. I have only done a bit of hand quilting so reading most all of these responses has been enlightening. So, the only advice I can add is do a bit of hand quilting every day that you can. At first you may only be able to quilt for 15 minutes or perhaps an hour or somewhere in between. But just do it as best you can. Then do it again the next day and the next day and so on, increasing the time you quilt when you feel able to do so. As others said, it takes practice and if you do some every day, you will find what works for you and get comfortable doing it. You will get better and more comfortable with the process and make tiny, more even stitches as time goes on. If you only do some once a week or once a month, it will be hard to get good at it. Ask me how I know! Good luck, have fun, and just go for it!

You sound like my father. He had a fit when he saw machine quilting on a quilt. He is gone now but he made cathedral window quilts for each of us four daughters. They are beautiful and what a treasure.

Ha! Now you tell me!!! My first quilt, which I'm almost finished with, is a king size hand pieced and hand quilted. I never do anything the easy way. Jump in with both feet and just go for it. It is turning out really nice. I'm going to CA next week (for a quilt shop hop swith two of my sisters) and hope to have it finished to take to show my 94 yr old mother who is an avid hand quilter. She's so sweet...she'll just say it is wonderful!

I hand quilt and love it.
Best advice,
"DO IT YOUR WAY",
you do not have to follow anyones rules.
J J

I don't hand quilt very often but when I do I like the Big Stitch using DMC Pearl Cotton thread. Actually I just started one tonight. I am hand quilting a Double Wedding Ring quilt made with flower sacks.

Lots of good advice here - I have been hand quilting for a long long time and have recently started to machine quilt on my domestic machine. I like and respect both methods - they each suit different quilts/situations. My advice is to second those who have said to relax and enjoy the process - it gives me a great excuse for movie marathon sessions while i am busy handquilting. I will say to keep quilt a bit loose in the hoop helps a lot - also I find a cushion under my arm to help too. Have a good time on your new adventure!!

Hand Quilters
 

Hello Michelle. I have been doing hand quilting for over 40 years. First, let me say if you can sew a seam or a curve, you can quilt! As a newbie to this craft, I suggest you may want to start on a small project first. I would suggest a a place mat made of of scraps. Once you get into the hang of hand quilting, you will find it is one of the most relaxing activities you can do! I wish you well in your endeavor and if you would like to talk with me more, please email me ..... [email protected] ... Blessings to you and yours.:o

I use a thimble on my middle finger and cut off ends of cheap rubber gloves on my index finger to help pull the needle through.

I hand quilt and it is very relaxing. It wasn't very relaxing in the beginning when I worried about the stitch size and being consistent but now I just sew away. I do not sew on the machine because it hurts my back and I don't always cut my pieces out with a rotary cutter because of backaches but I just love the process. I have made chair covers, cat beds, place mats and I wash them up and use them over and over again. They hold up great. I love making smaller projects. I make a lot of lap quilts and give them away to people. My first project is about 12 years old and has been washed repeatedly and is still good; maybe a little faded.
Sissy

I keep a rubber finger on my index finger to help pull the needle thru when it gets tight in the quilt. When I put on my thimble I put on my red finger too. Can't quilt without it.

I hand quilt too. My advise is to relax and enjoy the process. It is sooo relaxing and rewarding. Don't put your quilt in a hoop tight. It has to be kinda loose.

Someone on this Board told us to thread a few needles at a time, and how to do it. Leave your thread attached to the spool and thread a needle, then take another needle and thread it right after the first one - now you have two needles on the spool - keep on threading more needles on that same piece of thread that is still attached to the spool. Now take the cut end of the thread and one needle and pull the thread for as long as you need it - leaving all of the other threaded needles still on your pin cushion. When you're ready for another needle, pull it and the thread, leaving the rest still on the pin cushion.

Maybe everyone already knew this, but I sure didn't. What a great idea!

I don't even know how to machine quilt. I have only hand quilted for the last 35 years. All previous suggestions are excellent. I never knew about threading extra needles (by pal), I am going to have to try that. Hand quilting is very soothing. I also like to put on the marathon tv shows. Like everyone is saying, find what works for you, and enjoy!