Hand Quilter Help Needed
 

I am new to quilting. (Have sewn for many years). Anyway. I have a quilt that I have been hand stitching. and noticed that the layers are no longer smooth on both sides. So now I have to rip it out and try again. I used safety pins to hold it in place and I am using a large hoop. Which may be the problem.

First of all Best way to re-layer this thing and it stay sandwiched correctly. Glue? Pins? Basting? All the above?

Then for hand quilting I wondered if I used a large hand quilt frame, floor rack, or continue the way I have with a hoop and just do the layering/basting different.

Really appreciate any and all suggestions.


Diane

Are you starting from the center out? As I quilt I begin in the center of the quilt sandwich and work around the center smoothing outward as I quilt. This should keep your layers smooth.

BTW, I quilt in my lap with no hoop. I just thread baste my quilt sandwich and proceed as above. Maybe I'm just lucky but this works for me.

Yes I was starting in the center. However, I also think that maybe the hoop is part of the problem. You hand baste with large stitches only?

What size hoop are you using? I use a hoop that is pretty big.... about 18"x28" oval. I can't imagine using anything smaller.

I lay out my quilt and pin the sandwich together....pins are maybe 4-6" apart. I have used the spray that holds the sandwich together but I've found that if I use too much, the needle doesn't want to go through it or gets sticky. I start in the middle and work out. It is still difficult to keep it super smooth for me with a hoop..... no hoop wouldn't work for me, I don't think.

I now have a quilting frame that is probably 8 feet long and about 20" across. That works best for me. It's a home-made one that I bought at an auction years ago. The quilts that I've done on the frame are my best work. It isn't large enough for a king but anything less than that will work. I could post a picture of it if you have someone that could make you one.

The hoop measure 12 1/2 inches. But I have a 18" but I haven't used it much cause it was hard to handle and so big that I couldn't get my arm to the center of the hoop to stitch. so it seemed like I was moving the hoop more often than the smaller one. Hope that make sense.

I also thread baste and don't use a hoop. Also start in the middle.

I glue baste and use a 12 inch round hoop. I've learned on this last quilt that leaving the quilt in the hoop overnight seems to tweak the fabric making it pucker in areas. Once I quilt over it though, it goes back into place with no visible puckering. Since then, I've stopped leaving it in the hoop and the stretching is gone. I've pinned the sandwich and thread basted and in my opinion, nothing holds better than Elmer's school glue.

Try glue basting and or spray basting and don't use the hoop.

I like to hand baste with ugly thread( feels great to pull it out as I go), using I hoop. I find that I do better if there is about 3 inches of looseness in the sandwich when it's in the hoop...wiggle room. My stitch got better when I taught myself to "spoon" quilt...hold the edge of a spoon against the underside of the sandwich to bounce the needle off at regular intervals. My stitches are more even now . Keep working at it!

I pin baste and use a hoop. I'm quite happy with the Q-snap 17x17 frame. You can adjust the back/front tension on one side, while leaving the other bits intact, whereas with the round hoops, you often can't. I would hate to use a frame I couldn't turn so I've never used a floor frame.. The puckering might be due to having different tension on your back fabric versus the front. Maybe you're stretching part of the fabric and not stretching other parts? Etc.

I use a larger round hoop, roughly the distance from my elbow to just past fingers. I also usually pin baste, about a hand-width apart in all directions. When I thread baste, I use about the same distance. Are your puckers on the back side of the quilt only? If you've started in the center and the puckers aren't too bad, you probably don't need to rip out all that much of the quilting provided you've got a couple of inches of backing on all sides of your quilt. I, too, keep the whole sandwich fairly loose in the hoop.

I quilt as much as I can in all directions from the center, re-position the hoop as needed and smooth as I go. Sometimes, I've needed to tug a bit on the bottom layer to remove any small puckers in the process. Sometimes I forget or don't notice them as I'm working and don't discover it until later. Oh well. Usually not so bad that it won't be hidden with the crinkle from washing after.

I don't think I would ever spray or glue baste for hand quilting. As someone else mentioned, I would think the needle would get sticky and not go through all the layers they way it should.

I have used all of the type of frames mentioned. A lot depends on the size of the item being quilted. I have everything from a queen size wooden floor frame to a 8" square plastic snap together, tube frame. I also have two different wooden hoops on a stand. One is perfectly round and the other square with rounded corners. I usually baste with curved safety pins. The smaller portable wooden frames both round and square allow me to quilt while sharing the evening watching TV with my family. They also allow air to travel underneath which makes them comfortable to use even in hot weather.

Hi:

I am a hand quilter and have been for years. I don't know how big your quilt is but mind a full size bed quilts.
I lay mind on the floor and pin them. I have figured out a way that really helps. I put the backing down and then I
lay it out real flat and put safety pins I just stick them into the carpet as I will be moving them again. I make sure my backing is nice and taught and no wrinkles. Then I lay out the batting on top and then as I go around the quilt I remove the pins one at a time and poke them into the batting all the way around. Then I put the quilt top on and I leave the pins that are sticking in the batting there for now. I then start in the center and pin the 3 pieces together
When they are all pined and I use a lot of pins I then go and take out the pins that are sticking in the batting. That took care of any puckers. I use a hand quilt frame my husband made it for me it is made out of plastic PVC pipe.
It is real easy to assemble and take down and takes up hardly little to no room.
I am glad to hear that there are still some hand quilters out there I am seeing that there is not as much hand quilting thread in the stores.

Happy quilting.
eunice
care

I agree with the suggestions that have been given. Look and see how bad it is and if you really need to rip it all out. Maybe just an area and you can "ease in" the extra fabric. Keep at it. I prefer to thread baste when I hand quilt just so don't have to think about the pins in the hoop.

I quilt with a 16 inch hoop that's attached to a stand that sits in my lap. I haven't had any trouble with puckering so far. I would try thread basting a little heavier and see if that doesn't help. If you decide to spray baste I would use 505 spray it doesn't gum up your needle.

I hand baste with long stitches using a very contrasting thread (which I agree is fun to pull out ;)). Takes only a few hours or less and I feel much more secure with this method than any of the others, all of which I've tried at some point.
I use a 16 - 18" hoop which I remove when I am not quilting, starting from the middle and working out.

Jan in VA

you'll have to try things and see what works for you. I don't use safety pins because they're heavy and moving the quilt on the frame w/out the extra weight is heavy enough. LOL!!

Glue??? i can't even imagine because i can see it getting in the way while i'm quilting.

after all that - I do thread baste and i use extra embroidery floss that i no longer use. My frame is a floor frame that is roughly 24x36. I have used a round hoop - it's probably24" - i usually prop it on the back of another chair or wedge it next to me and the corner of the arm of the couch.

Thank you for all of the great advise. I knew I could count on all of you and all your knowledge.

I will have to try a few things and see what happens.

Diane