hand quilting
 

I have a large (queen size) quilt that I have been hand quilting for a year or two and I can't find a comfortable way to quilt. I have tried piling it in my lap, but it is just too bulky to get comfortable, plus I am not a sit still for long kinda gal! I have a hoop frame on a stand and it doesn't stay steady because of all the quilt that is draping over the sides, plus I can't seem to get a rhythm with the fabric hanging in my way. Any suggestions or methods that have worked for you?
Thanks, Terina

I have to quilt at our dining room table (which we rarely use for dining), with a chair on each side of me. My hoop front rests on the edge of the table in front of me, and the excess quilt falls onto the two chairs. This way the table and chairs, rather than my hands and shoulders, take all the weight of the quilt. I tried to quilt on the couch with the hoop in my lap, but the weight caused problems for my shoulders.

My easiest way is to sit at a table. I rest most of the quilt on the table. I can only quilt toward myself so that limits me. It almost doesn't matter what chair I use - it encourages me to sit up straight. I don't quilt for hours on end. But I quilt for my own pleasure mostly and don't care how long it takes. Keep trying to find the best solution for you.

Somewhere, a while back, I did see what I call "slings"... To be used on oval or q frame hand quilting frames....actually, I know I bought a set! When I was going to hand quilt something on my q frame...don't ask where the pkg is now....and the thing got machine quilted! But I bet those are still available somewhere. They are strips of fabric with Velcro on ends that keep the excess quilt from dragging on floor by rolling the ends up into these things and then attached over bars of frame????? Might be of help to hand quilters....

I've been looking at quilt hoops on a frame and I noticed that many of them seem to have small bases and I wonder how that is going to support the weight of bed quilts. I would put some bricks or other type of weight on the bases to hold the hoop steady.

I do have a hoop that I travel w/ - it's a 29inch hoop and I would not use anything smaller. In a hotel, I will sit in the chair and hang the hoop off the back of the desk chair when i quilt. This hoop is old and i got it at an antique store. So, it's heavy duty and is wonderful. Not this lightweight stuff you see at Joann's.

For home, I have a 24x36 wooden frame that I bought at a quilt show almost 20 yrs ago and it is absolutely perfect. I've never seen anything like it online. The PVC ones at Joann's are similar, but I often wonder if they are sturdy enough.

I sit in my recliner and quilt. I use a 14 inch hoop. Turning the quilt, has never been a problem for me. It is usually queen to king size quilts that I quilt this way. If I stay at it every evening, I can quilt one in a couple of months. But that is quilting every evening.

my hand quilting frame is home made, the same way, I remember my grandma's when I was a little girl. 4 C clamps, and 2 long 1 x 3 inch boards--8 ft long. the C clamps hold 2 side shorter 1 x 3's about 22 inches long. all the boards had batting and material stapled on them, so you can pin your quilt to them. i'll see if I can come up with a pic.
nope sorry, my computer has been having a personality all it' own, recently.

I, too, use a hoop in my lap. Sit in my comfy chair. I move around a lot! I have found with king quilts particularly that they do tend to be heavy and moving around that much fabric can be a pain. I've started to thread baste those vs pin basting and that makes a major difference in maneuvering the weight around.

At home I've only worked with baby quilts and am using a hoop lap stand for those. They don't have much weight to them, but we'll see how it works when I move to a queen sized quilt (although the maker-- Jean Brown (I think her husband makes them) says she's used one for all her quilts).

When I quilt with the group, we lay out the quilt on a couple tables. When we're done for the afternoon, we roll up the quilt and put it in a pillowcase and collapse the tables if we need to. There are also a couple quilting frames, but they do take up some room.

ETA: When I use my lapstand hoop, I use an "Aunt Becky" to quilt. When I do it with the group with the quilt on a table, I just do it "normal".

All great ideas. I guess I just need to keep on keeping on. I wanted to hand quilt this one as something special for myself but I don't think I'll do another one by hand this size! I've actually considered taking out what I have done so far and sending it to be machine quilted!

I don't use a hoop or frame, just a very heavy steel piece to anchor the quilt as I quilt it on the table.

I've been hand quilting before t was cool to do.
I just gather it up in my lap and work around it. it does get bulky, but
it's the only way I know how to do. Never used a frame or a hoop
it the early days, 40 + years ago, Didn't know they existed.

When I assemble a quilt, I only assemble about -18 to 20 inches at a time (usually about 1/2 a width of fabric for the backing.) I then quilt these strips easily on my lab, in the car, or where I want to travel with it. When done, I assemble the strips and wah-lah , a queen/king size quilt without the weight (until I have to put on the binding).

Because of the way I quilt (or, more accurately, where I quilt, which is anywhere I can), this has been suggested to me. I like the idea, and will try it eventually to compare and see which I like better.

Actually, now that I think about it, I've been wanting to start a quilt with one big spiderweb. I drew one just under 5' diameter last night, and cut out the "wedges" so I could work with each piece individually using scraps. The more I think about it, the more I like the idea of doing it "quilt as you go". The sashing would give both the front and the back a well-defined web (although the back would have a single fabric). I think I'll take it to my quilt group Monday and see if they have suggestions. The more I think about it though, the more I think I want to do it this way, so thank you!

Now all I need is more Halloween fabric...! :D

I, too, quilt in a 14" hoop. I pin baste, sit on the couch with a card table in front of me. Between the couch and the table, the weight of the quilt is supported reasonably well. Can angle the hoop on my lap and put my supplies on the table. I do have a floor frame that my father made for my mother that I enjoyed for a long time but I prefer the hoop as I can turn the work to best advantage for my hands/wrists. Too, if I need to get it out of the way for some reason, it's easy enough to do.

I am quilting a queen size quilt and I set up two card tables behind the couch to help support the quilt. I use an oval hoop which allows a slightly large area for quilting. Mostly the quilt rest on only one card table. I need the second only when marking an area. This quilt was finished before marking and started by someone else. I am just finishing the 4 borders with a clam shell pattern. and it does take awhile.

i got an "Aunt Becky" a while back and practiced and never got the hang of it. Do you have any recommendations? I watched the video a lot of times.

I think what probably helped me most was that I was only just beginning to quilt, so had only had a few hours of practicing without it. It was important for me to learn because I can be exposed to some pretty nasty stuff at work (like sewage), so the fewer needle pricks on my finger, the better.

I watched this video a few times: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DHEDYeIWz4 (metal-to-metal hand quilting with Sharlene Jorgenson & Jean Brown)

Also this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KeKrAHJKAwU (Aunt Becky's Finger Protector)

It took a while to get used to, and I've kind of combined their different methods to make my own. I do leave the quilt pretty loose in the frame. I've also found that it goes easier when I'm quilting with the grain of the fabric, but I have to work harder to make sure I'm not missing my backing when I go against the grain.

I also use a Colonial raised edge thimble similar to the one in Jean's video (when I followed the measuring guide, it said to order a 10, and it was too large, so I ended up getting a 9. However, if my finger is swollen, I wrap a piece of batting around my finger and can comfortably use the 10.) I have really short fingernails, I don't think that one would work if you have nails.

I've only hand quilted a 40" X 60" baby quilt. My two other attempts at hand quilting larger quilts languished in the UFO pile for far too long. I found that quilting with a hoop feels awkward to me. Once I found Sharon Schamber's you tube video on hoopless hand quilting, I found that I liked it much better. You have to spend more time with secure basting, but I found that I was much more comfortable without a hoop. I practiced a little on a queen-sized quilt before machine quilting to see if I would like hoopless hand quilting my next large quilt, and I think that as long as you find a way to support the weight of the quilt, it works. The top of my bed is 36" off the floor, so I pulled my quilting chair next to my bed to quilt. I like the idea posted above for working between two tables, too.

I have tried quilting with different kinds of thimbles on different fingers and different needles to find the method that allows me to quilt the longest and have consistent stitching. Still haven't settled on the best method for me, but it may be good to switch methods to avoid hand pain.

On my long folding table, I just use an old pair of crutches - used to use 2 boards - one on either side of me and weighed down with painted rocks! This allows me to sit a little bit under the quilt to be able to get to the more central areas. I put a flat pad on my lap to help support my arms in my lap. Its not perfect but sure does work for me and I'm glad football season has started so I can sit in front of the TV while quilting!

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I have a 24" quilting hoop that I use for hand quilting. I put the part I am working on, in the hoop, sit in a comfy chair, stand a dining room chair in front of me sitting with the back to me. I drape most of the quilt on the seat of the chair, pull the hoop towards me, and rest the top of the hoop on top of the chair back. I can quilt, and move as needed to stay comfortable this way, and when I take a break, I can stand up and put the hoop on the chair seat, and pick it back up as I return to sitting. The secret to making this work is a big hoop to stretch between me and the chair back. Works for me.

My first time hand quilting I did it without a hoop - like Lynnie, I didn't know there was such a thing. Then I found a full sized quilting frame at a yard sale. It wasn't one of the big heavy ones, it was one I was able to put together and store it in the garage, because it would go flat against the wall when not in use. When I did use it, it just took up too much room, so after using it to make a couple of quilts it was sold in a yard sale once again. And then I found the Hinterberg hoops with the stands and loved them. I have a couple of the hoops and a frame for embroidery/needlepoint. I have a glider chair to sit in while using the hoops. It's a comfortable chair and easy to get in and out.

At the Madison WI quilt expo, we saw "The Weightless Quilter". It is a floor frame engineered to support the weight of a quilt. It was meant for machine quilting, but I don't see why it wouldn't work for hand quilt. It hold the quilt up and away and our of your way as you work on a section. It ONLY costs about $250. Check it out at
www.HeirloomQuiltingDesigns.com

Sorry, the weightless quilter is not at that site. Maybe you could contact her if you are interested. I think she invented it, and that may have happened recently.
I have seen others hang their quilt from the ceiling with elastic bands.

Found the link for the Weightless Quilter: http://www.kenssewingcenter.com/weig...r-p-32861.html

I have a large oval hoop (as opposed to a round one) that suits me when I feel I need one. But mostly, I go hoopless and sit on the couch to quilt. That way I put the bulk of the quilt on the seat beside me while I work on a particular section.

Right know i'm quilting two quilts and its hard for me to quilt in just a circle frame. It has still been too hot to quilt so I have to have the air on me to keep from getting too hot. It is hard to find a comfortable way to quilt.

I quilt with a hoop and sit on my couch in front of the tv. The couch holds up the weight of the quilt. It's good to do this in the winter. I also have a floor stand hoop that I love. The feet are way large so it doesn't tip over. When I had puppies, I thought it was cute that they were getting under the quilt parts that layed on the floor...until I discovered that they were pulling the batting out of it. No wonder they were so quiet.

I use a lap frame, it has a pedestal that rests on my knees, keeping the weight of the quilt away from me and it pivots on two large wooden balls so it's easy to change direction.

I use a floor frame that Is made of pvc. snaps together, is adjustable and tilts. This works wonderful for me. I bought it from HSN sometime ago for 99.00. Now Hobby Lobby carries them and with coupon is a real buy. This also stores in a very small box for storage. love this frame. I have quilted all sizes on this with no trouble.

I also use the Sharon Schamber's method of basting my quilts. It saves my back and knees and WORKS WONDERFULLY!! (Check it out online. It does take an extra day or 2 to baste the quilt if making a queen sized quilt.)
Then I quilt on my lap. When I used no hoops, I ended up with wrinkles on the back of the quilt. Now I use an 14" PVC "Quilt'N Go lap frame" from Joanne's. I am halfway done with my latest queen size and there are NO WRINKLES!! It hold the fabric as tight as I like it---you can quickly adjust tighter or looser.
YUP! This baby is heavy (wool batting) but so easy to hand quilt. And like someone mentioned, I only quilt towards myself and can turn the frame as I need to in order to quilt towards me.
I did try a floor frame (did all kinds of contortions to try to quilt it). Also tried a PVC floor frame (smaller) but my neck and shoulders ached after a while..
I would advise basting it the Sharon Schamber's method and then using This 14" frame....I LOVE IT!!!

I see the price is $50 higher here. I suppose the $250 price was a special for the expo. She doesn't even advertise it for hand sewing, but as you can see, you could sit where the machine is and keep the bulk of the quilt out of your way and off of you while you hand sew.