More questions about tying a quilt
 

I made a quilt top a couple of years ago that I was not too fond of. I loved the fabric, but, ultimately, I didn't like the pattern. It cost more than I was willing to pay to have it quilted and it was too large for my domestic machine, so it's in the top of the closet.

After reading railroadersbrat's post, I thought that maybe tying could be the answer. Is there a way to tie the quilt so it all those ends of "yarn" (or whatever) don't stick out. (I don't care for the look of a tied quilt, with all those strings sticking up.

The pattern is Quartered Stripes. The finished size of the block is 8 1/2. I don't have a photo of the finished top, but have photos of the blocks. At the suggestion of a friend, I sashed with 2" white sashing to break up the blue, but it didn't help my dislike. Still, if it were finished (for less than $200.), I could give it away, or something.

bkay

This is the block:

[ATTACH=CONFIG]619013[/ATTACH]

I love working with stripes and all the fun things you can do, it's lovely even if you are not loving it.

To do an "invisible" knot I would use something like embroidery floss. Starting from the top, I would take my stitch, tie it in a square knot and then simply slide the ends into the batting -- sort of stitch in the batting for an inch, come out either side pull a bit, cut, and then release the tension and the ends should fall back inside the batting and shouldn't come out too much... and if they do it will be years after you have given it away!.

I think one could just "run/travel" the tying material in the batting - come up - tie a "surgeon's knot" - and go "underground" again until the next knot.

Sort of like the "stitches" made when suturing a wound.

Haven't tried it, but it sounds like it might work.

you could always tie it from the back and not see the ties. Just be sure you tie it close, no more than 2 inches apart. The rules for how close to quilt a batting go out the door with tieing as there isn't a line of stitching to hold things down, when used and washed everything moves around the ties. I think it would be lovely and useful as a tied project.

Have you thought about quilting it in sections, so it could be more easily done on your machine? I've found that every quilt looks much better than I thought it would after it's been quilted and bound.

1. You can quilt it in sections on the machine—maybe thirds that will fit through the machine without a struggle. Ann Peterson, Leah Day, and Marti Mitchell all have tutorials.
2. You can tie from the back as Kalama suggests.
3. You can use an invisible stitch, also called international stitch or hidden tie, what bearisgrey speculates on. Use either baby yarn or perle cotton and a doll needle. The outside shows a single stitch and all the other thread is in the batting. Here is a tutorial. https://youtu.be/cEkHht2oJsg

You could also "tie" it using a round buttonhole/eyelet stitch if your sewing machine does one. That's the best of both worlds - machine sewn (quick!) and no rough edges either..... just a thought!

Very pretty. I personally prefer my quilts not be tied. I do tie comforters, too thick to quilt.

Here's a YouTube on doing the hidden quilt tie:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEkHht2oJsg

Or almost any decorative stitch, if your machine has them. I've done smaller projects using the small filled heart on my machine.