Newbie Quilter Questions
 

Hello,

I am making my first quilt. So far I think it has gone pretty smoothly. I am about to make the quilt sandwich, and I understand I need to baste/saftey pin it well, then sew the layers together. I am planning to join the layers together by hand, not by machine.

1. Do I use invisible quilting thread? Color thread? Does it matter? Advice on either?
2. Do I use a running stitch? Another type? Does it matter?
3. I will do a a little bit of "stitch in the ditch" and I am thinking about adding a simple pattern too. Any advice on this?

Thanks so much in advance!

Welcome to the QB from SE Michigan! I do a fair amount of hand quilting. Using Safety pins is a very traditional way of holding your sandwich together. It works great for hand quilting. You want to use a strong quilting thread for your quilting. I would not recommend you use an invisible thread for this hand quilted quilt. Invisible threads break very easily and are somewhat difficult to work with. I can't wait to see your finished quilt.

Welcome to the QB and happy quilting

I absolutely hate pin basting, I thread baste every quilted item I make, but I take a long piece of thread and needle, and start in the middle(approx.), go 3-4 times in same spot, then move about 1 1/2-2" and repeat, untll quilt is basted. After quilting, I remove the basting.

I pin layers to hand quilt, but I also do machine and hand quilting in same quilt. just what I like to do. welcome to the board lots of fun in a nice safe place happy quilting!

Welcome from NJ. As Tartan says, you want to use a specifically labeled hand quilting thread. Color depends on whether you want your quilting to show up more or less. I tend to use contrasting thread in my blocks so you can see all the hard work you are putting into the quilt! Hand quilting in the ditch can be difficult so you may want to consider quilting about 1/4" on either side - echo quilting.

Hand quilting is, essentially, a running stitch. Do some googling if you haven't already. Many folks refer to it as a 'rocking stitch'. If you have access, you'll want to use a 'between' needle for your quilting stitches. They are shorter; sharper and stronger than typical hand sewing needles. Personally I like Roxanne needles and normally use a size 11. But those are pretty tiny if you are just starting out. A size 9 or 10 might be easier to use for your first project. The goal is to make your stitches consistent - not necessarily tiny. That will come with time and practice.

You may also want to make yourself up a practice/starter sandwich. About 12" square or whatever you have scrap pieces of laying around. Sandwich it as normal and do a few stitches in it first to get your rhythm going before jumping into your quilt. Do this each time until you really have the muscle memory down for your quilting stitches. It helps improve your first bit of stitching in your actual quilt.

It may not seem like it but there are many of us hand quilters here on the board. I'm sure more will jump in with more/better suggestions.

Just remember to enjoy the process - it's not a race!

Welcome from Alberta, Canada. Good luck with your first quilt. You'll get lots of great advice here. I can't wait to see pictures.

Welcome to the QB...hats off to you for hand quilting, I don’t have the patience. Don’t forget to post a photo of your project, we’d love to see it.

Welcome from Michigan!:)