Quilting suggestions for my little elephant quilt?
 

I am making his quilt for my soon to arrive grandson.
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The squares are 1 1/2", and the overall quilt is about 50" square. I want the elephant to stand out some. I will use separate quilting on the ear (light gray), black, and green (highlights). The sample had cross hatch quilting through the middle of every square - rather dull! I am a competent free motion quilter on my Sweet 16 sit down machine, and I have a bunch of rulers too. It is a baby quilt, so it needs enough quilting to stand up to frequent washing, but not so much that it would be stiff. I have sandwiched it already with Warm and Natural batting. Suggestions?

Pam

If you use a polyester thread, such as Glide, for the quilting you can quilt very closely and still have a soft quilt. Poly thread does not stiffen up a quilt the way cotton does.

I would probably outline quilt the elephant and letter, fill in the elephant with details, then go wild with lots of swirls in the background fabric. Maybe loopy loops inside the E.

i'd outline quilt it so it's not too stiff. i find the quilts i get back from the LA'r are not warm because they are to heavily quilted. things i do by hand are much warmer and softer.

Some more info to hopefully help you all help me. :thumbup: I have a large selection of SoFine thread (50 weight poly) that I intend on using for the top, and I use Superior's SuperBob pre wounds for the bobbin (60 weight). The interior of the elephant measure about 30", so just outlining won't work. I will need some type of fill for both the elephant and the background, probably with differing densities to set the elephant apart. I have already SID around the elephant to stabilize everything (it makes the FMQ a lot easier). And I haven't mentioned what to do on the border (3" wide).

Warm & Natural gets stiff even at 1.5" spacing on the quilting lines. You really need to do pretty minimal quilting -- which isn't ideal for frequent washing -- in order to get it soft enough. I switched to Warm & Plush so I could quilt closer than 2" for baby quilts.

That said, in order to get the elephant to stand out, using a single layer of W&N with no trapunto, I would quilt the background in a pale grey 50wt cotton thread like Aurifil #2846 (Iceberg). Then, I would switch to a trilobal polyester for the elephant like Superior Magnifico (40/2) #2092 (Ming Dynasty). And maybe also some Superior Magnifico #2096 (Zesty Lime). The dull grey cotton will recede more into the background while the shiny trilobal poly will make the elephant stand out. I'd maybe outline the elephant & quilt large, overlapping circles within it (little ones love puffy circles in the quilting!). For the background, I'd do something simple & more linear like crosshatching or oversized ribbon candy or such. I'd probably aim for 3" spacing for the background & 2.5-3" spacing for the elephant. If durability is more important, I would keep everything to 2" spacing as that will hold up better in the wash and with the daily wear-and-tear that kids put on their most beloved little quilts.

Oh... and SUPER cute quilt! Someone whose name begins with "E" is going to be one lucky little man! :)

I wish I lived near Bree so I could pick her brain for all my machine quilting dilemmas. Great idea Tartan, I like the idea of some bamboo behind the elephant.


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Thanks everyone, and especially Bree and Tartan! I have never thought of using the difference in threads as a highlight; that's brilliant! I have some nice matte gray (SoFine) and some shiny turquoise (Floriani) so I will do that. I love the idea of circles to soften the elephant some. I had thought of bamboo for the background, and I think I will do that too. When I used it before, I quilted the stems about an inch wide. I think I will do this more 3-4" wide to keep it softer. I kept a piece of the backing to practice on. That will be good because my circles aren't great! They may end up more like rounded loops, but it will still be fine. Now off to quilt it. It will take me a few days, but it should be done before Christmas. I am thinking of just doing meandering stars and loops in the border, but I will decide that later.

Pam

Meandering stars & loops in the border would be super cute! The other option I might try would be oversized circus peanuts. :) Can't wait to see the pics!

Boy, there are some talented people on this board! You with your elephant and the others with their great quilting suggestions.
Can't wait to see the finished project!

Watson