I haven't heard many references to "tying off" a quilt. That is the way I was taught by my grandmother, but then, she was not an avid quilter. She did more knitting, crocheting, etc. When I had my children she helped me with baby quilts and we tied them off. Several years ago a client asked me to renew one side of a counterpane that his grandmother had made, and she had tied it instead of "quilting" it. Just wondering if anyone still does that!

There was a thread about a week ago--I tie about 30 a year for charity quilts....

Oh, yes, a lot of people still "tie off" a quilt, but I think they do it mainly on ones with thicker batting. Trying to hand or machine quilt a high-loft batting can be difficult. I did machine quilt one with a high-loft polyester batting when I was stll pretty new, tho. LOL, guess I didn't know any better!

I tie a lot of my quilts. I have just started free motion quilting.

tied a bit today

we tie charity quilts, but most of the rest i machine.

My first quilt was tied, made about 5 years ago. Since then, I've become enamored of machine quilting, and that's mostly what I do (with occasional forays into hand quilting).

Tying is all my mother and grandmother do. I really prefer the look of quilting, but if I needed a kids quilt in a hurry, I would tie one. I think it is good to know as many techniques as possible, so you can pick the right one for a particular quilt. I think tying would be good, for example, on a thick wool winter quilt. I've seen some great vintage ones like that.

because I have arthritis in my thumbs, holding a needle to handstitch is quite painful, therefore, I won"t be doing any handquilting. I've tied several large quilts in the past, and I enjoyed the process, and even like the look. I make quilts mainly for my family, and for them, it is the pretty pattern and colors they care most about, so it is a win-win for me.

Some of the quilts sent from this board for the Military Barracks Quilt Project were tied and looked darling.

Jan in VA

Thanks for the positive feedback. I love to make quilt tops and am also perfecting FMQing on small pieces. A lot of my work is for our charity group and try FMQing on pillows, cancer hats, lap quilts, etc. When I feel I have a handle on it, I Tying off" is still used!

One of my sons likes tied quilts the best. They are nice and fluffy. I think it's a great way to finish a quilt and have done several that way :D

I tie for my charity quilts, I just did 5 of them and now time to serge.

Would some of you post pics of your tied quilts? I'd love to see them!

Here are a photo of quilts that were made for Lutheran World Relief.

we some times tie off lap quilts for nursing home

Some quilts just look better IMHO tied, all of Gramas scrap quilts were so it might be the memories that prejudice me :D:D:D

I tie off the quilts I have made and am currently tying off one for GD.

I tied off a few of my first quilts. I like the old fashioned look of them. But lately I have prefered free motion quilting.

I helped my guild tie one quilt, and it was a back breaking experience. The quilt was set up on a frame, and we had to lean across it. Is that the way it's usually done?

I agree that there's a place for tied quilts (high loft batting, personal preference, etc.) but do they hold up as well as quilted ones?

I have tied flannel quilts and a couple of others that are cotton. As long as you tie them fairly close and with the new battings they hold up very well.

I have only about 2 1/2 yrs experience with quilts. I tie all of mine. I have tried hand quilting, but, the top looked good, but, underneath my stitches did not look anything like the top. I do have a little arthritis in my hands.
I don't have a machine capable of taking on a large quilt. I can't afford to send one out either, so tying is for me.
The quilts have turned out beautiful

According to my grandmother (who died at age 98 and made countless quilts in her lifetime), it's called a quilt because it is quilted. If it is tied, it is a comforter.

oh yeah, I tie about half the quilts I make, sometimes I tie & quilt on the same project, depends on my mood.

Most of my quilts have been tied, since I donate probably 99% of the quilts I make.

This is really good to hear; I sent a post asking about how to go about tying a quilt. (never did it before) I did not get any reply, but I found a video that shows me how to do this. Thanks to those who tie there quilts, If I run into any difficulties, I will send a PM asking for help.

that's what I have always heard, too. Grew up in a rural area where quilting was the norm and a person was judged by how tiny their sttches were. While I KNOW a tied quilt is still a quilt- in my mind it's a comforter.

To me the difference between a quilt and a comforter is in the thickness/fluffiness. I think a tied quilt is still a quilt. That said, many quilt shows do not accept tied quilts unless they are heritage quilts (usually defined as made before 1970).

After years of machine quilting (both SID and FMQ), I decided to tie a quilt. I had loads of charm packs sitting around waiting for a project, so I made a simple scrappy quilt with them and tied it - one knot in the center of each charm square. It looks really neat and old-fashioned and is very warm and snuggly. It's one of my favorites even tho it was so very simple and easy to make!

To me the tied ones remind me of comforters. I did up an old 1930's top and tied it---- it is sooo warm!

The quilts I tied I tied at the corner of each block using Perle cotton. I blocks were about 6 inches square, . It has been washed many many times, and it has held up just fine.

In November I tied a rail-fence I made for my son. Worked well and was necessary because I used quite thick fleece for the batting. Used combination of perle cotton and embroidery cotton for the ties...worked pretty well and looked good.

I always tied until my DDIL came into my life and started me FMQing. I attended a quilt show in a very small town in Wisconsin where I live part time and two of the ladies at the show were demonstrating tieing quilts. A quilt is called a quilt if it is pieced - it has nothing to do with how you afix your layers (apparently). I was so pleased to watch and listen to these ladies. It is a preference. Tie if you like or sew if you would rather. I do find that the "tied" quilts seem softer and fluffier and the quilted (or sewn) quilts are stiffer and less fluffy. I have had to retie some of my blankets. I use yarn. The ladies at the quilt show were using string.

When I began making quilts for my grandchildren, it was whole cloth and tied with 4-ply acrylic yarn. Some of those quilts are now over 15 years old now. they have seen a lot of washing and drying and are still going strong. About a year ago, I tied a quilt with perle cotton. (really hard on my fingers)

My first Bargello quilt I tied. It has an old HEAVY blanket for the backing and would never go through a machine, so I tied it.

I have tie quilted a few quilts but as stated by others here, when its a high-loft.
Sometimes a quilt "asks" to be tied also, you will know if they do!!

Heather in Australia

Thank you, Everybody, for your imput. Now I don't feel like a shirker for tying my quilts. Also like making quilts out of whatever is at hand. I Covered an old chenille bedspread with a topping of pieces on one side and a monogramed piece on the other with machine embroidery years ago. I still use it and it has held up well. There is something so satisfying to me to do this.
I do Love seeing all the lovely work on this forum that quilting produces, but I love the old-fashioned feeling. And I love this site!

I tie all my quilts. I could never afford to send them to be quilted by machine and am way to impatient to hand quilt, and my Janome does not have a large enough harp to try FMQ. I start and finish each quilt...no UFO's at my house. LOL!

I loved reading about tying off quilts, since I am just learning from a 94 year old lady in our church. We are making quilts to give to people in our community who needs them, home burns or other reasons. I love tying them and they look so cozy when finished. I am binding them on my machine and am having some trouble with the high loft batting. I serged around one and that worked best. It was good to find out what others use for the ties. We are using yarn.

I hand tye most of my quilts using the Decatur Knot, its easy and I like the results on top of quilt. Found the instruttions at a quilt show. I think it is on this link now wwwqorsite.com/begin/tying.htm or search for Decatur Knot quilting.

I tied my first several quilts but I love Machine quilting. Its so much fun. I also like the way they look when you wash them.