Are You Ready? It's Time to Quilt!

I am going to attempt to address the many ways of quilting. Now, I have only ever free-motion quilted and have done some straight line stitching. I've never hand-tied or hand quilted. What I know about those is what I've been told. So, my plan of attack is to give a tutorial on free motion quilting, since that's what I know best, and then address the other methods of quilting to the best of my ability. And then of course steer you to the discussion group so all the awesome ladies there who have quilted the other ways can give pointers  :)

Free Motion Quilting

Free motion quilting is the method I learned how to do first. Like I've said before, I learned how to quilt by following a quilt along myself. In the quilt along I followed, the host free motioned her quilt. I had never quilted before so how was I to know whether it was more difficult to quilt that way? I just thought it looked cool and I really liked the way the quilt looked after it was done. I had a machine that could do it, so why not? 

What I learned is that the hardest part of free motion quilting is getting the tension just right, and of course wrestling a large quilt through the very small throat on my sewing machine. Once I got past the tension issues I had a lot of fun!

So, without further adieu.....

For this step you are going to need....

Your basted quilt

Coordinating thread. Go ahead and fill up a couple of bobbins, the bigger your quilt the more you will need. I'm using two different colors, orange for the top and blue for the bottom.  

 Quilting gloves. These are totally optional but helpful. Well, to me anyways. They grip the fabric and help move it through the machine easier.

and your darning foot, or free motion foot, or whatever you want to call it. As long as it looks like this:

Now let's get started!

First thing you need to do is get out your manual and see what it tells you the best settings (tension and stitch selection) are for your machine and set them. If it doesn't tell you, or you don't have a manual, don't panic! We can figure them out together. Oh, and make sure your machine is set so that the needle will end up in the down position when you let off the pedal. This is very important!

Lower your feed dogs. Those are the teeth that are under your foot that help move the fabric through the machine. If you don't know how, consult your manual. If you don't have a manual then look for some type of switch somewhere on the machine that probably slides to the left and right. It will probably look something like this.

Attach your darning foot

Grab your quilt and put it under your machine. Where you start on the quilt is up to you. I usually start in a corner. Some people like to start in the middle. I also work my way all the way across the quilt, then quilt down some and work my way back, so basically from left to right. The goal is to try not to have puckers in the quilting so it's probably not a good idea to start on the outside and work your way around and into the middle. Either start on the side and go left to right or start in the middle and work your way around to the outside. Does that make as much sense to you as it does in my head?

Lower your presser foot. It probably won't press down on your fabric as hard as your normal foot does.

Now start sewing!

Now for some tips. 

First thing you need to do is practice, practice, practice. Before you start on your quilt I suggest you make a practice sandwich with scraps from your quilt and a scrap of batting. Stitch on your practice sandwich, move it around, get a good feel for how it works and how fast you are comfortable with going. The goal is to get nice even stitches, not too short, not too long. Make sure you turn your practice piece over and check the bottom thread too. You don't want loops or knots, just nice even stitches. If it's too loopy, adjust your tension. 

Try to work on a table that has a large surface, move to the dining room table if it's easier on you. The bigger the table, the more support you will have for your quilt top and the easier it will be to move it through the machine.

As you're moving your quilt around it sometimes helps to roll the side of it up that is in the throat of the machine, like so:

And use your lap as support as well (imagine I'm sitting in this chair and the quilt is on my lap)

Something else I have found that helps when it starts bunching up too much in the throat of the machine is to get halfway across the quilt then spin the quilt around so as you're sewing it's coming out of the throat instead of bunching up inside of it.

I have also seen people roll each side of the quilt so that they hold onto the rolls and have a good 12" space or so between the rolls that they are quilting. Then they quilt up and down instead of from left to right. It would look like this:

image borrowed from dummies.com

You can buy some bicycle clamps to clamp around the rolls if it helps.

If you get to a spot where you run out of thread (or you need to rip a few stitches because your inner perfectionist comes out), lower the needle within the stitching where you stopped, let it go up and down 2 or 3 times, then start stitching from there trying your best to follow the line where you stopped. You want those stitches to be as secure as possible.

One other thing you can try is to turn your sewing machine so that it's turned away from you. Like this:

This will help you get a better grip on the quilt because you'll be able to grab onto each side of it. It will also make it easier to wrestle the quilt through the throat of the machine because you can just roll it up from the beginning and just unroll it onto your lap as you quilt.

Just do what works best for you. Try not to get overwhelmed either, it's much easier than it seems and really quite fun once you get the hang of it. And of course come ask questions if you have them!

 Straight line stitching

Straight line stitching is where you do exactly that, sew straight lines. You can stitch in the ditch or just stitch a grid into the quilt.

When you stitch in the ditch you will sew inside the seams of your quilt. You know all those seams that you created when you sewed all the blocks together? You would sew right through the middle of them. The stitches you create in this form of quilting will be hidden down in those seams so they won't be noticeable.You don't have to stitch inside every single seam, that would be alot! I would suggest sewing at least around each big block you created and through the middle two seams of those blocks. More if your batting needs them to be closer together.

You can also just sew straight lines across the quilt, every few inches apart. Check the package of your batting, it should say how many inches apart your quilting should be for that particular batting. If you'd like, you can sew just horizontal lines, vertical lines, diagonal lines or a mixture of them. 

For this type of quilting if helps if you have a walking foot, also known as an even feed foot. It should look like this:

You can use the regular presser foot on your machine but a walking foot would make your life so much easier. And see that bar next to it? It's a guide and your walking foot should have come with one. It attaches to the foot and you can adjust it to whatever distance you want your lines to be from each other. When you sew your first line through the quilt, use that guide and run it along the line you already stitched to space them apart. Or don't use one and let them be different distances, make them wonky and give it character!

This type of quilting is pretty easy, it's just like sewing a seam. You find a spot to start, lower your needle, make sure to backstitch at the beginning, sew your stitch and backstitch at the end. Then just repeat until your entire quilt is quilted. Easy, right?

Hand tying

Everything I know about hand tying I learned by watching my mom, and from all the talk about it in the discussion group the past couple of days. I admit that I scouted out another website to get some pointers so I would at least sound like I knew what I was talking about ;) 

To hand tie you will need a needle and some type of string. My mom always used embroidery floss, and the website I found suggests the same. Make sure your needle is large enough to accommodate the string you're using.

A quilting hoop is also helpful to hold the quilt in place while you tie it. I have seen my mom lay the quilt down on a large flat surface (like the table) and tie that way.

Thread the needle, run it through all the layers, bring it back up leaving a small gap (1/8"-1/4") between where you put the needle through and brought it back up. Then tie it off using a square knot and trim the excess threads.

Put ties every 4-6 inches at least. You can put them at the corners of the squares in your pattern.

There has been some discussion about using a particular type of batting for hand tying. That website suggests using one that can be quilted 4-6 inches apart. 

Hand quilting

I have absolutely no experience with hand quilting because I'm not a fan of hand sewing. My fingers and wrists cramp up too easily and I just can't get into it, which is why I don't crochet either.

What I do know is that you will need a quilting hoop or frame, quilting needles and hand quilting thread if you want to hand quilt. It takes a lot of work and a lot of patience but the end result can be so rewarding.

You can purchase patterns and templates at quilt shops and places like JoAnn for hand quilting. You can also use your fabric marker and draw your own pattern and then follow it with the needle.

Hand quilting is pretty much self explanatory, you do the same thing your machine would do, except you do it by hand.

One day, when my kids are grown, or perhaps when I don't have a list of about 15 quilts that I want to make, I may take the time to sit down and attempt to hand quilt. Sigh....I guess for now it's back to machine quilting. I have to get it done so I can show y'all how to do the binding!

Assembling the Sandwich

I figured while we're waiting for me to get my machine problems solved I could at least show you how to assemble the sandwich.

There are a few different ways of doing this. How you do it depends on your comfort level. I personally use basting spray because when I use pins I tend to stick them in myself more than I do the fabric. I will show you how to assemble it using the spray and then link you to another tutorial on how to pin the sandwich together if you should choose to go that route. The reason for this is that I have never pinned a sandwich together before so who am I to tell you how to do it?

Ready? Here we go!

First thing I do is lay my backing, batting and quilt top down and make sure the batting and backing are larger than the top. We don't want the fabric to shift while quilting and not have enough to cover the back.

Once I verify that they are in fact larger than the top, I remove them all and lay my batting down by itself.

I always attach the backing first. Lay the backing down on top of the batting and smooth it out as best you can. 

Fold down one half of the quilt backing. I like to tackle mine by doing half the fabric at a time. Some people like to roll the fabric up and unroll it from one end to the other as they spray. I've done that before, but I've found by doing it this way there is less chance of the fabric getting wonky on me as I unroll it.

Spray the part of the batting that is right next to where you folded the fabric down. Don't spray the whole exposed part yet. It will dry on you and you'll have to re-spray and that stuff is expensive! Just spray somewhere between 6-12 inches or so. If you're using a less dense batting then spray the heck out of it, or do the pinning method. The one time I used polyester batting it kept coming undone on me as I was quilting it. I guess with it being less dense there wasn't anything for the spray to attach to.

Start smoothing the fabric onto the sprayed batting. I like to put my hands under the fold and start pushing into the fold to where it will basically unfold onto the batting. Where you have to be careful when smoothing is if your backing is pieced (or you're attaching the top) and you have seams that you don't want folding up as you smooth. In that case, just hold the fabric up with one hand while you smooth with the other. 

Smooth it out the 6-12 inches that you sprayed. When you get to part where you haven't sprayed, then spray that part and smooth out more! Repeat this until you have that half done.

 

Notice how the door is open in this picture? Basting spray must be used in a well ventilated area. Please be sure to read the directions on the can before using it.

Now fold the other half down and repeat these steps until you have the whole backing attached to the batting. 

 

  

Now flip it over

You can see I trimmed off the excess batting here. Normally I wait until I have the whole thing basted before trimming, but I needed to match my top up with the row of blocks on the back so I went ahead and trimmed now so I could see what I was doing.

Attach your top the same way you attached the back.

As you can see the backing and batting are larger than my top. Go ahead and trim off some of the excess here if you'd like. Leave a couple of inches around all sides. In the picture above I wouldn't trim the bottom or sides but could trim off some of the top. 

This is what I love about the basting spray. I can pick up the quilt and just toss it onto the couch and it stays together!

Basting with pins

Now for the link to the tutorial for basting with pins. Amanda Jean of Crazy Mom Quilts has a great tutorial here:

http://crazymomquilts.blogspot.com/2007/09/one-way-to-baste-quilt.html 

Be sure to read some of the comments too because there is also some great advice in there. 

And as always, if you have any questions please feel free to ask! Like I've said before, what works for me won't always work for you. If you hit any snags, I'm sure someone will have the answers! The discussion group is located here. 

My machine woes will be solved on Friday when my new machine arrives via UPS. I have been very impatiently waiting! I'll get started on the quilting portion of this quilt along as soon as it gets here because I'm sure I'll be anxious to play!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

The good news is the major procrastinator in me finally got my backing fabric and pieced the backing together for my quilt.

The bad news is that the issues I have been having with my machine (and thought I had either resolved or were able to work around) are still on-going. I just realized as I was testing my tension on a scrap quilt sandwich that it's skipping stitches and I can't quilt with it.

The ugly truth is I'm not sure when I'll have the next post up. I'm working on figuring a way to do it without actually having mine quilted. 

Sorry it's been so long between posts already, I'll post the next step as soon as I can. I promise! 

Thanks for being so patient. :)

Assembling the Masterpiece

This post will be a bit different from the others, it's not going to be as explicit as the others have been. The reason for this is because, well, by now you know how to assemble a bunch of squares into one big block, right? Instead, this post will just give you pointers to get it put together as easy as possible.

The Grid

I am going to list here the amount of blocks it takes going across and down to make up the size of the quilt you are working on. The first number will be the amount of blocks across, the second will be the amount of blocks going down.

crib size-3x4

large throw-4x5

twin-5x7

double-6x7

queen-7x8

Do you remember in the beginning when I said you will probably have extra squares? After you lay out your blocks you may decide that it's just not big enough (or that it's too big!). Use your extra squares and create more blocks and add to it, or take some blocks away. Remember, it's YOUR quilt. Also, you don't have to follow the layout above, if you want to change it up by all means go for it. You can add borders, sashing, whatever strikes your fancy. Just remember that if it's intended for a bed that you will need to measure that bed and make sure whatever you change will allow it to still fit.

Now, grab all of your blocks and find a nice big floor area to lay them out on.

Play around with your layout until it looks good to you. Flip the blocks, twist them, turn them, move them around, whatever it takes to make you happy. One thing that I find helps is to take a picture and view it on the computer screen. I have found many layout issues by viewing on the computer as opposed to trying to stand over it. Also, if you have a picture of your final layout, you have it to refer back to if you accidentally mix your blocks up during the sewing process. I might be speaking from experience.

Once you have the layout that you like completed, stack them and pin them. Be sure to keep track of which way the blocks are turned and which rows are which.

Creating Rows

You are going to assemble the top the same way you assembled your blocks.

Start with the first row. Lay them out side by side.

 

Remember how I told you not to iron your blocks after you mixed them up and sewed them back together? Now is when you will iron them. Iron the seam on your first block up (or down, whichever you prefer) and then iron the seam on the second block in the opposite direction.

Flip the second block onto the first and pin, matching the center seam and any others that may come together.

 

If your seams don't match up exactly, don't panic. It's definitely not the end of the world. This quilt top is going to be scrappy and jumbled, in the end it won't be noticeable.

You will also notice that some of your existing seams may be going in the same direction. It's okay. There is nothing you can do to make one go the other way because it's already been sewn down. You will just pin them together and sew it that way. Just make sure when you get to the seam that you go very slowly through it. Moving too fast can cause a jam, a broken thread or a broken needle.

Some of your blocks may end up turned to where the center seam will be vertical instead of horizontal. If that happens just match the blocks up as best as possible with each other. Also, in the case of a vertical seam, don't iron it for now. More on that later.

Always remember to keep an eye on all existing seams as well so they don't twist under your presser foot as you sew.

After you get the first two blocks sewn together, grab your third one and iron the seam on it in the opposite direction of the seam on the second block. Then lay the third block onto the second and pin it. Sew it together. Repeat this step for the rest of the blocks in your row.

 

Following the steps above, sew all of your rows together

Assembling the Top

Now that you have all your rows sewn, it's time to put them together!

First thing you'll need to do is iron the vertical seams. Take your first row and iron them to the left (or right, it doesn't matter which). If you have any blocks that ended up with a vertical seam during the layout process, then iron them in the same direction as the others. Then iron the second row in the opposite direction, so on and so forth, until all of your rows are ironed.

Then grab your first two rows and lay them out.

Notice on the backside of my rows that the seams are pressed in the opposite directions.

Flip the bottom row onto the top (or the top onto the bottom, whichever is easier for you) and pin them together. Pin the seams between the blocks together first, they're the most important because you want your rows to all be as close to the same length as possible.

Carefully sew the rows together. Take your time while you sew, there are a lot of seams to keep an eye on.

Repeat these steps until all of your rows are sewn together.

Sorry about that image quality, my helper was not a very willing one.

By the way, I'm not perfect either. Not only are my seams waaaaay off, but I sewed together two of the same blocks and turned it BACK into a 5" block.

How's that for charm?

Materials needed for creating the quilt "sandwich"

This doesn't exactly pertain to this week's step, but it will be part of next week's so I figured I'll let you know what you need beforehand and give you a chance to get it together.

Remember in the first post when I said we would discuss batting and backing later? The reason I didn't want to give you the requirements yet is because we didn't know how big your finished quilt top would be. I mean, we had the measurements in the beginning, but maybe you'll get creative and add some borders or something. If I had told you you needed X amount of yardage, then you made your quilt top bigger, you might not have had enough!

Again, here are the measurements for each quilt size:

crib/throw-approx. 40"x52"
larger throw-approx. 52"x65"
twin/single-approx. 65"x92"

full/double-approx 78"x92"

queen size-approx. 92"x104"

Based on those measurements, this is the amount of yardage you will need for each size:

crib/throw-1 3/4 yards

larger throw-2 yards
twin/single-2 3/4 yards

full/double-2 3/4 yards

queen size-3 yards

Now, the only problem with these fabric requirements are that, with the exception of the crib size, it's still not enough fabric. Why is that you say? Well, the average cut of fabric from the bolt is about 44" wide. Our quilts are wider than that. So, you have to get a long enough cut to cover the length, but you're still going to be too short on the side. You will have to piece together a backing big enough to cover the whole thing. But that's where it gets fun!

Figure out how short you will be on the width and take it from there. You can either use your scraps and create more blocks to help make up the difference, get a coordinating color and sew the two pieces of fabric together, or both! This is where your creative side will come out. Here's an example of a quilt that I did. It was 66" wide so I had to come up with at least 22" (more really because you want it to be a few inches wider than the top on each side for quilting purposes, in case it shifts). Here is the front:

And here is how I pieced together the back

 

That cream colored strawberry print was my main fabric, at 44" wide. I bought 2 yards of that AND 2 yards of the red fabric and then used leftover pieces from the front. I used all of the strawberry fabric and 10" wide cuts of the red, plus the leftover blocks to get it wide enough to cover the whole thing.

If you have any questions about how to figure out how to get enough fabric for your back, just ask!

There is one other option if you don't want to piece the backing. You can purchase fabric that is meant for quilting and is 108" wide. Unfortunately it doesn't come in very many colors, mostly just solids and not even very many to choose from. You can get them at JoAnn, Hancock Fabrics I think and some other online stores. I haven't really searched for them but will be more than happy to help you in your search if needed.

Batting

To figure out how much batting you'll need, you'll need to know the dimensions of your finished quilt top. All batting packages have the dimensions of the piece of batting that is inside the package. Just find one big enough. Remember that it will need to be at least a couple of inches larger than your quilt top, on all sides. You don't want it to shift while you're quilting it and it not be big enough on one side.

As far as the type of batting that you will use, that's up to you and your preference. I like to use 100% cotton because it will shrink after it's quilted and washed and it puckers, giving the quilt a nice antique look to it. Polyester batting is cheaper, but doesn't shrink very much. You can also buy organic batting, bamboo, etc. There are many types out there. Again, if you have questions, please ask them.

That's it for now

You'll have one week for this step then we'll move on to the quilting part. If you're falling behind, don't feel discouraged. The instructions will always be up as will the discussion group. That, and I promise you aren't the only one! I would probably be behind if I wasn't running this thing and have to have mine done to take the pics!

Any questions, you know where to find us!

Cutting and Sewing, Part Deux

Have you got yourself a nice pretty stack of blocks?

Yes? Ok, now you're going to cut them up.

Whoa, wait, what? Cut them? All that hard work sewing them together and now we're going to cut them?

Why yes, yes we are. Muahahahaha!!!

Oops, sorry. That sort of, um, slipped out.

Moving right along, take your block and line it up within the markings of your mat.

Your block should be 14". Don't freak out if it's off a bit, that happens. The goal of this step is to find the middle of the block. If your block is 14", then you'll make your cut at 7". If your block is off a bit, just find the center. Make your cut there.

Without moving your block, measure the center of the block horizontally as well and make a cut there.

I do apologize for that terrible glare on my ruler, but you get the gist.

Your block should look like this after you make your cuts

Now take two of your newly formed squares and rotate them. You'll want to use two squares that are opposite diagonal corners from each other.  I rotated the top right and the bottom left. (You don't have to only rotate two squares, feel free to rotate more. The "standard" for this pattern is to rotate two, but it's your quilt, do what you want with it.)

Flip the squares on the right onto the squares on the left and pin them.

Sew them together. Be sure to keep any eye on the existing seams while you're sewing to make sure they don't twist under your presser foot.

Iron the newly sewn seams making sure to iron one row to the left and the other to the right.

Pin your rows together making sure to match that center seam.

Sew the rows together and you have a disappearing 9 patch block!

♫ Oh, oh, oh ♫
♫ It's magic, you know ♫
♫ Never believe it's not so.... ♫

Ahem, sorry again. Getting myself under control now...

Few things to keep in mind on this step. You may notice I didn't mention ironing the final seam of the block. I ironed it so I could show you a flat, pretty block for the picture. But, you may want to wait on ironing that final seam. Reason being is that if you iron them all now and in the same direction, when you lay the blocks out for your quilt top you'll have seams going in the same direction and will have to re-iron later. So leave that step out for now.

Also, this is your quilt. Do whatever you want with it to make it yours. You can follow my directions exactly or you can deviate and make yours different. I'll mention some things you can do later but I wanted to mention this part on this step in particular. You don't have to cut all your blocks and make them into disappearing 9 patches. Feel free to leave some of them alone and mix it up. Again, totally up to you.

That's it for now. You have one week for this step because it moves along fairly quickly. Don't forget to check out the chain piecing tutorial. And as always, join us in the discussion group if you have any questions.

Chain piecing, you can do it too!

So I had a conversation with some friends about backstitching and who does it. One friend asked "What about when you're chain piecing, do you do it then?" That question turned into "What is chain piecing?". After explaining what it was my other friend was delighted to find out an easier way to piece her blocks. So I thought to myself "There must be others who don't know what chain piecing is, I'll do a tutorial!". So here goes.

Chain piecing is a way to piece your blocks, strips, whatever you're working on more efficiently AND it saves thread.

Stitch your first set of blocks together. When you get to the end, backstitch, or not. I personally always backstitch because I'm paranoid something will come undone if I don't.

 When you're done with that block feed it through the machine, but don't pull it out. Raise your needle and your presser foot.

Put the next set of blocks in the machine and lower the presser foot.

Stitch this set of blocks, making sure to backstitch at the beginning and the end.  Repeat this step for however many sets of blocks you need to sew together.

When you're done pull your blocks out of the machine and you'll have a chain of blocks held together like this

And a closer look

Just snip the threads and voila! I like to sew assembly line style and find this helps make things go much faster and definitely saves on not only the amount of thread I use, but also the amount of thread I have to snip off of the ends of my seams!

Oh, and one more thing. Don't do like I do and be in such a hurry that you forget to change your stitch back from a zig zag to a straight stitch. I put my 1/4" quilting foot back on the machine and forgot to change the stitch. This is what happens:

Do you see the tip of my needle just dangling there?

Try to keep some extras on hand for just in case.

Down to my last one! Can you tell I've done this a time or two?