Quilting

[QuintinsMommy]

never quilt before but starting to make one out of my sons old baby clothes! wish me luck.

 

[hippobaby]

never quilt before but starting to make one out of my sons old baby clothes! wish me luck.

me too ! took me about 3 months just to get patches cut proerly , then realised needed to fuse them . next stage...sew them together, ill probably finish that in another 3 months once ive reaquainted myself with sewing machine!

 

[QuintinsMommy]

im starting to interface them tomorrow its going to take me forever to make mine too! hope to see pictures of yours when its done

 

[citymouse]

One step you could take that might save you some time (but would mean a bit of a commitment to the process, if you know what I mean) is to get a rotary cutter and a square quilting ruler--they come in all sorts of pre-set sizes, and then you just lay it on the fabric and use your rotary cutter to cut around the edges. Much faster than measuring and using scissors!

But also a little expensive and you need a good workspace that won't get scratched up. And I have to admit that once you start buying fancy rulers it's a slippery slope. I have about 15 of them!

 

[citymouse]

(Alternately you could cut a template out of cardboard, trace onto the fabric with pencil, and cut with scissors.)

 

[QuintinsMommy]

One step you could take that might save you some time (but would mean a bit of a commitment to the process, if you know what I mean) is to get a rotary cutter and a square quilting ruler--they come in all sorts of pre-set sizes, and then you just lay it on the fabric and use your rotary cutter to cut around the edges. Much faster than measuring and using scissors!

But also a little expensive and you need a good workspace that won't get scratched up. And I have to admit that once you start buying fancy rulers it's a slippery slope. I have about 15 of them!

I did this I bought a square ruler and cutting mat at walmart I think it was only 30 dollars together

 

[hippobaby]

well i bought a rotary cutter ( already have a mat although not self healing) and ive figured out sewing machine and i have a complete quilt top- whoo hoo

now struggling for some border/backing fabric

 

[linzylinz]

One step you could take that might save you some time (but would mean a bit of a commitment to the process, if you know what I mean) is to get a rotary cutter and a square quilting ruler--they come in all sorts of pre-set sizes, and then you just lay it on the fabric and use your rotary cutter to cut around the edges. Much faster than measuring and using scissors!

But also a little expensive and you need a good workspace that won't get scratched up. And I have to admit that once you start buying fancy rulers it's a slippery slope. I have about 15 of them!

hi i have done this but im finding the squares of material (iv only cut 3 lol) are not exact as the baby grows are stretchy, do i need to interface the material before i cut it? sorry if im sounding stupid i just want it to be perfect xx

 

[citymouse]

Hi! I'm working on a quilt this very minute, perfect time to answer!

Yes, you could interface the fabric. That will take away some of the stretch/softness of the material, but if you really want it looking perfect, that's your best bet! Even if you cut them perfectly without interfacing, they would stretch during the sewing process.

If I were you, I'd save the scraps and practice working with those on your sewing machine before you start on the real project!

Good luck!

 

[linzylinz]

Hi! I'm working on a quilt this very minute, perfect time to answer!

Yes, you could interface the fabric. That will take away some of the stretch/softness of the material, but if you really want it looking perfect, that's your best bet! Even if you cut them perfectly without interfacing, they would stretch during the sewing process.

If I were you, I'd save the scraps and practice working with those on your sewing machine before you start on the real project!

Good luck!

thank you i will hopefully make a start at the weekend xx

 

[hippobaby]

i cut the baby grows roughly with scissors first, then fused them and then cut accurately with rottary cutter. ive now pieced 3 layers together and pinned it- started to quilt it only it didnt go well - the backing has bunched up so ive unpicked what ive done now need to figure out how to avoid it happening again.

 

[linzylinz]

i cut the baby grows roughly with scissors first, then fused them and then cut accurately with rottary cutter. ive now pieced 3 layers together and pinned it- started to quilt it only it didnt go well - the backing has bunched up so ive unpicked what ive done now need to figure out how to avoid it happening again.

nightmare. it looks so easy on the u tube videos but its definately not as easy as it looks irl. hope you figure out the problem x

 

[luz]

Do you have it on a quilting frame? If not I'd suggest fusing top and back to the batting with some spray adhesive. If you're quilting it on your machine, what foot are you using? Drop your feed dogs and use the foot that looks like a circle ( I can't remember it's name) that will let you do free motion a lot easier

 

[linzylinz]

going off to look up quilting frame

 

[luz]

Basically just four 2x4's on top of some wooden legs to keep your quilt nice and taught while you hand quilt or tie it. It makes it so much easier and they end up looking a lot nicer!

Here's a link I found just by googling quilting frame. You can buy them or make one if you or your hubby are handy enough https://www.google.com/m/products/c...a=X&ei=kis_T5XAC-7XiQKRge2MAQ&ved=0CFAQ8wIwAQ

 

[Dorian]

Hi Ladies, can I join you? I've been quilting for 18yrs. I love this hobby, even though it can be expensive! I don't quilt with a long arm, I piece and quilt on a treadle sewing machine.

Hippobaby, did you pin your backing/batting/quilt top together, before stitching? That will help a lot with the back puckering. Also make sure your tensions are right on the sewing machine and if you are just quilting straight stitches, using a walking foot is best. But a darning foot (like what Luz was talking about) is great if you want to do swirls and other designs.

I also blog about my quilting, and have lots of tutorials, if anyone is interested.

I have 3 or 4 baby quilts made. But I still haven't made a special one for this baby. Am waiting for some extra cash to buy some fun material. Here is one of my recent quilts, that I just love.

https://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y161/Dorian2/bq5.jpg

 

[luz]

Wow Dorian, that is beautiful!!

 

[hippobaby]

thanks ladies - yes ive pinned 3 layers together (may look at spray too tho) and im not using a walking foot so i may need to get one....all these bloomin extras keep adding to the cost. ive considered doing it by hand butthink it would take ages and patience ( which can be lacking on my part)

***off to look at walking foot***

 

[Dorian]

Thank you Luz.

Hippobaby, I have quilted without walking foot. Just a regular, open-toed foot. The back looks good, but the front tends to pucker just a little where seams meet. The walking foot will move the front and back fabrics together, so that little puckering at the seams wont happen.

 

[Sarahkka]

Dorian, were some of those fabrics from Heather Ross' Far Far Away line? They look similar in colour, but I can't zoom in enough to see!
Gorgeous work, regardless!