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What's the best way to wash/display an heirloom quilt?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
When you get a precious heirloom like a family quilt that has been handed down for generations, your first thought might be to hang it on a wall. Don’t hang it up just yet! Antique quilts need special consideration. Since quilts were made to be on beds, sometimes it’s best to display them as coverlets instead of as wall hangings. If you hang an old quilt on a wall, you run the risk of damaging the fabric fibers and stitches.Hanging a quilt on the wall creates a pull on the fabric. If you do decide to hang some of your quilts, ... Read More...
How can I make more time for quilting?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
In a recent survey to find out what I could provide to help quilters more, several responded “More time to quilt.” The comments generally had a smiley face added to the side. Seriously, though, it is possible to streamline your daily events to squeeze in a little more time for quilting. Here’s how. First, start by making sure your sewing area is convenient to everything you need. If you have a particular location in which you quilt, that’s great. If you quilt on the go, you will need to make sure your tote has all the supplies you will need. In your sewing ... Read More...
How do I attach a label to my quilt?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
Q: How do I attach my label onto my quilt? A: A blind stitch is the most common method of attaching a label onto your quilt. Thisstitch is also useful for attaching the backing as well as applique pieces. Put your needle through just a couple of threads of the backing fabric and then the label. And it is easy to do: Step 1 Pull your thread with a knot through the backing fabric and have the needle come out right next to your label. In the picture to the left, you can see that the first stitch comes up from the purple backing and goes ... Read More...
What's the best way to cut straight fabric strips?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
Dear Girls, I have a recurring problem in that I never seem to cut my fabric straight no matter that I have the right equipment and so when I sew I always have something out of alignment. Please help me its driving me crazy. Thanks sew much. Marie Burton from the land down under and you have my permission to print about me. Answers for Quilters To ensure that your quilt will be the shape you want it to be, your first cut must be straight on the cross-grain of the fabric (perpendicular to the selvedge). It’s easy, ... Read More...
How should I store my quilts?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
If you have an heirloom quilt you want to preserve, there are a few basic dos and don’ts you will need to understand. First of all, fabrics don’t last forever. You can, however, extend the life of a fabric with proper care. The care techniques you choose will depend greatly on whether you plan to use or store the quilt. If storing it, clean it first. Use a hand held vacuum to clean the quilt, especially if it is very old. Remember, water breaks down the fabric fibers. Look for any food spots or stains.Bugs love to feed on stains so you will need ... Read More...
How can I keep my quilts fresh and fluffy?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
If you need to freshen up your favorite quilt, there is a way to do that without completing an entire wash cycle. It only takes a fabric softener and a couple of unique items to fluff your quilt. If you typically use a liquid fabric softener, use the sheet fabric softener for fluffing your quilt. Liquid fabric softener might leave a stain on your quilt that resembles a greasy spot. You won’t have to worry about that when you use a dryer sheet. To release more of the fabric softener, slightly dampen the sheet. Remember, most of the time we use fabric softener ... Read More...
Creating a Sewing Space for Quilting
Sat 14 Jan 2012
When the spring cleaning bug bites, why not take advantage of it by rearranging your sewing area? Whether you have an entire room devoted to quilting, a small area, or whether you quilt on the go, all work spaces can be made more comfortable or more efficient. The first consideration you will need to make is whether you will do any piecing or quilting by machine. If so, you will need to make appropriate accommodations for the sewing machine. Make sure it is set up at a height comfortable to you. You may have a sewing machine in a cabinet or you may have a ... Read More...
Dryer Sheets in Quilting
Sat 14 Jan 2012
Quilters are very innovative people. After all, who else would have thought to take a bunch of small pieces of fabric to artistically combine them into one special covering? It should come as no surprise that quilters come up with all sorts of resources for recycling. One popular item that quilters seem to find multiple purposes for is the common dryer sheet. Who knew there were so many uses for those little sheets that we normally just toss into our laundry. Some hand quilters keep a used dryer sheet handy to smooth out threads. Nothing is more frustrating than having your thread twist while ... Read More...
How do you get points to meet a lay down in the middle of the block?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
Matching points in a quilt has always been troublesome for many quilters. Many times, I've ripped a seam or two in order to facilitate that nice smooth, flat, points-matched area. I think pressing is critical in helping points match and lay flat. When I have four points coming together, I make sure no two seams are stacked together (too much bulk in one area, for one thing). By having the seams 'fan' around the block, not only does the block tend to lay flat, but you can use the 'nesting'of those two seams to help you match the points. Happy ... Read More...
Do you have any tips for sewing perfect triangles?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
Here are some tips for sewing triangles for pointy points: "Thread bunnies" - this will help with all of your chain sewing. A "thread bunny" is a small scrap of fabric that you put under your presser foot to begin and end chain sewing. By sewing the thread bunny before you feeding the first patches in, you are more assured of having a smooth starting edge on your patches. (Translation - your machine is less likely to "eat" the first patch, since it has already had a shot at the thread bunny!) In addition, the thread bunny holds the thread tails. That means ... Read More...
What are Half-Square Triangles and how do you sew them together?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
Isosceles Triangle Sandwiched Between Two Long Triangles (Half Rectangles) Spells Spring in These Blocks! Every Spring brings a new generation of insects and flowers, and this spring is no different. To welcome warmer weather and our new crop of butterflies and blooms, we are bringing you three traditional quilt block patterns. They are: Bird of Paradise (also known as Garden Walk from Eleanor Burns Egg Money Book) Butterfly Block Lily of the Field Click on the image of each of the quilt blocks for a FREE pattern. Or, click here to get all three patterns in one pack. In all of ... Read More...
An Alternative Way to Sew Flying Geese Can Increase Accuracy and May Save Time, Too! The Flying Geese pattern is quite versatile and really very simple to sew. You see these geese used as a border, as strips between other blocks, and often just as st
Sat 14 Jan 2012
An Alternative Way to Sew Flying Geese Can Increase Accuracy and May Save Time, Too! The Flying Geese pattern is quite versatile and really very simple to sew. You see these geese used as a border, as strips between other blocks, and often just as strips in an entire quilt. If you look carefully, often you can see a flying geese patch within a block. In the Robin's Nest quilt block, half of one of the patches is a flying geese block, and the other half is a simple rectangle. (It's at the bottom of the nest, where the ... Read More...
How do you Hand Sew Patches for a Quilt?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
Hand Sewing Patches on Your Quilt When I was first learning how to quilt, some experienced quilter told me that "every quilter must make a quilt completely by hand." From start to finish - hand sewing the patches and hand quilting. I bought the story. And I made a queen size quilt entirely by hand. Cut each one of the patches with scissors, sewed every one of the who-knows-how-many patches together by hand, and hand quilted it. It took two years! And when it was finished, I was pretty happy. Forget the fact that a few years later ... Read More...
How do I make sure that my 1/4 inch seam allowance is accurate?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
Sewing a One-Quarter Inch Seam Allowance Over the years, quilters have found that a ¼” seam allowance is perfect. It is enough to keep the pieces together without adding bulk to the finished top. Sewing accurate ¼” seam allowances every time will go a long way toward sewing square blocks that are all the same size. The time you spend now marking your machine or testing the measurement of your presser foot may save you time, frustration and fabric in the long run. To test your machine measurements for a ¼” seam allowance, cut two small scraps of fabric ... Read More...
Are there some really easy quilt block patterns or deisgns?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
5 Quilt Blocks Made from Strips It's great fun to make quilt blocks using strips of fabric. One of the things that makes it fun is that it is easy. Below are 5 different block designs using simply strips of fabric. Each block is simple to make. Just sew strips together, cut them off to the correct length, and then sew them together as patches to make the block. Each block is defined as a four-patch, five-patch, or nine-patch, and the widths of the strips to sew and square patches to cut are written below the block. This Country Charm quilt block ... Read More...
How do you make a Double Irish Chain Quilt?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
March seems to be a good time to work on an Irish Chain quilt. Why not a Double Irish Chain? This Double Irish Chain quilt is more traditional, using light fabrics as a background, with the chain being a contrasting colors. Click on the picture for a larger image. It looks complicated, but really it is pretty straightforward. The quilt is made from only 2 basic blocks. Block pattern A in a Double Irish Chain Quilt. Block Pattern A is a 5 patch made of 25 square patches. In this example, each square patch is 2 inches. Block pattern B in ... Read More...
Do you have a fun idea for a Teacher Quilt?
Sat 14 Jan 2012
We love questions here at How-to-Quilt.com! It's fun to give quilters a solution to their quilting challenge, and sometimes their challenge becomes our challenge as well - we especially love that. Recently a quilter sent in a question about a quilt she was asked to make for her child's teacher. Each child in the class had made a 3 inch by 5 inch drawing on fabric, and she wanted to sew a frame around each drawing and then place them around a center square that had been embroidered with the name of the teacher and the school year. She needed to know ... Read More...
How do you sew strips of fabric together to get a new piece of fabric?
Mon 09 Jan 2012
Quilters are known for taking a perfectly good piece of fabric, cutting it into little pieces, and then sewing them back together. Generally these pieces are triangles or squares, but sometimes, quilters will cut strips of fabric and sew them together. Using "strip piecing," you can design a piece of fabric that can be cut up and used to create some really interesting quilts or wall hangings. One of the challenges of sewing fabric strips is keeping the sewn together strips straight. Although this sounds like it would be easy, if you aren't paying attention, you may end up with ... Read More...
How do you Strip Piece a 9 Patch Block or Patch?
Mon 09 Jan 2012
If you are sewing a block together that has a simple 9 patch with alternating colors, the fastest way to sew it together is by using a technique called "strip piecing." Follow the step-by-step instructions below. The video will guide you along as well. Cut strips for your block or patch. The width of your strips depends on the size patches in your block (or patch). If you want 2 inch finished size squares, cut your strips2 1/2 inches wide. If you want the dark fabric in the corners, you will need twice as many dark fabric strips as light fabric strips. ... Read More...
If you are hand piecing is it possible to strip piece? When cutting the strips for the unit the stitches come lose. What suggestions do you have.
Mon 09 Jan 2012
You are correct, the stitches would come out. You would really need to cut each piece the size you need for the individual patch. This would not prevent you from replacing patches with strips, however. You would cut the strips for each individual patch the size that would fit in the patch, and then hand stitch them together. Read More...