Quiltingfacts

Squaring a Quilting Fabric Panel

The essence of a good quilt is the fabric panel. To fit the pattern of the quilt, the fabric panel must be cut to the precise shape plus the ¼” seam allowance. Since the quilting fabric panel is usually cut by human beings, the outcome isn’t always perfect. Add to that the times that the panels you cut are being combined with pre-cut purchased panels or panels from a swap forum, and you will find that at some point you will need to know what to do when a quilting fabric panel comes up a little short.

A Solution

If your problem quilting fabric panel is larger than the finished panel and ¼” seam allowance but is slightly off square – as you see it – see if you have enough allowance to use the fabric squared off but with a little less seam allowance. If not, and the squaring is really unacceptable, toss it into the leftover bag for use in another project.

Before giving up on a quilting fabric panel, try giving it a good pressing. As you press, pull the fabric to try to stretch it out. If the result is a quilting fabric panel that is larger than the seamed square (even if it protrudes into the seam allowance) then the job is done. Line it up carefully and remember that you have less than the usual seam and you should be able to make do.

Now we’ve examined every quilting fabric panel that doesn’t come up to snuff. The problem is that each one is properly squared but a little smaller than you’d like to work with. Cut a piece of freezer paper to the ideal size of the fabric panel. Freezer paper with a grid will be a little easier to work with, but plain paper freezer will do.

On the unshiny side of the paper, draw a horizontal and a vertical line along each center. Use the intersection of the lines to position lines from corner to corner. You can also draw the ¼” seam allowance. These lines will help position the quilting fabric panel.

Take the quilting fabric panel and figure the center horizontally and vertically and position it on the freezer paper. If the fabric has a pattern, try to position it in the areas you consider important. When you can match the fabric with the lines of the freezer paper panel, pin them together.

Use appliqué pins if you have them so you don’t have to remove them as you iron. Press the shiny side of the paper to the fabric. Remove the pins. Make sure that the edges of the quilting fabric panel extend into the seam area. Now you can use the marking on the paper to line up your quilting fabric panel with the other panels.

Once all questionable panels are treated the same way, you can start assembling the quilt. Match up the seams using the paper. Remove the paper after the quilting fabric panel has been joined to panels on all sides and the border has been applied.

Go Crazy with Quilting Patterns

At one time, patchwork quilts were made from scraps of left over fabric and were used mainly for warmth. Hundreds of years later, quilts have now evolved into objects of compassion, which are used to express one’s feelings of happiness or sorrow, to campaign for a good cause and to decorate one’s home.

Quilt patterns now include everything under the sun. Quilts have several different types of artwork in them, including embroidery, patchwork, appliqué work and motifs.
Each quilt is designed according to the purpose of the quilt. The colors of the quilt patterns are chosen next. Appliqués and motifs are widely used and are available in a huge variety of designs.

There are Easter bunnies and Halloween ghosts as well as palm trees, baby bottles and all sorts of flowers, which can be used in all sorts of quilts. These appliqués are sewn on top of the quilt, making a fourth layer for it. On the other hand, quilting motifs are used when the blocks have a certain theme, say a bird motif or a basket motif.

Using Different Techniques to Make Different Quilting Patterns

Quilting has several different specialist techniques.

The trapunto quilting technique has emerged from Italy. Trapunto is the technique of slipping extra stuffing into certain areas of a quilt to bring out the quilting in that area. For example, Trapunto can stuff the area inside a feather or flower making that part of the quilt a little thicker. Shadow Trapunto is a variation, which is quilting a design in fine lawn and filling the pattern with short lengths of wool.

Crazy quilting follows no rules. The quilting patterns need not be symmetrical and so smaller, irregular pieces may also be used to complete the quilt. In comparison to regular quilters, crazy quilters use different fabrics like velvet, satin, silk, etc and have decorative beads, ribbons and buttons included as well.

Rag quilters make the edges raggedy on purpose. The edges and sometimes even the fabric is frayed, which gives the quilt a three dimensional appearance. Art quilting is another style which makes the quilt look like an impressionist painting.

Another quilting pattern rapidly gaining popularity is photo transfers. Actual photographs can be printed on fabric using special computer software. This technique is ideal for a wedding or birth gift. A more tedious way of doing the same thing is using pictoral quilting, in which a photograph is taken and is recreated in fabric, down to the last detail.

When it comes to quilting patterns, the sky is the limit. Quilters usually start from patchwork quilts to get the hang of the stitching process and then the rest is up to their creativity and their imagination.

What to do When You’re Gangly: Long Arm Quilting

If you’re the kind of person who loves to make quilts but loves to make money more, you should try using a long arm quilting machine. A long arm quilting machine is an efficient, energy-saving sewing machine that increases productivity and reduces stress. It allows the quilter to do larger pieces of the quilt without giving up creativity and efficiency. If you’re in the quilting business, it would be very handy to have this machine around, and here is why.

The Way it Performs

When I say performs I don’t mean that it is going to do everything for you. Most long arm quilting machines are manufactured using high grade aluminum, making it lightweight and durable. When you are actually using the machine you will see how wonderfully it responds to the slightest touch of your hand. Smooth operator!

The Way it Handles

No, I’m not talking about a Ferrari, I’m talking about your new long arm quilting machine. You have to think of your machine as an extension to your own limbs. It moves like its gliding on glass. This makes it so much easier to change direction, quilt easier, and increase your productivity in ways you hadn’t imagined.

Long arm quilting machines are built with synchronous system which helps eliminate slipping and loss of speed so you can work at higher speeds. There is no friction, no odd traction, and no slipping so you can count on your quilt coming out great.

How Easy it is to Setup

Most long arm quilting systems come with the machine, the table, quilting patterns, thread, bobbins, bobbin winder, needles, and easy to follow and understand instructions. It is recommended that before assembling your machine that you read these instructions.

Assembling your long arm quilting machine will only take a few hours. You can be up and ready for business within a night. Take some time and get to know your machine, see how it handles in your hands. Remember the feel and the flow of how it moves.

Getting Some Steady Business

If you’ve purchased a long arm quilting machine for personal use, then you don’t have to read this part of the article. But if you’ve purchased your long arm quilting machine to make some money, read on!

There is a country full of quilters out there. Some of them are confident doing large quilts on their own, but there are some who have started a project that is too big for them to finish. My father in law is one of those people.

He designed and created a quilt for my mother in law, but when it came time to quilt over the quilted squares, he knew that he needed something larger, something industrial. He went to a quilt shop that used a long arm quilting machine and within 3 weeks he had a beautiful (and completed) quilt for his wife. Long arm quilting machines are handy, they are fun, and they are just plain wonderful!

Using a Home Quilting Machine to Sew a Seam

A really good quilt has that perfect line from panel to panel. The goal of finding a good pattern, precise cutting, careful pinning, and straight sewing is to get that perfect line. If you are not achieving that goal, you may be having a problem sewing a perfect ¼” seam. Cutting is cutting, but the part of the fabric that you cut winds up underneath. The straight edge on the face of the quilt is nothing more or less than the edge created by your home quilting machine. There are some measures you can take to ensure that those edges are straight and precise.

Find the Problem

Begin by setting up your usual tools. Cut two 2”x4” strips of dark colored fabric and one of light colored fabric. Make sure that the ¼” presser foot is on your home quilting machine. Sew a light and dark strip together carefully aligning the edges of the fabric with the presser foot’s right edge. Sew the other dark strip to the other side of the light strip in the same way. Press the seam allowances toward the light strip. Measure the light strip with a rotary ruler. If it is exactly 1½” wide all of the way along and the light strips are exactly 1¾” long, then you don’t have a problem. Just tale the same precautions with every seam you sew with your home quilting machine.

Fix the Problem

If those measurements are not your result, check to make sure that you pressed the finished seam properly. Repress and measure again. If there is still a problem, the edges might have shifted while on your home quilting machine. Try pressing the panels together with a very warm iron. You can also try pinning the panels together and removing the pins before they reach the presser foot of the home quilting machine.

If the measurement was correct in places but not exactly straight all along, try sewing more slowly to maintain control. Make more strips and try again. If you are still not getting the precise measurements, take a look at the presser foot of your home quilting machine and see if your model has a more exact setting or guide that you can use.

You can add your own guide by carefully placing a length of masking or painter’s tape with an edge exactly ¼” from the needle. With a guide in place on your home quilting machine, try another test. You should have exact measurements now. With precise use of your tools: rotary cutter, rotary ruler and home quilting machine, you can achieve the perfect line you love.

Cotton Quilting Fabric: The Basic Fabric of a Quilt

When you say ‘quilt,’ you might as well say ‘cotton’ since these terms are almost synonymous. The quilting tradition started with scraps of cotton, giving birth to the custom of using cotton quilting fabric as the first preference for making quits. The most plausible reason would be that cotton was used intensively then, and there was scope to collect a lot of cotton cloth scraps, the basic raw material for making a quilt.

Why Cotton Quilting Fabric was the ‘Chosen One’

There was another good reason for using cotton quilting fabric for making quilt. That was because quilts were supposed to give warmth and be extremely cozy – qualities which at that time only cotton could offer. Cotton stayed a hot favorite, fighting in popularity almost neck to neck with Japanese silk for a long period of time.

The synthetic fabrics changed the odds a few decades ago because they were cheaper, maintained their colors lifelong, and they were innately stretchable, which was a quality that made the quilts look gorgeous. Many changed their loyalty to the new breed of fabric and made huge profits. However, the mainstream quilt masters stayed with the cotton quilting fabric, rejecting even the beautiful and resilient silk.

The cotton quilting fabric even today cannot be compared to any other fabric when it comes to comfort. The other great plus point is that is completely washable, which keeps the quilt clean. Also, it allows the body to breathe making it very hygienic too. The synthetic fabric, though exceptionally long-lasting, does not allow air to circulate, making it quite uncomfortable sometimes.

There are some disadvantages attached to the cotton quilting fabric as well. The main factor would be that it shrinks. For this reason, one has to work with pre-soaked material, and/or allow for shrinkage which at times puts a lot of stress on the quilt maker. Pre-soaking, drying, and ironing (because cotton wrinkles terribly) scraps of cotton before making the quilt is unthinkable.

Hence, the quilt master mostly adopts the second option, i.e. stitches it, allowing for shrinkage. It requires great experience and skill to make this possible, without ruing the show of the quilt.

In spite of these major shortcomings, the traditional quilt-makers would prefer the cotton quilting fabric to any other fabric even today. At the same time he/she would also prefer to stitch it lovingly by hand instead of with the help of machine; and the result will always be a masterpiece without equal.