I learned to hand quilt a few years ago, and since then I've spent hundreds of hours stitching away. Those of you who enjoy these SQ tutorials have been asking me to "finally write that tutorial!" Even though I've filmed many spontaneous Facebook live videos and IG stories about hand quilting, only now have I planted myself in a chair and filmed everything I know on how to hand quilt.
We’ve had two successful rounds of commonly asked quilting questions, but before jumping into round three, I asked on Instagram for more questions you’d like answered. I got so many good ones, I've decided to divide these posts into categories so that the information is more organized and digestible.
Before sharing my 5 secrets to machine quilting with 12 wt. thread – travel with me back in time to a few weeks ago (cue dreamy music)…
It was a rainy day in May and I was teaching a Sew Mojo Mini workshop (watch the video class here and get the patterns here) in Grand Rapids, Michigan (heeeeyo to my GR ladies!)
Over the last year I’ve done a lot of hand quilting, which means I’ve formed a pretty deep and intimate trust relationship with my hand quilting needles. People tell you that you should choose your friends wisely, and surround yourself with supportive, sharp people who can move easily through fabric (that’s what I’ve heard, at least).
Here’s the deal: although I have a machine quilting tutorial here on the blog, and also a post dedicated just to straight line machine quilting, I know that I only skim the surface on what magic you can wield on your home sewing machine.
Learning how to tie a quilt, but with a modern twist is a great example of what we 21-century quilters are all about – honoring the past through imitation and transformation. Sometimes I dress Scrappy up as a pioneer dog by placing bonnets and adorable chihuahua-sized aprons on her.
It's one inch tall, spends most of its time lost in a pocket, bin or drawer, and is your finger's only line of defense against the piercing tip of its arch nemesis, the needle. Have you guessed? We're talking about thimbles today.
There are so many different quilt marking tools available to sewers, it can be a little bit overwhelming and a LOT bit scary since many of them come with their own whispered horror story. Let me do my best to clear away the mystery surrounding some of these tools so you can go forth and draw guide marks with confidence.
If you’ve ever been intimidated by free motion quilting, raise your totally capable hand. I know. I'm right there with you. At first, basically everyone feels like free motion quilting is out of their league, but everyone can do it – with the right tools.