Nov. 9 … Quilt marking

Every quilter as they are working on a top start to wonder how they wish to quilt whether it is to be machine quilted or hand quilted. I’m a hand quilter so this post will be focused on hand quilting.

First it is important that the top’s seam be ironed neatly ,you don’t want untidy or twisted seams like here as it will not lay or look right when quilted.

You want the top to lay nicely for you.

Then some things to consider.. well let me show you…

Here I wanted a traditional grid but added just a little to the fans to give a lacy fan look…

This bear paw block I wanted to give a soft pad to the bears paw. You can see it a little better on the backside.

Then this broken star quilt had lots of plain open spaces to show off lovely designs..

To make these I use paper with black marker then placed under the fabric. If you have a plain light color fabric you can trace it with very little problem.

The grid work I use a ruler or yard stick.

For a foundation pieced quilt,it is harder to quilt because of many seams, quilting over seams is hard on fingers. The hosta quilt I did has lots of stitch in the ditch work.

To add interest to this quilt , I did rays,and a scribble around the spikes to soften and showcase the spikes.

Sometimes the fabric will give you a pattern to follow

Today I worked on marking this top

I laid some designs on the top for ideas. The top design I think is to large ,the middle is to round it will just be adding more circles, the last one will give it a nice floral design. The rest will not need to be marked as I will do stitching about a quarter inch away from seams in each ring patch.

I use a chalk pen from Fons&Porter and a school pencil for marking.

There are many idea inspirations to be found online,magazines or books. For beginners I would suggest simple work like grid,clam shell or parallel lines not to may twist and turns until you learn how to handle your needle with confidence. Then just be creative ,that’s what quilting is about.😀

If you have a tip be sure to comment to share it.

Deb

Advertisement