Quilting Patterns And Styles For You
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There are many different quilting patterns and designs available and your first decision when starting a new project will be what design to use. In traditional quilting you follow the outline of the block's design 1/4 inch from the seam on your piece or appliqued patch, just outside the seam allowances.
For 'stitching in the ditch', you stitch directly into the seam. This creates a distinct shape and the stitches will almost disappear between the thick fabric on both sides. Design quilting is when the quilt block is embellished with a particular design using a stencil in any open spaces of your patch.
In echo design quilting, lines of stitching are repeated every 1/4 inch. This creates heavy quilting sections and is not a technique for beginners. Lastly there is overall design quilting where the pattern of the block is ignored in favor of an overall design, usually grids of diamonds, squares or clam shell shapes.
Your quilting design, pattern and fabrics will all need to be selected together because the design affects the type of fabric that you choose. For example stencilling requires fabric that has space for the stencils. It is best to try to imagine the completed quilting project before you begin, which will be easier with experience but can be attempted even with your first project.
When you start your project, you will first piece your quilt top. For this you create a template, cut all the pieces and sew the blocks together. Then the blocks are joined to form the quilt top. Before doing this you will want to lay out all the blocks to position them and check their size. Avoid placing very similar colored blocks beside each other.
After you have your quilt top finished you can layer it with the batting in the middle and the backing fabric behind. Most people use polyester batting which comes in a roll. You can select different thicknesses according to how warm you want your quilt to be. The batting should be 1 inch larger than the quilt top.
The backing fabric will be loosely woven material and it needs to be about 2 inches larger than the quilt top. You will probably not find backing fabric wide enough for your whole quilt so you will need to join two or more lengths. Cut off the selvage, shrink the fabric and then join the lengths together.
With your backing laid out on the floor wrong side up, roll out the batting onto it and then lay the quilt top onto the batting face up. Pin and baste, beginning your basting in the center of the quilt.
For hand quilting you will need either a frame or a hoop. Hoops are easier to move around but you have to do more basting. Once your project is securely held in the frame or hoop, you can begin to stitch the three layers together according to your design. Again, begin in the center of the quilt.
It is a good idea to gather a lot of information before deciding on your first quilting project. You can find many books on quilting patterns and styles online.
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