Quilting Designs

Fear-free inspiration for quilting your masterpiece!

Simply Quilts : Episode QLT-601 -- More Projects »
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Do you often find yourself at a loss when it comes time to do the quilting on your quilts? Guest Jean Wells shows several popular and fear-free ways to approach quilting, including:
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Figure A
Quilt in the ditch — Stitch in the seam line of the quilt block, hiding the quilting in the construction of the block (figure A).
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Figure B
Motif quilting — If you have highly printed fabric, you can quilt around a motif, tracing an existing design in thread (figure B).
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Figure C
Quarter-inch quilting — One of the most traditional type of quilting. With this method, you quilt one-quarter inch from the seam line (figure C).
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Figure D
Echo quilting — Take quarter-inch quilting one step further with echo quilting. To achieve it, quilt one-quarter inch from the seam line then repeat the quilting a quarter-inch from the first quilting. Repeat the echo as desired (figure D).
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Figure E
Free-motion machine quilting — When your quilt has the contemporary subject matter, consider free-motion quilting as illustrated here with vines and leaves (figure E). Free-motion design can be anything you like. You're essentially "drawing" with thread.

Ideally, you should start thinking about quilting before you create the quilt top, as it can enhance the overall design of the quilt. When quilting, think in terms of the elements on the quilt. For instance, if you decide to motif quilt around a design in the fabric, you might consider repeating that quilting element in other areas of the quilt using free-motion stitching. It doesn't have to be exact: Just a bit of repetition can lend an overall subtle theme.

Also in this Episode
Simply Quilts : Episode QLT-601
•Quilting Designs