HOW TO MAKE A QUILT BY HAND
How to make a quilt by hand. Hand quilting for beginners can be a little daunting, but it’s surprisingly easy. And guess what? When you hand quilt, you can take the stitches apart in minutes and it will be like that little hiccup never happened. By this definition, hand quilting is simply sewing all three parts of a quilt together.
The activity of quilting often refers to the final part of making a quilt. Once you’ve layered your fabric backing, center pads, and a beautiful patchwork top, you’re ready to start “quilting.”
Hand quilting can also mean making a quilted patchwork top by hand. It’s not that common, but people do it. I actually hand quilted a hexagon quilt using this method. So if you need help with this type of hand quilting, scroll down to “How to Make a Patchwork Quilt by Hand”.
[lwptoc]
HOW TO MAKE A QUILT IN THREE STEPS
- Create a Quilt Sandwich
You need to make sure that all of your layers are lined up and that everything is carefully pinned. So if there’s a small amount of bagging in one layer, you can smooth it out as you go… but that’s no excuse for being sloppy. Cleaning up the layers at this point will save you a lot of frustration when quilting by hand.
- Plan your lines
Plan how you will quilt by hand. Straight lines are the easiest. You will also need to plan roughly how wide your stitches will be and how long they will be. The distance between each stitch line depends on the design of your quilt as well as the filling used. Some battings are naturally sticky (especially natural cotton) and will hold all 3 layers together – this allows you to leave a wider gap between each row of stitches.
When it comes to stitch length, choose something reasonable. A big stitch can look quite cute and modern, but it stands out more. I personally use a 5mm stitch length if it’s a small gusset blanket and a 1cm stitch length for anything larger. Once you’ve figured out how to make the stitches, cut two long strips of masking tape. Glue them to the top of the quilt on either side of the line you need to sew. Now you can embroider by hand in a straight line without leaving chalk or pen marks. So you have your quilt neatly pinned and lines marked with masking tape. You will also need:
- Quilting Needle – These are quite short but easy to grip and go through all the layers of the quilt easily.
- Quilting Thread – This is a firm fabric that also glides slightly so it doesn’t tangle as you pull it back and forth. Gateman is my preferred brand for quilting thread.
- Sewing hoop (optional) – this is a good idea if you want the quilt to be easy to sew while watching TV. Instead, I do my thing at the dining room table.
My gauge for how much thread to cut is to use my arms. I hold the spool in one hand and the end of the thread in the other. Next, make a quilting knot on the edge of the quilt (check out my favorite knot quilting tutorial) and sew! You’ll want to make sure the stitches are as even on the back of the quilt as they are on the front.
HOW TO MAKE A PATCHWORK QUILT BY HAND
How to make a quilt by hand. When it comes to making a quilt by hand, it’s pretty simple. Everything you would do for machine spinning, you replicate by hand. Patchwork pieces can be hand or machine sewn with a quarter inch seam allowance.
The temptation here is to use a really thick thread, as hand stitches are generally weaker than machine stitches. But that would be a mistake. A thread that is too thick can actually tear the fabric. So find the weight of the thread that matches the weight of the fabric. If your quilt is multi-colored, choose a neutral thread such as black, white, gray or taupe. Otherwise, choose a color thread that best matches the color scheme of your quilt.
It is recommended stitching the binding at least along the edges with a sewing machine. This will cover all the thread ends to prevent them from unraveling and give your quilt a little extra strength. In addition, it is quite difficult to thread a hand needle through the thick folded edges of the blanket.
Patchwork quilts are a great project even if you’re new to sewing or quilting, but you’ll still want to try this technique to make a small quilt before turning it into a bedspread. Their beautiful, often colorful designs date back thousands of years, with patchwork quilt techniques found in many cultures around the world, including ancient Egypt and China.
Created for both practical and decorative reasons, patchwork quilts were also made to commemorate a special time such as a birthday or wedding to capture historical events and simply for their artistic value. If you’ve ever been to a quilting craft show, you’ll know exactly how stunning they are and how much work they cost.
BASTING A QUILT – HOW TO MAKE IT BY HAND
How to make a quilt by hand. It seems tedious, but if you do it carefully, it will result in a professional looking finished project. Basting is a way to temporarily hold the three layers together as you “stitch”.
First of all, it is very important that all three layers are smooth and without wrinkles. Iron the backing fabric and lay it face down on the floor. Carefully pull (but do not stretch) the patterned fabric and stick to a hard, flat surface.
Smooth the batting and place the quilt top on top of it. I like to press the two layers together to get all the wrinkles out. This also makes the blanket adhere slightly to the batting. When the surface and the cotton wool are smooth and flat, carefully roll them together.
Return the top/bat back to the quilt and carefully unfold on top of the mat, smoothing out any wrinkles as you unfold. Make sure you can see the backing fabric around all four edges of the quilt top.
Now it’s time to join all the layers together. There are two options that work best for machine quilting: spray attachments and/or safety pins.
Basting spray is available at most sewing supply stores. (Make sure you have one that washes out.
The pins are slightly curved (unlike regular safety pins) to make it easier to pin from above through all three layers.
When the pins are in place, remove the tape and check the quilt back to make sure things are tight and flat. If there are wrinkles or excess fabric, now is the time to fix the problems. If the fabric is loose when you start quilting, there will be creases or folds in the quilting. Once you start sewing, there is no way to adjust the back without a big headache or time with a seam ripper. (However, using a busy, patterned fabric on the back will help hide any minor imperfections.
SIX BEST HAND QUILKTING TECHNIQUES
How to make a quilt by hand .There are dozens of techniques for hand quilting (or hand stitching that you use to decorate a surface), joining layers, and closing the edges of a project. Master the details of our favorites.
- Punctuation Gingham Squares
Make it dash stitches. (You can’t go wrong by following the fabric pattern.) Be sure to pin (or “pin”) your layers in place as you work; curved quilting safety pins grip the batting and keep your project flat. Also, see how the batting and bottom fabric is wider than the top? This makes it easier to bind the edges if the layers shift as you sew.
- Follow the theme
Once or twice to give it more dimension. The lesson here: A light thread (like fine, all-cotton hand quilting) draws attention to the fluffy pattern you create, while a heavier thread (like multi-strand embroidery thread, as shown here) makes the top stitch the main event. . Likewise, wool batting (used in our gingham swatch and in the quilted jewel roll) can provide more fluff, while cotton (used here and in our baby blanket) is flatter.
- Stitch Your Way Down
Every fourth strip to dress up the shirt-like fabric, more specifically, uses a disappearing ink marker to pre-draw the dotted lines and then trace them to a T. If your project has rough edges, you can bias stitch them. A narrow strip of fabric that has been cut on bias (shown here) to create a contrasting border; see swatch 5 for the finished effect.
- Create a seamless border
By cutting the back of the quilt slightly larger than the top layer and folding it to the front. At the beveled corners, tuck the fabric and sew by hand. The rule is no more than seven inches apart (see bat packaging for specific instructions.
- Micro-Tipple mini pattern
Like these dotted circles with thinner embroidery thread. (Here we separated the layers and used three strands of six.) For perfect stencil rings, stencil with a disappearing ink marker.
- Bring control to life
Sew down the center of the square, leaving a two-inch tail at the top, then up through the top right corner, down through the bottom left corner, up through the center, down through the bottom right, up through the center, down through the top left, and up through the center again. I have it? Finally, tie the excess and the starting tail together.
CONCLUSION
How to make a quilt by hand. If you want to learn to quilt but aren’t sure how to get instructions on how to make your first quilt, there are plenty of ways to learn. Here are a few you can use to learn how to quilt. If you learn best by being taught, consider taking a quilting class. You will be surprised where you can find quilting classes. Many cities have adult education classes and sometimes you can find intro to quilting or 101 quilting classes that will teach you the basics. Your local craft store may also have a short class to teach you the basics of quilting. Even if you can’t find a class, if you go to a quilt shop, you’ll probably find someone willing to spend some time with you and show you how to sew.
