Tips for Machine Applique

Applique quilts are fun to make, especially when you can use your
sewing machine and get beautiful results.

My first few quilts were hand appliqued, and as nice as they are,
they are getting more difficult for me. Yes, my eyes don’t work
quite as well as they used to – making hand work a little more
challenging.

And, my fingers aren’t quite as adept as they used to be, so turning
those tiny 1/8 or 1/4 inch seam allowances under just isn’t quite as
fun any more.

The good news is that machine applique is easy, fun and looks great.

With just a few simple techniques, you can get some great-looking
results in a fraction of the time it would take to finish a hand
applique piece.

Last year during an Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation, Annie
Smith visited with us. Annie is an expert in machine applique, and
she shared some of the techniques that make her machine applique
easy and beautiful:

• leave your starting and ending threads long so you can
  tie them
• use 100% cotton thread
• if your stitches get a little “off,” pick them out and re-sew
• and more

For more details, visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/2047-applique-tips.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

 

Quilt Gifts for College Students

Gifts for college students don’t have to be boring or “intellectual.”

While it’s easy to give a college student a gift certificate for a bookstore or a stack of books, a special quilt may be more welcome.

Quilt gifts don’t need to be complicated to be appreciated, either.

How about a collection of special t-shirts?  T-shirt quilts have been popular for years, and probably always will be, since they are a fabulous way to get those special memories off the shelf and out where people can smile at the memories.

Photo quilts are also fun and easy to make.  Using simple computer software and a printer, you can easily transfer your favorite photos onto fabric and make a quilt full of memories.

Rag quilts are also popular and can be made in college, high school, or other favorite colors.

These quilts don’t need to be any particular size, either.  A lap quilt will be just as welcome as a full-size bed quilt, and can be used to snuggle up with during a favorite TV show – or study time.

For more details and ideas, visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1168-college-student-quilts.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

 

Appliqué the Easy Way

If you are anything like I am, hand turn appliqué causes some trouble.  It’s not that I want to avoid the work, it’s just that my eyesight isn’t what it used to be, and hand turning those tiny seam allowances while attaching appliqué pieces is a challenge I’d rather avoid.

Plus, many quilters are faced with arthritis, making hand stitching more difficult, especially when you are working in small spaces or turning corners and making those sharp points.

Yet there are alternatives to hand turn appliqué, making it easy while still being beautiful and adding that “spark” to your quilt.

Way back “when,” I made many baby quilts using a simple zigzag stitch on my sewing machine.  It was a tight stitch, creating somewhat of a bump around the edge of the appliqué piece.  You probably remember seeing this type of appliqué – it’s been around for ages.

At the time, it was the only way I knew how to do machine appliqué, and it is still a good option.

However, as I have come to realize, when you have light interfacing on the back of the fabric, the edges won’t generally fray.  Therefore, you can widen the stitch, eliminating the unsightly bump while still attaching the piece securely to your quilt top.

Some sewing machines do a blanket stitch, which is also an option.  Or, you could choose another embroidery-type stitch to use around the appliqué piece to secure it to your quilt top.

Years ago, quilting daughter Stephanie took a workshop where she was shown how to simply machine stitch a straight stitch around appliqué pieces.  This also is a great option, and it is the method I recently used on a Moon and Stars trapunto piece.

Placing a light interfacing on the back of a simple circle, then straight machine stitching the circle into the center of a square is much easier than piecing a circle as if it were part of a Drunkard’s Path quilt block.

Oh, light interfacing – I use it on all appliqué pieces that are not hand-turned; you can’t really tell and it makes the sewing much easier.

Another method of avoiding hand-turned appliqué is to finish the entire appliqué piece, sew a backing on it, turn it right side out, and then sew the finished piece onto the quilt.

The advantage of this is that it adds some additional dimension, since you have two layers of fabric on top of your quilt top plus the seam allowances that are folded inside.  This piece can be either machine stitched or hand stitched onto your quilt top.

For other alternatives and to get more details about these techniques, visit:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/2044-applique-quilts.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

 

Tips for Finishing Quilts

New quilters often get frustrated when trying to select a quilting technique.

Let’s face it, quilt block patterns are very specific.  You know exactly how many squares to cut, how many triangles to stitch together and the exact size of everything.  However, once the top is pieced many new quilters feel left out in the dark as far as how to quilt their project.

That’s because the actual quilting of your project is based on personal preference.  And, many books and patterns offer no help.  Have you ever noticed that they say “Quilt as desired.”  How much help is that?

Time and Tide Quilt

Many beginners quilt their first quilt using a “stitch in the ditch” or “outline” method. This style is simple in that you just sew your quilting stitches in, or next to, the seams of your pieced blocks.

If you have made an appliqué quilt, your stitches can outline the appliqué pieces on your quilt.  While this is an easy method for hand quilting, it is much more difficult when you are machine quilting.

There are other styles of machine quilting that are easier and will make your finished quilt look beautiful.

Because sewing straight lines, especially across the seams of your quilt blocks, can be difficult for beginning machine quilters, free motion or continuous line quilting may be a more satisfying technique as you perfect your machine quilting.

If you are using your home sewing machine, simply drop the feed dogs on your machine, replace your regular presser foot with a darning foot, and stitch somewhat random designs on your quilt.  These can be squiggly designs that look like jigsaw puzzle pieces. Or you can create more identifiable designs like leaves, ocean waves or flowers.

With a little practice and a few special techniques, your machine quilting will enhance your finished quilt.  And you will finish your quilts in a shorter time frame – allowing you to make more quilts for your family and friends to enjoy!

To discover a few other finishing techniques, visit:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/2310-quilting-techniques.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

 

Embellishments for Appliqué Quilts

Utah Star Quilt Block

Appliqué quilts have always been popular and are gaining increased popularity these days with the addition of embellishments.

If you want to try adding embellishments to your appliqué quilts, but don’t know where to begin, here are a few tips:

• Keep in mind who the quilt is for – if it is for a baby, stay away from small buttons and rhinestones.
• “A little goes a long way” – if you’ve created a flower garden and are adding buttons, adding buttons in just a few of the flowers (instead of every flower in the garden) will make the quilt more interesting and not overpowering.
• If the quilt or garment will be washed frequently, keep the laundering requirements in mind – some items may fall off during washing/drying, or the items may make it difficult to launder the item at all.

There is no science to embellishing quilts or garments and it is easy to experiment with your embellishments before you apply them to your project.

The first step is to decide what types of embellishments you may use on your piece, then place them where you think you want them.  Keep adding, taking off, and moving them around until you are happy with the look and then attach them to the quilt or garment.

Embellishments can be as simple as rick rack, embroidery stitching, buttons and rhinestones.

Buttons can be especially interesting when you use “theme” buttons.  For example, the buttons in the center of your flower could be round, but why not include some buttons that have petal shapes – or even sew a bee-shaped button onto your quilt?

Remember to have fun with the embellishments on your appliqué quilts:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1164-applique-quilts.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

 

Adding Trapunto to a Quilt Block

Sometimes it’s fun to add a little dimension to a quilt or quilt block, especially if there are some design features that just beg to “pop out.”

Flowers and leaves are good examples.

Sometimes when you make a quilt with appliquéd flowers or leaves, it adds a lot to your quilt by putting just a little extra stuffing (or batting) to those special areas.

Since yesterday was Worldwide Howl at the Moon Night, we featured a quilt block called Moon and Star.  It is a fun and really simple quilt block to sew together, and includes a little circle in the center – a moon, actually!

Instead of piecing the circle, I simply added it as a machine appliqué piece after the block was sewn together.  Then I decided it might be fun to add a tiny bit of extra stuffing to make the moon look a little more 3-dimensional.

Adding stuffing or batting is really easy, and it does add some interest to your quilt.

But sometimes you might want to add stuffing or extra batting when there isn’t already an extra layer of fabric.  This adds one simple step – sew a piece of muslin onto the back of the patch or area and then add the stuffing or batting.

There are a couple of different ways to sew the muslin on as well.  You’ll find more information about trapunto and see the Moon and Star block with the trapunto touch by visiting:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/2042-trapunto.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

 

How-to-Quilt Weekly News and Fair Warning

I’ve waited months for this night!

Really – ever since I discovered that tonight, October 26, is Worldwide Howl at the Moon Night, I’ve been waiting anxiously.

At first I was trying to decide exactly how I would howl at the moon.  Then I was thinking about other ways to celebrate, since m. mouse began objecting to my acting as a dog-like creature (he is kind of afraid of dogs).

Finally I decided to find a quilt block to make for the occasion.  Fortunately I ran across one that seemed perfect for the event – Moon and Stars.

Plus as I was wandering around the San Diego Quilt Show not long ago, I ran across a handy little tool that helps stuff areas in quilt blocks – a little trapunto stuffer.  And the Moon and Stars quilt block seemed like the perfect block to demonstrate how to do trapunto using this tool.

Wow!  How good is that?  One block, serving three purposes!

So, for today, in our Weekly News, you’ll see a video demonstrating how to make this fabulous block.  Since it has a circle in the center, I’ve chosen to make it simple by using machine appliqué to add the circle.

Tomorrow, you’ll see how to add the stuffing for the trapunto – I didn’t want to overwhelm you with news today.  After all, you’ll have a big night Howling at the Moon!

You might want to stay a fair distance from the woods and the wolves and coyotes, though!

In the rest of this week’s newsletter, you’ll find:

• Update on the Fat Quarter Quilt
• New Quilt Project in www.TheQuiltingCoach.com – Stack’n'Whack Quilt
• Quilting Tip – Sewing Strips of Fabric Together
• Eavesdrop on a Telephone Conversation – Whims Watercolor Quilt Kits
• Quilter Wendy’s Watercolor Quilt
• A Quilt Idea – Trick or Treat at the Haunted House  (THIS IS THE LAST WEEK!!)
• Postcard Quilts for the Troops – Thanksgiving Roundup!
• Featured Block in Video – Moon and Star
• October Quilt Block Patterns

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/newsletter/moonandstar.php

Have a fabulous evening and week!

Happy Quilting!

Penny

 

Blind Stitching on your Quilt

It is probably because my first quilt was an appliqué quilt that I learned how to blind stitch.

And I don’t mean stitching blind.

These are stitches that get tucked in between layers of fabric – like between an appliqué layer and the background; or when you attach a label to a quilt, or when you close the binding on your quilt.

Quilters ask all the time about the best method for hand stitching on a quilt – other than quilting.

The answer most of the time is to use a blind stitch.

Once you have seen a blind stitch done, you will realize it is really easy to make the stitches and hide them between the layers of your fabric.  It just takes a few simple techniques and some practice.

The technique is mostly about folding the pieces of fabric you are stitching so the fabric resting inside the seam is exposed, because that’s where you want to put your stitches.

The next simple technique is placing small stitches while “grabbing” only 2-3 threads of the fabric in each stitch.

It may sound complicated, but once you have seen the technique, you’ll find it’s quite easy.

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/5204-blindstitch.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny

 

Easy Appliqué Baby Quilts

Everyone gets excited about the birth of a new baby – especially us quilters! We love making quilts for the little bundles of joy!

People often ask how to make a baby quilt and the answer is easy.

In concept, a baby quilt is just a scaled down version of a full-size quilt.

There are a couple of different ways to design a baby quilt.  If you want to use a traditional block, you can make each of the blocks smaller – i.e., make a 4-inch block instead of an 8-inch block – or you can put fewer blocks in your quilt, making the size of the quilt smaller.

In addition, you can create a completely different look by making an appliqué quilt.

For years, my baby quilts were made from appliquéd hearts – either machine appliqué or hand appliqué, but mostly machine appliqué.

Over a period of days, I made several 4-inch blocks – sewing simple hearts using different fabric onto a background fabric, usually white.

Then when I needed a baby quilt, I sorted my blocks, selected some, and sewed them together, using different methods.  Some were simply placed next to each other, and borders were added.  For other quilts, I added sashing or placed them on point with sashing between.

When quilting daughter Stephanie’s second grade teacher was having a baby, I had each child decorate a small heart using fabric markers.  The hearts were appliquéd onto a background and then sewn into a quilt.

You’ll find other ideas for easy baby quilts using appliqué:

http://www.how-to-quilt.com/articles/1157-applique-baby-quilts

Happy Quilting!

Penny

 

How to Quilt Weekly News and National Dog Day

Woof! Woof!

Wednesday should be a fabulous day for all dogs and dog owners as they celebrate National Dog Day here in the US.

You’ll find a video showing how to sew the Dog Bone Quilt Block along with a free pattern of the block.  It’s a fun block and pretty easy to sew.

Also in this week’s newsletter you’ll read more about using appliqué techniques – this time for baby quilts.

You’ll get ideas for quilts that are easy to make while being fun for baby gifts and treasured heirloom quilts.

Progress is being made on the Fat Quarter Quilt. The sashing with cornerstones has been sewn between the blocks.

Now for the first border – which will be surrounding the blocks with the same sashing and cornerstone fabrics.

Then, it will be time to decide what kind of border to add to the quilt.

Now that Penny’s Postcard Posse Birthday Roundup is complete, it’s time to begin our annual Halloween Roundup.

There are several free Halloween fabric postcard patterns at www.QuiltBlockLibrary.com. I hope you’ll head on over there and pick several to make for our troops in the Middle East.

Diane is doing a most excellent job keeping the cards and greetings heading on over there to the guys and gals most in need of support as they serve their country to protect the freedoms we enjoy.

http://how-to-quilt.com/newsletter/dogbone.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny