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| 440 Spokane Street, Reno, Nevada 89512 • (775)323-4777 |
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Quilting TipsLabel your Quilt A quilt is not finished until it is labeled! Think of all those antique quilts where nothing is known of the maker! Incude your name, the date, and the event or the people for whom you have made the quilt. Sew the label to the back of your quilt and be PROUD of the heirloom you have created! Easy Label Tip. Cut a 6 or 8 inch square of muslin or other plain fabric. Fold it in half diagonally to make a triangle shape. Use a fine tip permanent marker to write your quilt documentation on 1 side of the fabric triangle. Next, BEFORE sewing the binding on your quilt, place the triangle (writing side UP) in a corner on the back of your quilt, matching the raw edges of the triangle with the raw edges of the quilt corner. Sew on binding, including the right angle edges of your triangle label. Last, blind stitch the long, folded edge of the triangle label to completely secure it to the quilt back. Quick and easy! Thread Choices for Quilting When finishing your quilt, thread can be center stage or can remain behind the scenes. Today, quilters have many choices in thread election to enhance the creativity of quilt projects. Metallic threads can add sparkle to any quilt and are especially effective when using batiks or Asian themed fabrics. Be sure to use a needle specific for metallic threads. Variegated threads add new color dimensions to your quilt and are available in cotton and silk. Some variegateds are tone on tone while others are a rainbow of color. Expand your creativity and experiment with new threads on your next quilt project. Our staff at Windy Moon Quilts is available to help with your selection. How to Write on Fabric. For quilt labels, signature blocks or any time you need to write on fabric, iron freezer paper to the back of the fabric. This will stabilize the fabric, making writing easier and more uniform. Choose a fine tip permanent ink maker. Practice on a sample first for best success! What should you use for marking your quilting designs? Try using a Pounce Pad. The pad is filled with a powder (pounce) that you can swipe over a quilt stencil to transfer your design. The pads are refillable and leave a crisp clear design that's easy to follow for both hand and machine quilting. Press seam allowances to the darker side of your patchwork to eliminate fabric "shadows". What color thread should you use when piecing your quilt? Try using soft colors that blend with the fabrics you're piecing together - medium brown, dull blue, gray, burgundy are examples. Avoid using white thread for piecing unless you're sewing a white piece to another white piece. When sewing a white piece to another color, use thread the color of the darker piece as the stitches are much less likely to show if the thread matches the darker color instead of the lighter. Easing Pieces to Fit When confronted with two pieces or rows that should be the same size but are not, ease the slightly longer piece to fit the shorter piece, pin-matching points. Add pins to distribute fullness evenly along seam; then stitch with the shorter piece on top. The sewing machine feed dogs will ease in the fullness on the bottom piece. In other words, sew with a "baggy bottom". If pieces or rows are too dissimilar in size to ease without puckering, check to be sure that you cut the pieces the correct size and that your seams are 1/4" wide. |