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My Favorite Quilting Tips

Time to review some of my favorite tips. I call these my top ten tips for a relaxing and fun quilting experience. This is a great end of summer post to get ready for fall and winter quilting. If there are other interesting quilting topics you would like me to cover, let me know in the comments. Let’s get started!

Tip #1 – The Pattern. Always read through the instructions to make sure you understand the steps and to find all the cutting instructions. Most patterns have all the cutting instructions up front before any assembly instructions, but some do not. It’s a good idea to be completely familiar with the pattern before you begin cutting and sewing. Here’s how one of my patterns looks:

Reading the pattern prior to beginning will help you with the second tip in my top ten tips.

Tip #2 – The Fabric Purchase. Most patterns will give you fabric amounts that allow for pre-washing and cutting errors. I know I add in some extra when I write my patterns for just that reason. But, if you are not sure that is the case with a designer’s pattern, add a little extra for your comfort. You may end up with a little left over, but you can then start your strip collection for your next scrap quilt!

From the pattern example above, if a lot of the pieces are cut from 2 1/2″ strips, I’ll add on at least an extra 2 1/2″ from what the pattern says I need to account for cutting errors, etc. If you don’t mind a little extra fabric to build a stash, consider just adding an additional 1/8 yard onto yardage requirements.

Tip #3 – Cutting the Fabric. Whether you pre-wash or not, always press your fabrics prior to cutting to remove creases, especially the ones created when the fabric is rolled onto the bolt. Then, cut the largest pieces from the fabric and work your way down.

So, looking at the pattern cutting instructions above, from the tan print #1, I would cut the 6 7/8″ squares first and then move down to the 6 1/2″ squares and on down the list. Keep in mind, not all patterns are written like mine. If you have one that doesn’t have the pieces listed largest to smallest, pull out a piece of paper and make your own cutting list for each fabric.

Tip #4 – Organization. They key to having a fun quilting experience while you are piecing blocks is to keep all the pieces you cut organized so you are not hunting around looking for block pieces. I like to use masking or painters tape with the letter (or other designation) from the pattern that helps me keep stacks of fabric separated and organized. The stacks in the photo below are sorted and stacked by which blocks they make.

Tip #5 – Accurate 1/4″ Seam Allowance. You can’t have success piecing blocks and quilts if you do not start out with an accurate 1/4″ seam allowance. Most experienced quilters among us already know this. But did you know that thread thickness and other things can effect your seam? Prior to starting a project, especially if you are using a new thread, take some scrap fabric and sew a seam. When you are done, measure it and make sure it’s a 1/4″ seam.

Whether you have a 1/4″ foot or you use the marking on your throat plate (center photo), always measure your scrap seam and make necessary adjustments.

Tip #6 – Measure as You Go! This goes along with accurate seams. Measure the units you stitch together as you go. Most blocks are made up of several pieced units that then need to be pieced together to make a block. In order for your block to measure correctly, all those units need to measure correctly first.

I keep a wood pressing tool and smaller rulers by my machine for this purpose.

Tip #7 – Un-sewing. None of us like to do this… but we all have to at some point. I like to remove stitches with a small scissors and by clipping threads at a few places along the seam. This is a good way to do it if you don’t like using a seam ripper, which I feel can be a little aggressive, especially on bias seams. I’ve put holes in fabric with a seam ripper!

Tip #7 – Un-sewing. None of us like to do this… but we all have to at some point. I like to remove stitches with a small scissors and by clipping threads at a few places along the seam. This is a good way to do it if you don’t like using a seam ripper, which I feel can be a little aggressive, especially on bias seams. I’ve put holes in fabric with a seam ripper!

The unit on the left was stitched without back stitching. Notice how I can pull the seam apart quite easily. This can cause trouble when you are joining units and are trying to nest seams. If one of the seams is pulling apart, you will also have trouble aligning seams for the block you are stitching. The unit on the right shows the strength of backstitching.

Tip #9 – Don’t Skip Pinning. If you want seams to align, blocks to measure correctly and crisp points, etc. I recommend you never skip pinning the pieces you are getting ready to stitch. The pins keep the two pieces you are joining from shifting as they are fed through the machine. 

Here’s how to pin units where you want seams to align (photos below): The first thing you want to do is align and pin the seams for the units you are joining and then pin the ends of the units. Yes it takes a minute, but if you stitch without pins you will have unaligned seams that ruin the look of your block. Then you will have to rip out stitches and start over, wasting precious quilting time.

The pinning also works great in helping to align diagonal seams, like when you are joining half-square triangle squares.

Align those diagonal seams first as shown in the photo on the left. Next, pin that seam before pinning the rest of the HST units together. As you can see in the last photo, the diagonal seams are aligned perfectly and come to an even point 1/4″ up from the edge.

Tip #10 – Quilt Layout. This is the last of my favorite tips here, but certainly not the last of the vast amount of quilting tips. I recommend having a design wall or a large floor space to lay out the quilt blocks so you can shift the pieces around and get the layout you like prior to stitching rows together. This will save you from having to use tip #7! Here’s my wall:

Those numbered pins (on the right) help me keep block rows organized so I don’t sew them together in the wrong order. I just took regular pins, wrapped some washi tape around the top, and wrote a number on each. You can make as many as you want.

So that’s it for this week. Hopefully you already practice a lot of the tips I have shared above. I know following these has saved me lots of headaches! Like I said above, I’m always looking for topics you are interested in. Let me know in the comments if you have any suggestions.

Happy Quilting!
Deanne

My Top 10 Tips for Quilters

Before you start your quilt, here are some tips I think you will find helpful. These are things I think are among the most important to make your quilting experience fun and relaxing.

1. The pattern. Always read through the instructions to make sure you understand the steps and to find all the cutting instructions. Most patterns have all the cutting instructions up front before any assembly instructions, but some do not. It’s good to be familiar with the pattern!

2. The fabric. Most patterns will give you fabric amounts that allow for pre-washing and cutting errors. I know I add in some extra when I write my patterns for just that reason. But, if you are not sure that is the case, add a little extra just in case. You may end up with a little left over, but you can then start your strip collection for your next scrap quilt!

3. Cutting. Whether you have a dedicated sewing room or you sew on the dining room table, make sure your cutting area is clear of items that can get in your way while you are cutting our your pieces. Also have your rulers close at hand.

Now, I’m going to admit, my sewing area is not always this clean. I’m guilty of piling up scraps on the sides and above the cutting mat, especially if I’m cutting several projects at once. But, I think it’s a good idea to keep the area clean.

Be sure you have a sharp rotary blade to cut your pieces correctly and avoid injury. If you have cut out several projects, you will notice if your blade has become dull if you have to press down hard or you feel your blade skipping as you cut. If this is happening, it’s time to change the blade. Dispose of the blade by marking an old rotary blade container “Used Blades”. Once this is full, you can discard the blades safely.

4. Organization. If your quilt has a lot of blocks made up of many pieces, organization is important. I’ve talked about it in other blog posts. My patterns usually have letters for each piece cut. I like to label a stack of pieces with a piece of masking or painters tape marked with the letter. If the piece is cut from several different colors, I keep them separated by color as well. Here’s what one of my quilts looks like cut and ready to go:

5. Sewing Machine. Be sure your machine is ready to sew. I think it’s very important to take your machine in to the dealer or quilt shop you bought it from for an annual maintenance check.

Make sure it’s clean and oiled and has a needle that is in good working order. Some people do not change their needle until it breaks. Not a good guide. If you have finished piecing a large project or several small projects, the needle should be changed. A dull needle will make a “punching” sound as it stitches and may make larger holes in your fabric than you want. Also, your thread will also break easily if the needle is old.

6. Accurate Piecing. Be sure you are using an accurate 1/4″ seam allowance when stitching your blocks, unless you are advised otherwise in the pattern. Using a 1/4″ foot helps with this but make sure to do a test seam if this is your first time using the 1/4″ foot. Sew 2 scrap squares together, then measure the seam.

Make necessary adjustments in your sewing to achieve a 1/4″ seam. Here is a past blog post I did on this subject.

7. Stock up and keep tools close. I suggest keeping tools you use frequently close by. I have a small hook on my sewing machine where I keep my scissors I use for clipping seams and a small ruler for measuring seams.

I also keep my wood pressing tool so I can press small seams without having to go to the ironing board for every tiny seam. Finally, wind several bobbins, so you can quickly change from an empty bobbin.

8. Pressing seams. How you press your seams is up to you. I like to press mine open because I think I get more accurate measurements for my units. When pressing seams, make sure you are pressing them and not ironing them. There is a difference! Here’s a video tutorial I did on this subject.

9. Measure units as you go. Most blocks are made up of several pieced units. I like to measure units as I go before piecing them into a block. The more accurate your measurements are, the more accurate your block will measure. For example, if you have an 6 1/2″ star block that has 4 flying geese units that are supposed to measure 2 x 3 1/2″ making up the points, I make sure I measure each geese unit.

10. Quilt layout. Finally, I recommend using a design wall or a large floor space to layout finished blocks. This makes it easier to arrange your blocks the way you want them before stitching them into rows and then into a quilt top. Otherwise, you might get all your rows stitched together and realize you have two blocks next to each other that you wished were not. This will save you a lot of “unsewing” time!

Here is a past project where the use of a design wall came in handy. The blocks were all the same, just scrappy. I wanted the colors to be distributed evenly throughout the quilt top, so this was the best way to do it.

I hope you learned some new information. Let me know if there are some quilting tips you can’t live without in the comments below. You will be entered into a drawing for my newest pattern, Open Windows. Drawing will be on Monday, February 18th! ***We have a winner! Congrats, Kay!***

Happy Quilting!
Deanne