Music: I Remember Well by Cody Francis
Hand Quilting Won this Round!
Are you guilty of having a pile of wips! I have a pile for every craft. I try to keep them at a minimum, but I often fail. I can be easily distracted like a squirrel with a shiny new object with the other new exciting projects that I want to work on right away. Recently I rediscovered a quilting project using leftover fabrics scraps from an adorable fabric line from Dashwood. The quilt top was finished and it was intended to be sold as a baby quilt in my Etsy shop. The next step was to quilt this beauty either by sewing machine or by hand. Time was not a factor in this decision. I knew for certain that I wanted to accentuate the beautiful bright bold colours in this quilt. When I checked my machine thread collection it was mainly neutral colours but I desired colours that were BOLD and BRIGHT. I felt this look could be achieved by using thicker weight thread called perle cotton which I use often in my hand embroidery. After a brief Google search and watching a YouTube video on big stitch quilting, I decided that hand quilting was the perfect choice. Here are my reasons for choosing hand quilting for this project:
1) Stitching was more defined
The thicker thread stood out more especially against the bold, intense fabric colours. I used perle 8 embroidery thread (equivalent to 2 strands of embroidery floss held together) instead of the larger size, perle 5 (equivalent to 6 strands of embroidery floss held together) because it was less overwhelming to the eye. I used clover’s embroidery needle size #10 to thread the needle. The brand of threads used were a combination of DMC and Wonderfil which I purchased either from my local quilting shop, The Country Clothesline or Michaels.
2) Switch thread colours quicker
With threading several embroidery needles at once, I was able to switch thread colours quickly vs changing bobbin thread and spool of thread for every ½ triangle I was going to hand quilt. Plus, if I accidently used the wrong colour, for example using the same colour as the adjacent 1\2 triangle, it was quicker and easier to pull the stitches out without reaching for my handy dandy seam ripper. Even though the concept of hand quilting conjures the image of slow stitching, I found that it did not take as much time because I was making bigger stitches and covering a lot of space in a short of period.
3) Creates a whimsical organic look or unique factor
Handmade items have a unique human touch, which brings subtle imperfections that can make items more distinct and organic. Naturally your stitching will look different based on how you feel. When I feel stressed, my stitches look tighter and closer together than when I am relaxed. If you want your stitching to look even, mark dots evenly with an erasable pen such as Sewline and Fixxon and a ruler. Test the pen on extra fabric first to make sure you can remove the marks if needed. If you forget to test, it’s not a big deal – the thread will probably cover the marks. You see another a bonus for using perle cotton thread for quilting. For those who have Natalie Chanin’s book, “The Geometry of Handsewing,” there’s an added benefit. The plastic templates found in the book can serve as valuable guides for achieving the desired spacing and patterns. This insightful tip was inspired by Quilters Candy.
4) Very portable!
I didn’t have to sit at my sewing machine, which lives in my dining room that’s more of a craft room now. I hardly dine in there now and the number of sewing supplies outnumber the china and refined cutlery in my china cabinet. I used a 11 x 11 q-snap frame while I was quilting. The set up was light and portable, allowing me to even quilt comfortably in bed. And in case you’re wondering, no, I didn’t fall asleep – that would be quite the scary scenario, right? Falling asleep with a sharp needle in hand (ouch!). The portability of hand quilting was a welcome change because it spared me the battle with my sewing machine, which has a narrow throat space. Trust me, most of the time, I lose that battle.
5) Living in the Moment
Slow stitching is a mindful activity. I am conscious of every stitch I make. Personally, I can have moments where my mind will drift off while I am machine quilting because I do not have to be too engaged since the machine is doing bulk of the work. Now an argument could be made that free form machine quilting could be more mindful since you are more involved in the quilting process as you are thinking about the pattern you are designing in the quilt. However, I enjoy the process more of hand quilting because it feels more intentional and this is important for me when I am creating.
Each time I look at my finished quilt, I realized I made the right choice to hand quilt. The fun bold colours in the fabric and thread choices make the quilt looks so unique and whimisical.
What is your go-to method for quilting? hand quilting or machine quilting? Leave a comment below.
Until next time, keep making the things you love!
Congrats, dear! What a lovely blog
Thank you so much! I appreciate your kind feedback. I hope you come back and check it out again in the coming weeks. Diane