Learning to Drive (a Quilting Machine)
- fabman556
- Oct 20, 2017
- 3 min read
More Quilts of Valor!
In a prior post I wrote about my participation in our Springs Creative "Open Hearts" Quilts of Valor quilt group that makes quilts for veterans, the highest honor a civilian can present to a veteran. In that post I previewed a red, white and blue quilt top which had already been sewn and a black and white quilt design on the drawing board. Here's the post from September 15:
Making the Black + White Quilt
First I stitched the black and white quilt top. This was constructed of 9.5" squares of striped and starred fabrics, alternating with rectangles of solid black. The backing and border is the reverse starred fabric, with a solid deep red for the binding.
These prints are from recent Patrick Lose fabric collections: Basically Black + White (the stars) and Flower Power (the stripes).
With the quilt top finished, I pieced the backing fabric. I cut two pieces of the black starred fabric the length of the quilt top, and split one in half lengthwise. With selvages and right sides together, I stitched the backing fabric pieces together (two seams). This offsets the seams rather than having a seam running down the middle of the quilt backing.
Next I cut a length of quilt batting the size of the quilt top plus an extra 3" on all sides. My preference is Warm & Natural, because is has a low loft (it's sort of flat, not too thick and fluffy), but there are many different kinds of batting available.
Now the quilt was ready to be assembled and quilted. We're fortunate to have a long-arm quilting machine here at the office, and while I really wanted to learn how to use it, I'll admit it was intimidating. (Until I tried it.)
Learning to Drive (a quilting machine)
Using a quilting machine is not difficult; it operates with a bobbin, just like your regular machine. This machine is not one of the newer, computerized models with multiple available patterns in its memory, so we guide it along by hand in a stippling or loopy pattern to fill in space.
The most challenging part was keeping an even motion and speed; I tended to speed up in the sweeping curve of the loops, making the stitch length uneven. Since this was my first attempt at using a quilting machine, I followed the advice of an experienced user and added about a foot of scrap fabric to both the quilt top and backing (and also batting) at one end for practice stitching before I got into the real quilt. All-in-all, however, it looks OK and was quite good for a first time out.
With the quilting done, I removed the scrap fabric stitch-practice area and trimmed the edges even all around the quilt. Next, using a plastic cup as a guide, I rounded the corners to make applying the binding at the corners easier/faster (avoiding mitering at the corners).
As for the binding, I made 2" wide continuous bias out of the solid red fabric. (I had originally planned to use the backing fabric as the binding, but the solid red adds some interest and keeps the quilt from being so severe.) Binding is cut on the bias (diagonal) to add a little flex, rather than cut on the straight grain. Making continuous bias eliminates a lot of piecing together of individually-cut bias strips and saves time. Here's how to do it:
When the binding was created, I pinned it to the quilt (right side against the top of the quilt), all the way around, and stitched it with a 1/2" seam allowance.
Next I rolled the binding to the back of the quilt, turned under 1/2" and pinned the folded edge in place, covering the original stitching. A stitch around the edge of the quilt on the fold of the binding and the quilt was finished!
We have a presentation scheduled for quite a few veterans on November 10th at our office in the Cotton Factory here in Rock Hill, SC, and we're beginning to gather the finished quilts, which are presented along with a matching pillowcase in which the quilt can be stored. Digitally-printed fabric labels are being applied to each quilt with the names of the recipient and of the quilter.
I still need to quilt the red, white and blue quilt, and there's a duplicate of the black and white quilt which is also ready to go on the quilting machine. It's an honor and privilege to be part of such a worthy project as Quilts of Valor. Stay tuned for a posting in November after our presentation ceremony.
If you're interested in participating in a Quilts of Valor program, check here for opportunities in your area: http://www.qovf.org/whos-in-my-area/
Until next time, thank a veteran, and keep those sewing machines humming!
DTFM
Comments