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When
I machine quilt I practice in the 4" to 5" of extra
batting and backing fabric that I layer my quilt top on.......submitted
by Jean |
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When
I use a wash-away pen for marking, I keep a little sponge topped
“postage stamp” bottle filled with water to get rid of the markings.
You can find these at most office supply stores........submitted
by Sarah |
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I
have often made a Triangular Label for a back corner of my quilts,
usually calico or a light colour to suit. Write your details across
with fabric pen and edge it with a strip of the binding fabric.
With the quilt ready for quilting, baste it on ,hand sew across
the diagonal,then bind as usual. It will be firmly in place on
two sides of the triangle with the binding stitches (machine or
hand sewing).......submitted by Barbara |
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Springy
quilting cotton thread can be a nightmare to keep under control.
I use a quarter inch wide elastic band and put it around the middle
of the spool. This works wonders and you don't have to remove
it when you use the thread......submitted by Jane |
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I've
started to use a crochet hook to close my basting pins, with good
results, saving my hands......submitted by Penny |
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When
I make a quilt, I like to make a smaller version of the quilt
block in the pattern to use as my quilt label on the back of the
quilt.
Adding the name, date, and other label information in permanent
fabric pen makes a nice finishing touch........submitted by
Nancy |
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I
like to use some of the leftover fabric to make a storage bag
for the quilt to be stored in. They could be made with a hook
and eye tape flap in the shape of an envelope or with a draw string.......submitted
by Genny |
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When
you prick your finger while quilting and have gotten blood on
your work, scrunch up a small wad of quilting thread scraps, add
some saliva (your own saliva for your own blood) and rub the spot.
It removes the blood nicely.......submitted by Elaine |
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While
hand quilting I put a piece of batting in the end of the spool
of thread. This allows me to keep some pins and needles with the
thread.......submitted by Shirley |
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For
a quick easy quilt for kids or travelling, I use fleece on the
back instead of batting and backing fabric.......submitted
by Jill |
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I
like to include a printed-on-fabric picture of the child I make
a quilt for, as part of my label.......submitted by Elizabeth |
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When
I've made binding for a quilt I wrap my pressed and folded binding
on either toilet paper or paper cardboard cylinders depending
on how much I'm going to have. When applying it, I drop the holder
with the bias binding into a large empty gallon jug on the floor
at my feet. It stays smooth, doesn't get tangled, and stays under
control.......submitted by Joyce |
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When
quilting a diagonal grid across a quilt I like to use a double
line. This adds a nice detail and avoids going through the extra
fabric at each corner.......submitted by Teresa |
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For
backing material, I find the off the roll from a store can sometimes
work out to be quite expensive so I have purchased a cotton sheet
the size I required and found it alot less money. [Please
Note: Sheets can be hard to hand quilt through, and this
works best for machine quilting].......submitted by Ann |
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An
easy way to hang a quilt, with a drapery rod on a wall, is with
a pair of drapery sconces from a dollar store. These can be painted
to blend or match your wall colour.......submitted by Diana
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When
I am joining batting together, I overlap the two pieces about
3". Then I take my rotary cutter and make continuous smooth
curves. I take off the excess batting and put the two pieces together
like a puzzle. Using a big needle and long thread I zig zag my
stitching along the cut lines pulling the pieces together. I use
rather long stitches. By doing this, I do not have a straight
line showing in my quilt and the quilting further holds the quilt
batt together......submitted by Rhonda |
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For
hand quilting trace the various sections of the motif (eg. 4 wings
& body for a butterfly) onto freezer paper. Cut out the pieces
& iron them where you want the design. Quilt around each section.
I can layer the freezer paper if I want to cut out several motifs
at one time.
When stitching is finished pull off the freezer paper sections
and re-iron onto the next areas......submitted by Connie |
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To
keep binding neat and orderly roll up the binding after pressing
your binding in half. Then take an clean butter tub and cut a
1½" to 2" slit in the side.
Place the rolled up binding into the tub and feed the end of the
binding thru the hole. Cover with the tub lid. Place the butter
tub either between your knees, or on the floor by your foot pedal
or feet. As you sew the binding to the quilt edge, the binding
slowly feeds out and doesn't tangle......submitted by Fran |
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When
I make a quilt, I use the left over fabric to make a matching
pillow case that doubles as a storage bag. This makes it easy
to identify what quilt I have stored......submitted by Sheila |
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A
good "no marking" method for machine quilting is to
use tracing paper or regular tissue paper to mark your designs
on, with a permanent marker. Pin them onto your quilt and quilt
on the lines. When finished, just tear away the paper from your
quilt......submitted by Katie |
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Using
plain metal hair clips to hold binding down while sewing, is much
less painful than pins & they can be purchased inexpensively
at bargain shops......submitted by Olga |
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The
newest quilting tool that has the online quilting world abuzz
with excitement is Glad Press and Seal. It can be used for appliqué,
transferring quilting designs and as a stabilizer. The thin film
tears away easily, and you can even print your designs on it with
a printer..........submitted by Cyberquilters |
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Some
of the large balls of crochet cotton are soft enough to be used
instead of the more expensive sashiko threads in quilting.......
submitted by Muffin |
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A
way to transfer a quilting design, is to trace the design onto
a piece of netting. Lay the netting over the fabric and trace
the design onto your quilt top, using a chalk marker......
submitted by Helen |
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A
way to mark a copy of a quilting design onto your quilt: Sew,
with your sewing machine (no thread), the quilting design.
Put a tablespoon of cornstarch (cocoa or cinnamon for lighter
fabrics) into a 4" circle of loose woven cotton. Tie into
a pounce ball.
Pat the pounce ball over the holes in the design to mark the design
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A
quick and easy method for tying quilts.....
Using any color, not too thick crochet cotton, thread your needle
leaving a very long piece, or even leave it connected to the ball
of thread. Go along every 4" or so, making one stitch after another,
without cutting the thread, through a long area (top to bottom
of quilt, for example). Then cut the thread, and cut between each
stitch, leaving enough to tie each "square knot". Tie each knot
(I use the surgeons' knot, where you just tie 2 square knots,
instead of one) Then go along and snip off the ends of each knot
to about ¾"......Submitted by Mary |
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The
little binder clips they sell at office supply stores that are
like a clamp, work great when sewing the binding.... better than
trying to stick a pin through all the layers....Submitted by
Jennifer |
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