How to Quilt Part ½

Although it's possible to have a go with quality, with just about any good sewing needle,
you will do a match better job with specialist quilting needles or betweens as they
sometimes called. Quilting needles are very sharp as they need to penetrate three layers
of material and are usually based slightly thicker than average. Try to buy a good
selection because you’ll need different sizes depending on the thickness of your thread
and material. Along with your quilting needle, you'll most probably find a number of
glow stick pins very handy to temporarily secure your layers together.

The only reason that we suggest glow stick pins is because they’re easier to spot in the
material due to their bright tips. If you can only find orderly pins then these are
absolutely fine to use, but do remember to carefully search all over your finished quilt for
any pins as you really don’t want to be pricking yourself with one as you wrap your self
up on a chilly evening.

The threads that you decide to use will vary depending on what kind of quilt you are
making. Some quilts will look all the better for having brightly colored thick threads that
contrast with the backing material and other quilts look far better when the thread blends
into the background.

You’ll probably want to buy a selection of quilting threads to keep in your craft box to
get you started, and then you can add more as and when they’re needed. Way back in
history, patchwork and quilting were excellent techniques for reusing patched old fabric
and naturally, these pieces of material have been washed to many times.

Now some stitches today, using new materials prefer to wash everything before they
begin. This is where planning well can really help you because if you're making
patchwork for a quilting project, try to make sure that you use fabric that will react
similarly to washing. Also, if you use all different types of fabric then the finish
patchwork will not lay flat and can also look very haphazard.

The same rule goes for your backing and again, it's advisable to use the same type of
material on the back as you do on the front to avoid anything shrinking. When washing
your fabric, be aware of the colors you are using too as your front and back will of course
be washed as one garment. So choose colors that can be washed together on a regular
basis. It's no good having a red front and white back, as the red will be lightly to run after
few washes and you could end up with the pink quilt.

Another good tip to mention here is not to use any fabric softener when laundering at this
stage because if you do, the material will go very limp and it will make it much harder to
work on. There are folks who’ve even go incompletely the opposite direction and use
starch to help stiffen their material. This isn’t essential but what are we thinking about if
you prefer to stitch on stiffer material.

You’ll now have all the essentials you need to start your quilting project. But if you never
done any quilt work before, do get yourselves a good scissors to help you get the best
results, one pair for fabric, one pair for paper and a small pair of embroidery scissors for
fine finishing. Make sure you’ve also got something to keep your ongoing project in,
where it won't to get dirty as these quilts can take a long time to complete.

A selection of papers especially squared to create patterns on will also be useful and an
embroidery pencil that you can draw designs directly onto the fabric with can be an
added bonus. But that really is all you're going to need. So all that’s left to do now is
thread up your needle and begin quilting.

There are three methods generally used when making quilts. Basically, hand quilting,
machine quilting and tying. Each method is pretty self-explanatory and they can all be
very useful depending upon what type of project you are undertaking. All the techniques
vary from one another but they all have one process in common and that they all need to
have the three layers of fabric paste it or tack together.

If you're an experienced teacher then you will already know how important this
preparatory stage is, but don’t worry if not, it really is very simple and will save you
hours of frustration in the long run. All we’re talking about is quickly sewing the layers
of material together to hold them precisely in place basically, so your quilting will end up
exactly the way you want it.

Don’t fret about how messy your basting looks, as once you’ve finished you’re quilting
block, all the stitches will be removed anyway. Most people use a large running stitch in
a contrasting color to base their fabric because it's very quick yet secure and easy to
remove when you're finished. Firstly, cut your fabric to your desired size and then cut the
wadding so that it's fresh in at least smaller.

Then next stage needs to be carried out with real precision and it's a good habit to get into
even if you're only making a practice square. The last thing you want will be ruffles and
folds all over your quilt block before you’ve even start it to ensure that it all lays flat. It's
a good idea to take you’re backing fabric to a smooth surface with a little masking tape. If
you're making a large quilt then this method can still be utilized by taping the back into
the carpet or a very large table. Once the backing is secured smoothly to your surface,
you can then lay the wadding and the front on top of it.