Once you have pieced a quilt top, be it a wall hanging, a table topper or a bed quilt – the next step is to “quilt” it! For this tutorial, we will use the quilt top created from my free “In Love With Fall” table runner pattern.
Making a Quilt Sandwich
First let’s talk about preparing your quilt top for quilting. We are going to make a “quilt sandwich”! There are 3 layers of fabric in our quilt sandwich – the quilt back, the batting and the quilt top. The quilt back can be as plain or fancy as desired. Often muslin is used for the backing, or perhaps a plain fabric that matches the quilt top. The backing can also be pieced if desired. There are several options for the middle layer, the batting (sometimes called wadding). Depending on the purpose of the quilt – warmth for winter, lightweight for summer, washable, etc., you can choose 100% cotton, a cotton/poly blend, 100% poly or wool. A thin flannel batting can also be used.
Next let’s talk about all the different ways there are to do the actual quilting.
- There is “hand quilting”. A “hand quilting” needle and “hand quilting” thread are used to make tiny stitches by hand, often with the quilt sandwich held in place in a hoop or frame. This is a traditional method for quilting, and is still an honored skill today.
- You will also hear the term “big stitch quilting”. Just like the name indicates, this is hand quilting, but taking larger stitches and using heavier thread. The quilting shows more and adds a modern look to the quilt.
- There is “longarm quilting” where the quilt sandwich is held in place on a metal frame while the sewing machine head moves horizontally and vertically while the fabric stays in place. These can be quite expensive, but many of today’s modern quilters have chosen to purchase a longarm machine to quilt their own personal quilts and perhaps make some money by quilting for others. Note there is no need to “baste” your quilt when quilting it on a longarm. (We’ll discuss “basting” your quilt in a bit…)
- There is “domestic machine quilting” where the quilting is done on a home sewing machine. This is very doable, especially with a sewing machine that has a nice wide throat area. This tutorial discusses quilting on a domestic sewing machine. I will share some tips with you!
Let’s begin!
To make our “quilt sandwich”, first determine how big the backing and batting need to be. A good rule of thumb is to have a quilt back that is 2-4 inches larger on each side of your quilt top. So in our case, following the “Fall in Love” pattern, our quilt top is approximately 41.5″ x 17.5″, the quilt back needs to at least 45.5″ x 21.5″. For a lap quilt or larger, I would recommend having the full 4″ larger on each side. The batting size should match the quilt backing size. With your iron, press the backing. Take the batting out of the package and allow it to air out for a couple hours or overnight. If cotton or wool, gently press so it lays nice and flat.
BASTING THE QUILT SANDWICH
Next we need to “baste” the quilt sandwich. Basting can be done a couple different ways.
- Some quilters like to “baste” the quilt sandwich by using thread to make long stitches across the quilt in both directions. I have not tried this, but found a nice article explaining the process.
- Some quilters like to “baste” the quilt sandwich by using a temporary fabric adhesive, such as a product called “505 Spray and Fix”. I have used this, and it does work quite well, especially on smaller quilts. The backing is lightly sprayed, with the batting then set on top of the back. And then the batting is lightly sprayed, with the quilt top set on top of it. The quilt sandwich is gently smoothed out and ready to quilt. You can find lots of tutorials online.
- Curved quilting safety pins can be used. That is what we will do in this tutorial.
With curved quilting safety pins, the quilt sandwich is put on a hard surface such as a table or the floor (not carpet). After smoothing out all wrinkles, a pin is placed about every 4-5 inches. The rule of thumb is a “fist length” apart. Start in the middle of the quilt, and work your way to the edges. When finished, be sure to turn the quilt over to check for any unintended wrinkles or creases. Re-do the pinning in those areas.
PLANNING YOUR QUILT MOTIF
Now to decide what type of quilting motif will look best on our table runner. Again, we have so many choices. Sometimes you really need to stare at your quilt top for a while. You have two goals, first and foremost, the quilting is what holds the quilt together! But also, you want the quilting to actually enhance the piecing of the quilt top.
- You can use quilting stencils. These are thin plastic sheets with designs laser cut in them. The designs are traced onto your quilt top. You then follow the lines with your stitches. (When using this method, it is best to trace the designs before you put the quilt sandwich together.) There are fabric pencils (and fabric erasers), water soluble pens and air erasable markers. Always test your chosen method on a small scrap of fabric from your quilt top.
- You can use your sewing machine’s “walking foot”. This is a great way to do straight line quilting as the walking foot helps to keep the 3 layers of fabric in the sandwich from slipping.
- You can do “free motion quilting”. This allows you to move your quilt sandwich in different directions to highlight areas of your fabric, make loops, feathers, flowers, etc. It is similar to “longarm quilting”, but on your domestic sewing machine you need to move the fabric, while the sewing machine needles stays in place.
- Making “free motion quilting” a bit easier, you can now use “quilting rulers” with a “ruler foot”.
DETERMINING THREAD TYPE / COLOR AND NEEDLE FOR QUILTING
Once you have decided on a quilting plan, next you’ll want to decide what type and what color thread to use. You can use a neutral color of thread that blends in well with the colors in the quilt top. Or you might want the thread color to really stand out. The thread “weight” can also make a difference. The “lower” the weight, the heavier the thread. For example you might chose a 40 wt. cotton thread instead of a 50 wt. cotton thread if you want the quilting to stand out more. My usual is to use 40 wt. cotton Aurifil thread in the needle, with matching 50 wt. cotton Aurifil thread in the bobbin. And I tend to be conservative with thread color, trying to complement both the top and back. A tip for a beginning quilter is to use a ‘busy’ fabric on the back so your quilting stitches won’t show as much on the back.
For this tutorial however, I could not resist using a gold metallic rayon embroidery thread for some of the quilting. My fabric has little flecks of gold in it. However, I would suggest that a beginner stick with cotton for a while! I am using a 50 wt. Aurifil cotton in the bobbin.
Needle type is also important. For free motion quilting with cotton, I like to use a Schmetz 75/11 Stretch needle. I find it is more tolerant and breaks less. However depending on the fabric and thread I’ve chosen, sometimes, I like to use a Schmetz Microtex/Sharp or Schmetz Top Stitching needle. For this tutorial, with the embroidery thread, I am using a Schmetz 90/14 Top Stitching needle.
PULLING UP THE BOBBIN THREAD
Regardless of quilting method, quilting motif and quilting thread choice, to start quilting, let’s begin by learning to pull the bobbin thread up. This makes for neater stitching on the back of your quilt. Start by threading your needle and taking hold of the top thread firmly in your left hand. Using the hand wheel on the right side of your machine, put the needle down into your fabric where you want to begin. Put the presser foot in the down position. With your right hand, gently turn the hand wheel toward you, which will drop the needle further into your fabric, and then back up. Gently, but firmly, tug on the thread in your left hand. The bobbin thread will pop up. I like to use tweezers to grab hold of the bobbin thread and gently pull up an inch or two. Put both the upper and bobbin thread under the presser foot and to the back or side it. You are ready to go! Be sure to “lock” your first stitch and your last.
LET’S QUILT!
I like to use quilting gloves to help grip and move the fabric for both straight line and free motion quilting. For this table runner, the first thing I did was quilt an outline of the three leaves, about an 1/8 inch inside the leaf fabric. I used a free motion foot (with the feed dogs down). But you could also do the same thing with a walking foot or regular sewing foot (with the feed dogs up). Set your machine to stop with “the needle down” so you can briefly stop at each corner of the leaf, turn your fabric, and then continue stitching.
Pull the bobbin thread to the top, lock your stitch, quilt the outline of the leaf (on the inside of the leaf), lock your stitch at the end, then cut the thread. Do the same for each of the 3 leaves.
While quilting, it is important there is no “drag” on your quilt. A nice large flat area is best for quilting. Ideally, you have a table with a “drop in” for your sewing machine. Keep your quilt from hanging off the table by rolling or scrunching it up. A wide throat on your machine is also a big help.
Next I “drew” some parallel lines inside the leaves using a ruler and a hera marker, which I then quilted. For each line, I pulled the bobbin thread up to the top, locked the stitch, stitched the straight line, locked the stitch, then cut the thread. I repeated this for each parallel line with the leaf, and did the same for all 3 leaves.
So far we’ve quilted just inside the leaves, and we’ve quilted some simple straight parallel lines on the leaves.
Next I quilted 2 straight lines, on the inside border.
Now it was time to do some quilting on the white background fabric in the leaf blocks. I switched from the metallic thread to white 40 wt. Aurifil cotton thread on top, and white 50 wt. Aurifil cotton thread on the bottom. I quilted a simple outline stitch just inside each of the white triangles and squares.
But that did not seem like quite enough! So I made a few templates from some template vinyl.
Then I traced the outlines with an air erasable marker. Always test first on a piece of scrap fabric (the same fabric you will be marking).
And then stitched a few extra designs. Notice the purple is starting to disappear!
Our quilting is done! Time to sew on the binding. Click here to learn how to make your own binding, and attach it to your quilt.
And if you haven’t yet printed your own copy of my free “In Love With Fall” table runner pattern, click here.