Saturday 22 April 2017

Hand quilting designs

Welcome back. This is the third post in this little series about hand quilting. The first was here, where I gave my thoughts on keeping hand quilting alive in the 21st century.  The second was here, where I explained the threads, needles and thimbles I use,

Today is the third post and it's about the designs I choose to hand quilt on my quilts.

1.  This is one of the very first quilts I hand quilted.  I used masking tape to mark diagonal lines across the squares and hand quilted in black cotton.  It was a good place to start.



2. I then moved onto quilting 1/4" from the seam. I still used masking tape but found my needle kept getting sticky from the tape (because I stitched too close to the tape). This is when I started using DMC Perle 8.



3. I used a similar technique on Bordered Peacocks, but I used wider masking tape because I wanted to quilt 1" from the edge because the area to fill was larger.



4. On this Radiant Poppies quilt I wanted to break away from 1/4" from the edge, so I drew straight lines across the quilt with a washable blue marker.   I marked the lines in groups of 3.



5.  Then I decided I wanted to try free hand quilting with no marked lines!  I used Dazzle thread from Wonderfil here (it has built in sparkle). I quilted my first wavy line down the middle of the tree, and then worked out to the edges on either side of it.



6. I intended to hand quilt this wall hanging in pink Razzle from Wonderfil, but it was too hard to get the thick thread through the Batiks so I just did some accent hand quilting and then reverted to machine quilting for the rest of it. There's a time and place for everything. 



7.  Last year I made this wall hanging and decided to quilt circles on it! I used a chalk pencil and traced around some plates from my kitchen. This is where I started using Aurifil 12wt.  It's thinner than perle 8 and is lovely and soft.



8.  I made my own cloud templates for My Small World.  I don't think they really show up on the finished quilt, but they certainly add texture to the sky area. I didn't want to quilt straight lines in the sky.



9. On Oh! Christmas Tree I decided to emphasise the stars on the background fabric. I didn't have to mark any lines, I just quilted over the designs in the fabric. I'm really pleased with how this one turned out.


I echo quilted around the wool felt applique to make the birds and flowers stand out.



10.  I don't normally do cross hatching, but decided a small taste of it would work well on my Possum Magic quilt (this isn't finished yet). 



11.  I decided to quilt quite densely on this English Paper Pieced quilt.  I marked the lines with a hera marker and that's now my preferred method of marking. I didn't want to quilt in the ditch because the seam allowances can be bulky on English Paper Piecing. 



12.  Last photo - another English Paper Pieced quilt I quilted last year stiching 1/4" from the edge.  this is still my default option if I can't think of any other designs. Now I use Hera markers to mark the quilting lines. I much prefer them to masking tape now.


So, the possibilities are endless - just as they are for machine quilting.  I keep trying to stitch without marking lines, but if I want a straight line it's quicker for me to just mark it.  Otherwise I keep unpicking my stitches because they're not straight enough.

I hope these photos help some of you wondering what to quilt onto your quilts.

Remember: If you're itching to give it a go, and don't know where to start, I highly recommend this video by Sarah Fielke - it's how I learnt.  I watched it again and again until I was happy with my own technique.

20 comments:

Carol- Beads and Birds said...

Thank you!! SO much for another post about hand quilting. I just finished stitching a cupcake on each block of my first quilt. I am thinking I need to add more quilting and I love the hand quilt process. This post is so inspirational for me. I loved seeing all the quilts you have hand quilted. I'm pretty sure it will be my forte.
xx, Carol

Susan said...

Thanks for all the details Wendy! I had forgotten about tailors chalk- perfect for circles, as the Hera marker doesn't like going around corners! And the plastic template is an idea I hadn't thought of either!

Sue said...

A wonderful post Wendy. Thanks. It's always good to see other people's ideas. I forgot to take a closeup of the little doll quilt I just made, before posting it off to USA.

Jocelyn is Canadian Needle Nana said...

Another wonderful informative post. You are so kind to take the time to share your different methods like this. Your quilting is so wonderful it is a pleasure to view it up close. I bought a hera marker but haven't used it yet. Must keep it in mind for next time I'm hand quilting.

margaret said...

good to see all these hand quilted quilts, like you I use a hera marker one of my favourite quilting tools. Also use perle thread. Finding I get more enjoyment hand than machine quilting just as well as my walking foot broke the other day fingers crossed it can be repaired as a new one is over £100 for a bernina.

Kiwiquilter said...

I've really enjoyed your series of posts about hand quilting, thank you, Wendy. Particularly the one on the threads you use, and why. I'm presuming the Hera marker is used after the quilt is basted? I've just watched a YouTube video on them, but the woman on it demonstrated on a flat bit of fabric only. I've found them for only $4.75 and free postage on Fishpond, as against $12.70 plus postage on Trade Me, so have bought one to try. Can't beat a bargain!
Thanks again
Marina

Turid said...

So lovely to see all your beautiful hand quilting. And I really love the colours you use on your quilts.

sam said...

So inspiring to see your lovely quilting. I appreciate all the details, especially your beginnings to present quilting. Have enjoyed all your hand quilting posts.

rosemaryschild said...

I love hand-quilting - thank you for all the great tips and ideas-much appreciated, Susan

Kath said...

Your projects are a delight, thankou for this post. I should love to see more of your EPP quilt, I enjoy this method myself.

Dianne Neale said...

Thank you so much. I'm currently working my way through hand quilting a huge quilt and this has given me some fresh ideas

Every Stitch said...

Great photos - and beautiful quilting! Thanks for sharing your progression in hand quilting -am really enjoying these posts. The hera marker is my favourite marking tool too :)

Unknown said...

thanks for sharing your ideas and photos Wendy. You do beautiful work. I'm just wondering if you could help me. I've machine quilted in the ditch across a Queen size quilt, and bound it. I'm now working on some hand quilting additions, but it's taking a long time. I'd like to wash the quilt and use it in the mean time. Do you think washing it will mean that any future hand quilting will not work as well? Thanks in advance for any advice! Cheers, Genevieve

Julia T said...

Thanks so much :) Your posts about handquilting are always so inspiring! I really love how you explain it, how you do it, the neat pictures you share with us... I consider you my mentor :)

Lisa S. said...

I've really enjoyed this series on hand quilting. You and your beautiful quilts may have inspired me to take up hand quilting again - big stitch style. Thanks!

Granny Maud's Girl said...

I like my hera marker, but seeing the lines can be a challenge - or is that just me and my shoddy eyesight?
I am still hand quilting the secret project and looking forward to sharing it with you soon.

Pauline said...

Thank you so much for this post on hand quilting designs, and the two before it - I love handquilting but am stumped on how to quilt and this has helped a lot. I usually echo hand quilt, and I have done some wiggly lines and even cross hatch. I like your 1" in from the seam hand quilting on the peacock quilt. Do you need to go through seams on a quilt to make it secure or is the 1" from the seam strong enough?
I love your work and all of the colour you use, you are such an inspiration me.
Pauline
perry94022 at hotmail dot com

Maggie said...

Hi Wendy, I have just discovered your blog and think it is just what I have been looking for. Hand piecing and hand quilting are my passion. I do have a question about your Radiant Poppies quilt which you quilted with straight parallel lines. Did you start from the middle of the quilt? Also did you have any problems with puckering? Your response would be most appreciated. It will be great to follow a fellow Wellingtonian. Thanks. Maggie

Wendy @ Wendysquiltsandmore said...

Dear Maggie. I do hope you see my comment here. I can't reply to you by email because you're a No Reply Blogger unfortunately. Yes, I started in the centre when I quilted my Radiant Poppies quilt. I don't have problems with puckering because I thread baste before I start quilting, and I use a hoop. I hope that helps. Kind regards, Wendy.

Kathy Gaffney said...

Wendy, I was just scrolling through misc. blogs, etc looking for hand quilting ideas and started looking at this one and realized that "I recognize those quilts, fabric colors and stitching. ha ha Just looked at your posting on Celebrate Hand Quilting this morning. Enjoying all your ideas -- Kathleen Gaffney