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new quilter, help please! (PIP)
Hi everyone! I am new here (I usually post on TK) but I could use some help/opinions.
I am not necessarily a crafty person, but I got a sewing machine as a wedding gift (my request) and wanted to put it to good use by making a baby quilt for my nephew-to-be who is due in Sept. I've been following internet how-to guides, and have managed to put together the squares, and just have the border left to do as far as the top of the quilt goes. Here it is so far:
So I'm not sure what to do as far as the actual quilting goes. I know that I might be able to find someone to machine quilt it for me, but that seems like cheating. I know it's also possible to use yarn to just tie it at the corners where the squares meet, but I'm not sure I'll like that as much.
Can anyone tell me how long it might take to sew it by hand, if I have 8x4 squares that are each 6"? Or whether my small machine might be useable in this case? Or whether I'm crazy and there's some obvious way to do this that I'm not thinking of?
For those of you who are quilters, how did you get started on your first project?
Thanks so much!
Re: new quilter, help please! (PIP)
I had a similar first quilt. I quilted 1/4 in on either side of the seam. Here's the tutorial that I used for the entire quilt. I can't say it enough to BASTE CORRECTLY and enough!!You don't want that sucker moving around!!
http://www2.fiskars.com/Activities/Crafting/Articles/How-to-Quilt
Stitch-in-the-ditch is great for a first quilting project.
Make sure you baste or pin all three layers (top, batting, back) really really well before you begin. Start sewing in the middle of the quilt and work outward toward the edges.
Thank you for your replies! I do agree that stitch-in-the-ditch or going slightly inside the seams will probably be the easiest for me to start with. It sounds like you are all recommending doing this with my machine, or did I misunderstand that?
I'm willing to do it by hand if it's something I could get done in a few weekends, after some practice, assuming I have say 4 hours a day to do this each weekend. But if it's possible to use the machine, I'm assuming that will be significantly faster?
I would only recommend quilting straight lines along the seams if you have a walking foot for your machine. It helps move the fabric from the top and the bottom instead of just the teeth at the bottom. It will make it much easier and the quilt will come out looking more even.
If you don't have one they exist for all manufacturers and even by model. Just do a bit of research and you can easily find one on the internet for your machine.
I was able to do a 70" x 70" quilt with my walking foot and at some points I had the whole quilt rolled up in the throat of the machine. It fit. Barely. But it did. I used the instructions from the website of Oh Fransson.
Married Bio
Thanks again for the advice. I'll have to see what will fit in my sewing machine before considering doing it with the machine, and I'll try some practice runs on scraps to find out what I'm capable of.
I really appreciate the opinions, I feel like I'm taking on something I know absolutely nothing about so any advice is good advice at this point.
And plus also - I think this quilt would look really good with diagonal lines running through the squares or crossing to make diamonds. Before you start quilting you can use painters tape (the green or blue stuff) to mark off the edges of your lines (one at a time) so that you can get nice straight lines all the way across the quilt. This is time-consuming but can result in a really nice finish.
I found it worked best to put the tape 1/4" off from where I wanted my quilting seam to go and then I could follow along with the edge of my foot. You don't want to sew right along the edge of the tape since you might occasionally hit it and then it becomes a PITA to remove the tape from under the seam.
Good luck!
Married Bio
I agree it would look good with diagonal lines through your squares. I usually use a chalk pencil and ruler to mark quilting lines- the chalk will wash off and you can sew right o the lines, you just have to pay attention as you're drawing them that the lines stay straight.
you shouldn't have trouble machine quilting. a walking foot would be helpful, but it you pin your layers together well and take your time quilting, you can use a normal foot.