Tag: Quilting Techniques (Page 3 of 3)

Image of 48-inch quilt with prairie points.
Bella Piastrella with Prairie Points Hanging Method

Prairie Point Hanging Method

September 17, 2016 /

Discover a quick quilt hanging method to display your quilts!

Let’s face it…quilts take time. We really should cherish each step of the process. But, if you’re like me, it’s those last few steps that sometimes really test your patience:

Firstly, the binding…

Then the label…

Last, the SLEEVE…ugh!

Now, here is a fast, easy way to attach a hanging sleeve, with just a few quick points – Prairie Points!

Start with a few squares of fabric, fold them diagonally twice and lay them on your quilt. Next, baste with your machine, using a seam width that is smaller than your binding seam. Lastly, stitch the points by hand with just a few stitches! That’s it! It’s that easy.

Now let’s break it down:

For instance, if you have a small wall hanging, 5 inch squares will do.  But if you have a large quilted wall hanging, 12 – 16 inch squares will work.  The number you need depends on how large you make them and the size of your quilt. You’ll see, as soon as you fold one and hold it up to your quilt, how many you’ll need. This method is so much faster and easier that the traditional “sleeve”, you’ll be looking forward to using this method on your quilts!

So, for this tiny wall hanging (11  inches wide), I am using two five-inch squares.

Easy Method for Hanging Quilts

For small pieces, I like to use an even number of triangles so that the center is open for hanging it on one hook or nail. Of course, larger pieces need to be hung by two points, so the number of triangles attached to the quilt depend only on how many you want to add. For example, my 90 -inch wide quilt has 7 triangles which started with 12 1/2 inch squares.

Also great about this method, if you have a particularly heavy quilt to hang, you can add additional rod support in the center of your quilt in between two triangles.

To begin, fold a square diagonally once, press. Fold that triangle

Folded twice from square.
Folded twice from square.

diagonally again, press. Do this for all of the squares. Secondly, lay them at the top of your quilt, cut edge, lining up with the top edge of your quilt sandwich. Pin in place. Next, machine baste within the seam of your binding (whether the binding is on yet or not). Lastly, use a needle and thread (I like to use doubled thread for this) to stitch down each point, securing with several stitches.

Finally, attach and turn binding as usual and your quilt is ready to hang!

Image of Quilt Hanging Method

All Creative Bee Studios patterns provide Prairie Point Hanging Method instructions. Shop Patterns HERE.

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Why It’s Hip to Be Square

August 15, 2016 /

Test this demo about squaring up quilts!

You just gotta love square quilts!

Water Colours 

I’ve heard several of my quilter friends comment that they don’t like to make square quilts. I get that. Bed-size quilts can be more practical, usable, and gift-able. Even if I’m making a wall hanging or art quilt, mine usually aren’t square. But I DO love a quilt with right corners, no matter the length of its sides!

If your long-arm quilter ever mentions measured borders and “squared” backings, you might wonder, “What’s the big deal?”, especially in regards to your backing fabric.  Here’s a little demo you can do yourself to understand why it benefits you–and your quilt–to start and stay square:

*Grab two pencils, tape, scissors, and a piece of paper from a little notepad. I’m assuming your paper is a rectangle, but a square works, too.
*First make a straight cut on one of the long sides of your paper at an angle. It doesn’t have to be a big angle, just make sure you aren’t cutting it parallel to the edge of the paper.
*Now tape the opposite end to a pencil, keeping the paper even across the pencil.
*Now tape the other, angled end to the other pencil.
*Roll your paper “quilt backing” onto the first pencil.
As you can see, the second pencil lies at an angle. Straighten that pencil until it is parallel to the first pencil. The extra paper you see would be the extra fabric in a real quilt backing. This can cause folds on the back of your quilts. Your quilter might try to avoid that by making sure your backings is trimmed square before loading it onto her poles, but it could cost you extra fees because, depending on the backing, it could take up to an hour to square an unruly backing.
I figure most quilters understand why they’d want their quilt top to be square (have right angles). Whether it’s a wall hanging or going on a bed, or even folded as a throw, it’s nice to have everything line up just right. Tops have a tendancy to take on an hourglass shape, especially if the borders are applied and then trimmed. Measured borders (based on measurements from the center of the quilt) which are pinned at the centers and corners and  “eased” onto the top will actually help your quilt stay square.
Now, I am not telling you this so that you stress over your quilt tops and fret if they don’t (heehee) “measure up” (couldn’t resist). We don’t need more quilt police, especially in today’s world of quilting when so many of the old rules no longer apply. I do think as long as we take consistent steps in our quilting process that tend to lead toward a square quilt, that is effort enough. From time to time, I will get a quilt top in my long arm frame (including my own) which are less than square by (wait for it) a fair measure (sew many puns, see?). All puns aside, I have certain procedures I follow when loading and advancing a quilt so that I can be certain I’m doing everything possible to keep the quilt square. Sometimes, and it’s usually a mystery, a quilt just doesn’t play nicely, no matter how precisely it has been pieced or prepped. In those cases, there are tricks for easing in extra fabric and avoiding folds, some I’ve learned in classes and others I’ve learned through trial and error.
Sometimes, you can do everything possible to keep your quilt square and it still doesn’t cooperate. Sometimes it can truly be a mystery! Think, though, of all of the variables which go into the production of the fabrics and threads, the cutting, stitching, the differences in machines, etc. and construction of a quilt and you can understand why many quilters say, “If you can’t see it riding a horse at 40 mph, don’t worry about it!”. I say, if your quilt is made with love and passion, it is perfect just as it is.

For more information about prepping your quilt for a long-arm quilter, see my blog page. Also, visit me on Facebook at The Quilting Bee Long-arm Designs by Karla. Follow me on Bloglovin’ at: blog.creativebeestudios.com and at my website, www.creativebeestudios.com.

One of the lovely bonds between quilters is that we are crafting beautiful works with our hands to be enjoyed by others.

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Happy Quilting!

Tropical Fun traveled with the AccuQuilt GO! AQS Tour.

Image of Italian Landscape Quilt
Bella Vista by Karla Kiefner

Six Sweet Tips for Using Color in Landscape Quilts

July 14, 2016 /

These six tips for using color in landscape quilts makes choosing them a breeze!

The tips for using color, of course, depends on subject of your landscape. But there are some general tips that can help make that process fun.

Let’s start at the very beginning…a very FUN place to start.

Tips for Using Color Shown in Bella Vista quilt.
Bella Vista by Karla Kiefner

My favorite part of landscape quilts is when I’m first digging through my fabric stash, searching for any fabrics which might remotely play nicely in my quilt…folding them into shapes, layering them on top of each other…imagining.

  1. When choosing fabrics for a landscape quilt, choose a wide variety of dark, medium, and light fabrics, mostly cottons, but also other textures. (I have been known to cut up old clothing for the right fabric in a small space.) You can’t have too many!
  2. Throw in some “wild card” colors! Go ahead and grab fabrics you might not immediately think of for nature scenes, both by color and print. Add some purple, copper, gold, olive/brown, gray, and gray-blue or colors with those combinations in them.
  3. Use those “ugly” fabrics! Of course, you don’t want an entire quilt of your least favorite fabrics, but they do have an important role because they make your beautiful fabrics really pop.
  4. When auditioning your fabrics, remember that generally speaking, distant hillsides will be “cooler” and bluer than the close, “warmer” hillsides–a phenomenon called “aerial perspective”. In addition to color, use quilting to also give a more defined perspective, using larger quilting in the foreground and tighter, smaller designs in the distance.
  5. Use whatever materials you need to get the look you want. (Don’t be afraid to break the rules.) In Bella Vista, I used several layers of yellow tulle on the hillsides and sky to give them a muted look of warm sunshine to contrast the stone window and close sunflowers.
  6. When choosing your fabrics for a landscape quilt, think of your stash as a brand new box of crayons. Be playful and daring and PLAN to color outside the lines!
Bella Vista
by
Karla Kiefner

Enjoy your quilting journey!

Three Quick Tips for Using a Long-arm Quilter

July 8, 2016 /

Check out these three tips for using a long- arm quilter.

TIP 1 : Choose your quilting based on the needs of your specific quilt top and how the quilt will be used. For example, is it going to be entered into a show, hung on a wall or used on a bed? Will the quilt be cherished as an heirloom or used as a beloved blankie? Determining how your quilt will be used will help you decide how much and what kind of quilting you want. (Generally, most people want soft quilts for a bed which means less quilting per square inch. In contrast, quilts entered in today’s competitions require more dense and varied quilting.)

Winter Blessings Quilt
Pattern by Shabby Fabrics

TIP 2: Choose your style. Remember that quilting styles vary based on each quilter’s experience and equipment. Piecers who crave perfection may prefer a quilter with computerized designs. Piecers making art quilts or those who want a hand-crafted look may prefer a quilter who does free-hand and tool-guided designs. It really depends on what you like and what your quilt top needs.

Monogrammed Baby Quilt

See more about this baby quilt at One Sophisticated Lady.

TIP 3: Choose your backing carefully. First, realize that most long-arm quilters today use the same color of thread in the bobbin as is used on the top. Keep this in mind when choosing your backing and you can determine if you want a big contrast, so the quilting shows or little contrast, so that it blends. ALSO, use quality backing. I encourage quilters to choose the same quality of backing as is used on the top. Be wary of “bargain” backings which may have low thread counts. Do the feel test!

Dream Pillow Trapunto

If you aren’t sure what and how much quilting you want, talk to your quilter. She or he has hopefully made these same decisions over and over for people who tell them to do whatever they think the quilt needs.  What is the quilt’s purpose? What do you like? Remember, that there are no wrong answers and, as the creator of your quilt, YOU RULE!

Happy Quilting!

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