Learn all about sewing binding on a quilt with our in-depth hands-on tutorial. We'll show you how to calculate binding, make binding for a quilt, and how to finish binding!
Learning how to tie a quilt is a great way to give some hand quilted charm to your projects. Continue reading for 6 fun ways to try it out!
In an unprecedented act of blogging fanciness I decided to make a video documenting how I create the woodgrain texture (so thoroughly p...
So, if you've been wanting to try big stitch quilt binding, consider trying this unique alternative to machine binding.
A chart with the most common baby quilt size. Plus, how to choose what size your quilt should be based on the use. Included are other common quilt sizes!
Learn how to piece a quilt backing no matter the quilt size. We've included a handy quilt backing chart to help you plan your backing.
It's finally here! The video showing you how I do big stitch quilting - a super easy and fun hand quilting technique! Big stitch quilting is my new favorite way to hand quilt - I'm not sure I'll ever go back to traditional hand quilting. It's just so much fun! I love the chunkiness of the
tutorial on joining the ends of quilt binding
Want to give your quilting some added texture and depth? Try machine quilting with 12 wt. thread! It's not difficult, but there are 5 secrets you must know.
Learning how to tie a quilt is a great way to give some hand quilted charm to your projects. Continue reading for 6 fun ways to try it out!
Is this the easiest quilt-as-you-go joining method ever? I think so! There is no hand sewing and no joining strips!
What do you do with leftover quilt batting scraps? I have a wonderful solution to turn them into frankenbatting... if that confuses you, it is not near as hard as it sounds. It's a great way to make use of leftovers!
Here is a helpful technique from Beth Ann Doing for self-binding a quilt. Binding a quilt is something quilters either love or hate. Personally, I like it because it means my piece is almost done…
Before you can quilt you need to baste all of your quilt layers together. Continue reading to see how easy it is to get this job done!
Washing a quilt can be a stressful process for many quilters because the risk of ruining a quilt that you just spent hours and hours to make is scary! However, washing your quilt doesn’t have to be as scary as we make it out to be. Plus, you can even wash and dry your quilt...
This stumped me for the LONGEST time. So much so, that even if I ran out of bobbin thread near the end of a quilting line, I would still unpick the ENTIRE line so that I could start again. Ugh. Let…
Today's tutorial is from the talented Elizabeth, who blogs at Ocassional Piece - Quilt. Elizabeth is an experienced quilter with a degree in Clothing and Textiles. Elizabeth has put this excellent tutorial together to demystify the legendary "Y-seam" for us. Soon you will be sewing y-seams without even a blink, read on. Hi! I'm Elizabeth and I blog at OccasionalPiece-Quilt, or OPQuilt, for short. I've been sewing and quilting for more years than I should admit to, and during that time have completed over 120 quilts. So I've faced down more than my share of the Dreaded Y-seams. In June of this year, I made this quilt for my sister, titled Christine's Philadelphia. As you can see there are lots of peaks and valleys in this thing--lots of Y-seams going both ways (some people call them Y-seams and V-seams) but really, let's keep it simple. They are called Y-seams because the V-part of the letter Y usually has fabric with no seam, and the tail of the Y has a seam. I've marked the Y for you in red in the picture on the left. The picture on the right is the other type of Y-seam. I'll show you both. Let's start with the first type of Y-seam, where the "tail" of the Y is facing toward you and the "V" of the Y is underneath. Place a pin at the 1/4-inch mark through the seam, and into a spot that would be the peak of the 1/4" seamline, if you could draw it on and imagine it. Most beginners want to pin that seam to death. That makes me want to run screaming in the other direction. The success of your Y-seam depends on the "float" of the fabric. I sometimes will place one pin on either side of the seam, just to anchor it as I get going, then another pin or two along the starting point. Then I take out the (above) pin. Again, I want my fabric to float -- don't want to anchor that second half of the seam too much, as I need it to pivot. Start sewing from the left edge, as the seam faces you, using a 1/4" seam allowance. Fold the seam toward you, and as you approach the seam, slow down and use a bit smaller stitch. You are trying to anchor the stitching a bit. When you get to the seamline, when you are on top of the thread marking that other seam, STOP. Make a tiny stitch on top of the one before to anchor, but DON'T GO OVER THE SEAM LINE. Lift your needle out of the cloth. I pulled it away to show you what I mean, but you don't need to do that. Just give yourself a little room to smooth the (green) seam allowances out of the way, and to find the place to insert your needle again. Re-insert your needle just on the other side. Then line up the next two raw edges, smoothing the fabric away from the needle and your presser foot. Sounds more confusing than it is. Take a few tiny stitches to anchor, then change your stitch length back to normal. Another shot of my needle placed just on the other side of the seam allowances (which I flipped to the back of my presser foot). Depending on the amount of cloth in your Y-seam, and if you just feel better about it, go ahead now, and pin those raw edges together and stitch the rest of the seam. When you are through sewing, clip the thread if it is restricting the ability of the seam allowance to open up and lay flat. If you left a bit of thread there (pulled it away from the needle as in my photo above) there should be no problem. Press, keeping the tail of the Y-seam open. From the front, it looks like this. Now we'll tackle the other kind of seam--where the seam of the Y's tail is underneath, and you see the "V" part of the Y. First locate the valley of the one-quarter-inch seamline and put a pin there. Snip to within a couple of threads of the pin. Leaving the pin there insures that you won't cut too far. If that happens, curse a little. You can sometime rescue the piece with a bit of fusible interfacing. Better to not cut too far. Half of the seam (1/8") is all that's needed. Find the 1/4-inch peak of the seam below, and poke the pin in to anchor. You can leave in that center pin to hold it, and if you are afraid it will slip, it's okay to put one pin on the backside. If you can, try to avoid that pin on the right. Again, the success of a Y-seam lays in the ability of the fabric to move and pivot. Just as in the first type of seam, start stitching from the left side of the seam, towards that center pin. When you get to the pin, STOP with your needle down in the fabric. Remove the pin, then pivot the fabric so that you can match raw edges. As you align the new sides, it may feel a bit bulky under your foot, but smooth any excess fabric out away from you. Here you can see that I've pivoted, repinned the new raw edges together and am starting down the other side of the seam. This is what it looks like from the back. That deep fold is the V part of the Y-seam. The front. Give it light press. Resist the urge to saturate it with your pressing goo and mash it flat with your iron. A shot of steam and firm pressure with your fingers can usually help the most reluctant point to behave. Sometimes your seam gets a little jig-jaggy. As long as it's not too bad, it will be fine. I did the same kind of stitching process on this seam: shorten your stitches as you approach the point, then lengthen them out on the other side. A better point. All of these work fine in the quilt, because you haven't, a) stitched it to death, and b) murdered it with your iron. You can see one type of Y-seam where I joined the green roofs to the yellow houses. And you can see the other type where I joined the purple roofs to the sky. Now you know all my dressmaker/quilter tricks: never be afraid of Y-seams again! Thanks to Leanne, of She Can Quilt, for hosting this series of guest tutorials for the Finish-A-Long Motivational Program. (Just kidding on the name of it, but it does help get those UFOs out of the closet and onto the bed. Or wall.) And thank you Elizabeth! Don't forget to link up your Q3 finishes - the Q3 post-quarter link is open here and it will close at midnight MST, October 7, 2013. And if you still have some UFOs I hope you will join us for Q4 of the FAL, Q4 FAL lists can be posted starting on October 8.
Sometimes jumping into free motion quilting needs a baby step, and grid quilting is just the thing to do it! Create structured free motion quilting using these 9 grid quilting ideas to dip your toes in and get started!
This Quilting roundup is filled with Airplane or as I prefer to say Aeroplane Quilting patterns. So first thing I had to do is google the difference between Airplane and Aeroplane. Airplane’ …
Wondering what to do with all of the bandanas you've collected from the groomer? Check out how to make a quilt out of dog bandanas.
Hexagon Piecing Tutorial: Hexagon piecing is super easy and fun! It's a great craft to do while hanging out on the couch, and it's extremely portable, so you can craft pretty much anywhere! :D You can use the sewn hexagons for all sorts of things: patches on clothes, as appl…
Learn how to square up fabric before cutting any pieces for your next quilt - especially when dealing with longer strips.
6 quilt photography tips from an expert to help your quilts shine! These tips are easily applies to your every day photos taken with just an iPhone!
Straight line quilting is a great beginner quilting technique, but there's a right way and a wrong way. Continue reading to see if you are doing it right!
If you’ve used a sewing machine before you’re probably familiar with the backstitch function on your machine. Backstitching is when you reverse over your stitches to help lock them into place. This stitch can be an important part of sewing because it helps secure your stitches in place. This prevents your project from unraveling. But...
If you have a pile of clothing and T-shirts that have special meaning but don’t really know what to do with them, a T-shirt quilt may be the perfect…
Wondering what to do when you visit Uluru, Australia? This guide shares the best things to do at Uluru, a truly unforgettable place to visit.
The only part of making a quilt that I do not enjoy is sewing the quilt back. I just hate calculating the dimensions, cutting the pieces and then sewing them together. There are many, many ways t…
Straight line quilting is fast and fantastic. Come to Bonjour Quilts for a ton of straight line quilting designs and tips you can use today.
Okey Dokey, here is my first attempt at a tutorial…feedback encouraged! Hopefully at least some of this makes sense. :) I’m going to explain the ridiculous way I figured out how to do t…
How To Make An Easy Baby Quilt | Young House Love
Learn how to do a stitch known as the hidden slip stitch, which is the perfect stitch to use when sewing bindings or doing hand applique.
Sometimes jumping into free motion quilting needs a baby step, and grid quilting is just the thing to do it! Create structured free motion quilting using these 9 grid quilting ideas to dip your toes in and get started!
This is the optical illusion quilts. They can be sewn into squares, wall hangings, circles, large quilts, art quilts in all kinds of colors and patterns.
When I started quilting, I had no idea how to do this. My knots would look so ghetto, lol. This may be a no-brainer to a lot of you seasoned sewers out there, but for all of you that’d like a…
Think about you, quilting. Pair that image with your wildest, most wouldn’t-it-be-amazing dream. What does your marvel of a quilting experience look like? For astronaut Karen Nyberg, her quilting adventure was a literal out-of-this world event: making a quilt block in orbit, on the International Space Station. Wow! Inspiration doesn’t come on a scale much …
The quilt-along starts Saturday 30th September- see below for more details! When I first started quilting back in 2019, it was via a lot of hacked together Youtube videos. But quilting brings me SO much joy that I want as many people to do it as possible, hence why I pulled together my free Quil
This nicely complex block is a WHOLE lot easier to make than it looks. ( Edited to add: See the finished quilt here !) It's July, an...
