Quilting Methods

• 1) selecting your quilt pattern, fabrics and batting
• 2) measuring and cutting your fabrics to their correct size which will make the blocks from the you have selected pattern
• 3) piecing blocks together to make a finished "top" fabric piece (i.e. sewing the cut pieces of fabric together using a sewing machine or by hand to make your quilt blocks)
• 4) layering the quilt 'top' with the 'batting' (filler layer) and the 'backing' (bottom fabric), to make a "quilt sandwich"
• 5) quilting (sewing) by hand or quilting machine through all layers of the quilt sandwich
• 6) squaring up your piece and trimming off the excess batting from the edges followed by machine sewing the 'binding' to the front edges of the quilt and then hand-stitching the binding to the quilt backing

Note: If your quilt is decorative and will be hung on the wall, there is an additional step: making and attaching the hanging sleeve or framing the piece.

Let's examine the this quilting process a bit more closely. Selecting your quilt pattern, your fabrics, and batting is a given. You need these supplies before you can even begin. Once you have these, they are measured and cut into the sizes that you will be using according to the pattern you have selected.

The 'piecing' process involves sewing the small pieces of cloth you have cut out into pattern squares, called 'blocks', thus giving the name 'block quilting' to this style of quilt. These are then sewn together to make a finished quilt 'top'. These blocks may be sewn together, edge to edge, or separated by strips of cloth called 'sashing' which make a border that surrounds each block.

'Borders' are typically strips of fabric of varying widths added to the perimeter of the pieced blocks to complete the quilt top. Note: borders may also be made up of some simple or patterned blocks that are stitched together into a row (sashing), before being added to the quilt top.

Note:Some cloth quilt styles typically are not pieced or blocked, but are made using a single piece of cloth for the quilt top. With this style of quilting, the pattern pieces are then sewn, or quilted to the single top piece of fabric.

The Layering process or 'sandwiching the quilt' is done by placing the quilt top fabric, right side up atop the batting and the backing fabric, placed on the underside of the batting, right-side out.

Quilting is the actual sewing the three quilt layers (top, batting, and backing) together, using stitches in decorative patterns, called motifs, or in utilitarian patterns, such as straight lines, often using bigger stitches than with decorative motifs. Quilting usually proceeds by starting from the middle, and moving outward toward the edges of the quilt.

Quilting is typically done by hand or machine in decorative patterns, which serves three purposes:

• 1) to secure all three layers (top, batting, and backing) to each other
• 2) to add to the beauty and decorative design of the finished quilt
• 3) to trap air within the quilted sections, making the quilt as a whole a much warmer piece than each of its parts

'Binding' the fabric involves strips cut along the bias or 'straight' of the grain then sewn together, making a long strip of cloth that will fit the perimeter of the quilt. The binding is typically sewn to the top edge of the quilt with a machine and hand sewn to the backing on the bottom side.

That in a nutshell is the traditional quilting process. Before leaving this subject, let's take a look at a few details of this process. Quilting can be elaborately decorative, comprising stitches structured into complex designs and patterns. The quilter may choose to emphasize certain areas of the quilt and add to the richness of the quilting, by using threads that are multicolored or metallic, or that make a high contrast to the fabric.

On the other hand, the quilter may choose to make the stitching disappear, using "invisible" nylon or polyester thread. To accomplish this, quilting may be done by what is known as 'stitching in the ditch' (in the seam line). Many quilters draw the quilt design on the quilt top before stitching, while others stitch "freehand."

Examples of this are simple or complex geometric grids, elaborate "motifs" traced from quilting patterns or traced pictures, complex repeated designs called' tessellations', or stitching within the seam line itself (i.e. stitching in the ditch).

While the majority of quilt tops found in the traditional quilting process are pieced from many smaller patches of fabric (known as patchwork quilts), in which the patterns of the individual blocks, or the pattern created by combining the blocks becomes the emphasis.