QNM Articles & Patterns

30 Ways To Improve Your Quilting

The QNM editors have searched the archives and have drawn on their own experience to come up with 30 ideas to make your quiltmaking easier and better. We hope you find a new idea or two that you can use.

 1 

Always use the best fabric, thread, and batting you can afford. Good quality materials will give you the best results.

 2 

Use the right tool for the job. Quilting tools may seem expensive, but most will last a long time and will pay for themselves in accuracy and quality of workmanship.

 3 

Take care of your tools. Oil and clean your sewing machine often, and insert a new needle with the start of each project. Keep scissors and rotary blades sharp and nick-free. Store your rotary mat away from the sun and heat.

 4 

Whether sewing by hand or machine, get good light on the subject. You need to see what you're doing in order to do it well.

 5 

Set up your sewing area for comfort. You'll be able to work longer with better results if you feel good.

 6 

When choosing fabrics, remember that variety in scale, value, color, and pattern add interest to the appearance of a quilt.

 7 

Always make a test block to see if you like the fabric choices you have made. It is also an opportunity to be sure the pattern is accurate before cutting all your fabric.

 8 

Step back from your work as you progress and look at it from a distance. If your space is small, use a reducing glass or look through the "wrong" end of binoculars.

 9 

Wash, starch, and iron your fabric before cutting. The starch will stabilize the fabric.

 10 

The old adage is true. Measure twice--cut once to avoid mistakes and wasted fabric.

 11 

Cut the largest or longest pieces--like borders-first. You are less likely to find yourself short of fabric.

 12 

When cutting or marking around templates, apply spray-on glue or rubber cement to the back of them so they will stay in place while you mark.

 13 

Use the same ruler throughout a project. Not all rulers measure exactly the same.

 14 

Whenever possible, cut patches with the grain of the fabric. The stretchiness of bias makes it difficult to keep the pieces true to shape.

 15 

Press seams to one side as you progress through your project. If abutting seams are pressed in opposite directions, they will match up better.

 16 

When sewing a stretchy or flimsy fabric, stabilize it with a fusible material like freezer paper, WonderUnder®, or lightweight interfacing.

 17 

Measure your pieced units from time to time during the project to be certain they are the correct size plus seam allowances.

 18 

Before beginning a project, test your marking tool of choice on your fabrics to be certain it will wash or rub out.

 19 

If you are using several colors of thread on a project, keep a needle threaded with each color to save the trouble of rethreading.

 20 

For easy thread cutting, place a slender seam ripper in the hole of the spool of thread and clip lengths with a simple tug over the ripper. A piece of tape on the bottom hole will prevent the ripper from slipping through.

 21 

Check the back of your quilt from time to time to be certain your quilting stitches are getting through all the layers.

 22 

When you need to take out a few handquilting stitches, use a fine, steel crochet hook. The rounded tip removes the stitches easily without catching threads of the fabric.

 23 

If, after removing stitches, you find a row of tiny holes left in the fabric, dampen a cotton swab with warm water and rub it gently over the holes to make them disappear.

 24 

Arrange the surface of your sewing machine so it is level with the surface of the sewing table you are using. This will make the quilt easier to move around and through the machine.

 25 

Use furniture polish on your work surface to make it slippery. This too helps your quilt glide easily during machine quilting.

 26 

Arrange other tables around your sewing machine so the quilt will be supported while you quilt. This avoids "drag" on the quilt that can pull it in the wrong direction.

 27 

Use rubber finger cots, cotton gloves, or coat your fingertips with rubber cement when machine quilting. This will make it easier to move your quilt around the machine.

 28 

Putting a busy print fabric on the back of your quilt will help to hide those rare imperfect stitches.

 29 

Be creative with the back of your quilt. Make it from leftover fabrics or blocks, use soft flannel for a lap or bed quilt, or piece your label into the back.

 30 

To get an interesting quilting design without marking, use a print fabric on the back of the quilt and stitch from the back, following the design of the fabric.