Just completed the hand quilting and binding.
Since it was the first time I hand quilted, I kept the pattern very simple. It did not start of very smoothly. I had to experiment a bit to figure out what worked for me. Once I got the quirks ironed out it settled into a good rhythm. I switched the thimble between the 4th and 3rd finger a couple of times and finally settled on wearing it on the 3rd finger. Changed the needle a few times and found that a smaller needle worked better for me. I would try to take 2-3 stitches at a time but found that 3 stitches at a time worked best for me. I do need to work on the length of my stitches. I could not decide if I liked the look of a smaller or longer stitch.
I used this tutorial to knot the thread. Pulling the knot through the fabric was an un-nerving process. I could not get used to it till the very end. It does require a nearly perfect knot to make it less un-nerving. If the knot is too big you could damage your fabric.
Since the backing fabric has a busy print, it does hide the stitches very well. I thought that was a plus but if you have a nice pattern you may not want to do that. A solid fabric will show off the pattern more effectively.
For the binding, I just turned the backing around and hand stitched it. On photographing the quilt I think it could do with some more quilting on the outside borders. Let's see.
More: here, here, here & here
Since it was the first time I hand quilted, I kept the pattern very simple. It did not start of very smoothly. I had to experiment a bit to figure out what worked for me. Once I got the quirks ironed out it settled into a good rhythm. I switched the thimble between the 4th and 3rd finger a couple of times and finally settled on wearing it on the 3rd finger. Changed the needle a few times and found that a smaller needle worked better for me. I would try to take 2-3 stitches at a time but found that 3 stitches at a time worked best for me. I do need to work on the length of my stitches. I could not decide if I liked the look of a smaller or longer stitch.
I used this tutorial to knot the thread. Pulling the knot through the fabric was an un-nerving process. I could not get used to it till the very end. It does require a nearly perfect knot to make it less un-nerving. If the knot is too big you could damage your fabric.
Since the backing fabric has a busy print, it does hide the stitches very well. I thought that was a plus but if you have a nice pattern you may not want to do that. A solid fabric will show off the pattern more effectively.
For the binding, I just turned the backing around and hand stitched it. On photographing the quilt I think it could do with some more quilting on the outside borders. Let's see.
More: here, here, here & here
Love how it turned out, the hand quilting makes this quilt, it wouldn't have been nicer any other way!
ReplyDeleteGirl - this is beautiful! I LOVE what you did with the circles! Awesome job! Please bring it to the meeting so I can ogle it up close :)
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