Quilting by hand?

[Macrina]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to these forums, but when I saw this area I thought it would be the perfect place for me to look for quilters. I really want to learn to quilt -- by hand, not with a machine -- but I have VERY limited sewing experience. The sewing books at my local library seem to assume that you already know a basic set of stitches, etc. Can anyone recommend a book or website that could get me started?

thanks,

Macrina

 

[Liz Jones]

Macrina,
I don't quilt by hand...not enough time or patience for that. But I do machine quilt. I've relatively new at it, but I could tell you how to make a rag quilt...It's SUPER easy and really cute. That was the first quilt I made. You don't need a quilting machine as you can do it all on your sewing machine.

Also, don't pay full price for any quilting books. If I see a quilting book in a store or magazine that I'd like, I purchase it used off Amazon.com. Saves loads of money.

liz

 

[judy]

Hi everyone,

I'm new to these forums, but when I saw this area I thought it would be the perfect place for me to look for quilters. I really want to learn to quilt -- by hand, not with a machine -- but I have VERY limited sewing experience. The sewing books at my local library seem to assume that you already know a basic set of stitches, etc. Can anyone recommend a book or website that could get me started?

thanks,

Macrina

Hi Macrina!

I piece and quilt strictly by hand, but I'm afraid I may be in the minority. It's very difficult to find any books or magazines aimed at people like me. I find sewing with a machine very stressful, so I never use it. Piecing and quilting by hand, however, I find soothing and stress-free. So even though you may not have much sewing experience, I would suggest jumping right in and trying it.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

It's very important to keep your measurements accurate, whether you're cutting pieces or sewing them together. For example, if you vary the seam allowance size even a little, your blocks will end up all different sizes.

If you're making a big quilt, it helps to do your quilting one section, even one block, at a time. That way you aren't dealing with a large bulky piece.

Start with a small project, like pot-holders or place mats, then do a wall hanging, then maybe a baby quilt. Try some patterns you like from quilting magazines, which are available everywhere, even in grocery stores.

Good luck, don't give up, and let me know how it goes!

Judy

 

[Macrina]

Thanks, Judy! I really appreciate the advice. I have very limited sewing experience, but I am hoping to learn enough to get the basics going. I need to learn different stitches, etc., since I haven't done much sewing of any kind. Are there a lot of different kinds of stitches you need to know in order to quilt?

I like working by hand and think this will be a nice relaxing craft to pick up.

Macrina

 

[judy]

Actually, quilting by hand uses just one basic stitch, unless you're looking to embellish your quilt with embroidery, which can look pretty cool, but it's certainly not necessary. Just practice the basic running stitch, both for piecing and quilting. At first you should concentrate on keeping your stitches even, and don't worry about how bigh they are. My stitches were pretty huge when I first started quilting. The more you stitch, the easier it will get to make small, uniform stitches.

When you go to buy fabrics, make sure you get 100% cotton. It's much easier to get the needle through 100%cotton fabric.

If you don't want to invest too much money in your first project, recycle some old cotton shirts from Goodwill. That way if you mess up, it's no big deal.

One of the best things I bought when I first started was a rotary cutter. You can cut precise sized pieces much more easily than with scissors.

Do you have any idea what you want to make? What are some of your favorite colors?

Good luck!

Judy

 

[Im4HimiHs]

One informative book is:

The Complete Encyclopedia of Stitchery, by Mildred Graves Ryan
Copyright 1979

It contains more than 1,400 illustrations and 1,000 entries.

 

[Macrina]

Thank you both for your suggestions!

Im4Him-- I'll take a look and see if I can find that book. I think I'd enjoy seeing what different kinds of stitches there are.

Judy-- it's good to hear that I'll only need that basic stitch. I think that's one that I learne when I was a kid, and a little practice might bring it back (I hope).

Not sure what I want to do yet, but I am re-doing my bedroom with sort of an "Indian" look -- trying to use sari fabrics and so forth. I think it would be need to use the jewel tones in a quilt that would coordinate with all of this. Also, for the guest bedroom, I'd like to do something bright in yellow tones. My favorite color is green, so that's always good.

I thought maybe starting with a pillow would be reasonable... a manageable size. Then I'll work my way up. I have three pregnant friends and it would be nice to give them baby quilts. (If I haven't got the quilting down in time, I'll give them something crochet or cross-stitch)

Macrina

 

[LynnMcG]

I was in a similar situation a few years ago when a friend's grandmother taught me how to make YoYos. It's really simple. They're small circles of fabric you hand sew a small seam around, then pull it in, tie a knot and flatten it out. Then you sew the YoYos together to make something. I can't include a link to the site (I'm too new!!) but the site is called: quilterscache.com and you can search for YoYos. (Sorry I couldn't be more helpful in this area!)

You can make something simple - like a garland to decorate your bedroom. Or some pillow fronts, table runner, placemats, or a throw. I'm working on a queen-size quilt that is made of about 5,000 peices. Sounds like a big deal, but it's not, really. It's a portable craft and something you can easily do at night in front of the tv. It's a really old tradition in quilting that not a lot of people do anymore.

Lynn

 

[judy]

You can make something simple - like a garland to decorate your bedroom. Or some pillow fronts, table runner, placemats, or a throw. I'm working on a queen-size quilt that is made of about 5,000 peices. Sounds like a big deal, but it's not, really. It's a portable craft and something you can easily do at night in front of the tv. It's a really old tradition in quilting that not a lot of people do anymore.

Lynn

Lynn,

That's what appeals to me most about hand quilting too. You can do it while you're sitting with the family in front of the TV, without the noise of machinery. Plus it's like a connection to our fore-mothers, to do something the same way they used to.

When I lived in Maine I got together with a group of about 7-8 women who all pieced and quilted by hand. It was so much fun!

 

[LynnMcG]

Lynn,

That's what appeals to me most about hand quilting too. You can do it while you're sitting with the family in front of the TV, without the noise of machinery. Plus it's like a connection to our fore-mothers, to do something the same way they used to.

When I lived in Maine I got together with a group of about 7-8 women who all pieced and quilted by hand. It was so much fun!

Judy,
One of my good friend's grandmother taught me how to YoYo. And what was special about it for me, was that none of her children or grandchildren did it. I expressed an interest, because I didn't think I had great skill and that it was something even I could handle. She was so flattered that I wanted to learn. It was really nice. I hope I can pass this tradition along to my own daughter.

Lynn

 

[kleptobismol]

ive only quilted like once and it was hard and i rubbed my finger to the bone...it was awful lol

 

[cinni]

i want to start quilting to but so far no luck because of the intial cost for material and the quilting ruler and scissors and a special quilt cutter thing or something i have not been able to stat and i don't know how to sew either but i am hoping to learn

 

[grace-2]

Hi Macrina!

I piece and quilt strictly by hand, but I'm afraid I may be in the minority. It's very difficult to find any books or magazines aimed at people like me. I find sewing with a machine very stressful, so I never use it. Piecing and quilting by hand, however, I find soothing and stress-free. So even though you may not have much sewing experience, I would suggest jumping right in and trying it.

Here are some things to keep in mind:

It's very important to keep your measurements accurate, whether you're cutting pieces or sewing them together. For example, if you vary the seam allowance size even a little, your blocks will end up all different sizes.

If you're making a big quilt, it helps to do your quilting one section, even one block, at a time. That way you aren't dealing with a large bulky piece.

Start with a small project, like pot-holders or place mats, then do a wall hanging, then maybe a baby quilt. Try some patterns you like from quilting magazines, which are available everywhere, even in grocery stores.

Good luck, don't give up, and let me know how it goes!

Judy

I love to peice quilts by hand . It gives a better sense of effort and satisfaction. (although i have peiced quilts by machine.)
I have found loads of books at yard sales and estate sales. They are practically given away or for a low price. One quilt to get started is to make a 9 patch quilt. Just keep all your seems even and matching them always. this gets a blue ribbon quilt.

 

[grace-2]

I love to peice quilts by hand . It gives a better sense of effort and satisfaction. (although i have peiced quilts by machine.)
I have found loads of books at yard sales and estate sales. They are practically given away or for a low price. One quilt to get started is to make a 9 patch quilt. Just keep all your seems even and matching them always. this gets a blue ribbon quilt.

also there are sites on here that give away free patterns online. just type in quilts+free patterns and see what you come up with. Good luck!!

 

[grace-2]

also there are sites on here that give away free patterns online. just type in quilts+free patterns and see what you come up with. Good luck!!

heres one!

freequilt.com scroll down and you will find alot of pictures of patterns that you can down loaded onto your printer

 

[grace-2]

heres one!

freequilt.com scroll down and you will find alot of pictures of patterns that you can down loaded onto your printer

Cinni, you can buy material at yard sales and estate sales too, for a few bucks. I went to this estate sale and was looking around and saw a box full of blocks already embroidered ! what luck! I don't know how to embroiderey very well. but here for $10.00 was at least 4 complete quilt tops to be put together and quilted. they all turned out so beautiful. and I was thanking the Lord for the good find!. grace-2

 

[Lady_Firehawk]

My mom had a friend who did hand quilting... I was totally floored, lol.

 

[anaidnotrevo]

My grandma was the greatest at it...she won tons of contests and everything ...I'm sure she would have tried to help you but...

 

[Macrina]

My grandma was the greatest at it...she won tons of contests and everything ...I'm sure she would have tried to help you but...

I'm sorry.

 

[anaidnotrevo]

I'm sorry.

Don't be! I'm sure she's happier now .