Hi! Welcome! I've thought for a while what would be the best first blog post? I felt a quilting tutorial would be the most fun. I know there is already a lot of information like this out there, but I know when I'm looking for things to read online there is never too much selection. So, without any further ado, my basic grid quilting tutorial. Enjoy. :)
Gather your supplies!
For this you will need a quilt top or if you're practicing just a square or rectangle of fabric.
Batting a bit bigger than your quilt top or fabric
Backing fabric(this is the fabric on the back of your quilt) the same size or a little bigger than the batting
Sewing machine Thread
Quilting ruler, quilting pen
Pins or Quilt Basting Spray
Step 1
Make a Quilt Sandwich. A quilt sandwich is backing fabric, batting, then the quilt top or in this case a rectangle of neutral fabric. I will be adding applique to this piece and just wanted to quilt some fabric to add my applique to. This is also called whole cloth quilting when you do not have a pieced quilt top, but just one piece of fabric you are quilting.
You want your backing fabric to be the same size or a little larger than your batting and your batting should be atleast 2 inches larger than your quilt top, for an inch all around. You may want to start with several inches around all edges of your quilt top in case you have shifting. As you get more used to quilting you won't need as much extra batting and backing.
You will want to pin or use your quilt basting spray to secure your quilt sandwich. My preferred method is Quilt basting spray, but the key here is to be sure your backing fabric is taut and smooth against the batting. The wrong sides of the backing and the quilt top should be facing the batting.
If you are using pins, I suggest taping your backing fabric down nice and taut and then smooth the batting on top and then smoothing the quilt top over the batting. Then pin your quilt sandwich every few inches. Use as many pins as you feel you need, you don't want your sandwich shifting too much or your backing to pucker.
If you're using the Quilt basting spray, lay down your batting first and then smooth out the backing on top, wrong side facing the batting. Lift up half of the backing and spray with the basting spray on the wrong side of the backing, smooth it down, making sure there's no slack or wrinkles. Repeat for the other half. You want to pull your backing pretty tight as you're smoothing it down to prevent puckers while you're quilting.
Now turn it over and place the Quilt top on the other side of the batting, wrong side facing the batting. Repeat spraying it with the basting spray and smoothing it out on top of the batting.
Step 2
Now we will draw a grid with your Quilt Pen. You can use a disappearing ink pen(that is what I am using, or chalk or a chalk pencil. You can find all these in the quilting section of your craft store or Local Quilt Shop)
Take your quilting ruler and place it corner to corner diagonally along the center and draw line, like the picture below.
Next, decide how big or small you want your grid. In this example I drew parrallel lines every 2 inches. After that, do the same thing perpendicular to your lines, like the picture below. You could also make a horizontal and vertical grid, it doesn't need to be diagonal. You can make them half an inch apart to as far apart as your batting instructions will allow(Mine says 10 inches, but I would rarely do a grid that large.) A few tips: The denser your quilting, the more your quilt top will seem to "shrink", consider this because your batting will often shrink, too, after laundering. While denser quilting will make the fabric seem stiffer, I find the quality of batting you use is a more important factor to stiffness and using the quilt will make it softer over time.
Step 3
Now it's time to quilt!
You can leave most of your settings alone on your machine. You can also leave your regular stitching foot on the machine or you can use a walking foot. I am not using a walking foot for this. My stitch length is set to 2 1/2 and I have a new 90/14 size needle(the size I use for all my quilting). Quilting puts a lot of stress on your needles, so you should be sure to replace them between quilting projects. I have my tension set to 4. You should be able to leave it at your normal tension, but you may need to adjust it depending on the machine.
This part is super easy, just follow your lines! If you run out of bobbin thread in the middle of your quilt, don't panic! First, replace the bobbin with a full one. Put your quilt under your foot and lower your needle manually into your quilt a half inch from the end of your stitching, do a full rotation and bring your needle out of the fabric. Grab your thread and pull it away from the quilt, it should bring the bobbin thread with it. Now you begin stitching again. You can lower the needle in and out of the quilt a few times to "lock" the stitches there. Sorry I only had a picture with free motion quilting, not the grid.
Keep the thread away from the needle when you continue. When you're done quilting, just take a needle and thread the ends into the quilt sandwich.
All done! This method of quilting is super easy and fast. You can always use this technique to follow your seam lines on a pieced top without having to draw a grid. Get creative while you quilt with your regular machine foot! Your quilt will turn out just as lovely and it looks wonderful on modern quilts.
Next post I'd like to cover the very basics of free motion quilting!
