This entry was posted
on Friday, July 17th, 2009 at 3:33 am and is filed under Quilting.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
Hi I keep coming back to look at this great video. I’m having difficulty ‘balancing’ the hoop between my arm and my rib cage, when I do manage to hand quilt the stitches are long. Can you quilt the whol of a quilt with a hoop? Best Wishes
Knot the end of the thread, leaving a tail about 1/4 inch long. Insert the needle into the top fabric and the batting, about 1/2″ away from where you want to start stitching. Do not go through to the back. Pull the needle up through the top where you want your first stitch to begin. Pull thread through gently but firmly until you see, feel, or hear the knot pop through the top and into the batting. Then begin your quilting stitch. Hope that helps!
My left hand is under the quilt, palm up. The fingers on that hand push up against the quilt as I stitch. The bottom of the hoop rests on my ribcage and the left edge of the hoop sits in the crook of my left arm. So my left hand is not grasping the hoop. It is under to help with the stitching. The right hand is on top of the hoop, as you can see from the video. Hope that helps.
No, I don’t backstitch. When starting and stopping I “bury” a knot between the layers. Stability comes from using quilting thread, which is thicker and stronger than regular sewing thread. But I don’t know of any quilters who backstitch.
Hi I have 2 hoops: a 10 inch & a 14 inch. Both work well for me. My hand underneath is not really holding the hoop. It is just supporting by being under the quilt. Actually, I place the bottom edge of the hoop against the area of my diaphragm and the left-bottom edge sits in the crook of my left arm. The hoop is steadied between my chest and the crook of my arm. The underneath hand holds the quilt and the hoop up as it pushes up on the quilt. Hope that helps!
Thank you so much for sharing your skills and knowledge it has helped me so much. I’m a novice and have learned so much from the video and your explanation ie keeping the quilt loose in the hoop and ‘pleating’. What size hoop do you use? I feel that my underneath the hoop hand isn’t big enough to hold the hoop and feel for the needle tip on the bottom of the quilt, or am I doing something wrong. Best Wishes and thanks
Hi. I thought that I had responded last week to your question but obviously something was not right. The grid that you see is drawn on the front of a “practice” piece of quilting. I use the practice piece to teach and to also help me warm up if I’ve not been quilting in a while. On a real quilt, the marks would be temporary. The pencil used here is permanent.
Thank you for hand quilting. I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around all the machine sewn that are labeled hand sewn. I only unerstand hand made quilts with needle in hand, and you stitch
Another question: Do you use a double or single strand of thread? I tend towards a double strand because I fear the stitches will not be durable.
Thanks again for your kind explanation.
Wow, thank you for your wonderful and quick explanation. The idea of ‘pleating’ the fabric makes sense of the process now and which is what I’ll try to do when I make my next attempt.
I was just watching the next demo video called ‘Hand quilting demo’. Her movements are very fast. I guess it all boils down to experience and practice.
Now you use the thimble finger to “lay” the needle down toward the quilt top. (the rocking back motion). And you STILL do not push the point of the needle through or forward any more. With the eye end of the needle on the quilt top, pinch, pleat and push the fabric onto the needle so that you begin to see the point come through from the back.
Second: as the needle moves down from the top and through the layers of the quilt, it is straight up and down. As soon as you feel it through on your bottom finger, stop pushing down on the top of the needle.
poppa2006
I had that problem too until I figured out two things:
First, don’t place the quilt too tight in the hoop. You need some “room” to be able to push up from under the quilt and to push down again. Actually, when you use the rocking motion to quilt, you are “pleating” the fabric onto the needle rather than pushing the needle through. And to pinch and pleat it on, it has to a bit loose.
I can never get my stitches that small if I hand quilt. Once my needle comes back up, the size of the stitches increase.
Thanks for this short demo, though I had no sound.
July 19th, 2009 at 4:25 pm
ernest
Hi I keep coming back to look at this great video. I’m having difficulty ‘balancing’ the hoop between my arm and my rib cage, when I do manage to hand quilt the stitches are long. Can you quilt the whol of a quilt with a hoop? Best Wishes
July 19th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
jack
OMG WOW AWSOME!!! lol NOT ^ cuts my eyes out
July 19th, 2009 at 9:49 pm
eaash
Knot the end of the thread, leaving a tail about 1/4 inch long. Insert the needle into the top fabric and the batting, about 1/2″ away from where you want to start stitching. Do not go through to the back. Pull the needle up through the top where you want your first stitch to begin. Pull thread through gently but firmly until you see, feel, or hear the knot pop through the top and into the batting. Then begin your quilting stitch. Hope that helps!
July 20th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
jeapick
How do you bury the knot between the layers? I remember that, but so vaguely, that I’m staring at my practice work blankly.
July 22nd, 2009 at 11:02 pm
elmas
My left hand is under the quilt, palm up. The fingers on that hand push up against the quilt as I stitch. The bottom of the hoop rests on my ribcage and the left edge of the hoop sits in the crook of my left arm. So my left hand is not grasping the hoop. It is under to help with the stitching. The right hand is on top of the hoop, as you can see from the video. Hope that helps.
July 23rd, 2009 at 8:28 pm
locon
can you explain how to hold a quilt again
July 25th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
swinney
No, I don’t backstitch. When starting and stopping I “bury” a knot between the layers. Stability comes from using quilting thread, which is thicker and stronger than regular sewing thread. But I don’t know of any quilters who backstitch.
July 25th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
justin
Do you ever add a backstich for stability?
July 27th, 2009 at 4:35 pm
roach
So that’s how you use a thimble! :”)
July 28th, 2009 at 3:50 am
travis
Hi I have 2 hoops: a 10 inch & a 14 inch. Both work well for me. My hand underneath is not really holding the hoop. It is just supporting by being under the quilt. Actually, I place the bottom edge of the hoop against the area of my diaphragm and the left-bottom edge sits in the crook of my left arm. The hoop is steadied between my chest and the crook of my arm. The underneath hand holds the quilt and the hoop up as it pushes up on the quilt. Hope that helps!
July 29th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
defar
Thank you so much for sharing your skills and knowledge it has helped me so much. I’m a novice and have learned so much from the video and your explanation ie keeping the quilt loose in the hoop and ‘pleating’. What size hoop do you use? I feel that my underneath the hoop hand isn’t big enough to hold the hoop and feel for the needle tip on the bottom of the quilt, or am I doing something wrong. Best Wishes and thanks
July 31st, 2009 at 3:27 pm
javtr
Hi. I thought that I had responded last week to your question but obviously something was not right. The grid that you see is drawn on the front of a “practice” piece of quilting. I use the practice piece to teach and to also help me warm up if I’ve not been quilting in a while. On a real quilt, the marks would be temporary. The pencil used here is permanent.
August 1st, 2009 at 11:06 am
steve
The pleating explanation is a terrific help! Thanks . . . also, I wonder if the grid I see is on the front or the backing? Is it temporary?
August 2nd, 2009 at 2:28 pm
valafra
Thank you for hand quilting. I just can’t seem to wrap my brain around all the machine sewn that are labeled hand sewn. I only unerstand hand made quilts with needle in hand, and you stitch
August 4th, 2009 at 11:49 pm
wine
Part 2:
Another question: Do you use a double or single strand of thread? I tend towards a double strand because I fear the stitches will not be durable.
Thanks again for your kind explanation.
August 6th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
marggrif
Part 1: continued in part 2:
Wow, thank you for your wonderful and quick explanation. The idea of ‘pleating’ the fabric makes sense of the process now and which is what I’ll try to do when I make my next attempt.
I was just watching the next demo video called ‘Hand quilting demo’. Her movements are very fast. I guess it all boils down to experience and practice.
August 7th, 2009 at 6:19 am
allen
Now you use the thimble finger to “lay” the needle down toward the quilt top. (the rocking back motion). And you STILL do not push the point of the needle through or forward any more. With the eye end of the needle on the quilt top, pinch, pleat and push the fabric onto the needle so that you begin to see the point come through from the back.
August 8th, 2009 at 2:25 pm
alkel
Second: as the needle moves down from the top and through the layers of the quilt, it is straight up and down. As soon as you feel it through on your bottom finger, stop pushing down on the top of the needle.
August 9th, 2009 at 11:20 am
maurhe
poppa2006
I had that problem too until I figured out two things:
First, don’t place the quilt too tight in the hoop. You need some “room” to be able to push up from under the quilt and to push down again. Actually, when you use the rocking motion to quilt, you are “pleating” the fabric onto the needle rather than pushing the needle through. And to pinch and pleat it on, it has to a bit loose.
More in next comment
August 10th, 2009 at 6:09 am
leona
I can never get my stitches that small if I hand quilt. Once my needle comes back up, the size of the stitches increase.
Thanks for this short demo, though I had no sound.