C&T Publishing is a group of quilters and crafters dedicated to publishing products tailored to our audience. This blog is where we break away from book schedules and marketing campaigns to focus on what drives us to be creative and how this creativity manifests itself in our every day lives.
Quilting Tips: Setting Triangles
When you position quilt blocks on point (also called a diagonal set), you need to fill in the outer edges of the quilt with triangle-shaped cuts of fabric. Triangles along the side of the quilt are called side setting triangles. Corner setting triangles fit the corners of the quilt.
To calculate the size to cut the side setting triangles:
Multiply the finished size of your block by 1.414 Add 1 1/4″ to that number Cut a square equal to the sum Cut the square twice, (Continue Reading...)Quilting Tips: Using a Proportional Scale
A proportional scale is a handy tool to use when you want to figure out how much bigger to make a design drawing or pattern to fit where you want. It is a sliding scale with two wheels. The inner, smaller one gives the sizes of your starting drawing. The outer, larger wheel provides the comparable larger sizes of the drawing you want.
For instance, start with a drawing that is 8″ x 12″ and you know that you want to (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Determining Bed Quilt Measurements
Do you want to make a quilt for your nephew’s twin bed or your sister’s king size bed but you are not sure what size those mattresses are or what size quilt will fit them? OR have you ever seen a project in a book that you love, but you need to know whether or not it will fit on your bed, or how much you will have to adjust it to get it to be the size you want? (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Sewing and Matching Perfect Points
Sewing and matching points is a quilter’s dream. Sometimes it can seem more of a nightmare! But this technique makes it quite manageable. Here’s an idea from many of our best-selling authors: use an alignment or positioning pin. The alignment pin does not secure an area for sewing. It correctly aligns (positions) the points that need to match. Pins inserted after the alignment pins secure together the fabric pieces.
Begin by placing the two pieces to be sewn right (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: One Little Block, 3 Tips
While piecing blocks for the latest C&T baby quilt, I thought I’d document a few tips that made the sewing go faster.
1. For even, accurate 1/4″ seams, use a wider foot and adjust the needle position to 1/4″. With a wider foot you get better traction with the feed dogs.
Quilting Tips: C&T’s Technical Editors Want to Hear From You!
If you regularly check C&T’s blog, you know that every few weeks, the technical editors include a quilting tip or technique. Over the past year, we have shared with you some of our favorite “tricks of the trade” to help make your quilting and sewing easier.
Now we want to encourage you, our readers, to give us your input as to the topics you would like to see covered. What kinds of quiltmaking, sewing, or crafting tips would you like to (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Dealing with Thread Ends
There is a tool used by quilters to help deal with loose thread ends on the surface of their quilts. It is a self-threading or easy-threading needle, pictured below.
This needle has 2 eyes in the head. The lower one is designed the way we are all familiar with – after squinting, ease the tip of the thread through the eye of the needle and pull. However, the second eye is designed so that a length of thread can (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Adjusting Thread Tension
There is nothing more frustrating than stitching a seam and then seeing that the stitches are imperfect. You may need to adjust the thread tension, but before you do that, try a couple of other simple things first.
Troubleshooting the problem:
•Clean out any lint in the feed dog area.
• Make sure the bobbin is wound smoothly and evenly. If not rewind it.
• Rethread the machine, both top and bobbin. It is crucial that the presser foot is up when you do (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Finishing Mitered Binding on the Quilt Back
If you want to miter the corners of your binding on your quilt, then here are some simple steps to follow:
1. Stitch the binding on to the front of the quilt following the steps outlined in the tutorial for attaching a double-fold binding, previously posted on this blog: Quilting Tips: Binding.
2. Bring the binding to the back of the quilt on one side of the quilt. Blind stitch the folded edge in place only on this one side of the (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Washing Fabric
Some quilters pre-wash their fabric before sewing, others don’t. It becomes a personal decision on what is best for you.
If you decide to pre-wash fabric in the washing machine, use a lingerie bag to corral the small or older vintage pieces to protect them and minimize fraying at the edges. You can use a zigzag stitch or overlock stitch around the cut edges of your larger pieces of fabric to prevent the threads from raveling.
This tip comes from Fast, Fun (Continue Reading...)
