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: 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...)
Quilting Tips: Stitching in the Ditch
Oftentimes, you might want to use lines of machine quilting that surround your blocks to anchor the three layers of your quilt top together, or you may just enjoy the pattern created from these lines of machine quilting. Regardless, there is a method of quilting called “in the ditch” which uses almost-hidden lines of machine quilting to anchor the key seam lines in your quilt.
This method involves stitching right next to the seams between the blocks, sashing and borders in (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Building a Fabric Stash
Collecting fabrics that you love for future quilts may be the most fun part of the quilting process. Categorizing and organizing your fabric pieces by color is an easy way to arrange them so that you can develop a particular color palette for your next quilt.
In Patchwork Quilts Made Easy – Revised, 2nd Edition, Jean Wells has this tip for quilters:
If you really love a fabric, and think that it may be eventually used in a border, then buy 3 (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Finishing the Quilt: Tying
At some point in the quilt-making process you will decide how to finish off your quilt: Hand quilting, machine quilting or tying are 3 possibilities. Regardless of the method, you will need to create the quilt sandwich (quilt top, batting, and backing) and thoroughly baste to hold the layers together.
When tying your quilt, the knots can go either on the top or back of the quilt, decide based on aesthetics or comfort. If you want the ties on top, start (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Sewing Perfect Points
Are you having problems with points getting cut off or shifting when you sew half-square triangles or flying geese units together to make a block? This can be frustrating but there are a few tricks that can make it easier for you.
Place the units to be sewn right sides together with the seams’ edges matching. Then push a pin straight through the intersection of the point in the front unit.
Hold the seam allowances slightly apart and push the (Continue Reading...)
Quilting Tips: Pressing
Pressing seams as you go along is so important in your sewing projects. Usually when making garments, the seams are pressed open to reduce bulk. However, when making quilts, usually the seams are pressed to one side. This step helps to prevent bearding, where batting may show through the seams. There are exceptions to this convention, you need to decide what is right for you.
Pressing requires an up and down motion with your iron. By using this technique, your quilt (Continue Reading...)
