Hand Quilting Q&A
Hand Quilted Pretties
Welcome to what is going to be a 4 part series on hand quilting.
I get asked often about hand quilting and it’s a class that I have taught frequently…it’s my favorite class to teach. So, I wanted to take some time to answer questions and go over how I approach hand quilting. This series will be broken in to 4 parts so I can take time to cover each topic thoroughly. Today I will be sharing my quilting background, part 2 will be supplies, part 3 technique, and part 4 misc. questions.
Dappled Quilt Hand Quilted by my mom
I grew up surrounded by hand quilting…I am sure that is no surprise to any of you that know I live in an Amish community and have Amish background on my Dad’s side of the family (my grandma was Amish when she was young). My father-in-law was also Amish growing up.
Sunny Trails Quilt, the first quilt I designed for Moda Bake Shop, quilted by my mom
We often had a quilt to be hand quilted in our living room in a quilting frame. If we didn’t have a quilt in the frame, there was one at my grandma’s (either my mom’s mom or my dad’s mom) or one of my aunt’s houses. We would have quilting get togethers to hand quilt a quilt at a relatives house or at our church.
Wedding Wishes Quilt in the Moda Sweet Celebrations Book.
Not only did my family piece all of their quilts, they were always hand quilted, never sent out for machine quilting. In fact, I remember, about 20 years ago when I sent out my first quilt to be machine quilted, I think my mom was horrified that it wasn’t going to be hand quilted! =)
Persimmon Quilt hand quilted by my mom
At our quilting bees, my grandma and her sisters (my great-aunts), along with my mom and her sisters (my aunts), would happily quilt away around the quilt frame. There might be a carry in for lunch, lots of laughter, and time spent with my cousins. It was always something we all looked forward to.
Candy Scraps, another Moda Bake Shop project, hand quilted by me
The hand quilting my mom and her family, as well as my dad’s family, did might be more what you think of when you think of hand quilting…smaller stitches, non-contrasting threads etc. This would have also been the only type of hand quilting that I was familiar with growing up. Some of you may have tried hand quilting with these smaller stitches and became frustrated as you could never get the hang of it or you were never able to get as many stitches in an inch as you wanted to (or thought you needed to).
Joyful Pillow Hand quilted by me
My sisters and I all tried hand quilting at home during many of those get togethers. For me, it was never something I was much interested in. However, sewing wasn’t something I was interested in either…I didn’t start sewing until after I got married and moved out. =)
Scattered Squares Pillow, a Moda Bake Shop Project hand quilted by me
It was after getting married and starting to make quilts that somewhere ( I wish I could remember where!) I saw a hand quilted quilt that had been hand quilted using bigger stitches and colorful, heavier weight threads that I became hooked on hand quilting. I told mom she needed to try hand quilting with those threads and the longer stitches to see what she thought. And some of those first quilts, were some of the ones she hand quilted for my Moda Bake Shop projects. I tried hand quilting on those quilts as well and quickly became hooked!
Framed In Moda Bake Shop Quilt hand quilted by my mom
What I most enjoy is hand quilting smaller projects…pillows, table runners, table toppers, project bags etc.
Hand Quilted projects by me
They are quicker to finish and don’t feel daunting to take on. For this series, I am going to be talking about supplies needed for this “bigger stitches” type of hand quilting. It is often referred to as big stitch, long stitch, or pick stitch…all of those terms mean the same thing.
My hand quilting on a small table topper
The techniques we use for hand quilting will be the same whether we are making big or small stitches.
I opted to hand quilt my mini neighborhood quilt.
In part 2 of this series, I will be talking about the supplies I prefer to use for hand quilting. These are going to vary for each quilter so I’ll also let you know what to look for with each supply and the pros/cons of some of the different things I have used/tried.
A custom piece I made for a friend
I have also filmed a series of videos that you might find helpful (or if you don’t want to wait for part 2 of this blog series). =) The first video about hand quilting supplies covers a lot of helpful information about my preferences.
I hope you’ll stop back next Friday for part 2 of this hand quilting series. Feel free to leave any comments below about any questions you may have about hand quilting!
Chat soon, Corey
Loved this. I’m from Saltillo/Millersburg . My grandma Cora Miller was a fantastic quilter. I was blessed with all her handmade quilt stencils. She always had a quilt set up also. This blog brought back precious memories for me. I’d take my naps as a child under her quilt rack. Watching her stitch, from underneath mesmerized me. And it lulled me to sleep.
I’ll also sometimes played knock , knock whose there? under that quilt. Which of course she told me to stop. And to go to sleep. Haha! What a wonderful woman . Thank you for your stories, techniques and sharing colorful materials . Tammy Shaffer
I am looking forward to your tutorial and information pertaining to hand quilting! I’ve adored your lovely projects, patterns, pics, and quilts for many years and I love to hand sew. It’s so enjoyable to read about your family and history so, thank you for sharing! How lucky you are to have a “quilting” family!
I’m so excited for this series! I am currently working on my first hand peiced quilt (I have never hand sewn in the past) and have been thinking of trying to big stitch hand quilt once I finish the top, but I did not know where to start. Can’t wait for part 2!
This post was so timely! I having been putting off quilting a quilt I made for my niece because I want to hand quilt it but I am nervous about getting started. I think, after seeing your video, that I would like to big stitch part of it and do the inner design with regular quilting. I am not sure how that will look, but I might give it a try. Can’t wait for your next edition on this topic!
Perfect timing! I have a wall hanging that I thought I would hand quilt. This quilt has a lot of open space.. Swans on the bottom, on ombré fabric. This is for my daughters wedding so I wanted it to be very special. Hope you can address how to use empty space where there isn’t any piecing.
I have always wanted to learn hand quilting. Thank you so much for explaining it!
Thank you for showing your mom’s and your beautiful quilts! Looking forward to your next blog! 👏🌷🌷🤗👏
This is very timely for me. I have some blocks I’d like to experiment with and had been toying with the idea of trying the big stitch. Like Pam, each block has lots of open space with a big printed motif in the center with only borders around. It’s a “just for fun” Disney quilt for the grandkids so I’m feeling very free to experiment and learn. After quilting each block I plan to connect them following ideas I’ve seen online while reading about “quilt -as-you-go”. See? This entire project is experimental but I need to get it finished!
I’ve always wished I’d paid more attention at the quilting bees with my Grandmother and her peers. Thanks for this blog series, and the discussion of the larger runninn stitches quilting.
Thank you for all the great information on hand quilting. I have some, because I too learned from my Grandma, but I love the look of the big stitches.
Hi Corey
I have always loved quilts. My mom or grandmother never quilted, but my grandmother was a seamstress. She taught my mom to sew. I always loved sewing. Learned to quilt in my early 20’s and did a sampler quilt. Was taught hand pieced to machine piecing and hand quilting. I started hand quilting a lap quilt 30 years ago got half done and was frustrated. My sampler quilt still sits unquilted. I have perfectionist tendencies so because my stitches weren’t small or not even enough I think that’s why I stopped. I stopped quilting all together for almost 20 years. Finding myself as an empty nester needing to fill my time I got back into quilting. I sew missed it. Seeing your videos on Fat Quarter Shop got me motivated to try hand quilting on my new granddaughters wall hanging. I find it so relaxing and I think I even prefer the different colours and effects better. I think I will finally finish my lap top now. Lol. Thank you for sharing your techniques and your beautiful fabrics with us. I am from Ontario Canada and it’s hard to get your fabric Precuts up here. Still looking. Thanks for the modivations.
Be safe and healthy with this virus for you and your family.
Michelle
I just went back and watched your video about supplies. You mentioned that a lot of your hand quilting projects are small – mine too. What sort of frame would you recommend for these smaller projects? (Maybe you’ll cover this later but I was just gathering my supplies and this question crossed my mind). Thanks.
I thought about hand quilting the binding on my current quilt but I wasn’t sure how it would hold up (it’s for a young man). It looks like none of yours have been washed; how does the big stitch hold up after washing?
Is it safe to machine wash hand quilted quilts? Do they hold up as well long term?
Oh Corey, I was so happy to see this posting this morning. I have a wall hanging that I have been trying to find the courage to hand quilt. I did watch your Fatquarter Shop video a few days ago and think that I am finally ready to start. Your teaching style is so easy to understand and confidence building. I am going to make the cute pillow you showed too. Thanks for all the beauty you add to the world.
Thank you for the article. I really enjoyed it. I have been quilting for 45 years. My daughter who lives in Kentucky ( I’m in Nebraska ) has started hand quilting and it’s been hard to teach her long distance. I’m hoping she will enjoy reading your articles and I’m planning to learn something new too!
I am very interested in hand quilting, but have only done one small project so far. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this and am looking forward to the rest of the series. Thank you!
When I first was learning to make quilts (back in the dark ages), my mother always said work to make your quilting stitches even. That makes them look smaller. Another thing Mother was right about.
My great grandmother’s quilting frame hang from the ceiling over their bed on pulleys so it could be raised or lowered for either sleeping or quilting. No room in the living room.
I am so excited for this tutorial. I have been hand quilting several of my great grandmas on both side of my family quilts. They are hand pieced and I feel they should be hand quilted . All were done prior to 1950. I am self taught with some YouTube tutorials. But I don’t feel like I get the answers I need. I sure wish I had spent more time learning from my grandma however when she alive I wasn’t interested. That is on me😔
thank you! I have always liked the big stitch look….happy for you to be helping me know how to!
Loved it so helpful. Looking forward to the next one. Just been starting on some like this. So hoping this will clear up some questions.
I finally took quilting lessons when I was almost done with h’schooling my children. I knew I would love it and if I had started quilting earlier, their education would suffer. That was 14 years ago and I’m ashamed to say I’ve never learned to hand quilt. I’ve become more proficient in free motion quilting, and was happy to see this series of blogs on hand quilting. I don’t own a quilt rack. Could I still pin my quilt and then hand quilt???
Thank you for showing some of your hand quilted items. I have several mini to small quilts I have set aside until I improve on my hand stitching I have put a sandwiched muslin in a hoop to practice 😐 But I enjoy the piecing and procrastinate on getting actually started on the hand quilting I am particularly stumped on a mini of the lone star pattern. How to quilt and not visually take away from the work I have done I am looking forward to more of your pics and guidance
I am excited to try this. I think it’s going to be so much fun. thank you so much for sharing. I really do appreciate it. Warm regards. Susan
Thank you so much for sharing! I really enjoyed the video.
Looking forward to trying this on pillows from one of my sew sampler boxes.
Part 3 cannot come soon enough for me. It’s Zen–exactly what I need when I need it. I have never hand quilted before (my sister loves it) and have a wonderful project for it. Whoo Hoo!
this is quite exciting as i too have an unquilted top. it is all sandwiched together. i was going to use the quilt frames my husband made for me but when we downsized there just is no room for tha. have been toying with commissioning a longarmer since that development. have to see the rest of your posts to help me make up my mind. the larger stitches are intriguing.
Thank you for the videos. They got me started, and I looked at other quilters’ sites, as well as shoshinko, because my first project will be a top I care about. Besides advice about needles, thread and technique, it was helpful to hear what not to worry about (like the size of the stitches on the back, which has been a stopper for me). Ready to start.