Hand Quilting Q&A Part 2 – The Supplies

Good Morning and welcome to part 2 of our Hand Quilting Series.  It has been so much fun to see so many of you excited for this series.   Today we are going to be talking about hand quilting supplies.

I want to start by saying a couple things.  First off, every quilter is going to have a different combination of supplies they prefer to use for hand quilting.  Just like some of us prefer certain rulers, pins, rotary cutters, irons etc. for piecing, all hand quilters will have a different combination of tools they like to use.  So what I will do, is tell you what I like to use and the pros/cons of each of my preferences as well as if there are any specifics to keep an eye out for when choosing each supply.

Secondly, I am talking specifically about big stitch hand quilting.  While the technique for hand quilting doesn’t really vary in regard to “how to do it” the supplies you need are a little bit different (thread/needle choices will vary).

Thirdly, I am going to link to some supplies, but I am asking you to please (if you are able) support your local quilt shops with any purchases you might make.  I know that many local shops aren’t able to be open right now but some are still able to offer curbside shopping or online shopping.  So if you are able, support them!  We want our quilt shops to be open in the months and years ahead. =)

Hand Quilting Supplies

1. Batting – I prefer to use a low loft cotton/poly batting.  Some hand quilters prefer 100% cotton.  Sometimes, 100% cotton has little “fiber patches” (for lack of a better word) that are more difficult to stitch through.  I doubt you will notice this on a small project but you might in a larger project and it is something keep in mind.  There are also other types of batting that work well for hand quilting.  I haven’t tried all of them out but if you read the labels, they will tell you if they are nice for hand quilting and how close together your quilting needs to be.  Read those labels!

The reason I prefer low loft is that I like my stitches to sit on top of the project rather than sink in.  I like to be able to see all of those pretty stitches.

2.  Backing Fabric – We all know that we will need backing fabric and a pieced quilt top to make a quilt/topper/pillow etc.  But, I wanted to make mention of fabric choices.  Steer clear of tightly woven fabrics within any part of your project for hand quilting.  An example would be batiks.  You would be surprised how much more difficult these fabrics are to hand quilt.

3.  Thread – For big stitch hand quilting, I like to use either an 8 weight or a 12 weight thread.  If you are brand new to hand quilting, I would start with 12 weight.  12 weight is slightly less heavy than 8 and is a little bit easier to work with.  I’ve used a number of different brands of thread: DMC, Finca Presencia, Wonderfil (for these three I’ve used 8 wt.), as well as Aurifil in the 12 wt.  I have a thread box, Sunny Stitches, that features some of my favorite colors of Aurifil thread for hand quilting.

I have also tried using crochet thread and embroidery floss for hand quilting.  Crochet thread, while it seems economical, is not nice at all to hand quilt with.  And embroidery floss can work in a pinch and you would want to use all 6 strands at a time.  Embroidery floss will not lay as flat.  The quilt below actually mixes 12 weight, 8 weight, and embroidery floss just because of the colors I needed and what I had available at the time.

Gingersnap quilt

Thread is just as much fun to purchase as fabric!–all of the pretty colors are just wonderful.  Do not be tempted by these pretty glittery threads for hand quilting…it is not a good plan.

4.  Marking Tool – I always use the Dritz Mark B Gone water soluble marker for marking my projects before quilting.  I have never had a problem with this marker coming out of my project.  If I ever have any blue left in a project after wetting it, I know that I did not wet it heavily enough.  This is not a marker that you want to spritz with a little bit of water and expect all of the marks to be gone.  I can see a little bit of blue in my project above where I marked my lines.  If I give that a thorough drench (or completely wash the project) those blue lines will stay away.

With that being said, I know that not everyone likes these markers as well as I do.  Additionally, if you are in the heavy starch crowd, you might wish to stay away from these markers.  I have heard that starch can sometimes react to them and make the marks permanent.

Hera Markers are a wonderful option for marking quilt tops without leaving any marks on your project.  These “markers” crease your project rather than using any sort of ink.  The creases are pretty easy to see and do last for awhile.

I know some folks use masking tape to mark their quilts and use the edge of tape as a guide.  Chalk pencils are a nice, non permanent option. There are other marking tools that can be used to mark quilts that have been designed for this purpose.  You might even have something you like to use.  Please do not use a Frixion pen to mark a quilt top.  The pens can and do leave permanent marks and we don’t want that on our quilt.

I mark all of my quilt tops before quilting them.  This keeps my lines nice and straight.

5. Ruler – A nice long ruler is great.  If it reaches across your project that is very handy but it doesn’t need to.  I have an Olipfa 4″ x 36″ ruler that I use a lot for marking long lines across a quilt.  If I am marking a smaller project like a pillow or mini quilt, I use my Creative Grids 6 1/2″ x 18 1/2″ ruler.  I didn’t purchase these rulers specifically for marking quilts but the sizes happen to work very well.  These two rulers are my most used rulers for piecing.

6. Needles – I  use a size 7 embroidery needle for hand quilting.  However, the eye on this sized needle can be a little bit difficult to thread and some people find this needle a little bit too “bendy” for their preference.  The key things too look for when choosing a needle for big stitch hand quilting is to look for a needle that has a larger eye (so you can thread the heavier weight threads easily) and a longer shaft (so you can load a number of stitches on the needle while quilting).  You don’t want a needle that is too “fat” (both the eye or the shaft) as they will be harder to pull through the fabrics.  Other needle types that some like for big stitch quilting are sashiko, darning, and tapestry among others.

In the photo above, the Bohin needle pack is nice because it lets you try out a variety of needles to find your preference.  There is also a Pepper Cory big stitch needle pack that offers a variety of needles.

Needles do matter!–some are much easier to quilt with than others.  This is a tool you will want to experiment with a little bit.

7.  Thimble – So, in regard to thimbles.  I often forgo a thimble on smaller projects–but I really encourage you to use a thimble.  Some of you may already be accustomed to using a thimble as you might use one for binding.  While you can get away without using one on smaller projects, you won’t be able to if you are quilting in a frame or a hoop for a larger project.  The first thimble I purchased was one of those old school thimbles like your grandma uses (PS..my grandma and my mom both use this type of thimble).  That one never worked very well for me and I now I use the leather one in the photo above when I use a thimble.

I haven’t been able to find a leather one exactly like mine.  I have also used a thimble pad and have even bandaged up the finger that was going to be getting pricked in place of a thimble.  You will quickly find out there are a lot of different thimble choices–different ones work better for different people–this is an area you will probably need to experiment in.

8. Scissors – Nothing fancy, just something small and cute will work fine. =)

9. 505 Spray & Fix – I use this to spray baste all small projects for hand quilting.

This is not necessary, but it is fun to have a cute bag to store all of your hand quilting supplies.  I store my supplies in the bag in the above photo.  It is a Sew Together bag and is the perfect size for storing hand quilting goodies.

Another quick note, I do not use a frame or hoop of any sort when I hand quilt something small.  I will talk more about that in upcoming weeks.

And I think this is the last thing, if you want to print any of this information out, I have a print friendly option for my website.  Scroll down to the bottom of the page and right underneath the “sharing is caring” bit click the green circle button on the right.  This opens a pop up menu, click “Print Friendly” in the center column.  This will generate a print friendly document that you can pick and choose which things you would like to print from the blog post.

And I think that is it!  I’ll be back next week with more hand quilting information. =)  Have a safe and fun weekend! Corey