Quilt Along #13 – Finishing a Quilt

LeahDay

Leah Day has been teaching online since 2009. She's the creator of the Free Motion Quilting Project, a blog filled with thousands of quilting tutorial videos. Leah has written several books including 365 Free Motion Quilting Designs, Explore Walking Foot Quilting with Leah Day, and Mally the Maker and the Queen in the Quilt.

17 Responses

  1. MC says:

    Great video, I can hardly wait to get started!
    It did make me think of a question: If I cut through the areas that are microstippled to square up my quilt, will this make the stitching more likely to come apart? Is it best to cut outside the quilted area?

  2. Leah Day says:

    Great question MC!

    To square the quilt, you will most likely have to cut through your stippling.

    No, this shouldn't make your stitching come apart. Microstippling is a dense design and isn't likely to come unraveled. I've left sliced quilts (lots of threads cut) unbound and the stitching hasn't come out.

    Keep in mind that you're cutting the quilt down and immediately binding it, which will send a line of stitching right over the stippling, locking it in place. If you're concerned about stitches coming out, just cut and bind all in one day!

    Cheers,

    Leah

  3. S says:

    Beautiful, Leah. Thank you for sharing 🙂
    Best,
    Jae

  4. Anonymous says:

    Fantastic pictures and video as always! Now I can't wait to bind it. I have a quick question (you can save for Thursday if you want).

    What's the best way to pull up the bobbin thread for tying off once you are done with a segment of quilting? I get how to do it in the beginning but the end was a little harder for me.

  5. Leah Day says:

    Christaquilts – Usually you should be able to tug lightly on the top thread and the bobbin thread will pop to the front as a loop. Use a needle to pull the loop through so the bobbin thread is on the front of the quilt, then tie a knot and hide the threads in the quilt.

    If you find a particular set of threads stubborn, try pulling them to the back. If that doesn't work, hide each separately.

    I hope that helps!

    Leah Day

  6. Anonymous says:

    Great, thanks!
    –Christa

  7. Hi Leah. I just wanted to say that I am loving being a part of this little quilt community you have created. I really look forward to linking up on wednesdays and checking out our next set of instructions from you. And then, Thursday is like bonus, when you answer all of our questions! I always look at each blog linked up. I'm learning so much from everybody. I always wanted to make quilts ever since I can remember. When my oldest son (16) started school, I used to faithfully watch Simply Quilts after he was on the bus. i didn't have the time, tools or resources to get in to it. No internet back then to help me. I did make a few hand-tied quilts. But when I discovered your youtube videos about a year ago i watched and learned. You have sent me full- throttel into quilting!!! HUGE THANKS, for giving me the confidence and tools to do what I have always wanted!!! Just thought you should know, I mean, you ARE my teacher:)

  8. Jessim says:

    The microstippling was easier than I thought it would be. I have a hard time controlling very small designs- but this was so simple I actually ended up not using my foot pedal and just using the start/stop button and moving the quilt. I didn't have to speed up and slow down around the curves like I normally do on large designs.

    It does take FOREVER. I can't imagine doing a bed size quilt (though I love the look…) but I'm really glad I did this!

    I need to do about another inch around the design so I have enough to cut into without getting too close, but I'm about to go on vacation so I'll be behind for binding and miss linking up that one!

    I hope you do another one of these quilt alongs!

  9. Joyce K says:

    I just discovered this blog and am so impressed with your attitude of teaching us your wonderful techniques. Thank you.

  10. Oh, and BTW, I love that little two-tone blue quilt. Did you dye it to get those blues?

  11. Hi Leah,
    I didn't use a chemical starch,instead used homemade starch from rice. And its very light and used a frixon pen for marking. The markings are gone using the heat application. So, my questions is do I still need to soak and box the quilt as shown in the video if this is going to be a wall hanging.

    I'm a novice when it comes to quilting, forgive me if this is a silly question. So, is it okay if I skip that process and trim my quilt and bind it? What are the consequences of skipping these steps?

    Cheers,
    Malini

  12. dorrisranch says:

    Hi Leah…..almost done with my wholecloth I used white fabric with off-white thread….you got me thinking when you were dying fabrics the other day……what do you think about perhaps using dye on my cloth when I finish??? Do you think the dye would catch the thread in an interesting way…creating depth and texture? I'm thinking it would look different than if I applied dye before stitching…whatcha think???? Thanks. Sd

  13. Tsigeyusv says:

    Oh my gosh, I'm so jealous. I printed out the design, but i've had to travel a bit lately, so I've not done any of the work. Seeing people's completed designs just makes my heart sing. The work is all so beautiful! Leah, you are an amazing teacher, to get your students to make such lovely work after just a few weeks!

  14. DOPE! I forgot to measure before soaking!!!! I didn't realize this until I read Gwyened's post and realized I didn't either! So,I squirted both sides with a squirt bottles and tied to square up all 4 Quadrants and make them as square as possible. I just hope I didn't pull to hard!!! Thats what happens when you are sprinting towards the end! If it's dry tomorrow, I'm just gonna cut and bind it.

  15. Hi.. I haven't figured out how to do a blog yet… but my question that I want to ask is it is easier to stay on the line if I turn the quilt, but if I was doing a larger project than this hearts and motion quilt would I want to turn it frequently or would I want to keep it in the one direction and move it around my machine?… I want to know so that I know how to practice more effectively.. thank you for all that you do and after this project is done I hope to figure out how to keep a blog going… thank you for all of your hard work and inspiration as I am also passionate about this quilting and fiber arts thing and it is hard to find others who are as excited to try new things.. through reading your blog I feel I have found a whole network of friends that I would never have found without you as I have six children and attending guilds is not always possible..thank you again!

  16. jackie says:

    Leah, I notice you are using the even feed foot for the Horizon (I have he same machine). Please tell me how you are able to get an accurate 1/4"SA with that foot. I have tried moving the needle over but not enough. Thanx, JH

  17. Awesome videos! I just finished my wholecloth and soaked it. I am pretty pleased with the finished product except…and I am ashamed to say…my marking won't come out! I had used this pencil before with no issues. BUT not on white. RATS! Oh well, live and learn. I have it soaking in Biz. If that doesn't get the marks out, nothing will. Thanks SO much for the tutorial.I learned a lot while quilting it.

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