Machine Quilting Over Intense Patchwork

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.

18 Responses

  1. squirrelie55 says:

    Hi Leah,
    I am getting ready to quilt a signature/comfort quilt for my friend and should I not quilt the signature blocks?
    thanks

  2. Nancy says:

    I too prefer all over quilting on a busy top. I tend to press my seams open as well except if the seams can nest –occurs more with squares than angled seams. The nesting helps using less pins. But with nesting you also have to pay more attention to which way to nest.

  3. Leah Day says:

    I would leave the signature areas open so there is space to sign. You could even emphasize those areas by ditching around those particular spaces. Sometimes it's worth putting a bit more effort into a project, even if you have to hit hard seams directly, if it's really special to you.

  4. Sooli says:

    I have never stitched an all over design on a quilt. When I'm quilting I like to quilt in a way that makes some sections jump out and others not and I feel that all over quilting can take away from the look of some quilts. Just my personal preference. I don't ditch stitch every seam either, I grid out the quilt when I first start, working out from the centre and then just wing it from there!

  5. Yay for pressing seams open and using a shorter stitch length!

  6. squirrelie55 says:

    Great thanks Leah – will do.
    Sue

  7. sewandsow says:

    Great info…thanks for sharing.

  8. Judy Meyer says:

    Great ideas….I'll be trying those methods in my next few quilting projects…and they are piling up…lol. Leah…your are so inspirational…thanks.

  9. Melody Lutz says:

    Following your advice to press seams open…made Free motion quilting at least 25% EASIER…it was a huge relief on my shoulders too! I noticed how much easier it was in the first 5 minutes of quilting. Thank you SEW much.

  10. Would you also recommend to press seams open when the blocks are hand pieced.

  11. Helen says:

    The flannel I mentioned would be on the back.

  12. Helen says:

    I have just discovered your website-fantastic! I am about to begin quilting a hexagon I spy quilt and I wondered about using your matrix pattern? Also do you have comments about using well washed flannel?

  13. Leah Day says:

    Great question! You can definitely use Matrix to quilt as an All-over design. You'll want to start in the center of the quilt with a wiggly line, then rotate the quilt around and stitch a wiggly line in the opposite direction. It's a lot more shifting and movement than a design like Sharp Stippling, but it still produces an open, beautiful design.

  14. Leah Day says:

    So long as the flannel is well washed, this should be no problem. Definitely use a queen supreme slider as the flannel fabric will tend to grip your table and make it seem harder to move.

  15. Leah Day says:

    Nope. For hand piecing, it generally is better to press seams to one side rather than open. The reason is your stitches are just not going to be as small or consistent than they will by machine.

  16. Leah Day says:

    Awesome! I love knowing this has helped you quilt your quilts easier!

  17. Thank you! I was just puzzling yesterday over a quilt top with busy fabric (not exactly the same, but similar…), and not wanting the quilting to fight the fabric. All over quilting might be the answer!

  18. Thanks to Melody Lutz for sharing her experience. Don't have a top with open seams ready for quilting yet. I've just recently started pressing my seams open, though I never remember to decrease the stitch length.

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