Quilting Design #18 – Spiral Chain

Today I want to give Basic Spiral another try, but this time stitch it in a line. Maybe this will solve the issue of leaving pockets of space open that I don’t like in the design. See what you think of this Spiral Chain quilting design instead:

But the truth is, I really don’t care for this design either! Maybe me and spirals just don’t mix. Your choice of free motion designs is entirely based on personal opinion. Some shapes will be easier for your body to create, while others will seem ridiculously difficult.

Usually this is due to muscle memory. Some shapes are easier to do because your body is used to making that movement. If you find yourself struggling with a certain shape or design, draw it several times, and you’ll find it much easier to quilt.

Learn more about quilting Spiral Chain:

Inspiration – I love the spiral shape, but creating a filler design with them is proving tricky! Maybe spirals work best when they’re part of the quilt design (piecing or applique) itself and not part of the quilting? Spirals can be very dramatic shapes, like in my goddess quilt Life and Fire:

Difficulty Level – Beginner. With this filler you need to do some split second estimation to gauge how much space you need to get inside the spiral and back out. As with all the other designs, sometimes all this takes is practice!

Design Family – Edge to Edge.

Directional Texture – This is a tough one. Because all the spirals run in a line, technically there’s a definite horizontal or vertical directional texture going on. But because they’re spirals, they go in all directions. It is a safe bet that you should use this design in areas where you want a lot of movement and showy quilting.

Suggestions for Use – Like Henna Foofy, these wave spirals would look terrific as the edging of a quilt or the cuffs of a jacket. It would also look terrific expanded in the sashing between quilt blocks.

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day

Quilting Design #9 – Henna Fooffy

Free Motion Quilting Design #5 – Basic Spiral