How to Machine Quilt Ocean Pearls, #489

Ocean pearls is certainly one of the most eye-catching designs I’ve created and while!

I love the funky combination of the free-form flame shapes with a small circle in the center. This design is a much simpler version of Oblivion so if you’re wanting to stitch it up a notch and add even more thread, definitely try this alternative quilting design.

Lately I’ve been experimenting with leaving open pockets on my quilts and seeing how that affects the design. I find it’s usually faster and easier to free motion quilt and creates a rich texture on both sides of the quilt.

Now let’s dig into this Ocean Pearls design:

Difficulty Level – Intermediate – this design is not technically challenging, but it is a lot of steps to form each Ocean Pearl shape. Spent some time drawing the design on paper so you can get the hang of it before quilting it on a real quilts.

Design Family – Branching – while it may not look like it, this design is a variation of McTavishing, one of my favorite free motion quilting designs. This family of designs is perfect for adding flowing texture to your quilts and you can easily stitch them in almost any space.

This design does involve a lot of travel stitching so if your thread starts breaking, remember you can always switch to a thinner, stronger thread, and you don’t have to use cotton! Click Here to find my favorite thread for quilting.

But where do I quilt it?

Ocean Pearls can work in all areas of your quilts. I think this would look really cool quilted on a large scale with giant flame shapes and circles flowing over the surface. I wouldn’t stitch this design around delicate motifs like a wholecloth quilt because the open spaces in in the Ocean Pearls design will compete with other textures.

Where do you think Ocean Pearls will look best? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Let’s go quilt,

Leah Day