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Tips and Techniques
Every quilter learns tips and techniques from other quilters, and we all have our favorite ways of doing things. I owe a lot of my abilities to other quilters who have walked this road before me. I hope you find something useful here. When I can link directly to someone else's instructions, I do, since I don't see any need to re-invent the wheel. And besides, they should get credit for their expertise!
My Techniques of Choice
These are not really "my" techniques, they are just the techniques that seem to work best for me so far. I may learn other ways of doing things in the future that I like better, but for now, here are some of my favorites.
Hand Piecing
I find the more hand piecing I do, the more I like it. I like the accuracy, the slower pace, the portability, and handling the fabric. Although I still like my sewing machine, hand piecing holds a special place in my heart. I seem to feel a greater sense of accomplishment when I have finished something by hand as opposed to churning it out quickly on the machine. Here are some very basic instructions for hand piecing. Remember that this is a very personal activity. Everyone I know who does it has a little different technique, and I am learning all the time. These directions are subject to change without notice!
Needle Turn Applique
There are many different methods of applique. For different projects, I use different techniques. For most basic small-sized applique, I enjoy using the traditional needle-turn method.
Freezer Paper Technique for Paper Piecing (no tearing paper off!)
This is a great technique that doesn't require any paper tearing, which is the part of paper piecing that most people don't like. I realize that I am not the first person to use this technique. I know someone is out there teaching classes in it, because someone I know went to a class and then described the technique to me. I have never seen it in a book or taken a class. This is how I worked it out based on the description given to me.
Box Grid Method for HST's
Half square triangle units (HST's), are very common in quilting, and can also be frustrating to make. My favorite method is to make a box grid, because it is quick and accurate. The only part that is not quick is trimming the darn things to make them perfectly square, but it is definitely worth it when you put them together and all the points come out right!
Diamond Templates for Lone Star
While hand-piecing a Lone Star wallhanging, I got really tired of tracing and cutting all the diamonds. So, I drew a template grid in my computer, and used it to print the diamonds onto the fabric, using freezer paper, and also sticky label paper. I had better luck with the label paper feeding through my printer, but freezer paper is more economical, so I have included tips for both methods. Click on the title above to see the tips and download three sizes of diamonds in Adobe Acrobat format.
Favorite Links
Continuous Bias Binding
Joining the Ends of Binding Strip
Setting and Corner Triangles
Quilt University
ArbeeDesigns.com
Continuous Bias Binding
by Shelley Rodgers
These are the best, most comprehensive, and easy-to-understand instructions I have ever seen for this. It absolutely takes the guesswork and fear out of making bias binding. And you will be surprised at how little fabric is required! I use these instructions so often, I have even made a spreadsheet in Excel to figure out exactly how much fabric I need for each quilt I make. Below is the worksheet that you can use - you can change the numbers in yellow. All you need to put in are the measurements of your quilt, how wide your fabric is, the "cut width" of binding you desire (before folding), and the length of your fabric. I play around with the length number until the result is the same or a little more than the amount of binding I need. As you can see, for a quilt that is 34" x 45", you can make enough bias binding with a fat quarter! (18" x 22")
(The worksheet only shows up if your browser can use ActiveX controls.)
Shelley also has great instructions for joining the ends of your binding strip. Here is the link for that:
Joining the Ends of Binding Strip
Setting and Corner Triangles
How many times have you cut triangles the wrong size when you are setting blocks on point? Probably not as many times as I have. I think I'll make a quilt someday out of my "wrong-size triangles." There are a lot of links to good places that describe how to calculate the correct size for these triangles. The one at www.patchpieces.com was really clear to me. Once again, I have made an Excel file out of the formula, so all you have to do is type in two numbers!
(The worksheet only shows up if your browser can use ActiveX controls.)
Quilt University is a wonderful place to learn all kinds of quilting techniques by taking online classes. Classes covering everything from basic piecing to fabric dyeing and much more are offered here. I have taken several classes, and have been very happy with the experience.
Ruth Blanchet has many beautiful patterns, as well as online classes in quiltmaking. She is a veteran quilter, teacher and designer. Take a look at her website!