Learning Quilting

If anyone out there has a problem threading your sewing machine as I do,  all you have to do is place your finger behind the hole of your needle and thread it.  The reflection from the light disappears so you are able to see where the hole is.

Problem Gone

Lynn, Pembroke

As my fabric stash grows larger with splurges and leftover fabrics, it becomes harder to tell which fabrics have been washed and which haven't.  I simply zig-zag the raw edges of fabric only when I'm going to wash them.  So I know that the fabric that has been zig-zagged has been washed.  Fabric that has no zig-zag hasn't been washed.

For persons just starting to quilt, or ones that have always taken a picture of their completed quilts, you can put the pictures on printers sheet that have been prepared to accept ink. After you have the pictures printed out, use scraps of fabric from all your projects to make sashing, and then sew a quilt of all the quilts you have made ! You will always have a quilt for a reminder of all the quilts you have made and some of you might need more than one quilt. This will take time -several years- to collect enough pictures for one quilt , but I'm planning on doing this when I get enough done !

          Cheryl 

Instead of trying to cut perfect triangles, just make squares and split them diagonally. The triangles are perfect every time.

Hi Chuck,

I am a learner how to quilting.  I have read some where that if you fold your fabric like it comes off of bolt and in half again.  You than mark off 12" on the fabric and keep folding 12" on top of original 12" until unable to fold no more.  If you count the folds.  It takes 3 folds to make 36" 1 Yard.  You never again have to unfold and count over and over for amount of fabric you have.  Also if you mark 10" on material less than 1 yard of material you can count the number of folds and it will tell you how many inches of material you also have.  The has help me since I am just learning how quilt.  I have also deloped my way to keep 12", 10", FQ, and just scraps.  I have a different colored circle for each of these items and place in appropriate stacks and by color that has made a big difference to me and decieded on my fabric and color.  I also do this after I have washed, dried, and iron the fabric.

 Thank you

Racy

Before cutting into my fabric, I make color photocopies of each fabric.  That way I can made a mock-up of my block to see how it will look before I actually do any cutting.  I've even been known to make multiple copies of the block so that I can play with design before I ever put scissors to fabric. 

Believe it or not, if you prick your finger while quilting or sewing, if you moisten your (clean) finger with your own spit, it will take out your blood.  Do this as soon as you can.  Then blot with a little water and let dry.

When machine quilting, sometimes the fabric seems to stick to the machine... add a little amount of cornstarch on your machine (stay away from machine opening) and the fabric moves like butter!  enjoy Natalie

When it is necessary to rip out a seam the easiest way to eliminate those pesky little threads is by using low tack painters tape. It picks them all up quickly and you don't have to pick them out .

I keep the quilts "in process" in a rubbermaid sweater boxes, with all there supplies together-instructions, color layout diagram, thread, quilting ideas, date started, or anything else I want to include for that quilt.  I have several of these stacked in my sewing room with the ends labeled.  I just pull out the one I feel like working on at the time