3 more hot quilting tips for you!

Tip 1 - Handling the thread tails when satin stitching

Here is an easy way to handle the thread tails when machine satin stitching your appliqué pieces down. Insert the needle into the fabric and using your fly wheel (needle up button if you have one), grab the top thread and the bobbin thread should come to the top. Now lay the thread tail next to the appliqué piece and satin stitch over the thread tail. After several stitches the tail should be secured, you can then cut the tail and it will be completely hidden!


Tip 2 - Keep your quilting even over the entire quilt

Keep it even whenever you quilt. By this I mean your quilting in any given area of a quilt should be the same as any other area. If you quilt heavily on your blocks, then all your blocks should be quilted heavily. And remember to keep your borders quilted using the same density as you did the center of your quilt. When areas of a quilt are unevenly quilted, the less quilted parts tend to ripple and bulge.

Tip 3- Finding paper for creating your quilt designs

Don’t limit yourself to your quilt shops when looking for paper to design your quilts with. Try the grocery store for waxed paper, freezer paper or even shelf paper. If you can get you hands on some of that paper the doctor uses on the exam tables that would be a real treat. Ask the next time your at the doctors office you never know. Art supply stores are great for getting larger tablets of tracing paper. The other paper that works well is newsprint which can be obtained from your local newspaper. Just ask for the ends of the rolls. They tend to throw these out anyway if they are too small. (but may not be too small for quilt projects!)