Tips and Tricks for Easier and Better Quilting

Quilters are always looking for new ways to get organized and make quilting easier and more accurate. Here are some of my favorite quilting tips.

1. To fold your fabric like a pro, use a transparent ruler or for larger cuts of fabric use your cutting mat. Place your ruler or mat along the width of the fabric and then wrap the fabric around the ruler or mat. When you are done wrapping, slide the ruler or mat out of the fabric and carefully fold the fabric lengthwise. Depending on the cut of fabric, you may need to fold the fabric lengthwise a few times. Iron the folded fabric so that is lies nice and flat in your stash drawer. This also helps in creating more room for more fabric!



2. I always had trouble using fusible web. No matter how careful I was I would get some of the sticky stuff on my iron and then transfer the sticky stuff to the next piece of fabric I ironed. To remove fusible web from your iron, iron a sheet of fabric softener. The fusible web comes right off, but this also leads to the next tip.



3. Since fabric softener removes fusible web, do not place a sheet of fabric softener in the drier with your quilt if you used fusible web. The fabric softener sheet will loosen the fusible web from the quilt. Also, if you prewash your fabrics, do not use fabric softener if you plan to use fusible web. The fusible web will not adhere as well to prewashed fabrics that were dried with fabric softener.



4. Sealable sandwich bags, like Zip-lock, are great for storing pieced blocks until you are ready to sew them together. The bags help keep the blocks flat so you do not have to re-iron them. It is also a great way to keep the blocks organized because you can write on the bag with a permanent marker with the block name or placement in the quilt top. If you are like me and always have more than one quilt project going, punch holes in the top of the sandwich bags and place them in a three ring binder. This way you will never again loose a block and you can neatly and easily store them.



5. If you do not have a 1/4” foot for your sewing machine, place a transparent ruler under you needle and measure 1/4”. Place several Post-it Notes at the 1/4” mark. The layers of Post-it Notes will help guide your fabric to get a perfect 1/4” seam allowance.



6. Another use for Post-it Notes is on your transparent ruler. Let’s say you need to cut several strips of fabric at 2”. Align several Post-It Notes (approximately the depth of your fabric) on the transparent ruler at 2”. When you measure your 2” strip, the Post-it Notes will bump up against the edge of the fabric, helping you to cut the exact width every time.



7. To remove the paper from paper pieced blocks or applique blocks, lightly spray the block with water from a squirt bottle to make the paper easier to tear. This also helps you avoid pulling the stitches.

Share some of your favorites.

Tips for Origami Quilting

Here is a fun new quilting technique, fabric folder or fabric origami. It takes practice and time, but it is fun.

Fabric origami is the art of creasing and folding pieces of fabric into shapes and designs. The folded pieces of fabric are used for creating gift wrapping, home décor accents, and even quilts.

There are books available, including Fantastic Fabric Folding: Innovative Quilting Projects and Quiltagami: The Art of Fabric Folding, that provide instructions for folding fabric to use in quilts and other projects. This article provides useful tips when using these techniques.

Before You Begin

Before you start cutting pieces of fabric to fold, there are a few things you can do to make the process less frustrating and more enjoyable.

First, start with something simple. The more difficult patterns will be easy to tackle with a little experience.

Read all instructions before you begin. Not only read the instructions, but make sure you understand them! Review any included illustrations and compare them with the instructions.

Practice the folding instructions with paper before trying it with fabric. Before dealing with the unique issues of folding fabric, practice on paper to make sure you understand the instructions and to make sure the completed product is what you though it would be.

Another practice step that is helpful, but not as necessary as those above is to practice the folding instructions on a larger square of fabric than the required size in the instructions. Working on a larger piece of fabric is helpful to see the creases and folds, especially in the later steps of the pattern.

Once you are sure you understand the instructions, you are ready to select your fabric.

Selecting Fabric

There are only a few things to consider when choosing your fabric. As a beginner to origami quilting, 100% cotton fabric is best to use. The cotton fabric is easier to handle and the creases and folds are easier to make than with other fabric. As you advance in origami quilting you may want to experiment with other fabrics like silk.

The pattern of the fabric is another thing to consider when selecting fabric. Fabrics with either no or small design patterns look best. Hand-dyed fabrics are especially good when creating flowers.

Preparing Fabric

After selecting the fabric, properly preparing it saves time and frustration in the long run.

First, iron, iron, and iron again. Make sure there are no creases! In origami, you create a crease for a guideline. Having unwanted creases in the fabric makes folding confusing.

Cut the fabric accurately. Just as accurate cuts are important in other types of quilting, it is important in origami quilting.

Another preparation step that is helpful, but not necessary, is to spray stiffener on the fabric. This provides crisp creases and ensures folds stay in place.

Folding the Fabric

There are several tips to observe while folding the fabric that improves your experience and quilt.

First and most important, do not over handle the fabric. Too much handling, folding, and creasing causes the edges of the fabric to fray. This is another reason that it is good to practice with paper.

Accuracy of the fold is very important, just as it is in paper origami. Uneven folds create gaps and odd shapes in the final product. To help the accuracy, use an iron to create creases even if instructed to only finger press. A mini iron works best and is less likely to accidentally burn you fingers.

Once you complete the pattern, be sure to turn under and tack down any raw edges. This helps to prevent fraying later.

If you follow these tips to create an origami quilt you will find the experience enjoyable. The truly remarkable thing about origami quilts is the uniqueness and compatibility with any kind of embellishment. Do not be afraid of overdoing it! You can use embroidery floss, buttons, patches, and ribbons. Let your imagination go!

The Great Prewash Debate

A long standing debate in the quilting world is whether or not to prewash fabrics. The answer to the question depends on the person you ask. There are many people who never prewash fabric, and there are just as many people that always prewash fabric.

My advice is to do whatever you are most comfortable doing. I know this is not the clear-cut answer you want, but hopefully the following information helps you to make an educated decision.

Reasons Not to Prewash

Reasons people do not prewash quilting fabric is to save time, to make preparation easier, and to avoid puckering.

By not prewashing fabrics you not only save the time it takes to wash and dry the fabric, you also skip a lot of ironing! When fabric comes out of the drier, it may take an hour or more to iron it. Also, the fabric is softer and may be more difficult to fold, mark, and cut accurately.

In this technologically advanced day and age, it is not surprising to see products developed that help quilters with long standing issues. For example, many people who prewashed in the past because of the issue of color bleeding, no longer worry. Most high quality fabrics are less likely to have color bleeding because of manufacturing advances. Also, quilters can buy dye magnet products. These products go into the wash with the final quilt and attract any dye in the water. The dye magnet prevents the color from bleeding onto the lighter colored fabrics. I personally always use a dye magnet product (my favorite is Shout’s Color Catcher) when I wash my quilts regardless of prewashed fabrics.

The last reason people do not prewash is because they want a final quilt that lays flat and does not have puckers. Batting is fragile so it must be hand washed and air dried if it is prewashed. Do not prewash to avoid hassle, uneven shrinkage rates, and puckering.

Reasons to Prewash

Reasons people prewash fabric is to avoid a lot of worrying. Making a quilt takes a lot of time (and occasionally sweat and tears). The last thing a quilter wants to go wrong is color bleeding, fading, and uneven shrinkage.

By prewashing fabrics – darks with darks and lights with lights – you do not have to worry about the cute white bunny on your niece’s baby blanket, which took a month and several pin pricks to complete, becoming a pink nightmare. Even though prewashing gets rid of most color bleeding, I still use a dye magnet when washing the final quilt, especially if I used whites and reds in the fabric choices.

Prewashing not only helps avoid color bleeding, it also uncovers any color fading fabrics and resolves uneven shrinkage rates between fabrics.

I admit that I am a prewasher, but I do not take the time to prewash my batting. I like a little pucker in my quilts because it brings to mind comfort, warmth, and my grandmother. If puckering does not bother you, then you are safe prewashing your fabrics and not your batting.

The long lasting debate about prewashing fabric does not appear to be ending anytime soon, but the important thing is for you do what is best for you.

Copyright 2007 Jennifer Beaujon