My Favourite Hand Quilting Tools.
I was recently reminded of how much I love Hand Quilting. I used to Hand quilt many of my quilts - back before I used to quilt "professionally" a lot of the quilts I made, I used to love Hand quilting them too. Here are a couple of my hand quilted quilts that I have made.
Liberty Belle Quilt - pattern by Tied with a Ribbon
Smitten - pattern by Lucy Carson Kingwell
Junction Road - Pattern by Tied with a Ribbon
So having recently made my Junction Road quilt I was really reminded of how much I love Hand quilting and how I do need to make time for it again. I get asked a lot of questions about Hand quilting so I thought I would write a little about some of my Favourite Tools and Notions and some tips.
NOTION 1 - Small Bent Safety Pins. I like to use these smaller style ones when I hand quilt. They are not as big and bulky as the larger silver safety pins, (which I use when I machine quilt). They are lighter and I like to space them about a "hand fist apart" for hand quilting.
NOTION 2 - MASKING TAPE. I always get asked how do I get my hand quilted lines so straight! Well, that is really easy when you use Masking Tape. I don't like to use Marking Pens on my quilts when I hand quilt them, so I use Masking Tape to stick to the fabric to mark where to quilt. I use the lines in the seams and have a variety of sizes of Tape starting at 1/4in wide (available in Quilting stores) to the normal masking tape you find at your local Supermarket or Hardware store in a variety of widths (1/2in, 1in, 2in...). It re-sticks a few times and leaves no mark that needs to be removed.
NOTION 3 - AURIFIL THREAD. I love to see big stitches in my hand quilting and the thread I love to use is Aurifil 12wt. The reason I love it is because of the selection of colours available. Really, there are so many colours to choose that you can always find one to match your fabric. You only need one strand and the Spools go a long way in your stitching. (Pictured above are colours #2692, #2783, #5022, 1148, #1248 and #2838). I don't have any trouble with piling or shredding while using them.
NOTION 4 - TULIP EMBROIDERY NEEDLES. These are my needle of choice when Hand quilting. They are nice and sharp, a good length to hold and the eye of the needle works well with the Aurifil 12wt. They slide through the fabric like a hot knife through butter. I like the Size #8 - Sharp Tips best.
NOTION 5 - NEEDLE MINDER. So that you don't loose your needles down the couch while Hand quilting - these Magnetic Needle Minders are great to hold your needle while you change thread or a take a break. This one is super cute and is from Quiet Play
NOTION 6 - THIMBLE. I don't generally use a Thimble 90% of the time while Hand quilting but after a while my fingers can become sore. I like these ones from Kimono House best to use.
Hand quilting certainly creates an amazing texture and drape to your quilts. It's definitely worth the time and effort to give your quilt that special finishing hand quilted touch.
Happy Hand Quilting
Jemima x x
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