What
Is Quilting?
And How To Quilt
Take a journey into the world of patchwork and
quilting and you will discover that quilters
have a language of their own. Unfamiliar lingo
encountered when learning about quilting, can
be very baffling.
Even the word quilt has
different meanings. It refers to a coverlet
made up of three layers and the act of
stitching the three layers together (as in
quilt a quilt). Now for some inexplicable
reason the word quilter refers to a person who
makes quilts even if they don't necessarily
know how to quilt them. You could be an expert
quilter and still not be capable of quilting a
quilt, as your expertise might lie in one of
the many ways to create a quilt top.
Even though quilting is
sometimes used as a short form of "patchwork
and quilting" (as in saying you are taking up
quilting when you are learning how to piece
patchwork), in the dictionary you will find
that there are two different meanings for
quilting. Quilting is the stitching that holds
all three layers of a quilt together and it is
also the act of creating those stitches.
Here are some more terms
that you will come across when learning about
machine quilting.
In the Ditch is quilting very close to the low
side of the seam line, to be almost invisible.
The low side is the side without the seam
allowanc
Outline quilting is stitching done inside each
patch about " away from the seam line or
stitching around a shape as in Echo quilting.
Sometimes confused with stitching in the ditch,
in outline quilting the stitching is suppose to
be visible.
Motif quilting creates a design by following a
pattern on the quilt top. There are various
marking tools and numerous techniques for
marking the pattern onto the quilt top.
Accent quilting is stitching that complements
the featured design. Stippling the background
around the design is a type of accent quilting,
as are Echo quilting and Meandering.
Selective quilting is used to emphasize certain
portions of a design.
Allover quilting ignores the seam lines and
fills the entire quilt top with a design.
Trapunto is a "fattening up" of areas of a
quilt design to create brilliant texture.
Trapunto is most effective when the background
quilting around the the "fattened up" area is
densely quilted. It makes the plumped areas
stand out more.
Quilt As You Go means that you quilt and piece
all your blocks separately. The smaller pieces
are quilted separately and then joined together
to make a large quilt. It is easier to manage
and quilt a smaller piece under the sewing
machine instead of a huge quilt.
Free Motion Machine Quilting is a form of
quilting done by the quilter without marking
the quilt. You just sit down with the quilt
under the machine and "doodle" away!
Fill quilting fills in and flattens the
background space while emphasizing the primary
design. Types of fill quilting are:
Echo - Stitching around the
outline of a pattern repeatedly to create an
effect similar to ripples in a pond.
Channel - straight, parallel lines of
stitching.
Crosshatching - straight line quilting in a
grid pattern. A straight grid forms squares,
while a diagonal grid forms diamonds.
Meandering - random curved lines, squiggles and
swirls done "freehand".
Stippling - is similar to meandering but the
line never cross.
Since discovering quilting ten years ago Bev
McClune has become an award winning domestic
machine quilter, a professional machine quilter
and a popular tutor. She has four how-to quilt
DVD's available at http://www.quiltersworld.com.au
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