While browsing the web I found this wonderful information about quilting that I thought all beginner quilters in particular might find interesting.
What is a Quilt?
A quilt is a type of bedding— a bed covering composed of a quilt top, a layer of batting, and a layer of fabric for backing, generally combined using the technique of quilting. Another technique for securing the quilt layers is tying. Tying refers to the technique of using thread, yarn or ribbon to pass through all three layers of the quilt at regular intervals. These "ties" hold the layers together during use and especially when the quilt is washed. This method is easier and more forgiving if the quilt is made by hand. Tied quilts are called, depending on the regional area, "lap", "comfort" or "comforter", among other names. Many quilts are made with decorative designs; some quilts are not used as bed covering at all, but are rather made to be hung on a wall or otherwise displayed. In British English, quilt is another way of saying duvet, wadding is another way of saying batting, and calico refers to muslin rather than to a fabric with a printed pattern on it.
What is Quilting?
Quilting is a sewing method done either by hand, by sewing machine, or by Longarm quilting system. The process uses a needle and thread to join two or more layers of material together to make a quilt. Typical quilting is done with three layers, the top fabric or quilt top, batting or insulating material and backing material. The quilter's hand or sewing machine passes the needle and thread through all layers and then brings the needle back up. The process is repeated across the entire piece where quilting is wanted. A straight or running stitch is commonly used and these stitches can be purely functional or decorative and elaborate. Quilting is done on bed spreads, art quilt wall hangings, clothing, and a variety of textile products. Quilting can make a project thick, or with dense quilting, can raise one area so that another stands out.
Types of Quilts
Amish
Amish quilts are reflections of the Amish way of life. Because the Amish people believe in not being "flashy" or "worldly" in dress and lifestyle, their quilts reflect this religious philosophy. They use only solid colors in their clothing and quilts. Some church districts limit the use of certain colors such as yellow or red because those are considered "too worldly". Black is a dominant color. Although Amish quilts appear austere from a distance, the craftsmanship is often of the highest quality and the stitching forms vigorous patterns that contrast well with the plain background. These traits appeal to a modern aesthetic; antique Amish quilts are among the most highly prized among collectors and quilting enthusiasts.
Bangladeshi Quilts
Bangladeshi quilts mainly known as 'Kantha' are not piecing together of patches. They are two to three cloths joined together for thickness. They are made out of worn out clothes (saries) and mainly used for bedding, as a blanket, and sometimes as decorating piece as well. They are made in the leisure times of women mainly in the Monsoon before winter.
Baltimore album
Baltimore album quilts originated in Baltimore, Maryland in the 1840s, and are made up of in blocks in which each block is appliquéd with a different design. The designs are often floral, but many other motifs are also used.
Hawaiian
Handmade appliqué ralli quilt.
Quillow
A quillow is a quilt with an attached pocket into which the whole blanket can be folded, thus making a pillow.
Quilting types and equipment
Many types of quilting exist today. The two most widely used are hand-quilting and machine quilting.
Hand Quilting is the process of using a needle and thread to sew a running type stitch by hand across the entire area to be quilted. This binds the layers together. A quilting frame or hoop is often used to assist in holding the piece being quilted, off the quilter's lap. A quilter can make one running stitch at a time; this is called a stab stitch. Another option is called a rocking stitch, where the quilter has one hand, usually with a finger wearing a thimble, on top of the quilt, while the other hand is located beneath the piece to push the needle back up. The third option is called "loading the needle" and involves doing four or more stitches before pulling the needle through the cloth. Hand quilting is still practiced by many women and is enjoying a resurgence worldwide.
Machine Quilting is the process of using a home sewing machine or a Longarm machine to sew the layers together. With the home sewing machine the layers are tacked together before quilting. This involves laying the top, batting and backing out on a flat surface and either pinning (using large safety pins) or tacking the layers together.
Longarm Quilting involves placing the layers to be quilted on a special frame. The frame has bars on which the layers are rolled, keeping these together without the need for basting or pinning. These frames are used with a professional sewing machine mounted on a platform. The platform rides along tracks so that the machine can be moved across the layers on the frame. A Longarm machine is moved across the fabric. In contrast, the fabric is moved through a home sewing machine.
Tying is another technique of fastening the three layers together (and is not a form of quilting at all). This is done primarily on quilts that are made to be used and are needed quickly. The process of tying the quilt is done with yarns or multiple strands of thread. Square knots are used to finish off the ties so that the quilt may be washed and used without fear of the knots coming undone.
Traditional Quilting Processes
Traditional quilting is a six-step process that includes:
1) selecting a pattern, fabrics and batting;
2) measuring and cutting fabrics to the correct size to make blocks from the pattern;
3) piecing (sewing cut pieces of fabric together using a sewing machine or by hand to make blocks) blocks together to make a finished "top";
4) layering the quilt top with batting and backing, to make a "quilt sandwich";
5) quilting by hand or machine through all layers of the quilt sandwich; and
6) squaring up and trimming excess batting from the edges, machine sewing the binding to the front edges of the quilt and then hand-stitching the binding to the quilt backing. Note: If the quilt will be hung on the wall, there is an additional step: making and attaching the hanging sleeve.
Definitions
Piecing: Sewing small pieces of cloth into patterns, called blocks, that are then sewn together to make a finished quilt top. These blocks may be sewn together, edge to edge, or separated by strips of cloth called sashing. Note: Whole cloth quilts typically are not pieced, but are made using a single piece of cloth for the quilt top.
Layering: Placing the quilt top right side up atop the batting and the backing, which is right-side out.
Quilting: Sewing the three quilt layers together, using stitches in decorative patterns, called motifs, or in utilitarian patterns, such as straight lines, using bigger stitches.
Borders: Typically strips of fabric of various widths added to the perimeter of the pieced blocks to complete the quilt top. Note: borders may also be made up of simple or patterned blocks that are stitched together into a row, before being added to the quilt top.
Binding: Fabric strips cut on the bias or straight of the grain, sewn together, making a long strip that will fit the perimeter of the quilt, which is typically sewn to the top edge of the quilt.
Quilting: Stitching through all three layers of the quilt sandwich, typically by hand or machine in decorative patterns, which serves three purposes: 1) to secure all three layers to each other, and 2) to add to the beauty and design of the finished quilt, and 3) to trap air within the quilted sections, making the quilt as a whole much warmer than its parts; for example, a single layer or all three layers used separately. Quilting is usually completed by starting from the middle, and moving outward toward the edges of the quilt. Examples: simple or complex geometric grids, "motifs" traced from published quilting patterns or traced pictures, complex repeated designs called tessellations, or stitching within the seam line itself, i.e., stitching in the ditch.
Note 1: Quilting can be elaborately decorative, comprising stitching fashioned into complex designs and patterns. The quilter may choose to emphasize and add to the richness of the quilting, by using threads that are multicolored and/or metallic, or that contrast highly to the fabric. Conversely, the quilter may choose to make the quilting disappear, using "invisible" nylon or polyester thread, and stitching in the ditch (in the seam line). Many quilters draw the quilting design on the quilt top before stitching, while others stitch "freehand."
Note 2: While the majority of quilt tops are pieced from many smaller patches of fabric (patchwork quilts), in which the patterns of individual blocks, or the pattern created by combining the blocks is the emphasis, whole cloth quilts typically use a single, non-figural piece of fabric and the elaborate quilting is the emphasis. Polished chintz, sateen or other shiny fabrics are often used in whole cloth quilts to aid in emphasizing the intricately detailed quilting stitches.
Note 3: Quilting is often combined with embroidery, patchwork, appliqué and other forms of needlework.
|
