Encyclopedia

If you are a machine quilter then you must use safety pins to baste together the layers of your quilt. Safety pins should be pinned about 3 inches apart all over the quilt top to ensure that the layers will not shift. You will need a couple hundred pins when basting a lap quilt. Do… Continue reading Safety Pins

A sampler quilt is made from a sample of blocks. These quilts are quite popular for beginning quilting classes. Often the instructor will plan the sampler so that each block will allow the students to learn a new quilting skill while working on that particular block. The blocks in a sampler quilt may all be… Continue reading Sampler Quilt

Sandpaper for quilting? Whatever for? Well …. a fine sandpaper makes an excellent platform for tracing templates on to the fabric. The sandpaper grips the bottom of the fabric and makes it easier to draw on the surface of the fabric. Lightweight sandpaper can help “hold” fabric when trying to trace around patterns. My husband… Continue reading Sandpaper

      Blocks are separated by sashing in some quilts. The sashing is often cut from a solid color or tone-on-tone fabric so its pattern does not interfere with the design of the quilt blocks. There are no written rules concerning the width of sashing. The choice is up to the individual. Usually sashing… Continue reading Sashing

  The satin stitch is a decorative stitch that often is used to border appliqued pieces.  The stitch is actually a zig zag stitch with zero stitch length.  Some sort of stabilizer is usually needed when making this stitch as it has a tendency to “pull up” the fabric around the stitching.  It’s a good… Continue reading Satin Stitch