I have completely fallen in love with hand quilting. Thanks to many of your suggestions on this post, I made myself use a thimble. It's getting easier with practice, and my finger feels so much better. I love the look of hand quiting, and the process is so soothing. I'm happy to say that I am over half done with this quilt. Yahoo!
(A slightly hilarious side note...my thimble is turning my finger green...just like a cheap ring would. So much for what I thought was my heirloom thimble!)
66 comments:
wow, that pink quilt is really pretty!
the green is usually caused by copper. Doesn't mean it's not an heirloom though :)
Oh I love it! I started hand quilting too but I am not making much progress!
I would like to machine bind on both sides too, but how did you make sure your top stitch didn't stitch through the binding on the other side? I'm not sure if I can be that precise!
I highly recommend Liuxin Newman's thimbles (She's from Australia and calls herself Thimblelady). They aren't cheap.. the plastic ones sell for about $15 but they have deep dimples that really hug your needle and you will find your stitches keep getting better and better and you can load more stitches on your needle. Greenbaum's Quilted Forest in the US sells them. (No affiliation just a happy customer).
My machine binding on the 2nd side never comes out that tidy. I guess I need to practice more. Yours looks great though!
I'm so envious of that neat machine binding. I fall off too much.
I am acutally going to attempt my first machine binding this weekend my mom thinks it is the way to go...Im a bit nervous! Love the quilt your working on...I to enjoy handquilting..It makes me think of women before us that all they had was there hand quilting..I often think I would like to be one of them...Maybe I read too much little house on the prairie when I was young! LOL
I'm a hand quilting freak. Love it... the process, the outcome, the whole 9 yards.
enjoy!
Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm no picture of the green finger???!!! :) Instead I beheld that lovely pink quilt!:)
I have put binding on by machine forever since my hand sewing is awful and now some arthritis. Yours looks real good! The trick is to go slow - no hurry since it's already faster than doing by hand!
the machine binding looks awesome. i need to try it again, this time do it a little slower ;-) I saw Pat Sloan had a tutorial on it - she used a blanket stitch on hers, and it looked quite lovely too!
as for hand stitching-love it, but have NO patience for it.
I don't know about hand quilting :-) but I also recently learned to do machine binding and it ROCKS! Mine doesn't look quite as tidy as yours though.. I use 2.5" strips, thats probably the problem. Do you use 2.25" or 2" binding? It looks great!!!
Lookin' good!
I always hated using a thimble! I think they're so uncomfortable. So instead I started putting a bandaid on my finger which felt much less cumbersome. BUT THEN I found this thimble (http://www.joann.com/joann/catalog/productdetail.jsp?pageName=search&flag=true&PRODID=prd17580) at Joann's. It's seriously the BEST thimble on the planet! My favorite part is the slit in the end so I don't have to cut off my finger nail just to use it. And it won't turn you green :) Check it out next time you're there. You just might love it too :)
Love it! I've tried the machine binding once and it was a disaster. Need to do some serious refining of my technique, but I would love to make it happen.
And now that I've gone off the deep end with hexies, I wonder if my hexie quilt (that will.... eventually.... happen) should get hand-quilted. Hrm, food for thought!
Fun paradox! I tried a thimble and just can't get used to it. I ordered some of those stick-on pads to get my connecting threads over the free shipping amount. They are the next thing I'll try.
I've done the machine binding on pillows that were late in-the-making gifts. But still prefer the look of hand stitching to finish.
I don't hand quilt, because of this very thing...using a thimble. Can not get used to that! Your quilt looks really sweet!
I've been binding my quilts by machine exactly like that for years. I still struggle with the corners though, so do tell us if you have found a good way to keep the stitching straight and the binding 'caught' properly. I pin and pin and sometimes hand baste too.
Cristin,
I use 2.5" binding strips for both this method and my previous method.
AJ
That's just one of the great things about quilting - you can be as old school or as avant garde as you please. Totally up to you. I love that.
Your binding looks sooooooo good! How about a machine binding tutorial? I could really use it!
I can see you enjoy it - it looks beautiful!
Yay for machine binding!
I think they also make leather "thimbles" for quilters. They're almost like fingerless gloves, so they thimble doesn't fall off. I've seen them at Joanns, and they might be easier to use than your more traditional one. :)
I love to hand piece/quilt as well, I use an open thimble, it's plastic and I have an extra one still in the packaging. I will bring it to you in November.
Yes, I totally enjoy machine binding every one of of my quilts..never looked back!
I cannot get the thimble rocking thing down so I torture my hands..I am evil that way:)
I agree... hand quilting can be very addictive. I can definately feel a need for a new hand quilt project emerge. Love the slow pace and the fact that you can sit and quilt in the living room. Next time will be colors and pearl thread :)
I luuurrve machine binding too. Mine looks different to yours - I found a great tutorial which I look up every time by googling 'no snit binding tutorial'. I think it's by YouGoGirl! It totally saved my sanity! Can't say I ever took to hand quilting though.
I now have 3 quilts waiting to be bound... might be time to try the machine binding.
So glad you love hand quilting, me too it's soooo relaxing!!
I use a brass thimble too, the one with the indent on top. It used to turn my finger green, but I must have gotten used to it or something, lol.
Once again, I learned so much from you and the folks who commented. I have two new techniques to try and a few ideas for thimbles. Congrats on finding a speedy way to bind. By the way, I loved the comment made by BerylthePearl: The trick is to go slow - no hurry since it's already faster than doing by hand!
Arent' you going to show us the rest of that lovely pink quilt? Your hand quilting looks great and so does your binding. I haven't tried it yet but may now that I see yours.
Yipee for hand quilting! I can't live without my thimble -- the only sewing I can do without one is counted cross stitch -- otherwise, a thimble is required. Do you do hand bindings without one? That would kill me!
Funny thing about binding since I bound my first quilt using your tutorial. I think I'm going to try machining both sides this time cause I have a looming project deadline :)
I love the pinks together. Have to say that you always have beautiful quilts and although I have been to many blogs since I started quilting over a year ago, you remain my fav!
This is one quilt I can't WAIT to see in its entirety...
Beautiful. Your hand quilting is amazing. Machine binding will be the way I go.....should I ever finish my first quilt! LOL
machine binding is awesome - especially when your quilt is intended from children who are going to pull, tug, yank and generally abuse your work of art (hopefully) all through their days!
What a great job you did on the machine binding....mine is never so even though.....did you do some special prep? I am missing a step?
Your work is just lovely.
Happy Sewing
Amanda Jean- I'm a huge follower of your blog. I have been quilting for the last 2 years and ran in to an issue recently I was hoping you may have some insight in to. Here's a post on my blog all about it: www.landofcrafts.blogspot.com I had some serious puckering issues I just couldn't figure out! Your help would be much appreciated. Do you ever see this?
I use two thimbles for hand quilting. First, Thumble, the quilter's thumb by Collins I use on my thumb. It has a little dimple in it that you use to push the needle through. On the same hand I put a Dritz leather thimble on my index finger. This helps pull the needle through on the other side.
Both are available at Amazon but I purchased them at Joann's. Love you blog. Thanks for all you do to spread the word about quilting.
Both of those quilts look beautiful. Your machine binding looks really good. I have a hard time using a thimble because they fall off my finger. Can't wait to see what your finished hand quilting looks like :)
I am very interested in trying my hand at hand quilting. But what kind of thread do you use? Same as you sew with or does it have to be thicker??
any tips for keeping the stitching on the binding nice and straight and consistent. I hate it when the stitch line ends up on the underside of the binding instead of next to it
I heart hand quilting, too.
I love the quilt pictured with the thimble! Please post a pic of it when it's complete, please?? :o) You are a brave one, taking on hand quilting! LOL And I am glad to hear you are machine binding. I so wanted to machine bind, but felt like I was "cheating" in a sort of way so I avoided it...but perhaps will try it out soon. Have a great evening!
Wow! That binding is amazing! Please show us how you did it. I could sure use help.
Ursula
Love that pink quilt!! Your binding looks fantastic. I've used your tutorial on the process and then used my machine for a couple of years now, and I think it's great! It makes me quilt more for sure :-). Haven't tried the hand quilting yet ... but it sure looks nice on yours.
I would also like to know how your machine binding looks so good -patience and loads of pins?
I've almost totally switched to machine binding - I get better at it each time and it is SO much faster (maybe because I am really slow at hand stitching).
Your hand quilting looks wonderful!
Any tips on machine binding? I'd love to skip that long step
I have yet to try hand quilting. Do you find it is easier than machine quilting? More control?
Love your quilts, but to echo many other people do you have any tips on machine binding? I have 4 quilts waiting to be bound and could really use some tips on machine binding!
Are you SERIOUS?? You're that far on your handquilting? AND you made those twin quilts? I am jealous. But I also am waiting patiently for my day to come when my kids are in school. Then I too shall experience sewing bliss! :)
I am super excited to see this finished Apple Cake quilt. I would suggest that this replaces your old family quilt, but I don't know if it should ever be allowed to touch grass, etc. ha.
Reading the comments makes me wonder if I'm some kind of sinner... My two favorite tools when I'm hand quilting is a metal thimble that has a ridge ring around the top (so you can push the needle through and it won't slide off the top)and a small pair of needle nose pliers- to pull the needle through all those ups and down I put it through in one go!
I too would like to know how you did the binding! It is so cute! Thanks for all your inspiration!
You can paint the inside of the thimble with a little clear nail polish to stop the greening of the finger. (Trixie Belden, Mystery in Arizona)
Regarding the binding. My friend told me of this method a while back and it's all I use. But, what I want to know is how you get such pretty and neat seams? How big is your binding? When you attach it to the back are you stitching at a quarter inch, half inch, where? I am uber impressed and would love some teaching on this point.
I have yet to master hand quilting or machine binding. Both are beyond me. LOL.
AJ, some of the ladies at my retreat were complaining of the same issue. Their solution is nail varnish on the inside of the thimble.
I went and bought an expensive Clover leather thimble and have gone back to my cheap-oh metal one.
Love hand-quilting, love double machine binding!
I just machine bound my first quilt 2 weeks ago. I have 2 more to do. I hope they turn out better than my first one! My post about it is here: https://wannabequilter.wordpress.com/ (Minky Quilt)
I definitely want to try machine binding. Um....oh, wait. First I have to try some machine quilting so I have some quilts to bind!
I am so with you in these two loves. It is joyous to handstich a quilt for a change and then machine stitch the binding... I guess we like to mix things up from time to time. ;o)
I'm just drooling over that dotty pink binding. I think I would bind every quilt in dots if I could. It always looks just right.
your machine binding looks ridiculously good. how do you get it all so even? i'm green with envy over here.
I highly recommend these products. You stick the leather dot or thimble on to your finger precisely where you need it, and you don't need to worry about thimbles that don't fit properly. It feels much less restrictive and gives a lot more control. You can also put a thimblepad or underpad on the underneath finger to protect and give you more control in directing the needle
http://www.colonialneedle.com/cgi-bin/quikstore.cgi?category=THIMBLES_-_Fingertip&search=yes
AmandaJean, I want to machine bind a quilt today. Did you read a tutorial? or just jump in? I know the basics, but you know, I need tips and details...:)so that it looks decent. I tried it before and always have to go back and fix... Thanks.
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