Help!! Hand Quilting

Hello,
On a recent girls day out I purchased a very cute pre-printed fabric panel.
(Bird In Hand by Moda). It is wall hanging size and I thought it would be just
perfect to practice some hand quilting. I basted the top, the batting (warm &
natural) and the backing together. I placed the area to be quilted in a hoop
and began "quilting" with some hand quilting thread and a quilting needle.

What am I doing wrong??? The piece does NOT looked quilted AT ALL. The whole
thing looks "flat" with some stitching on it, not what I expected at all.

Do I have the tension too tight in the hoop?? I am trying to be careful to
pick up all three layers in my stitch, so I can't figure out why it does not
look more quilted??
Thanks for any help you might offer.

Handquilting often looks much different from machine quilting. For me
anyways. I like the look of machine quilting. It adds the puffiness. The
stitches are close together. The few things that I have hand quilted I
almost wanted to go back and stitch again in the spare spots to add more
to it. Make the picture stand out more. So it's possibly the way I do
it. I'm curious to hear what others have to say.
Joanna
--
Remove Quilt to reply

Hand quilting doesn't compress the seam as much as machine quilting does.

So if you want visible quilting and "puffy" look, you probably need to use a
fluffier batting than w&n. I don't know your stitching nor the look you're
seeking, but if you have it about or are willing to invest in some baby
quilt or craft sizes for testing, you might want to make some test
sandwiches with various battings ranging all the way up to extra high loft
and see which one gives you the results you seek.

--pig


On 7/18/04 16:11, in article ,
"P8nPal" wrote:


Hello,
On a recent girls day out I purchased a very cute pre-printed fabric panel.
(Bird In Hand by Moda). It is wall hanging size and I thought it would be
just
perfect to practice some hand quilting. I basted the top, the batting (warm &
natural) and the backing together. I placed the area to be quilted in a hoop
and began "quilting" with some hand quilting thread and a quilting needle.

What am I doing wrong??? The piece does NOT looked quilted AT ALL. The whole
thing looks "flat" with some stitching on it, not what I expected at all.

Do I have the tension too tight in the hoop?? I am trying to be careful to
pick up all three layers in my stitch, so I can't figure out why it does not
look more quilted??
Thanks for any help you might offer.

Perhaps you are comparing the the "quilts" you see in department stores -
where they are all puffy? These are commercially done and let me tell you -
the first time you wash it, the "puff" disappears. When I first started
quilting, oooh aways back now (VBG) I too was after the puffy look. Now,
with more experience and knowledge, I way prefer the flat look. Oh and I
still think that "less is more". Some quilts to me just look
waaaaaaaaaaaaay too quilted for their own good. But each to their own, and
each quilt tells you what it needs.

--
Sharon From Melbourne Australia (Queen of Down Under)
http://www.geocities.com/shazrules/craft.html


On 7/18/04 16:11, in article ,
"P8nPal" wrote:


Hello,
On a recent girls day out I purchased a very cute pre-printed fabric
panel.
(Bird In Hand by Moda). It is wall hanging size and I thought it would
be
just
perfect to practice some hand quilting. I basted the top, the batting
(warm &
natural) and the backing together. I placed the area to be quilted in a
hoop
and began "quilting" with some hand quilting thread and a quilting
needle.

What am I doing wrong??? The piece does NOT looked quilted AT ALL. The
whole
thing looks "flat" with some stitching on it, not what I expected at
all.

Do I have the tension too tight in the hoop?? I am trying to be careful
to
pick up all three layers in my stitch, so I can't figure out why it does
not
look more quilted??
Thanks for any help you might offer.

What am I doing wrong??? The piece does NOT looked quilted AT ALL. The
whole
thing looks "flat" with some stitching on it, not what I expected at all.



A few things come to mind:

I always thought Warm and Natural was a good batting for machine quilting, as
it is harder to hand "needle" and has a flatter appearance that other battings.
I love Hobbs Poly Down for hand quilting. It is low loft polyester, feels
like a soft cotton cloud, and hand quilts beautifully.

Are the preprinted fabrics "busy" with a lot of visual texture in them? Hand
quilting does not show up well on busy prints, and looks more prominent on
fabrics that "read" as solids.

What is the fabric content of your panel? If you hand quilt on 100% cotton,
the stitrches sink very nicely into the sandwich. If you hand quilt on
cotton-poly blends, your stitches tend to just lay acrross the top of the
quilt.

Are you quilting along the straight grain of the fabric, parallel to the
selvedge? This is more difficult to do that cross grain or bias, and the
stitches tend to disappear between the threads.

Hope some of this sheds light on your problem.

Kathy
http://community.webshots.com/user/katquilts53

Repeat after me......."Spray Starch is my Friend!"

The tension might be too tight in the hoop, but that won't matter too much
to the finished appearance. Take it out of the hoop and have a look.
When the piece is completely finished and bound, toss it in the washing
machine and tumble dry. The batting will shrink a bit and provide the
crinkly look of an old-fashioned quilt. The closer you quilt it, the more
crinkly texture it will acquire! Most of my quilting ends up 3/4 -1" apart.
and closer than that for machine stippling.
Roberta in D

"P8nPal" wrote in message
...

Hello,
On a recent girls day out I purchased a very cute pre-printed fabric
panel.
(Bird In Hand by Moda). It is wall hanging size and I thought it would be
just
perfect to practice some hand quilting. I basted the top, the batting
(warm &
natural) and the backing together. I placed the area to be quilted in a
hoop
and began "quilting" with some hand quilting thread and a quilting needle.

What am I doing wrong??? The piece does NOT looked quilted AT ALL. The
whole
thing looks "flat" with some stitching on it, not what I expected at all.

Do I have the tension too tight in the hoop?? I am trying to be careful
to
pick up all three layers in my stitch, so I can't figure out why it does
not
look more quilted??
Thanks for any help you might offer.

I have only done a few hand quilted projects and can tell you how my quilts
turned out. I use cotton fiber batting because I think it is easier to use
plus it lays nicely. After washing, I get some puffiness, but it will never
look like store bought quilts with poly batting. If you want PUFF then tie
your quilt for best results. I personally love the look of hand quilting and
either tie or hand quilt.


"P8nPal" wrote in message
...

Hello,
On a recent girls day out I purchased a very cute pre-printed fabric
panel.
(Bird In Hand by Moda). It is wall hanging size and I thought it would be
just
perfect to practice some hand quilting. I basted the top, the batting
(warm &
natural) and the backing together. I placed the area to be quilted in a
hoop
and began "quilting" with some hand quilting thread and a quilting needle.

What am I doing wrong??? The piece does NOT looked quilted AT ALL. The
whole
thing looks "flat" with some stitching on it, not what I expected at all.

Do I have the tension too tight in the hoop?? I am trying to be careful
to
pick up all three layers in my stitch, so I can't figure out why it does
not
look more quilted??
Thanks for any help you might offer.