Hey there, welcome back. Today I’m going to talk about the third quilting technique to be used on the squiggly fabric pieces. The other day I talked about quilting technique number 2 – it was all about stitch in the ditch.
Today is going to be about echo quilting. I like the effect that echo quilting has – it can be simple or complex, straight lines or curved lines, can use a walking foot or free motion foot – all kinds of options.
All the pieces are already sandwiched together so the next step is to pick thread. Last post I talked about finer weight threads and today I am going to talk about heavier weight threads. The lower the number the heavier or thicker a thread is. The photo at the top of the page shows a couple of types of thread. Sulky Blendables which is a 30 weight variegated thread and King Tut from Superior which is a 40 weight variegated thread. Both are 100% cotton. I love using either. In reference, the standard piecing thread I use is a 50 weight thread.
I decided to use two of the King Tut threads for the echo quilting. One for the blue sashing and the other for squiggle fabric border.
It is always best to work from the middle of your piece to the outside borders. I am using a walking foot to echo around the seam lines that attach the blue sashing. I like to put the quilting line about a ¼″ from the seam. Using a walking foot I put the needle in a ¼″ above the corner of the inner sashing seam.
Then sew all the way around. My stitch length is set at 2.5. And I have a 90/14 needle in to accommodate the thicker thread. The bobbin thread is a 50 weight cotton in a colour that blends in with the top thread. Don’t forget to test the tension on a test piece before starting out on the real piece.
The second echo line is done on the other side of the sashing with about a half inch between the two quilting lines. I like how it adds colour to the sashing and frames the centre block.
Now for the outside border. I can use the same bobbin thread with the new spool of thread. This time I am going to do a curved line using the free motion foot. I have changed the foot, got out my gloves and added the Supreme Slider to make everything move smoothly under the needle.
I started at the top of one side just off the fabric on the batting and then made a meandering soft gentle curved line down to the bottom of the fabric.
Starting from the top again I echoed the first line and eye balled a ¼″ distance from the first line and repeated the echo for a third line.
Continuing on all 4 sides this is what I ended up with. It is subtle and the thread blends in nicely but you can see that some quilting has been done.
What’s next? I still need to do something with the raw edges of the appliqué on the coloured centre block and greyscale centres block.
I’ll give a think about how to finish those off.
Until next time…
Happy Quilting
