How to Decide What to Quilt

1. Get Really Clear on your own Abilities

First of all are you comfortable with just walking foot quilting, or can you free motion quilt as well? It’s really helpful to keep a record of designs that you feel you can confidently quilt. These could be sketched out in a dedicated notebook or perhaps a file of photos or digital sketches. Some people keep a stitched record of the designs in the form of a stack of quilted sandwiches (like the ones shown in this photo). Once you’ve got a new design nailed down, it’s worth thinking about how that design might fit into some traditional blocks such as half square triangles. This record will be an awesome resource to be able to reference when needed.

2. The Purpose of the Quilt

How is the quilt going to be used? Is it a ‘cuddle quilt’? i.e. it’s actually going to be used as a quilt. If so, opting for a loose, all-over design will ensure the quilt drapes well and plumps up nicely. If you use a dense design the quilt will be stiffer. That stiffness might be exactly what you want for a wall hanging or a quilt destined for a show. In fact, if it is for a show (like the one in the photo – Jo’s Glitter Ball Quilt), then you might want to custom quilt it by using different motifs in different sections of the quilt.

3. The Patchwork Design

Do you want the focus to be on the patchwork design itself? Are there defined blocks within your quilt and an obvious ‘background’? One approach is to quilt an ‘all-over’ design on the background but quilt the blocks with custom quilting to suit each block.  Consider that some quilting designs will enhance the patchwork more than others. For example, in my Glitter Ball quilt there is a section of improv curves: the curves suggest movement, and I wanted to add a quilting design that would continue that feeling of movement. The alternating direction of the quilted curves does just that.

4. Quilting Density

How densely you quilt your quilt can affect how it drapes and how it hangs. Keeping the overall density consistent will ensure it drapes and hangs consistently. If you are adding some densely quilted areas to a wall hanging it can be an interesting idea to have some areas with less quilting so the viewers eye has somewhere to rest. If doing this though, make sure that these areas are fairly evenly spread so that your quilt still hangs evenly.

Time to Audition the Designs

Now you have considered some of those key factors what are the next steps in deciding how to quilt your quilt?

Print out a picture of your quilt. This can a black and white outline – colouring-in graphics that are often provided by the pattern designer are perfect for this. Or a photo of the quilt top will also work well. Place your printout in a clear display pocket and use whiteboard markers to test out different ideas.

If that’s too small and you want to sketch the designs at the actual size, then placing a piece of clear vinyl over the actual quilt top is a great alternative.

Practising is Key!

Having decided what you want to quilt by drawing it, you now need to test it out on the machine to see if you can quilt the shapes well. Doing this can also be helpful in testing out the sizing of the design. So, grab some scrap fabric sandwiches and have a go! This is especially important if you have a few options, testing them out can easily identify which you prefer the look of or which you are most competent at stitching.

How to Quilt that Quilt

First and foremost, make sure you have time set aside for the quilting, it’s just as important as the patchwork in my opinion. Get really clear on what your capabilities are and what you can quilt well. Take time to think about the purpose of the quilt as this can help you make quilting decisions.  Have fun sketching out ideas and practising them!

If free motion quilting is new to you, something you’ve shied away from or perhaps just can’t get the hang of, then I would love to help you! My 4 week online Confident & Joyful Free Motion Quilting course starting on the 8th of March 2023 will be a perfect way to get you off the starter blocks! This course has live Q&A sessions on Zoom where you can ask me all your questions!

If you already know how to free motion a meander but want to build your quilting toolbox so you’ve got more choices, then my FMQ Builder course could be just what you need. This course is an online, self-paced course that will introduce you to more motifs such as petals, leaves, spirals, swirls, flowers and feathers.

If you fancy joining one, or both, of the Free Motion Quilting courses, here is a 10% coupon code just for you! Just input the code MMFMQ10 at the checkout.

Jo Westfoot is a quilter, pattern designer and teacher. She loves helping quilters learn new skills and improve their current ones so that they see improved results and get more satisfaction from their hobby! She teaches online courses on free motion quilting, foundation paper piecing, block of the month programmes. She also has an online learning membership: Quilt Hive, for quilters where she teaches a whole host of different patchwork & quilting techniques. She particularly loves helping people get to grips with free motion quilting so they can finish their quilts themselves. You can find Jo online at The Crafty Nomad, on Instagram and Facebook.