Quilting

Best Ideas for Bonus Half-Square Triangles

I love using “bonus” half-square triangles (HST’s) in projects. If you don’t know what a “bonus” HST is, let me explain.

 
HST Trapezoid.jpg
 

When making stitch and flip projects (click here for a playlist that includes several block variations using this technique), you can create bonus HST’s when you clip off the excess fabric at the corners. I take these bonus HST’s and keep then in a bin so they are ready when I want to use them in a completely new project.

I found some interesting ideas for projects in the books I have in my quilting library. Simply Charmed, a table runner design by Sherri McConnell, in Lucky Charm Quilts by Moda All-Stars would be a perfect project for my bonus HST’s. 

Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

Another idea is Boden, a wall hanging in Teach Me to Sew Triangles by Pat Sloan uses all HST’s and can be stitched up as a single block or combined together in multiples to make a larger project.

 
Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

Photo courtesy of Martingale Publishing

 

 The nice thing about using HST’s is that you can use them in a project even if the pattern instructions call for a different size of HST’s. The arrangement of the HST’s will be the same, the project just might finish at a smaller or larger size. Note: This assumes that the pattern calls for HST’s of all the same size, not a combination of various different sizes of HST’s.

It’s easy to create your own HST designs. Click on the image below to see some of the various blocks that you can create with HST’s.

 What do you do with your bonus HST’s? Leave me a comment below to let me know.

Creatively,

Kim's signature small aqua.jpg
 

Note: I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post ,I will receive a small amount of commission. You won’t pay any more $$ for these items, but it will help me to continue creating free content for you. Thanks!

P.S. Are you serious about improving your quilting? Do you want to connect with other quilters in a supportive, safe environment?  If you answered “yes” to these questions, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

Easy Valentine's Day Heart Ornament

Valentine’s Day may still be a month away, but it’s never too early to start making heart-felt ornaments to decorate your quilt studio.

 
Heart Ornament.jpg
 

This is a project that only uses a bit of fabric, batting, and ribbon or trim for the hanging loop. Once you have these materials assembled, it’s time to go to your sewing machine to stitch it up.

I used the monogram feature and decorative stitches on the Janome MC9400 to embellish a sweet heart ornament. It’s easy to do and so fun to personalize by creating the phrases that are most “Valentine-y” to you. To learn more about using these features on the Janome MC9400, click here.

I recommend that you create and stitch out your phrases on a trial piece of quilt sandwich so you’ll be sure that they are exactly the way you want them to be before stitching them on your “real” ornament. I created “XOXO” (hugs and kisses), “Kisses” and “Sweetheart” with the monogram feature on the Janome MC9400 to use on my ornament. I stitched these out in various fonts until I found the ones that I liked the best. I was then all ready to add them to my heart ornament.

 
Valentine's XOXOXO.jpg
 

With several hundred decorative stitches available to use on the Janome MC9400, it was tough to determine which ones I wanted to use, so I kept it simple: I used some hearts (D13) and then chose one of the stitches in the Decorative category (D21) for the edge stitching. While it’s easy to get carried away with the decorative stitches, try not to do this or you’ll lose the effect of them on this size of ornament. For this project, simple is the best way to go.

 
Valentine - Edge Stitch.jpg
 

For all the details on how to create your own heart ornament in time for Valentine’s Day, click on the image below for the video tutorial.

 What words or phrases would you use on your Valentine’s Day ornament? Let me know in the comments below.

Creatively,

Kim's signature small aqua.jpg
 

P.S. Do you want to enhance your quilting and connect with other quilters from around the world?  If you answered “yes” to this question, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

How to Bury Your Quilting Threads

Want to learn an invisible way to end your quilting stitches? I have a secret weapon: the self-threading needle.

If you haven’t heard of a self-threading needle, it doesn’t really thread itself, but it’s the next best thing! A self-threading needle has an open part at the top which allows you to snap the thread into it so you don’t have to struggle with getting your thread through a tiny eye. This notion comes in so handy when you want to have an invisible end to a line of quilting.

Now, in all honesty, I have to say that I don’t always bury my threads. If I’m able to start and stop my quilting stitches off of the quilt top - in the batting and backing - I’ll do this and there’s no need to lock my stitches, but, if it is a special project or show quilt, burying your threads is a must and this is where the self-threading needle comes in.

In order to have an invisible end to your quilting stitches, you need to leave additional top and bobbin thread to work with. You’ll take these threads and know them about 1/8” above the quilt top. Next you’ll take the thread tails and snap them into the top of the self-threading needle. Once they’re in, you will slide your needle back into the quilt sandwich, trying to go back in at or near the last stitch. Don’t take your needle all the way through the quilt - you just want to go into the batting. Slide your needle along inside the quilt sandwich and pop out about 2” away from where you entered it. Give a quick little pull on the thread and you should hear it “pop” into the quilt sandwich. You can now cut off your thread ends close to the quilt top.

See, I told you it was easy! For more information, click on the image below to see a video of how I bury my quilting threads.

This leaves such a nice finish to your quilting stitches, but it does take a bit of extra time. If you haven’t tried burying your quilt stitches, why not get a self-threading needle and give it a try?

Creatively,

Kim's signature small aqua.jpg
 

Download the free Get Out of the Ditch! guide to learn how to start free motion quilting by clicking here.

Note: I am an Amazon affiliate and, if you purchase items by clicking through the links in this post, I will receive a small amount of commission. You won’t pay any more $$ for these items, but it will help me to continue creating free content for you. Thanks!

P.S. Do you want to join a supportive group of quilters who are all working to improve their quilting? If you answered “yes” to this question, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

Quilting Before You Appliqué

I like to do fusible web appliqué or raw edge appliqué. It’s easy and fast, but the part I don’t like about it is quilting it. I don’t like having to work my way around the appliqués on the project. If you are doing a design such as crosshatching, having to stop and restart your quilting around the appliqué pieces can be quite time-consuming.

Why not quilt the background first and then add your appliqués to it? There are times when this method would work very well – and other situations where it might not be appropriate.

If you are doing a small, simple project, you may want to consider quilting it first then adding the appliqué. One consideration of quilting first and appliquéing later is that you will have to put the quilted project into your sewing machine to finish the edges of the appliqué pieces. If you are working on a small project, this shouldn’t be a problem.

If your project has embellishments, such as hand embroidery on it, this probably isn’t the best choice. The hand embroidery really needs to be done on an unquilted surface – it just isn’t as effective if you are embroidering over a quilted area as the two techniques will compete with one another and detract from the overall effect.

 
 

This method of quilting first and appliquéing second wouldn't work if you were wanting to accent the appliqué. In this situation, you usually densely quilt around the appliqué, pushing down the background fabric which allows the appliqué to pop. Obviously, the appliqué would have to be on the quilt already so you could quilt the background around it.

If you are making a big project, this method might work if you are using a quilt-as-you-go method. You’ll be quilting a section at a time and adding the appliqués a section at a time as well, so again, you won’t have a large quilt to maneuver through the throat of your sit-down sewing machine. 

If you have a large project that is going to be all quilted first, this method probably isn’t your best choice either. Once you had quilted the sandwich, you would then have to add the appliqués and finish the edges which means working that large, quilted project through the machine throat. While this is difficult enough, you may find that the appliqués not yet stitched down may lift off as you move the quilt around.

 
 

If you want to try this method of quilting first and then adding your appliqué pieces, keep these situations in mind and choose the one that will work the best.

Click on the image below for more information on when it’s okay to quilt first and appliqué last.

Have you ever tried this technique? Leave me your thoughts in the Comments below.

Creatively,

Kim's signature small aqua.jpg
 

Download the free Get Out of the Ditch! guide to learn how to start free motion quilting by clicking here.

P.S. Do you want to enhance your quilting and become the best quilter you can be?  If you answered “yes” to this question, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!

Best Tips for Adding Monograms or Letters to a Project

In a previous YouTube video, I showed you how to use the Monogram feature on the Janome MC9400 to create words or phrases. Since then I’ve been thinking about projects to which I could apply these. I thought that it would be fun to create inspirational phrases or personal sayings and then stitch these onto a project, such as a purse or tote bag. Since I’ve recently been making easy pouches, I thought that stitching phrases on them would be a perfect way to personalize them. I discovered that there are several tips that you need to be aware of when you are using the monogram feature on projects.

1.     Create Your Phrases

Decide what phrases or words you want to add to your project and create these in advance. If you don’t know how to use the Monogram feature on the Janome MC9400, check out this video. If you have another brand of sewing machine, check your manual for instructions on how to create and save phrases. Creating your words first saves time and ensures that you have already made any adjustments to size or spacing that you need to do so it will be perfect on your project. I always like to stitch the words or phrases out on the same type of fabric or material that you will be using in your project. Once you make sure that everything is looking good, you can store these words in your Janome MC9400 internal storage or on a separate USB.

2.     Use fabric stabilizer, if necessary

When I made my pouch I was actually stitching on a quilt sandwich – top, batting and backing – so I didn’t need to use any stabilizer as this was thick enough to support my stitches. If you are sewing on one layer of fabric, you will definitely need fabric stabilizer. Don’t skip this step - it makes all the difference in the finished result.

3.     Decide where you want to add the phrases

When creating my pouch, I realized that there was no point in adding phrases to the bottom of it as this wouldn’t normally be seen. You could, of course, continue your stitching all around your project, but I didn’t think that this would be necessary in this particular case. By not stitching all the way around the pouch, I saved thread - and time!

4.     Remember the seam allowance

When you are making a project there will be seam allowances, so you need to take this into account when stitching. You want to ensure that your stitches will be on the project and not in the seam allowance.

5.     Determine the width between your lines of stitching

Decide the optimal spacing between your lines of stitching so you can ensure that your stitching will be seen on your project. Once you’ve determined this, mark your project with an erasable marker and ruler so you will have the same distance between each line of stitching. I like to use a Frixion pen for this, but any type of erasable pen will do. If your machine has a quilting guide bar, like the Janome MC9400 does, you could use this instead. For my pouch I used ¾” between each line of stitching.

6.     Use your walking foot

I found that using the walking foot and the AcuFeed Flex system on the Janome MC9400 worked very well for this application. It moved all the layers along evenly and ensured a smooth finish to the phrases. For more information on using the AcuFeed Flex system on the Janome MC9400, click here.

7.     Measure your monograms

Measure and record this for each of the phrases or words being used. You will need to know this when stitching onto your project. When I created my first pouch, I found that I could stitch some of the phrases more than once while others would only fit once across the pouch.

8.     Determine Your Starting Point

If you are making a pouch, you will want the stitching to start on either side of the zipper and then go down the sides of the pouch parallel to the zipper. This will ensure an even look to the stitching on the project. This may not be necessary, depending on the project on which you are stitching, but consider it before you start stitching.

Regardless of the project, you will need to make a mark on it as to where each line of stitching should start. You will want the lines of stitching to be centred width-wise on your project, so use an erasable marker to mark where you will start your stitching.

Click on the image below to watch a video on how I added monograms to a simple pouch project.

 It was really fun to use the Monogram feature on the Janome MC9400 to create personal phrases and then to stitch them on my own pouch. I think this would be perfect gift for your quilting friends. Stitch up a pouch, add some personalized monograms or phrases to it, and fill it with quilty goodness - which would include chocolate, of course!

Creatively,

Kim's signature small aqua.jpg
 

P.S. Do you want to enhance your quilting and become the best quilter you can be?  If you answered “yes” to this question, you need to join The Quilter’s Way. The Quilter’s Way is the only quilting membership site that includes both training and an active, supportive online community. Don’t wait another day! Join now.

P.P.S. Did you know that you can sign up to receive emails full of FREE quilting goodness? Click here to receive FREE content directly in your email inbox every few weeks from Chatterbox Quilts. I know you'll be glad you did!