A Word About Hand Quilting, If You Please ...

When I made my first quilt in the mid 80s (I was 19), I thought that a quilt was only a REAL quilt if it were ALL pieced AND quilted by hand.  (Feel free to roll your eyes ... I won't be offended.)

The first two quilts I made were English paper-pieced hexagons ... and I didn't know how to hand quilt properly so I STAB STITCH hand quilted them all in the ditch ... I'd say several miles worth of thread.  Remember I never exaggerate.  (I also used polyester batting, backed one with a bed sheet and didn't know about binding ... but I digress.)

I realized if I wanted to make more than five quilts in my lifetime I was gonna have to figure out how to do this quilting thing faster ... enter straight line machine quilting.  Regarding my 19 year old attitude, I'm proud to say I'd matured considerably.

I finally took a hand-quilting course in 2000 after I made a Baltimore Album quilt and felt it really needed to be hand quilted.

As I watched my needle-rocking technique improve dramatically over 16 blocks and was reminded how beautiful PROPER hand quilting looked, I regressed to my 19 year old obnoxious self and proclaimed I would NEVER again finish ANY of my quilts by machine.  EVERRRRRR.

AHEM.  Yeah, RIGHT!  Enter motherhood 6 months later.  I managed to finish 3 baby quilts by hand before obnoxious me finally shut up about hand quilting 11 years ago.

Fast forward to today.  OmG do I ever hate how long it takes to hand quilt.  And omG does it ever wreak havoc on my tendonitis.

But OMG do I ever LOVE the look of it!  I can't help it.  Call me a snob, I don't care.  I will NEVER in a million years feel about machine quilting the same love I feel about hand quilting.  Never.

Don't get me wrong.  I highly respect longarm quilters and the very talented work they do.  And I've seen countless machine, FMQed and long-armed quilts that are nothing short of breathtaking.  I've hired several in the past and will continue to seek out and enjoy long-arm quilting on future quilts.

But I hold a very special place in my heart for tiny dimpled rows of stitches made by hand.

I would have machine-quilted this project too ... in a heartbeat ... because I was anxious to get it done and my wrist was hurting from the several consecutive days of embroidery and applique.  But I really wanted to honour Amy's design and knew the embroidery would look a million times better if I bothered to hand quilt carefully underneath my stitchery.

So glad I did. :)

Comments

[Clara]

I am extremely jealous that I don't know how to hand quilt yet, but I plan on learning. I love your project and can't wait to see it finished!!

[A Little Blue Dragonfly]

I've never hand-quilted a project! Too impatient, I guess! BUT, it really does add to the charm of quilts! :)

[Loula]

Beautiful! Love hand quilting special projects! I downloaded this project too! Hope to start it soon, but need to finish up others first, if you know what I mean!

[Katie]

I laughed as I read this post because you could have been describing me! Oh how I have struggled to quiet that voice that says there is a right and a wrong way to make a quilt. I've found that a little duct tape is helpful in silencing her me it :-)

[Bari Jo]

OMG ROFLOL....I think my 19 year old self and your 19 year old self ran around together hee... and ... swoony sigh... this looks soooo lovely. I'm with you friend... I do love the charm of hand quilting! I haven't quilted anything by hand in decades... and I miss it... but my wrist does not... butI mud say, you and Amy make me really want to get that needle rocking again! :O)

[Bari Jo]

ps - I loved how you went underneath the embroidery stitches. I was wondering how you are going to do the quilting in that part... I had never thought of doing that - that just looks perfect! I so have to try this... hopefully in this lifetime!

[greenrabbitdesigns]

Did I read this post correctly are you taking on your 19 year old self???
Sounds like the plot for a very strange film! :) lol
It's not just about the quilting on this blog, is it Kristyne despite all the fabric!!
Happy weekend,
V x

[Hildy]

I love hand quilting but I'm too restless and lazy to use it on bigger projects (everything bigger than let's say 25";-) And thank you for not finishing your little one before I finished mine (hopefully this weekend). Then we can squell and julp together like two 19-yo;-) Have a wonderful weekend, Hildy

[Lee]

I am so glad that neither 19 year old K or 2010 version K has to come out victorious. Both of you do beautiful work. Just remember to stay away from Sybil. There are 7 of her.

[ina]

lol, okay, that was hilarious!!! I know you can take her! if you need to resort to 3 Stooges poke her in the eye...go for it! Boo Yah! ;p

[Jodi Buckmister]

HAHAHAHA! My 19 year old self and my 48 year old self "totally" agree with you. I love the look of hand quilting so much but my wrists don't like to do it much any more. ( I have a quilt sitting on the couch waiting to be finished but my carpal tunnel says, not today) Thanks for the laugh and the beautiful pictures. Jodi

[Toby]

I LOVE to hand quilt, but am afraid I'm doing the "stab stitch"!! Could you do a post on the correct way to hand quilt? Please? For those of us who really don't know what we are doing?! Pretty please??!!!!!

[Cathy]

This is so very pretty and makes me want to take up embroidery again. I am in the process of making a baby quilt for my granddaughter to be and I'm planning to at least stitch her name on the quilt. Perhaps a few flowers and french knots might appear as well! Love your work and your blog!!

[Jennifer]

You have a lot of twins out here, I must say. I did my first quilt by hand in college, and got my grandmother to help me finish the quilting by hand. I also used a bed sheet for the back, because that is what she used to do. I also did not know about binding and just rolled the back to the front, because that is what she used to do. I also couldn't load more than 2 stitches on my needle and it took forever to finish!! But, I thought that if I was going to do it right, it had to be by hand! Whatever! I think a good hybrid of quilting can show off the hand quilting touches and the efficiency of machine quilting to do the 'mundane' areas. Love your blog and pictures too!

[Caron Mosey]

Your quilt is beautiful, and so is your quilting! We'd love to have you join us as a writer at CelebrateHandQuilting.blogspot.com . Come by for a visit!

[Lisa]

Oh - I love the grid in the circle! I'm the same way about hand quilting - I always resist it because it takes so crazy long, but I'm always glad I did it in the end.

[Betsy]

I too prefer hand quilting. Like you said, it's about the look. Hubby calls me a snob when I go to quilt shows and I go straight to the hand quilted items. It does take a long time to stitch, so now I pick and choose what I will hand stitch.

[Sue, a Florida Farm Girl]

Well, I am totally done for. I've spent most of the day devouring your blog from start to finish. Learned some things along the way and am now a devotee of shabby chic fabrics. Funny, but last night I had pulled a Fig Tree Fresh Cotton layer cake out of my stash while trying to figure out a project to work on while away on vacation. You do inspire me, and I'll happily be coming along for the ride in the future.

[Cynthia]

I started the same as you... And made three small quilts in 10 years, insisting on everything by hand, until my GRANDMA taught me how to machine quilt in 2001 do that I could actually finish stuff within weeks instead of months or years! It was such a great feeling to get some tops actually quilted! I still mostly machine quilt but I also still believe there's nothing prettier than hand quilting. It's all good and we shouldn't argue about it - even with ourselves! That said, I really got a kick out of your post - and your work is so lovely:).

[marybeth]

REALLY enjoyed your post!! Your hand quilting is exquisite...!

[Mama Mote]

well we both know what I think - no quilt is a quilt unless everything on the quilt is handstitched and there is a bit of appli-que on it :)

I love you - any age - anytime

[Cindy]

My favorite part of making a quilt is the hand quilting, so I'm totally in agreement with both (!) of you. I finally had carpet tunnel surgery on both hands last fall and it has made hand quilting painless again.
Your embroidery and quilting is so pretty. This is the next project I'm doing!

[Bonnie Nyquist]

I aspire to quilt like that,,hate to admit I stab stitch also,any help Kwould be so appreciated!!!! The finished look is beyond awesome!!! Loved the grid in the center also. You do everything just perfect!

[Mary]

I think it's the imperfection of hand quilting that makes it so beautiful. I've done it both ways, machine quilting smaller projects and hand quilting larger ones that I can't mange on my machine. Hand quilting is a big time committment, but what's the rush? Plus, I'm an insomniac and it's nice to have something quiet to do in the middle of the night :)

[Kylie (Three Honeybees)]

You crack me up!
Your hand quilting looks so gorgeous. I must learn how to do that. My attempts have been pitiful. Maybe I need to do a course or something!
I've been thinking about my 19 year old self a bit lately (CRINGE!). I'm pretty glad she's out of here. She had NO idea what she was on about!!

[Karen Shackleford]

That is gorgeous. Beautifully done! Love the pink polka dot binding too!

[Pam]

I love your post!!!! and your quilt! Realizing that our 19 year old selves are not the people that we grew into is such a successful right of passage into adulthood. It took me forever to shut that girl up, but oh, the joy in knowing my 19 year old self helped me become me now ~ priceless. Good luck with your wrestling match and thank you for bringing the hugest smile to my face. I'm so very glad I'm not the only person that talks to herself:)

[Janet]

Lol! Love your sense of humor! The hand quilting is beautiful and does look so much better for this project than machine quilting would. It's so worth the time and discomfort.

[nancy]

LOVE the way you quilted under the embroidery!! really made it pop!! do you use a hoop/stand when you hand stitch a bed size quilt?

[Tiina]

:-) Looking forward seeing this as a whole. Wonderful!

[Denise]

Kristyne, I can sooo relate to this post. I taught my self quilting after my second child was born 30 years ago. I was the ultimate hand piecing, hand quilting "snob". No machine was ever going to touch my quilts. During the making of a 1700 piece, hand pieced and quilted Storm At Sea quilt, I decided I needed to learn how to machine piece and quilt! A totally liberating feeling. The only other time I felt such liberation was the year my electric cookie gun died and I couldn't make the gazillion Christmas cookies I made in years past. My Mom tried to give me her cookie gun, said it was a family heirloom! LOL!
I enjoy reading your blog!
Denise
http://perchedonapincushion.blogspot.com/

[Carla]

I love how the hand quilting looks. The texture!! I am a machine quilter myself, but have done a little by hand. Cheers!

[Tina @ threads-unlimited.com]

Not only do you have terrific talent in hand quilting, you also have great taste in fabric colors! Simply wonderful!

[Connie Hale]

I have a Lone Star quilt to hand quilt and I have never hand quilted before. Your comments inspire me and I know it will look a zillion times better hand quilted.

[Sada]

I'm with you on this one - Hand Quilting all the way ! Beast machine quilting every day. Hand quilting is what it's all about, enjoying the process no matter how long it takes./

[Judith Gale]

What beautiful quilting. Well worth the time effort and sore wrist!

[Nicole]

absolutely gorgeous work

[Donna GAil]

I have made 50+ quilts in my 40+ years of quilting (averaging about one quilt a year) - have pieced 2 tops by machine - all the rest are hand pieced and hand quilted and I still cut my pieces out with a pattern and scissors even though I have all the modern tools! I made a crazy quilt totally by hand. I quilt "very" close to the seams which makes it even harder to quilt and put a lot of quilting in the plain spaces. I even bought a machine for quilting several years ago and it is still in the box! I know I would probably love to quilt by machine and the quilts I have seen done by machine are marvelous - I guess I need someone to give me a push to learn. I really do like the looks of the old quilts done by hand, especially feed sack quilts and scrap quilts. I do not mind how long it takes me to make a quilt, but it is rewarding to me to make a quilt from start to finish by hand. All my respect to those who have mastered quilting by machine!

[martina]

I still do all my quilts by hand and the quilting it is so relaxing in the long Ohio winters , I have been doing this way for 25yrs, and yes I don`t have a lot of quilts but around 15 so that isn`t bad and i`m in my 60`s so maybe some more in my future!

[martina]

I agree with Donna I love the old fashion way to make quilts all hand work from start to finish!!

[nicole]

beautiful sight thanks for sharing

[Victoria]

Found you when I did a search in Pinterest for “hand quilting”. What a find! I love all things hand quilted and your work is absolutely beautiful! I’m going through your list of other blogs you visit and plan to check them all out! I noticed you didn’t have one that I just know you will LOVE - “www.timquilts.com” Tim Latimer buys old quilt tops from Ebay and hand quilts them. He’s the fastest hand quilter I know. He’s a prolific hand quilter. Something tells me you would love his site. Thanks for sharing your love of hand quilting with all of us. Continued blessings, Always! Victoria

[Bari Jo]

ps - any chance you might share some of your tips/tricks/hoop vs no hoop… batting likes… threads needles… etc etc that you like/found helpful…. maybe you've already done that and I missed it… or forgot it? Would love to hear more about your hand quilting and how to's! ;O)

[Adina]

Hello from Queensland, Australia. It just never gets cold enough here to hand quilt. We have maybe one month a year where it might be possible, so I learnt to machine quilt quite early in my quilting life. I still have a fond place in my heart for my early hand quilted quilts (that I sweated over), and recognise the difference in the look of hand and machine quilting (they throw shadows differently). That beautiful antique look isn't possible to achieve without hand quilting, just as the really sharp modern line look isn't possible without machine quilting. All well made quilts are wonderful. Vive le difference!

[Vicky]

I was a "stabber - one stitch at a time" quilter for nearly 20 years before I took a hand quilting class. Now I "rock" 😊 Recently, I've fallen in love with "big stitch" quilting! I've had a few quilts long armed, but will always hand quilt!!

[Marie]

I hand quilt all my quilts and they are mostly huge. I've been doing it for thirty years and it usually takes about four months to do a queen size quilt.
I machine piece to get good clean lines but always quilt by hand with an 18"hoop or an oval hoop for the borders.
I've made around a hundred quilts but still have 16 tops waiting to be quilted because I can't stop making them.

There is no lesson to learn when hand quilting.
My advice is that the shorter the quilting needle, ( I use a size 9) the more stitches you can take at a time. It's only running stitch for heavens sake! Just use a thimble, at least on the sewing hand (ring finger) and keep your other hand under neath to make sure you've stitched right through.

Don't have the quilt sandwich too tight in the hoop, it needs to give a little to make it easy to stitch, but using a hoop gives a regular tension.
Here endeth the hand quilting lesson. Go for it!

P.S. I live in the south west of Western Australia.

[Beth Arsenault]

I have been quilting for 38 years also almost all by hand... I have many also waiting to be quilted but I've
Made a conscience decision to machine piece and quilt all children's gift quilts. They hold up better and
may be lugged around when ever to wherever and will hold up longer. I want my quilts used and loved. Every gift card says when it turns to tags I'll make another.
MY hand quilted quilts are totally more heirloom but are no more special...
I am however a traditionalist like yourself and will mostly hand piece and quilt til the day my fingers no longer rock with my favorite quilt needle.

[oreo]

I agree with you and have not made one quilt that I didn't handquilt.I figure if I spend that much time on putting scraps together,it deserves the finished look of hand quilting.Your stitching is lovely.

[Sheri]

I finally completed my hand pieced Grandmother Flower Garden quilt top! I started to hand quilt it but no matter how I try to make it lay semi flat it doesn’t work. It is very puckered but I want to know if it should be done differently before I get too far along. I am trying not to pull the stitches tightly. I am looking for any help/suggestions I can get. Help!!

[carol and darlene]

we want to see a pic of the entire quilt-finished. It is adorable, and the quilting is lovely. Amen to the comment about the beauty of the tiny dimpled stitches!