Some Helpful Tidbits

Tips & Tricks

July 2008

* Play with your needle positions when piecing especially small blocks to get the exact finished size.

* I love use "Thangles" papers for making half-square-triangles. The paper texture stabilizes the fabrics very well.

* When I use "Thangles" to make the half-square-triangles, I stitch slightly inside of the printed stitching line. I prefer to make the half-square-triangles just a bit bigger for trimming later to get the exact size.

* When piecing, you might consider starting and stopping with scraps of fabrics so that there is not any "pulling" on the pieced pieces.

April 2008

* It's always a good idea to sew a hanging sleeve on the back of any quilt you make - you never know when you might like to hang the quilt up.

* Change out quilting needles often to improve the quality of your stitches.

*When piecing a large center square in a quilt for wholoecloth-type free-motion quilting as in Breakthrough, I press the seams (where the square and any other fabric join ) open to evenly distribute the bulk. The quilt top lays flatter.

* Wool batt is perfect for feather quilting on home machines. It is light and easy to handle. Better still, it gives your feathers a trapunto effect without using the traditional trapunto method. I like Hobbs' Tuscany Wool Batt. It is generally more costly than most cotton batting, but it is well worth the money.

Please check back often as this page will be regularly updated. If you have any good tips to share with other quilters, please do not hesitate to email me.