Finishing Your Quilt
Welcome to Week 4 of Our Sunshine QAL! This week, it’s all about bringing your quilt across the finish line. You’ll learn how to square up your quadrants for a clean finish. Jennifer will show her completed quilt face for inspiration. Now is the time to choose batting and backing as well as a binding style.
I’ve also linked some helpful YouTube tutorials on basting and both machine and hand quilting to guide you through the final steps.
No rush if you haven’t finished your quilt top yet—take your time and enjoy the process! 🌟
I’ve also linked some helpful YouTube tutorials on basting and both machine and hand quilting to guide you through the final steps.
No rush if you haven’t finished your quilt top yet—take your time and enjoy the process! 🌟
Learn with Jennifer
Week 4: Part 1
Week 4: Part 2
Learn with Denyse
Woohoo! You made it to Week 4 QAL-ers, congratulations! I've seen some very lovely quilts on Instagram with the hashtag— I'm really loving the variation in fabric choices and how different this simple pattern can look. I hope I'll see more!
This week Jennifer and I are sharing our favorite finishing methods.
My schedule will usually dictate a lot about my finishing choices.
This week Jennifer and I are sharing our favorite finishing methods.
My schedule will usually dictate a lot about my finishing choices.
Backing Options
I'll piece my backing if I have "loads of time" or some great leftover fabrics I want to showcase, like the Snake Trail back below.
I'll piece my backing if I have "loads of time" or some great leftover fabrics I want to showcase, like the Snake Trail back below.
Now that I have my own wide-back designs, using that is a no-brainer if I'm short on time and it works with the front.
|
|
Quilting Method
If it's a quilt I don't need to have tomorrow for a photo shoot (!) I usually opt to hand-quilt in my evening hours. I love how it looks and feels, and that I can stretch out on the sofa with a cat and a movie without guilt! I enjoy the quiet of it, and the slow but steady pace is a good antidote to my usually fractured attention.
Since time is usually my most precious resource, however, I always consider what my schedule looks like to help me decide on my finishing options. Usually that means I'll work with my local long-arm quilter to finish my quilts. I get to skip the basting and marking, and machine-quilting is an excellent option for a quilt that will get a lot of use.
If it's a quilt I don't need to have tomorrow for a photo shoot (!) I usually opt to hand-quilt in my evening hours. I love how it looks and feels, and that I can stretch out on the sofa with a cat and a movie without guilt! I enjoy the quiet of it, and the slow but steady pace is a good antidote to my usually fractured attention.
Since time is usually my most precious resource, however, I always consider what my schedule looks like to help me decide on my finishing options. Usually that means I'll work with my local long-arm quilter to finish my quilts. I get to skip the basting and marking, and machine-quilting is an excellent option for a quilt that will get a lot of use.
Echo Quilting Pattern
As far as pattern designs with this particular pattern, I think you can't go wrong with an in-the-ditch and echo quilting approach, whether you're quilting by hand or machine. My machine quilter had done this approach for me on all the My Sunshine examples I've made. She stitches in-the-ditch on either side of each diamond, with echo lines between.
On the Five + Ten version (with the beachball) the echo lines are more closely spaced and a tiny bit wobbly, while on the solids version, there are precisely five lines between each in-the-ditch line of stitching.
As far as pattern designs with this particular pattern, I think you can't go wrong with an in-the-ditch and echo quilting approach, whether you're quilting by hand or machine. My machine quilter had done this approach for me on all the My Sunshine examples I've made. She stitches in-the-ditch on either side of each diamond, with echo lines between.
On the Five + Ten version (with the beachball) the echo lines are more closely spaced and a tiny bit wobbly, while on the solids version, there are precisely five lines between each in-the-ditch line of stitching.
|
|
This pattern would work well hand-quilted too, and this is a great design to use with a hera marker to score the echo lines, one section at a time.
Other Ideas
The concentric diamond design of the quilt top would also look great set off by large concentric circles, but this is a more challenging design no matter which technique you're using. My signature figure eight design for a long-arm is another go-to for me—I love the soft, overall texture it creates.
Want more info and ideas? Check out "Finishing Your Quilt", under Guides & Tutorials, on my website!
The concentric diamond design of the quilt top would also look great set off by large concentric circles, but this is a more challenging design no matter which technique you're using. My signature figure eight design for a long-arm is another go-to for me—I love the soft, overall texture it creates.
Want more info and ideas? Check out "Finishing Your Quilt", under Guides & Tutorials, on my website!
|
Congratulations on finishing Our Sunshine QAL! 🎉 You've created something truly special, and we’re so proud of you for sticking with it from start to finish. Whether this was your first quilt or one of many, we hope you learned new skills and feel more confident in your quilting journey. Thank you for joining us—we can’t wait to see your finished quilt! Don’t forget to share your photos with the community and keep the creativity flowing. ✨ Share your work on The Pou Crew and Denyse's Facebook. We will chime in, help one another and give support here too. Let the Sunshine IN! See you next time at WEEK 4 on March 24 when we begin to piece our quilt. Awesome job! - Jennifer and Denyse |