Quilt as desired, is that at the end of every quilt pattern? I think so! That can be daunting if you are a new quilter and challenging if you have been quilting for a few years. In this series of posts, lets talk about a couple of options and how to find the right quilting design for you.

When you have completed your quilt top, stand back and look at it, what is your plan for this quilt, what is the purpose? Even better, think of these questions as you are planning, cutting and sewing it all together. I understand that sometimes this is easier for some compared to others to plan their quilting design. There are quilters’ who take their quilt to the longarm quilter and say, “Quilt it however you want”. Others will show up with a detailed drawing of what design they want where. With my experience, there is usually a conversation that takes place between me the longarm quilter and the quilter who created the top. We discuss the possible options and ultimately the quilter decides what they would like.

Recently I have been referring to these two quilting design books as I am offering some modern designs as options to my customers. Free Motion Quilting with Angela Walters has been a great resource book. It literally is a step-by-step manual for us longarm quilters. There is usually 3-10 steps for each pattern, which is color coded and labeled where to start, where to end and how to get there without getting stuck in corner! She makes the complicated designs look simple and from there, you can combine these steps with others to incorporate 3 patterns in to one! Some of my favorites are the Swirl Scroll, Back and Forth and Double Loop.
In the 180 Doodle Quilting Designs by Karen M. Burns, my take on this is, if you can draw it, I can quilt it! This book also has great instructions on where to start quilting in the block, where to go next and how to end. You see, as longarm quilters we like to have continuous stitching, not a lot of stopping, securing the thread and then starting again. I like to have a nice flow of stitching in my quilts, when possible.

The butterfly quilt incorporates the Back and Forth design in the sashing, can you guess why I chose to use it here? When the sashing is heavily quilted, it makes your blocks “pop”, the blocks become the emphasis of the quilt. So within the block you can see I also used and echoing design, which is simply outlining, and it complemented the appliquéd butterfly. For the wings, just a simple ribbon stitch because I felt that added a sense of movement. The outside border is quilted with the double loop design, but because of fabric and thread choice, you cannot see it, along with any mistakes, there may be! Some of you may ask, “How did you come up with that design?. Have you ever heard the saying, the quilt speaks to me, yes that is true, in relative terms. The designs just some how come to mind.
What about pantographs, so you ask? Most folks in our area choose to use these. They are cost effective and what you see is what you get, and most customers want to be assured that what they choose is exactly what will be on their quilt. These days there are a large variety of pantographs, and even more digital ones. Just a side note, my machine is not computerized and to add that option would be about $10,000, yikes! I better triple my customer base to justify that! I like manually quilting, using my hands to create something, so I will continue on.

In these next photos, I have a modern pantograph example used on two very different quilts and both look excellent. The patten is versatile and works well with many different styles of quilts. Here it is used on a t-shirt quilt with grey thread on top, this is the border of the quilt and the backing is black with red thread in the bobbin. I think this design complements this youthful quilt.

This,pantograph, Geometric Swirls was also used on this batik quilt. I think the customer made an excellent choice and she was very happy with how the overall design complemented her quilt. I have about 25 different pantographs and always adding more to improve my selection for you, the customer!
Quilters’, I hope this helps you decide how to quilt your finished top, and as always, I am here to help. If you have a top to be quilted, contact me and you and I will talk through the quilting process and we will come up with just the right design to complement your quilt!