World Wide Quilting Page

Question of the Week

Question for the week of December 11, 2000:

Our question this week comes from Melissa Norwood

How do you chose quilt designs that will enhance your quilt to the max?

Sheila :
I design them in Electric Quilt, and then overlay them on my quilt, which I also design in electric quilt.

P. Jane Coefield :
For stitching the quilt sandwich I will audition ALL the stencils I own. Some times a pattern seems right, sometimes a size seems right. I usually follow the motto of the medical profession: First, do no harm. If the lines of a stencil design or size seem to interrupt the pieceword, I'll either change it enough to not be a problem or try a new design. I FAVOR rounds and curves just as a default starting place. I rarely use points in my quilt stitches just because I like curves better. I won't waste my time on feathers on fabrics that 'hide' the pattern. I try to relate my quilting to the top - if there is a theme going on the top, I make every attempt to carry it through to the quilting patterns. For instance, I am quilting a quilt with penguins and cold colors in the top. The quilt stitching is snow flakes, water, rocky shore, waves, mountains-that are quilted with jagged peaks, etc. When the piecework of my quilt is WONDERful I put less emphasis on quilting. When the top is good but not stupendous, I will bring-it-up with the quilting. Mostly I try to follow a teacher's advice. Just quilt it, get it done, go on to the next, and have fun.

Willi Best :
By different color schemes! Not all colors are supposed to go together, but
every now & again I hit pay dirt by combining a combination of colors that really are exquisite but not necessarily
matching.

Annemarie Balfour :
I take graph paper and coloured pens, and sit down with a cold
beer and draw and draw until I am satisfied. If I have no ideas,
I will begin with a block I saw at a show or in a magazine, and
modify it until it reflects what I want.

Nancy Bradley :
I took a class from Helen Squires at the Paducah quilt show a few years ago. She says that the most effective way to do this is to plan the quilt design first, and then design the quilt. This isn't always practical, but I have found that when you do plan the quilting first, it makes quilting much less of a design problem after the quilt is constructed.

Carmen :
I have a "design box" where I put pictures of quilts from magazines or quilt shows that have unique or effective quilting designs. I also collect plastic stencils and quilt design books. When choosing a quilt design, I look through all my sources to find inspiration. If I find a design that might work, I will make a stencil (sometimes from paper, punching it with my sewing machine needle) and then test it out with pouncing powder or I create an pattern on vinyl and then overlay it on the quilt. This method allows me to see how the design will look without having to erase markings.

Gwen :
The first thing I did was collect different quilt blocks and quilting books and magazines with interesting quilt blocks. When I decide to do a quilt I first select a theme (Christmas, Easter, baby, etc) and rummage through my stash for blocks that "speak" that specific idea, taking into consideration the colors I will use.

Scrappy Quilters :
We like to quilt around the pattern and fill in the offset blocks with a pretty coordinating pattern.

Elaine V :
I assume you are talking about the design of the quilting - the stitches that hold top, batting and backing together.
There are several things to consider. Where is the quilting stitch going to show? In the "busy" sections, the quilting stitch probably won't show much, so pick a pattern that emphasizes the design itself. Maybe stitch in the ditch approach, or 1/4 inch from the seams. I usually stick with pretty straight line quilting of some sort in the sections that are busy.
In the sections where your quilting stitch will show, make sure the quilting pattern is proportional to the space it fits. It should fill the area, but not overwhelm it.
As for choosing patterns, many times a curvy pattern looks good on a quilt that has lots of squares and triangles, and straight line quilting looks good with curvy applique designs. Can you find a design that ties together the fabrics, or the theme of the quilt? A string of holiday lights quilted on a Christmas quilt, etc.
The quilting density should be fairly consistant throughout the quilt. Heavier quilted areas will sink back, and lighter quilted areas will puff up.
Helen Squire has written several good books on Quilting Designs. But the best way to decide is to look at quilts that you like (or don't like), and then take a close look at the quilt design. What do you like, or dislike. What would you have done with that quilt top? Look at the quilt from 15 feet away, 8 feet away and 2 feet away. I think quilts should be interesting at all three distances. Quilting designs can make or break a great quilt top. It's not an easy decision, and it can be quite a creative process.

ablossoms@juno.com :
Does anyone know where the block of the months are for the last 3 months? I have asked before and no one seems to respond from wwqp.
Thankyou

P. Jane Coefield :
Since beauty and 'enhancement' is in the eye of the beholder....I start with the beholder.

I ask the person, that I am making the quilt for, to think about their favorite colors / or colors they want in the room where the quilt will go. I get their answers, then I take them to the quilt store to flip thru books. I can tell what kind of quilt draws them by the books they pick up (old fashioned USA, Japanese, Amish, etc). I wait until they say 'Wow-look at that one' for three quilts then have them go to the shelves and pick dark, medium, and light colors - I pretty much stay silent unless I have to stear them to different values. Then we go back to the 3 OH WOW quilts and choose a pattern and a border.

THEN as I start with their colors, style, etc. I use what I see in the Quilt Magazines and at Shows to add spice to the quilt.

I have found that most people want to know how the Quilt will look before I make it. By exposing them to the JILLIONS of patterns in Books most people will really appreciate the effort to make the quilt that they want.

Since I made my first quilt - I hardly ever follow a quilt pattern. I always change borders, sections, values, colors. Some months I like to make soft quilts, others I want to make something that is totally weird. Some test blocks are great, others are ugly. Sometimes I start with colored pencils, other times I use a regular pencil and just mess with value and intensity.

I love my design board, the 4 quilt magazines I get, the 4 shows I go to each year, my local quilt store and it's employees. I enjoy taking classes, and surfing the web---and then I just reach into the stash of books, and the stash of fabrics and play because I know that whatever I do, it will be fun.

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