ESSENTIAL GUIDE

In Issue 74 of Today’s Quilter, we looked at the preparation needed for successful machine quilting and, in Issue 75, we explored simple linear quilting patterns. Here, we will discover how to machine quilt simple cur ved patterns. By ‘simple’ I mean patterns that can be quilted by relatively inexperienced sewers, and patterns that do not require the skills of free-motion quilting.

By inclination, I’m a designer and a piecer who gets much of my pleasure from these aspects of patchwork, but I’ve always wanted to find the time to learn all the skills of free-motion quilting. Until I find that time, I get by with simple machine quilting, and this article shows some of the cur ved patterns I find most useful, particularly on small projects. For really easy cur ved quilting, you can simply echo quilt a 1/4in away from the cur ved shapes in your patchwork, but here we will be a little more adventurous. Fig 1 shows some of the shapes that can be achieved at home with the feed dogs engaged, and in this article we will look at how these shapes can be drawn and transferred to fabric as quilting patterns. We will also look at how you can make decisions about the patterns to use, how to combine them and how to adapt them for efficient quilting.

W hen deciding what patterns to quilt, my quilting journey begins with an image of the block – this might be a photo I’ve taken, or more often a simple drawing of it. W here possible, I draw the block at full size (graph paper is ideal for this) and then print it out, so I can clearly visualise the scale of the proposed quilting pattern. Fig 2 shows a computer drawing of a block that shows the layout clearly. You could also colour the drawing to help you decide on thread colour. For the quilted sample shown below, I wanted to use just arc shapes, combined into petals, as these are easy to draw and quilt. A rcs and petals also lend themselves well to being drawn with templates and I created four (4) for this particular block (see Templates section).

Some suggestions for curved shapes Drawing a test pattern

The block used for this quilting sample is not a regular nine-patch and uses arc shapes to create petals in four (4) different sizes to suit the different parts of the block (see Fig 2 for a diagram of the quilting pattern). The block is 14½in, with a 1½in border all round (16in square finished). The quilting thread is a dark purple, to show up well in the photography

Circle Oval Freeform curves

Arcs Petals

TECHNICAL TIP Creating a sketch of your block or quilt layout is very helpful when deciding on quilting. Make several copies so you can try different ideas. Using a pencil will allow you to erase any quilting lines that don’t work.

Circles and ovals are perhaps the most obvious shapes we think of when planning cur ved quilting. They both work well, especially when combined with geometric patchwork. W hen quilting circles and ovals, there is a limit to how small a circle you can quilt before needing to frequently stop, lift the foot and pivot. For smooth, non-stop quilting, my comfortable limit seems to be about 3in– 4in diameter, but experiment and see what works for you. You can also create tighter circles by quilting wav y lines, which when sewn to intertwine will create smaller circles. Circles and ovals can also be drawn to overlap and so create more complex patterns, as shown in Fig 3. It’s easy to draw circles and ovals and using a clear plastic for templates is perfect. You can also buy commercial templates in a variety of sizes. It’s a good idea to draw a vertical and horizontal line through the centre of a circle and oval template, to help with placement on the patchwork.

A rcs and petals are really useful for cur v y quilting as the shapes are easily adapted to look good with a wide variety of quilt blocks. A n arc can be drawn freehand on a block drawing, cur ving from one part of the block or unit to another – Fig 4 shows an example. A rcs can also be drawn following a specific circle size, as shown in Fig 5. Create a circle template and mark the centre lines horizontally and vertically (Fig 5A). Now use just one quarter for a simple arc, marking just that part of the circle (Fig 5B). The same circle can also have half its shape traced (Fig 5C) or three-quarters (Fig 5D), which is useful if you want partial circle patterns. If your original circle is based on the measurement of a finished block or finished unit, then any segments used from the circle should fit nicely. A rcs can also be reflected (mirror imaged) to create petal shapes. They can also be combined to create cable patterns, which look ver y attractive, especially in quilt borders.

Useful circles and ovals

Using simple arcs

Using a circle to create arcs and partial circle patterns

This block was made with English paper piecing, making a flower 12in in diameter. The flower was hand sewn to a white 17in background square, leaving room for additional quilting if required. The quilting pattern was made up of ovals and petals, with some wavy curves added across the tips of the flower. The thread used was a dark orange, to show up against the yellow prints

Wav y and freeform cur ves can be any shape you like and be custom drawn to suit your block or quilt. Some easy cur ved quilting can be achieved just by letting your machine meander in a freehand fashion in vertical or horizontal lines (Fig 6). The cur ve might be an S shape, which can be reflected (flipped) to form a figure-ofeight pattern (Fig 7A). Fig 7B shows how this shape could form an attractive cur ved pinwheel.

Fig 6 Quilting meandering lines

A useful tool for drawing freeform cur ves is a controllable flexible cur ve made of washable plastic (see Fig 8), which can be bent into many cur ved shapes. Once formed, it will retain the shape (with gentle handling), allowing the tool to be used as a marking tool and also to create templates. Small cur ves can be formed from part of the flexible length and drawn around, as shown in Fig 9. Sometimes a small amount of quilting is all that is needed, and these small cur ves work well with highly geometric, linear shapes. The tool can be used in its entirety, and can also be flipped over to create a reversed (mirror image) shape, as shown in the stages of Fig 10. If creating a reversed image, be sure to draw along the correct side of the tool, so the shape is identical. The tool is about a 1/2in wide, so choose either the upper side or the lower side to draw around. To check that your mirror image is correct and looks good, use a large sheet of paper to draw around the tool and then flip the tool over to draw the reversed version, checking that the shapes are identical but reversed.

Fig 7 Creating a curved pinwheel

A flexible curve Using part of a flexible curve

Fig 10 Using a flexible curve to create a border design

Marking the curve

Flipping the flexicurve over to mark the reverse shape

The design marked

The design quilted

Single S shape

S shape copied and reversed to form a figure of eight

More often than not, quilting curves also means marking the shapes on your patchwork. In Issue 18 of Today’s Quilter, we looked at different marking tools, and in Issue 74, we described machine quilting preparation, so if you have these magazines they will provide a useful recap.

I tend to use two types of markers, an erasable pen for light fabrics, usually a water-soluble one, and a chalk marker for dark fabrics, such as a chaco liner or pen. However, you may have your own favourites. Depending on the size of the project, marking the design can be done all at once or in stages. I prefer staged marking, especially if using chalk on dark fabrics, as handling can erase the marks before you get to quilt them. Of course, if you are echo quilting a patchwork pattern, then you might not need any marking, but just use the foot on your machine to gauge the width of the quilted lines.

When it comes to marking a curved pattern, be it a circle, oval, arc or wavy pattern, some use can be made of household objects, such as glasses and plates, but they are rarely the exact size needed. Circles and arcs can be drawn with a pair of compasses using an erasable pen. I find templates to be invaluable as marking tools as they can be tailor made to a specific project, and can also be kept for future work.

There are many ways to use templates for quilt marking. Fig 11 shows a patchwork block marked using two templates, a petal and a quarter circle. The red box in the diagrams shows where a seam allowance or binding attachment might have to be allowed for. Fig 12 shows how a single circle template can be used to mark different parts of a block. Templates can also be created for more asymmetric or non-geometric patterns, such as the S shape in Fig 13. In the example, a template can be created for half of the S shape, which can then be rotated to draw the other half of the shape.

Templates for marking quilting patterns can be made of various materials, such as clear plastic or thin card. They can also be cut from freezer paper and temporarily fused to patchwork to draw or quilt around. I favour clear plastic as this enables me to see the patchwork beneath.

Using templates to draw patterns

Allowance for seam, if required

Using a single circle size to create a pattern

Circle template

Using templates for non-geometric patterns

Template

Template rotated

The S is made up of one shape, rotated 180 degrees to create the other half

A wide range of plastic templates are available to buy and are useful for various curved shapes, such as circles, ovals and arcs. If a commercial template has ovals and arcs that are too small, draw the shapes onto a sheet of paper, scan the sheet into your computer and then use the scaling tool on your printer to print the shapes at an enlarged size

Efficient quilting is a way of designing a quilting pattern so there are as few stops and starts as possible. This results in faster, easier quilting because the work doesn’t have to be taken off the machine and re-positioned ver y often. Plus, there are fewer starts and stops to finish off neatly. W hen you have designed a pattern, it pays to assess it to see where changes can be made to make it easier to sew.

The quilting pattern used on the sample shown right is made up of arcs within an individual block. The original pattern I designed, shown in Fig 14A, would need to be sewn in two separate stages. However, by adding two more arcs to link the two patterns, as in Fig 14B, the quilting can be achieved in a continuous, more efficient journey. So, this was the version I chose to quilt. This self-contained shape also meant that a single template could be created to mark each block with the pattern. A nother consideration was the position of the various arcs, so in most cases in the block I chose to place the arcs on the lighter fabric so I could use a dark, more visible quilting thread (Fig 14C).

Changing a quilting pattern to be more efficient

The block for this sample was a 6½in (unfinished) T block, arranged in a nine-patch pattern. The quilting pattern (the same for each block) is composed of different sized arcs, worked in a dark blue thread. The original quilting pattern was adapted to make the drawing and quilting easier and faster (see Fig 14)

Original pattern Improved pattern

Planning exactly what stages you will quilt a pattern is also important for faster and more efficient work, so take some time to look at your quilting pattern to see where the logical sewing directions are. Fig 15 shows the four stages used to quilt a block, showing how the arcs can be quilted in an undulating pattern from one corner to the opposite corner

Quilting in planned stages

Stage 1 Stage 2 and then back again (Stage 1). The same pattern is then worked on the opposite corner. Stage 2 starts at the white dot, works up to the edge of the block (yellow) and then down to the bottom of the block (orange). This is repeated to create a reflected pattern (pinks). Stage 3 completes the lone petals (red), repeating on all sides (Stage 4).

Stage 3 Stage 4 tage 4

Simple curved quilting works well in quilts and here are answers to some questions on how to achieve success using the technique...

Help! When I machine quilt, I often have quilting stitches on top of each other where lines in the pattern meet and it looks messy. Is this acceptable?

Try this... I suppose it depends on the size of your project. If it’s a quilt then from a distance any slight untidiness won’t really be noticed, but on a smaller project it might. I tend to avoid this problem at the marking stage by noticing areas where this might occur and adjusting the marked lines accordingly. In Fig 16A the red circles show where quilting lines might crowd in on each other. You could adjust the marking so these lines don’t touch, or at the stitching stage veer away slightly, as Fig 16B. The gap doesn’t have to be large, just 1/8in will separate the stitches.

Adjusting a quilting pattern to avoid overcrowding Help! I’m not very good at designing and find it hard to imagine a quilting pattern. Do you have any ideas I could copy?

Try this... I’ve put together some patterns in Fig 17 that should give you ideas. I’ve based them on four-patch and nine-patch layouts as these are patchwork arrangements we see often. You can also mix and match the patterns. Some straight line quilting, vertically, horizontally and diagonally is useful to increase the quilting density.

Suggested quilting patterns

Allow a little space

Linda Clements is a leading technical quilting expert, editor and writer who, for 25 years, has worked on many fabric and craft titles for David & Charles and other leading craft publishers. Among the many quilters who have trusted Linda to ensure their books are both accurate and reader friendly, are Lynne Edwards MBE, Susan Briscoe, Pam & Nicky Lintott, Pauline Ineson, Mandy Shaw and Lynette Anderson. Linda’s own book, The Quilter’s Bible, is the must-have guide to patchwork, quilting and appliqué, and includes everything she has learnt working with the industry’s best designers. For Today’s Quilter, Linda is working with the team to select practical and creative techniques. She will then go in-depth, exploring the methods, taking them from the basic premise to their full technical and creative potential. You can cut out and keep this section to build your own bespoke technical handbook.

ESSENTIAL GUIDE NEXT ISSUE: SEWING CREATIVE CORNERSTONES

Next month we look at how to add extra interest with pieced cornerstones for sashing and borders