In my last few posts, I’ve been sharing with you my denim quilt project (if you need you, get caught up here and here).
This has been a super fun project and I’m feeling rather resourceful having used up quite a few pairs of jeans that were repurposed rather than thrown out.
My final task for the quilt was the actual quilting. I had much different plans on how to quilt this on my Janome Skyline S7 when I first started this project – originally planing some free motion quilting. But, somewhere along the way, this idea came to me and I’m so happy it did.
This is my quilt sandwich all laid out on my dining room table and ready for quilting. I like to use safety pins to keep all the layers of my quilt together. What is your preferred method for basting your quilt?
Once my quilt sandwich was ready, my next strep was to stitch all my seams in the ditch.
Do you stitch your quilts in the ditch?
I haven’t always, but I find my patterns really pop when I do this, and I can also get rid of my safety pins (my chosen method for basting my quilts together) earlier because once I’ve done all my stitching in the ditch, the quilt is secure and it’s not going ANYWHERE!
And I love using the Janome Acufeed Flex (walking foot) for this step because it reduces extra buckling of my fabrics.
This denim quilt is a little heavier than most traditional quilts because of the shear weight of the denim fabric that makes up the quilt top. This was one of the reasons I decided to rethink my original free motion quilting idea. Just the thought of pushing through ALL that weight of the quilt top made my shoulders ache. LOL!
While I was working away on my sewing machine, the idea came to me about mimicking the stitching you find on jeans in the quilting for this top.
I love the look of embroidery thread on quilts but for some cottons, it can be too heavy. But not with this quilt!
Make sure you use an embroidery needle for the thicker thread and I set my stitch length to almost a basting length (4.0).
I’m so happy with this finished quilt. It’s just the right amount of rustic and vintage.
And I love the weight of this quilt. It will be perfect for car rides, picnics, or even to be used out at the cottage or camping.
This fall weather really has me craving sewing and quilting.
What’s your current sewing project right now? Do you sew more in the fall/winter? And, have you (gasp!!) started Christmas sewing yet?