Join Heather Thomas as she discusses all things quilting! From different backing fabrics, to joining batting to form larger quilts, Heather gives several tips for flawless quilt construction. Also, learn how to practice and perfect stitching while doing free motion quilting and find out the best ways to start embellishing your next quilting project
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Becky National Quilters Circle Video Membership
On the preview tutorials, the sound is not loud enough. I have my lap top on 100% and your sound as high as it will go. Is this what to expect if I join national Quilters circle? If so, I wont learn much.
Hi, Donna. We would like to let you know that your feedback has been forwarded to the proper department. Your comments are important to us and help with the development of our online video streaming community.
I thought I’d have to read a book for a diservcoy like this!
Love all the tip and easy ways to do quilting thank you
I love Heather Thomas, you can always count on quality when she is involved. This was a wonderful video, full of great helps, hints and ideas. Thank you
Love Heather Thomas! Really enjoyed this video, very helpful. Please do more.
Love Heather Thomas! Really enjoyed this video, very helpful. Please do more of this variety!
I use an inexpensive Brother, I got for 95$ but it is a 200$ quilting machine with some stitches; cannot afford a 500$ machine. Just have to clean out bobbin case quite often to clean out fuzzy build ups. New quilter.. learning.
THANKS FOR ALL YOUR ANSWER. I LEARNED A LOT. I HAD A HARD TIME TO CATCH THE NAME OF THAT LAUNDRY SOAP TO AVOID TO MIX THE DYES TOGETHER…CENTERPAUL IS IT?
Thank you for watching! The name of the detergent is Synthrapol.
interesting video but a lot of the conversation especially toward the end was very garbled and could not be understood. sound needs improvement
We would like to let you know that your feedback has been forwarded to the proper department. Your comments are important to us and help with the development of our online video streaming community.
I watched this from South Africa (not live as it was the middle of the night for me!) and absolutely loved it. Such a great idea – please do more of these! Deidre
I missed the live broadcast, but caught it a few days later online. Heather is such a good teacher, speaking with clarity, warmth, and a lot of knowledge and experience. I really enjoyed the broadcast. Thank you. elsacane@shaw.ca
Soy principiante y deseo aprender
What should you do for circles and odd shapes, to start.
Hi, Sandy. Can you elaborate more on this? Do you mean how do you piece curves? Or are you wanting to applique different shapes?
This was super! Thank u so much. Great idea to have this. My question was answered, happy about that too.
why does my thread keep on breaking?
Hi, Barbara. There are several things that can lead to thread breakage. First, is your machine threaded correctly? And do you have too much tension on your needle thread? Next, are you using good quality thread? Also check your needle. Make sure that you are not only using the correct type of needle, but that it is sharp and doesn’t have any burrs or marks on it.
Whoa, whoa, get out the way with that good inomofatirn.
Is thread count the only way to judge quality in fabric?
Hi, Kathie. No, though it may be one of the most important aspect to some. It is also good to know how colorfast a fabric is and higher quality fabrics tend to be more colorfast.
Do you ever quilt with minky as the backing? If so, do you still use batting? Also what is the thine st batting available?
Hi, Barbara. Yes, you can quilt with minky as a backing fabric and whether on not you still use batting would depend on how thick you want the quilt to be. When it comes to batting, it is available in light-, medium- and heavyweight depending on the amount of loft you want.
Please repeat what to use t
Please repeat what to use to catch color when washing
Please repeat what to use to take color out
Thank you Heather I have learned so much from your lessons and experience.
Can I get this program again. I didn’t know it was going to be on. It is 11PM. I would like to hear the total program, but I can’t stay up any longer.
Hi, Lou. You can go ahead and replay it! We are also planning on more LIVE events in the future; stay tuned!
Extlemery helpful article, please write more.
This has been wonderful. I think I am going to join this site.
great information. thank you. love your videos – they’re inspiring as they force one out of their comfort zone. I also appreciate all the commonsense information – the reasoning behind a project…
How do I use the backing fabric for the binding on a quilt? How much material do I need to allow for this?
Hi, Patricia. If you are wanting the backing fabric and binding to match, I would recommend purchasing extra backing fabric and then making a double fold binding from it. It would be difficult to use the backing fabric as a binding by wrapping it around to the front side because quilt layers tend to shift while quilted and you may end up with less backing fabric on one side than the others.
Thank you for the information and answers. I am a quilter in Alaska.
What about bamboo batting?
i have been quilting for year’s i have learn a lot from heather never to old learn …….. enjoy watching her viedo she very interesting…………
Loved the May 26th event with H.!Thomas. I learned a lot ! Thanks
long-time sewist looking quilt wall hangings using traditional designs but using colour and texture for interest
I would like to see how this works
Hi! Do you always pre wash all if your fabrics prior to cutting out for quilting?
Hi, Alma. This comes down to personal preference. Sometimes I wash all of my fabrics before hand and sometimes I don’t. If I am worried about any colors fading I absolutely wash everything first. Also, if one color of fabric gets washed for a quilt then all colors must be washed- meaning you want to be consistent with all the fabric you put into one quilt design. Even though all fabrics react differently when washed, making sure you are consistent with pre washing or not can help make sure fabrics “shrink” evenly.
Can you blend a few different weights of fabrics together for the quilts..I want to have layered materials…sheer over any other kind
Hi, Joan. You absolutely can! In fact, here is a quilt that Heather Thomas recently did that used a lightweight gauze fabric layered over the top of other material: http://www.nationalquilterscircle.com/videos/design-workshop/
The same technique could also be used with other fabrics as well.
I’m not easily imrepssed but you’ve done it with that posting.
I am making a wool appliqué quilt, on primitive gathering material. It will be king size. Any special needs when washing the quilt, or will it need to be dry cleaned?
Hi, Shirley. The primitive gatherings fabric shouldn’t need anything special when laundering, however, sometimes wool can require extra care. Here is a blog post about washing and working with wool: http://www.achildsdream.com/washing-wool-felt/
I lilrtaely jumped out of my chair and danced after reading this!
Any benefit in using a stitch regulator on your machine ?
Hi, Shirley. Stitch regulators really only come in handy when you are doing some kind of free motion stitching on your machine- otherwise the machine already regulates your stitch length for you. So, if you do a lot of free motion stitching and you find that you are having trouble keeping your stitches consistent, then yes a stitch regulator may be a good option for you.
how do we figure out on the size of borders to use on a quilt when you don’t have a pattern
Hi, Gwen. The general “rule” from a design standpoint is that the borders should be approximately half the size of the largest block or slightly larger. If your blocks are 12″ then a 6″ to 8″ border works great. If your blocks are 8″ then an 8″ border would overwhelm them. However, if you quilt is a bed quilt then the border or border system (multiple borders) should create the drop, that portion of the quilt that hangs over the edge of the bed and covers the sides of your mattress, anywhere from 12″ to 16″. Each successive border in a system should be wider than the previous one.
Hi all. I am wondering what you tell me in your opinion the pros and cons between a mid arm quilting machine and long arm?
Hi, Linda. I have to say that this one comes down to personal preference. I personally use my conventional sewing machine for most quilting I do, although I have used a mid arm machine a few times. What I would consider when looking at getting one or the other is- how much you want to spend, how often you are going to use it and they space it is going to take up.
Also, when it comes to laying out a quilting design, I like to start in the middle and work out, which I find easier to do on a mid arm or conventional machine vs a long arm.
Here are several blog posts with information about both mid and long arm machines so you can get other opinions as well:
http://www.thecaffeinatedquilter.com/?p=1925
http://freemotionquilting.blogspot.com/2011/09/7-reasons-why-i-dont-want-or-need.html
http://sewingmadesimple.net/sewing-machine-reviews/reviews-of-the-best-long-arm-quilting-machines-for-home-use/
I’m a new quilter and can’t seem to get the sound going tonight on my PC, but am anxious to watch!
Just wanted to say thank you to Heather. I’ve seen many of her videos and love her demeanor, knowledge and art.
Why is the video quality and audio at times bad?
What is the best way to do corners?
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Thank you very informative, great hints and tips, just loved listening. Heather is just amazing. Please do another one. Sydney, Australia
Do you recommend kerosine to clean a featherweight machine? If not what do you recommend?
Hi, Nancy. I personally have never cleaned a featherweight machine, however, here is a very in depth tutorial on how to clean all parts of a featherweight machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wydZiJZ5pgg
Thank you for the great show. I am not a new quilter, but there is always something to learn. Can you buy sythopol in large quantities?
Hi, Sharon. It depends on where you are buying it from. Here is a link to where you can get a concentrated version online: (you can find it from other vendors too- this is just for reference) http://www.amazon.com/dp/B001PUXELG/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_1?pf_rd_p=1944687642&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B000YZ3UHQ&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=1HP6YXRDF4K5T3FK44HT
You only have to use a small amount so it ends up being enough for around 96 loads of wash.
The moderator’s voice is sometimes broken, and hard to understand what she is saying. Also her speech and sound are not synchronized.
I’ve loved this tonight! You’re my favorite instructor and your art inspiration is awesome! Thanks so much for tonight!
I just finished Heather’s video class Becoming an Art Quilter. I’m so excited to snip and rip, create my own design, make mistakes and learn from them! I’m curious how Heather HANGS her mini quilt creations.
Could you recommend the best basic book for beginners please
When you finish a segment of quilting and use the cutter on the machine how do you finish the small cut thread end
WherWhere do you find fabric with grids like you mentioned for your ironing board?
I’m learning free motion quilting, and learning long arm quilting. Does one hurt the knowledge of what was learned from the other. i.e. One moves the needle, one moves the fabric.
I’m making cotton top baby quilts with a Minkee backing. How can I best quilt the tops?
I have pieced my quilt and it is all layered ready to quilt. It is pieced in strips. What is the easiest way to stitch together for you first quilt.
I was wondering how blocks of patches does it take to make a king size quilt?
Just starting again to quilt. Want to make baby quilts for all the future greatgrandkids.
How do you make perfect points on a star block
Where in the quilt do I start my quilting?
Do you ever do qayg? What patterns do you use
Do you ever do what? What patterns do you use
Can’t wait!
I’m a fairly new quilter and even though I am very careful with cutting and sewing a 1/4 inch seam some of my squares are a little off. I use a steady Betty for pressing so can’t figure out what the problem is
Signing in
This artlice went ahead and made my day.
I am fairly new to quilting
I am new at quilting. What do you suggest my first project should be
I have made a few quilts recently and my most frustrating issue is the binding – it is not even on the front and back. Do you think a binding pressure foot (where the double folds fit into the foot and feeds into the foot and sews a straight line) would help keep the binding straight and look better?
Hi I’m here to,listen but my question is I’m new to long arm quilting and I keep getting thread nub bites when I start and stop each time kind of like too much back tacking or if my thread breaks. How do I fix this problem?
Hello, I’m here to learn!
Retired old soul here to listen to what is new!
What would be the best sewing machine for a beginner quilter?
Wanting to improve and learn
Many many qutialy points there.
Do you use any special detergents or color catchers when you wash your fabrics or quilts?