When choosing a design for your quilt think about what finished texture you wish to create. Ditch stitching is fine to anchor all the layers together but it does nothing to enhance your quilt.
Featuring designs across the surface of the quilt really adds to the look and creates more beauty to the overall effect. Keryn Emmerson pattern packs provide many different designs - from the simple to the elaborate.
Marking Your Quilt Top
When you have your quilt basted and ditch stitched you can then add your quilting design. We find the Clover mesh transfer mat a handy tool for transferring the designs. With tiny holes it works like the old-fashioned method of using netting, but unlike net it does not stretch or distort. Firstly lay your chosen design out flat, place the mat over the top and trace design onto the mat with a soft lead pencil.
Next lay mesh mat over quilt where you want the design to feature, trace the design onto your quilt top using a water soluble marking tool. The design has now been transferred to your quilt in the form of small dots.
Our favourite marking tool is the Karisma pencil. With the black or yellow leads you can mark just about any colour of fabric. You may prefer the Clover Chaco Marker or Clover Chalk Pencils.
After you have marked your quilt you simply wipe the mesh mat clean, roll up and store in the cardboard cylinder in which it came.
No Mark Technique for Machine Quilting
You may also choose to use the no mark technique that eliminates the need (and worry) of removing the marks from your quilt. Trace the design onto Quilt and Tear Paper, which you then pin directly to your project, stitch following the design and then just tear away. It really simplifies the process.
To make it even easier you can use either the Needle Punch Method or the Photocopy method for making multiple templates of your choosen design.
Needle Punch Method
- Trace quilting pattern onto the Quilt & Tear Paper. You can layer up to 15 pieces of paper with traced copy on top and pin corners to secure.
- Stitch (needle punch) on machine through the stack with a large unthreaded needle.
- Pin paper patterns to project with bumpy side up and quilt following the design.
- To remove paper after quilting, gently tug fabric on the bias. Paper will break away from stitches making it easy to tear away.
- Choose a quilting pattern.
- Take the original pattern to a photocopy machine. Adjust the size up or down to fit your project and copy on a very dark setting. Do not worry about smudges. One photocopy is good for 5-6 transfers.
- Place the photocopy of pattern on a flat, firm surface. Lay Quilt & Tear paper on top of the copy and press with a hot dry iron. Let cool. Carefully peel the Quilt & Tear Paper from the photocopy.
- To keep the transfer pattern in place, pin the pattern liberally to the quilt using Clover Flower Head Pins.
- Sew through the paper, following the quilting design.Tear the paper away.
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