Be a Rebel

One of the greatest things about quilting is there are no rules.

Nope.

None.

Honestly.

There are no hard and fast, do-or-die rules and there are no quilt police.  Now I will be the first to tell you, there are some quilters who may want you to believe in both the rules and an enforcement crew follow-up to make sure you follow those rules, but they are figments of some quilters’ very uptight imaginations.  The closest thing we have to a rule is the ¼-inch seam allowance.  Most of the time, that ¼-inch seam allowance works just dandy, but there are times it doesn’t.  Quilting “rules” are simply guidelines, not ironclad laws, meaning those guidelines can be broken or even completely ignored if you need to. Some quilters prewash their fabrics, some find it easier to work with fabric right off the bolt. Some quilters always use matching thread, some like contrasting thread.  Some quilters pin religiously, some do not. 

What I would like to do with today’s blog is free you from any pre-conceived ideas about some so-called quilting rules. Just because you may have heard these in a quilting class, or from quilter you follow on social media, does not make them rules.  They’re all merely suggestions.

• You must pre-wash your fabric.

Points to you if you’ve been my reader long enough to know I do adhere to this guideline.  I prewash all my fabrics except the fabric I plan to use as a background for my applique.  I do this because the prewashing goes a long way in ensuring fabrics won’t bleed on one another when they’re washed – however, the prewashing process isn’t foolproof. But it also goes a long way in preventing any crocking. 

Prewashing also removes any finishes which tend to flake off when the fabric is handled.  These flakes irritate my nose and make me sneeze.  Prewashing also gets rid of any dirt or odors the fabric may have picked up when it was stored in a warehouse somewhere. 

I do know that many quilters see this as an unnecessary and time-consuming first step in the quilting process.  And if you’re one of those, just remember God created Color Catchers and you may want to use a few when you wash your quilt for the first time.

• You need to use matching thread in piecing and machine applique.

Nope.  If you come from a garment-making background, you almost feel compelled to use matching thread.  But when you think about all the colors we use in quilting, that would be difficult to do.  You would spend a lot of time re-threading your machine.  Most quilters tend to piece with a neutral-colored thread, such as an ecru, white, black, light or dark gray. However, there is no rule which states you can’t or shouldn’t use matching thread.  That decision is entirely yours.

If you machine applique, the same premise holds true.   You may want your thread to match your fabric, you may want to use monofilament thread, or you may want your thread to contrast.  The choice is entirely up to you and the look you’re going for. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.

• You need to pin before sewing.

Some quilters pin, some use clippies, some thread baste, and some simply hold the fabric together with their fingers and sew.  This is a personal choice and I’ll be the first to admit I tend to wander between all four choices.  I pin more frequently than use clippies or baste, but I have found that if I need my points to meet perfectly, I will machine baste my pieces before sewing. It all depends on the complexities of the block and what I have near my sewing area – which is why I use primarily pins. My clippies are usually found with my binding kit.  As long as whatever method works for you, that’s all that matters.

• All quilt blocks require a ¼-inch seam allowance.

Most of the time, this usually works.  But not always.  Personally, I try to make a test block out of scrap fabric before I begin my blocks for the quilt.  Why is this important?  Let’s say I’m making a quilt with 10-inch finished quilt blocks (the size they measure when sewed in a quilt), which means they need to measure 10 ½-inches unfinished.  I cut my units out, sew then together with a full ¼-inch seam allowance, only to discover the block measures 10 ¼-inches unfinished.  This doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you carry that difference say over a row of 10 blocks, it will come up 2 ¼-inches shorter than needed.  And if you’re working with an on point quilt, this can be really tricky unless you know how to recalculate your corner and side setting triangles.  But this test block has shown me I may need to use a scant ¼-inch seam allowance or less in order for my unfinished blocks to measure correctly.

I have also found that a scant ¼-inch seam or less works best when I’m paper piecing a block with lots of parts.  It simply cuts down on bulk and makes it easier to quilt, although you must take a bit more care when removing the papers so the seam isn’t weakened.

• Always press towards the darker fabric.

Again, this is one of those guidelines talked about so much it almost seems like a rule.  Usually, this is the best thing to do, if you can.  Pressing towards the darker fabric prevents any shadowing showing through the lighter fabric.  However, I think keeping the ability to nest my seams is more important because this keeps corners crisp and points intact.  And if I can’t do this by pressing towards the darker fabric, I will press towards the light and grade my seams if the shadowing is really obvious. 

• Never press a seam open.

This statement depends on so much.  There are honestly sometimes you cannot press a seam towards the side – such as with some complex star blocks when you have lots of seams coming together at one intersection, like this:

It won’t work, there’s too much bulk and the seams need to be pressed open to reduce this bulk. 

This – the bulk – needs to be kept in mind as you’re piecing your quilt, because the quilt will need to be quilted either by you or someone else and bulk can be difficult to get a machine needle through (even sometimes with a long arm), and impossible if you plan to hand quilt it.  If there are a lot of seams coming together at one juncture, try pressing those seams open to reduce the bulk. 

One caveat to this:  If you press the seam open, don’t quilt directly over the seam.   A few places here and there are fine, but if you stitch in the ditch, stitch to the right or left of the seam and not directly on top of it.

• All binding should be cut on the bias.

Girl, please.

No.  Nope.  Negative.

Most quilters use French Fold Binding – the binding strips are cut 2 ¼ to 2 ½-inches wide, across the grain of fabric.  The strips are joined on an angle, seams trimmed, and then the strips are folded wrong sides together and pressed before stitching it onto the quilt. 

That’s not to say bias binding is never used.  If you have a quilt with a scalloped border, the best thing to use is bias binding because it will hug those curves like nobody’s business.  It’s also worth noting that bias binding will hold up better over time than the Frend Fold binding simply because of that bias cut.  So if you’re making an heirloom quilt you want to last the ages, you may want to opt for bias binding.

• Hand quilting should be on a hoop or frame.

This is such a personal choice, and allow me a personal example of this.  When I began quilting years ago, I learned to quilt by hand without a hoop – a process I became very comfortable with.  Over time, I met this amazing woman in my local guild named Karen (and she’s not one of those “Karen’s”).  Karen can hand piece and hand quilt like nobody’s business.  Her work is as near perfection as any I’ve seen. A few weeks ago she offered a workshop on hand quilting.  In this workshop she offered you time to hand quilt without a hoop, with a hoop you held in your hands, two different kinds of hoops on a stand, a large floor frame, and a small floor frame.

I imagined after I retired, I would get a floor frame and maybe spend my evenings hand quilting a few of my antique quilt tops.  However, in Karen’s workshop I discovered floor frames were not for me.  I much preferred the frame on a stand that you could rotate 360 degrees.  I am so glad I was able to “test drive” these frames before investing money in a floor frame!

I’ve said all of that to come to this point:  This is one of the most personal decisions you can make as a quilter and there’s no right or wrong answer – it’s what works for you.  If I could offer one word of advice, it would be this: Begin either without a hoop or with a handheld hoop before investing hundreds of dollars in a floor frame or a frame on a stand. *

• You must use small needles for hand quilting.

If I had to throw out another almost-rule for quilting, this would be it.  If you remember your hand needle sizes, the larger the number the smaller the needle.  From what I have read, the ideal quilting needle (which are called “betweens”) is a 12.  It is a super tiny needle.  Do I use those?  Nope.  Absolutely not.  The eye is so small, by the time I get the thing threaded, I’m ready to quit.  I’m much happier with a size 10 between. 

The needle size also depends on the type of quilting done and the fabric and the thread.  Big stitch quilting generally uses a heavier thread and you use a chenille needle.  Batting also plays a part in the size of needle needed.  Cotton batting is a bit tougher to push a quilt needle through than polyester or silk batting.  Let the quilting process tell you what you need, not some abstract, so-called “rule.”

• Always use a ruler when rotary cutting.

Again, this is usually true.  However, some quilters (such as myself) enjoy cutting without rulers from time to time.  I have freehand cut strips and sewn them together – this is such a great creative exercise.  Quilters also use a rotary cutter to cut around templates. 

• You must use 100% cotton thread.

This used to be pretty much a hard, fast rule.  When quilting began its revival in the 1970’s, polyester thread was nowhere near the quality it is today.  It would cut through cotton fabrics.  The safe bet was to use cotton thread with cotton fabrics.  Fast forward to today, and it no longer holds true.  Polyester thread has greatly improved.  And while many quilters would still prefer to use all-cotton thread, if a polyester or cotton-wound polyester serves your purpose, it won’t hurt your piecing a bit.  If I had a spool of 40-weight cotton thread and a spool of cotton-wound polyester which were the same color, I’d piece with the cotton-wound polyester because it would take up less room in the seam allowance than the 40-weight cotton thread.  Again, one of the main goals in quilting is to reduce bulk, and the polyester would do this much better than the cotton.

And the sky is certainly the limit as far as the quilting process is concerned.  Any thread which suits the way you want your quilting to look can work – cotton or not.

Let me also add a caveat to this – if you’re making any type of quilted item which may find itself in the microwave, always use 100% cotton thread or it will catch fire.

• Always use the Golden Ratio for borders/all quilts should have a border.

If you’re a bit fuzzy about the Golden Ratio for borders, go here: https://sherriquiltsalot.com/2018/07/26/sashing-and-the-golden-ratio/comment-page-1/.  The Golden Ratio is a helpful guide, but it’s not the law.  Experiment with different widths and shapes.  If your choice in borders makes you happy, that’s all that matters.

And no, not all quilts need borders.  There are a great many antique quilts which have no borders.  In all reality, borders and sashing didn’t become widely used in quilts until after the Civil War.  That does in no means mean you need to have one or any at all on your quilt.  If you’re happy with your borderless quilt center, that’s all that matters.

• Applique background fabric should be a solid, neutral color.

One look at a quilt such as this:

Or this:

Throws this “rule” completely out the window.  An applique background fabric can be any fabric, as long as it doesn’t overwhelm the applique.  Personally, I think a solid color applique fabric (for background or in the applique design) tends to appear flat and uninteresting.

• Traditionally pieced blocks are the only “true” quilt blocks which matter.

Again, girl, please.

Any block sewn or appliqued and put into a quilt is a quilt block and should be treated with the same respect and admiration as the beautiful “traditional” quilt blocks.  Old and new blocks require skill, patience, and time.

• Rotary cutting is the best way to cut out a quilt.

A lot of the time, this is true.  If you’re cutting strips and then subcutting into smaller units, rotary cutting is a fast and accurate way to cut those types of quilts out.  The same goes for borders – rotary cutters save time and increase accuracy.  However, rotary cutters are generally not great for cutting out applique pieces and small templates.  Scissors are usually better and more accurate for these.

• Any thread below 40-weight is not suitable for quilting. 

In the piecing process, this is true.  You want a thread weight and a ply number which are the least bulky in the seam allowance as you can muster.  For me, it’s a 2-ply 50 or 60 weight thread.  But the quilting process and machine applique are entirely different animals.  Even a 12-weight can work for these – it all depends on the look you want.  I hope to have a blog on how these lower weight threads work in the near future.

Finally, I urge you to be a quilting rebel and ignore these so-called “rules.”  I don’t know what group of pretend, self-appointed quilt police came up with some of them, but feel free to thumb your nose at them and proclaim yourself a Quilting Rebel.  For me, there’s only one hard, fast rule in quilting:  Have fun!

Until next week,

Love and Stitches,

Sherri and Felix

*There are several companies which make wooden quilting hoops and frames.  And since my blog is not sponsored by anyone, I will name drop the company I get mine from:  Barnett’s Hoops (https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100063630738459#.)  They also make wonderful things like sewing caddies and applique desks (lap apps).  Their goods are not made ahead of time and stored in a warehouse somewhere.  Each item is individually crafted when you order it.  And while yes, it may take you a while to receive your order (my husband ordered my quilting frame in October, hoping to have it by Christmas, but it arrived shortly afterwards), the wait is well worth it.  The customer service is amazing and I’m more than happy to give them a shout out.  They have crafted a lap app, storage box, and thread caddy for me.  All of them are wonderful and even after years of use, are still perfect.