Tell me the truth on hand-piecing

Oh Miss Polly, just do it! I rotary cut my pieces, and have been handing sewing them together. As long as you don't yank on the fabric it'll be fine! I haven't even ironed mine yet, and I have the main portion of the top finished and hanging on the wall. When I do "iron" pieces like these, I don't glide at all! I simply press down and lift up!

I start with a small knot, take a quick backstitch, and sew. At seams I do a backstitch before heading through the seam and another one on the other side. I am attacking the seams like I learned from reading Jinny Beyers' book on handpiecing and quilting.

The one I am making, a tumbling block in black, red and white, is for my future DN (nephew or niece - we just don't know yet!). If I can do it - so can you! And it has gone together much quicker than I imagined it would!

Can't wait to hear all about it!

Dannielle

I've only done one hand pieced quilt, I didn't iron/press it, ever! It's survived a year of use as a cot blanket, so it's definitely durable, I did small running stitches with a back stitch every 4th stitch. I can't remember how I secured the thread ends though, presume several back stitches rather then knots.

Anne

Polly-

Even tho I have never made an actual "quilt" by hand, I do have my opinions on the subject, of course. ;-) I taught my students to take a back stitch- or two if their stitches were reasonably small- every four or five stitches which helps make the seams stronger. I think some of the "strength" of hand piecing is gained in the quilting. That helps hold everything in place and stabilize the seams. Pressing the seams to one side helps keep those seams as strong as possible, too, with less stress on them. But you already know all that. With your experience with fine hand work, I have no doubt that your hand piecing will stand up to hard use. Think of those pioneer women who hand-made quilts with used clothing (with threads and fabrics that weren't as sturdy and tightly woven as ours, I would guess), washed them by pounding them with rocks and scrubbing with sand (or scrub boards and strong lye soap??? LOL), and hung them in the sun to dry--- and sun rot. Somehow even a few of those quilts have survived for many, many years. You *can* do it. And, Polly dear, you really MUST get a digital camera so we can see your work! It makes me a bit crazy(ier???) to hear of your lovely projects and have to imagine them instead of getting to see them. If I can swallow a straight pin, then you can learn to post pics for us. Now, that didn't make a lick of sense, but are you feeling a bit guilty any way??? VBG

Leslie- appreciat> There's the beginning of a wonderful tumbling blocks quilt here. Still in

Ohhhh, Leslie. We have such a long way to go on digital cameras. My understanding of digit = finger. A clock either has hands (don't know what their particular techie name is) or it does numbers, hence 'digital'. Other than that, I'll have to read the book "Digital for Dummies" because I just don't know anything. If this tumbling quilt gets bigger than a potholder, I solemnly promise to send you and Dannielle a real Kodak Brownie photo. Polly (and glad you appreciated the puns I didn't do.)

Well, Miss Polly, I piece all my quilt tops (and backs) by hand. I just don't like using a running stitch because, like you, I want my quilt to stand up to heavy use. So . . . I use a back stitch for every stitch. The top of the seam looks like machine stitching, the other side looks like an embroidery outline stitch.

I press often throughout the whole procedure because the blocks are easier for me to put together and easier to measure if they're lying flat. I press the back first then turn it over and press the front. I've found that if I just press up and down, some seams have this little bit of fold, so on the right side I slide the side of my iron up against it and keep sliding until it gets that fold out of the seam and so it will be flat.

I'm so glad the quilt police don't know where I live.

Polly, you know the nightmare quilt I did for DH? 'Tis all hand sewed and it has survived 2 cats, several washes, and well I slept under the thing a good many nights now too. No things unravelling.

Like others before me have said, take a backstitch ever now and again and throw in the odd knot here and there too - not just on the end of a seam. Helps to keep the confusion locked in the quilt.

I hand piece all my tops and backs.

I backstitch every inch or so.

I press when the top is finished.

I machine quilt and the result seems to be very sturdy.

-- Anita --

Which way are you doing the Tumbling Blocks, Polly - it does make a difference! Are you doing them over papers, or marking the sewing line and following that? If the former, then close 'whip' stitching, done from the back, will be sturdy.

If the latter, then I'll just tell you a recent experience that changed my mind on what to do! I usually do what most suggested - running stitch with a few back stitches thrown in. But on a recent complex little piece, I did that, and the top side did not look at all good. The pieces were small, admittedly, but I ended up doing what Phyllis explained that she does; and, for those seams, you really would not know the difference between hand and machine. Also, of course, it would be immensely strong. Mine isn't going to have to stand up to any hard treatment, but it looks good >g<

I, too, do the 'down and up' kind of pressing on things with bias edges. . In message , Polly Esther writes

Mine

were done using papers (English Paper Piecing).

I used Freezer paper for the papers, so could iron them on the fabric which made cutting out economical.

I found it foolproof (this was only my second effort at quilting - my first was just a wallhanging about 20" square), and it just went together like a dream with no worries about stretching or wobbling.

This was a common way of piecing 'way back when' and there are plenty in museums to show they don't fall apart!

You've gotten wonderful advice already. The only thing I'd add is to test hand piecing the batiks. I once tried to hand piece a batik top and wore my fingers off. That was just the first two pieces! Machine for me when it comes to batiks. You may have a different experience, but check first before you are stuck.

marcella

Polly, you have gotten a lot of advice already. I enjoy hand piecing, and do a bit of it. I use a running stitch, very tiny, and finger press as I go. Most of the time the finger pressing is good until things are ready to be checked for size, trimmed and so on. Then I press very well, just up and down on the whole project. first from the wrong side to "set" the seams in the correct direction. Then from the right side to make sure everything looks good. I don't do as much backstitching as many, just don't see the need for it. I do back stitch before and after each intersection. Some of the best directions for hand piecing I have seen are Linda Franz's, she even has an almost 2 hour DVD in her second book, Quilted Diamonds 2. That is the method that I used for the Hoffman quilt last year. (This year I am using Inklingo and doing the 1" on a side hexagons by hand.) The bias edges are actually easier to deal with by hand, because if you match intersections/or match points along the way you can easily ease in any stretch that has happened. So much easier to do those "Y" seams by hand too, especially with continuous stitching. (You don't have to stop at the end of a seam, add the next piece and keep on going. With a little planning you can do a lot of short seams with one thread. )

Have fun, Pati, > There's the beginning of a wonderful tumbling blocks quilt here. Still in

You might have just saved me some $s and agony, Marcella. There are only 5 or 6 batiks in my stash and those have behaved very nicely in hand-piecing. I had sort of thought I'd add a lot of them but methinks I will go slowly on that one. Polly

Polly, I don't have a lot of problem with hand piecing batiks. It partly depends on your needle and your hands. And the fabric itself. A new, sharp, thin needle works best, but not a long one. I use Roxanne #11 betweens to hand piece with. Works for me.

A note about using a backstitch for the whole seam. IF this is a quilt to be used, understand that the extra bulk of the stitching on the "back" side of the seam can make it wear more quickly than the other side. Especially if the seam is pressed over the bulky part. So do be careful there. (Think about the chain stitch in clothes and how that area can really show wear quickly, and is usually where the fabric ends up tearing.)

Pati, > You might have just saved me some $s and agony, Marcella. There are only 5

I should make it clear, then, that my seams were about 1" long, curved and they will never see any wear at all! so I should be OK. Phew >g< Thanks for the warning, though, Pati. . In message , Pati Cook writes

Miss Polly, I agree with Patti. I did mine over papers with whipstitching. Made a lap size for my niece as a baby blanket. Of course, I also hand- quilted - 1/4" away from the seams. As far as I know DN is still using this 4 years later. Then again, most people that I give something hand-made to are of the opinion - 'oh it's too too pretty to use' regardless that was the intent of the gift!

As others have said, I'm sure whichever hand-piecing technique you select will be done exquisitely and last a lifetime!

Kim in NJ

I would suggest going over everything twice. What I mean is this:

Stitch - - - - - (up down up down) until you're at the almost half-way point of your thread Now fill in the blanks (return to where you started, filling in those empty spots.

Two benefits doing it my way: #1) IF the thread breaks, it's still going to be there for the other direction and #2) people will think your stitching is REALLY GREAT ('cause they aren't going to realize you've gone both ways)

And officially let me state right now, even if you only go one way, USE decent thread. My former spouse's grandmother "saved money" and used the cheapest thread on the planet. Her quilts fell apart -- at the stitching. Some of the polyester fabrics disintegrated too. Buy good thread.

That's sort of what I'm doing, Janice. It does look great and seems to be quite strong. The thread I'm using is Kinkame's silk. It behaves nicely, is soft and strong. Polly

I'm in the process of hand piecing a queen size tea leaf block quilt. I find that starching the fabric before I cut it works great. Bias sides do not stretch out of shape. The pieces are easier to stitch with a little stiffness - they don't flop all over. When doing a running stitch, I take a little back stitch every time I re-insert the needle. As to hand stitching with batiks - it can be done but you need strong fingers and hands. They can be tough to needle through.

The first time through I could have sworn I read "STRETCHING the fabric before I cut". That was sure a new technique to me! :)

Clearly time for a nap.