Category: Tips and Tricks
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Please join me in welcoming guest blogger Jan Donley as she walks us through her method for machine appliqué. Thanks Jan for being a guest here at the Quilting Gallery. I love appliqué quilts but I do not enjoy doing needle turn appliqué so I set out to learn how to appliqué by preparing the…
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Running stitch is a very quick and easy hand embroidery stitch to master. It is often used to form the foundation of other stitches or it can be used on its own as an outline stitch. Running stitch is also the stitch used for hand quilting. For best results work each stitch a uniform size,…
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Looking for some tips on how to work a perfect French knot? A few years ago when I was teaching hand embroidery in workshops, ladies would often groan when I mentioned French knots. Seems that this stitch can cause some frustration. The good news is that I am going to share with you some of…
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Back stitch is one of the quickest and easiest of embroidery stitches to master. It is predominately used as an outline stitch and is ideal for Redwork embroidery designs. There are two things to keep in mind when learning to back stitch. One is to aim for an even stitch length. Don’t fuss too much…
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You’ve found the perfect pattern, you have a crewel needle, some stranded embroidery thread, a piece of fabric and an embroidery hoop. Your pattern has been transferred onto your fabric and you are ready to start…so now what? Your next decision comes down to the end use for your piece of embroidery. If your design…
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Bradie’s posted a really great beginner tutorial on Quarter Inch Accuracy. See how the guide on the foot is off. For years I’ve struggled with this problem on my Janome Q6125 foot. Last week, I decided to get rid of that silly guide once and for all. First I made sure I could buy a…
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I have a confession to make … I’ve never participated in a block of the month (or similar type) quilt project. I know, shock, and I call myself a quilter. Well, that’s about to change, as I’ve committed to two that I’m really excited about. These are both block of the weeks. First up is…
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An important factor to consider when learning how to embroider is your choice of embroidery thread. If you are new to hand embroidery I would recommend that you choose a stranded embroidery cotton, such as DMC. There are lots of different threads on the market and the choice can be overwhelming. Stranded embroidery cotton is…
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One of the most common mistakes that people make when learning how to embroider is that they don’t use an embroidery hoop. And there are others who admit that they have tried to use a hoop but they found it awkward. So I thought I would shed some light on the matter. Using an embroidery hoop…
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Hello! In my day job, I am a machine quilter / teacher / cartoonist / beading designer, so I thought I would share a bit about quilting from a machine quilter perspective. Before I begin, let me say that 99.999% of quilting clients are wonderful people and a delight to work with. Really. I thought…