Tying a quilt

Sometimes tying a quilt seems like the very last resort to getting a quilt finished.

While hand quilters love the look of a skillfully hand quilted quilt, and machine quilters appreciate the beauty and complexity of fine machine quilting, tying a quilt can be equally rewarding.

When quilting daughter, Stephanie, was a baby, a friend gave me a quilt that was tied.

Since I was new to quilting, I had never seen a quilt finished that way before.

I’ll admit that initially, I was a little surprised and thought that she had “cheated.”

It didn’t take long for that to become one of Stephanie’s favorite quilts. It was a nice, cuddly flannel quilt that had flannel instead of batting.

As a quilter, I recognized that it was a perfect baby quilt.
It was easy to make, the baby (and mom) loved and used it. And even after hundreds of washings, it still looked brand new.

What could be better than that?

Many tied quilts are simply tied in the corners between the blocks, leaving the blocks as open space.

Other quilts are tied in the center of each block with either yarn or perle cotton.

The best ties are washable, won’t unravel, will stay tied, and are strong enough to hold together when they are tied.

Even with those considerations, why not add a little flair? Using embroidery floss or cording might be a possibility. And instead of using yarn or perle cotton, try a ribbon.

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/9501-tying-quilts.php

Where you place the ties on your quilt can be interesting, too. Just as quilters stitch their quilting to make a design, your ties can add to the design of your quilt.

Have fun with every aspect of your quilt – from sewing the blocks together to quilting the top – whether you hand quilt, machine quilt or tie your quilt, finish it so someone you love can enjoy using it.

To get some other ideas for tying quilts, visit:

http://how-to-quilt.com/articles/9501-tying-quilts.php

Happy Quilting!

Penny Halgren