Would you like to branch out and try something new with your quilting in 2014? Enjoy the rhythmic practice of finishing your quilts by hand with the help of hand quilting stencils.
Even if you’ve tried hand quilting before, each new quilt top is a blank canvas for a unique hand quilting pattern.
To help you on your way to hand quilted bliss, here are a few ideas to help you when using stencils.
Photo via Minick & Simpson
Choosing hand quilting stencils
When you are shopping for hand quilting stencils, there are no real limitations. Most stencils are made of plastic for durability, and they will include a cutout that you can use to trace a design onto your quilt top.
You can also choose to draw and cut out your own quilting stencils or sketch your design freehand onto the quilt top. However, shopping for ready-made designs can be a time-saver as well as a great source of inspiration for hand quilters. You can even trace some stencils designed for painting on the wall, repeating the motif along your quilt top.
As a quilter for more than 35 years, Laurie has a stash of several hundred hand quilting stencils that she’s picked up over time. But even though she has so many stencils in her collection, she also draws her own designs and transfers them to a stencil for easy quilt marking. If you are interested in drawing your own hand quilting stencils, Laurie shares her process for tracing a quilt block and marking a custom feathers stencil on her blog Minick and Simpson.
Photo via Nanny’s Place
Marking your quilt
There are several methods for working with hand quilting stencils, but the basic idea is to temporarily transfer a design from the stencil to the quilt sandwich. Quilt marking techniques include sketching the design using fabric markers or pencils, applying quilter’s chalk or creasing the fabric with a hera marker. Debby marked her quilt (pictured above) with a homemade hand quilting stencil created using her Cricut die cutter and a Pilot FriXon fine-point pen.
In case you were interested in the costs that go along with buying hand quilting supplies, Debby shares the breakdown of her purchases, including a quilting hoop, needles, thread and other supplies, on her blog Nanny’s Place.
Photo via A Way of Seeing
Combining hand quilting stencils
Once you’ve transferred your first hand quilting stencil to the quilt sandwich, you always have the option to continue the pattern around the quilt. But if you’d like to mix things up, you can also pair the first stencil with a different quilting design.
In this example of a traditional Welsh quilt from blogger Marjorie of A Way of Seeing, you can see that the hand quilting patterns include spirals and clamshells in the background, as well as diamonds and straight lines within the colored shapes. When in doubt, you can always trace inside the perimeter of your pieced or appliquéd sections and fill in the center using a stencil.
Photo via Craftsy member tomib
Customizing your projects
Hand quilting offers the perfect chance to customize a quilt with your favorite patterns. For instance, wouldn’t this Hand Quilted Kitty by Craftsy member tomib be the perfect complement to our favorite cat quilt patterns?
The stitched feline is a student project made as part of the Craftsy course Hand Quilting: Heirloom Design & Technique with Andi Perejda, which covers everything you need to know to become a confident hand quilter.
Share tips, start a discussion or ask one of our experts or other students a question.
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