Keep Your Handmade Quilt Beautiful

Set your sewing machine to the standard seam allowance used for quilts, which is an exact quarter inch seam. One way to improve a block that is either too large or too small is to use the freezer paper method and square up the block before sewing it together. Gridded freezer paper makes the job easier, but the plain freezer paper will work to help make the block more even.

The best fabric for simple quilt patterns is 100% cotton because it minimizes seam distortion, presses crisply, and is easy to quilt. Good simple quilt patterns specify quantities for 44/45" wide fabric unless otherwise noted. You'll need to allow for a little extra yardage to accommodate minor cutting errors and slight shrinkage.

Never store your handmade quilt in a plastic bag. The fabric needs to breathe. Storing it in a plastic bag for a long period of time may result in yellowing and discoloration of the beautiful fabrics.

A century ago, cigar companies tied a bright colored silk ribbon around a bundle of cigars. Women stitched them together with black or colored embroidery floss stitches onto a fabric foundation block. They were not cut or curved, but placed side by side. Cigar company ribbons had fancy logos and used attractive fonts in black ink on yellow or orange ribbons. The various advertising on the ribbons added decoration to the quilt block. Green, pink and purple ribbons were occasionally used in the block designs, signifying a rare cigar.

Blanket Quilt If you are thinking about crocheting a baby blanket for a new mom in your life and don't know how to crochet you will first have to learn. There are a variety of stitches, but they are easily learned and very clear directions are readily available at a number of websites, you can simply do a quick search using any search engine and ask for how to crochet a baby blanket. You will get great instructions and patterns, basically everything you need to know to crochet your baby blanket.

Last but not least, the quilt was marked for quilting. This was a very vital part of the quilting process as it would be seen on the top of the quilt as well as it must also be seen on the bottom when you turned down the bed at night. This took quite a bit of time and consideration. You did not want the design of the quilting to take away the look of the quilt but to enhance the beauty of the creation.

Have you ever needed to throw together a quick quilt? Many quilting pros laugh at the notion, but sometimes we need a quick gift to give and want to make it personal. Lap quilts and baby quilts are very easy to create on an embroidery machine.

Never use the normal wash and spin cycle on your washing machine. Use the gentle wash and spin cycle and let the machine spin only long enough so the quilt is not dripping wet. Remove your quilt from the washer and roll it up in an old blanket or two or three large towels laid side-by-side.