Beginner's Guide to Quilting - UK (2020-02)

And take care – some marks are fixed by
the heat of an iron! Here are a couple of
basic methods...

Tracing a design
With light-coloured quilt tops you can
trace your design directly on top before
you add the batting and backing. First
draw the design at its correct finished size
on to some paper in a dark pen or pencil.
Place or tape this against a light source
(for small projects, you can use a window,
while for larger ones it’s best to use a
light box), then place or tape your quilt
top over it. Trace the pattern on to the
fabric using a light pencil or erasable pen.
If you’re tracing part of the pattern in
stages, reposition the pattern and fabric
again and again until you’ve marked the
whole quilt top.

Marking with templates
Another option is to make pattern
templates from clear plastic or thin card.
Templates are often provided with
quilting projects in books, but you can
always raid your kitchen for household
items that make handy shape templates

• drinking glasses and cookie cutters
  work well! Place the template onto the
  fabric and mark lightly around the outline
  with a marker. If you’re repeating a shape,
  make sure you line it up correctly each
  time. Templates are especially handy if
  your design includes circles or curves.

Using plastic stencils
You can buy plastic stencils in all shapes
and sizes that are useful for marking
quilting patterns. Once you’ve chosen
your stencil, make sure it fits into the

space you want to mark. Fix the quilt top

on a firm surface, place the stencil in

position and use a marker to draw along

the cut-out lines on the stencil. If you

need to repeat the pattern for a border,

take care to line up your pattern as you

move the stencil – most stencils have little

marks to guide you.

And finally...

So you’ve finished your quilting, what

next? Remove any tacking or safety pins

and hide any pesky thread ends by tying

them off and burying them in the batting.

If your thread ends are at the sides of the

quilt you can leave them, as your binding

will tidy them up later on. Press your quilt

on both sides and trim the edges of all

three layers so they’re even with the quilt

top all the way around. Check your quilt is

straight and right-angled, then you’re

ready for the final stage – binding! See

page 61 for our helpful step-by-step

guide to binding a quilt.

OUTLINE OR CONTOUR QUILTING GRID OR CROSSHATCH QUILTING ECHO QUILTING

03 04 05

Cross-hatch

quilting

Grid quilting