I declared today to be Skills Friday and set to work. First on my list was stepping outside my comfort zone of straight line quilting. Embarrassingly, I didn't venture far. I thought I might try free motion quilting, but wasn't ready for the leap. I've moved up to waves which I tried out on a mini quilt top that I had lying about. These were manually made waves. I still need a little work, but I branched out and I'm improving those skills one project at a time.
I decided this quilt top that I had lying about would be a nice bedside mat for my slippers*. (*slippers are not yet made, of course!) Having a bedside mat for slippers and shoes is a habit that I picked up living in earthquake country. It's always good to have a pair of slip-on shoes and a flashlight right at hand. I cycle through mini quilts on my floor next to my bed. I'm sure friends find it all a bit odd to see pretty quilts laying on the floor.
Knowing that I wasn't ready for free motion quilting, I nearly abandoned Skills Friday. Then it hit me that I have a lot of projects to bind. I prefer the look of hand bound quilts, but frankly I don't have time to hand bind each and every project. Until now, I've been rather crap at machine binding.
That all changed today with the help of some tools. I truly respect the early quilters who had to do everything without the gadgets that we have today. They very carefully would sew down their binding by hand or by watching their machine slowly glide along the edge of the fabric.
I've got the luxury of a stitch-in-the-ditch adapter for my walking foot and I'm not afraid to use it.
A friend asked today why I haven't posted recently I was briefly under the weather and I've been having some job hunting blues. A good friend decided to perk me up. She sent me a big box of the new Clover binding clips. I'd been eyeing these up, but my budget is so tight right now. The clips came in the post from a friend via QuiltJane's WantItNeedItQuiltIt shop. If you are looking for them in Australia, visit Jane. She's got all kinds of nifty stuff.
These clips are great. It was so nice to be able to sew along, then quickly and easily remove them with one hand as they neared the machine. No more fussing with pins or russian gymnast hairclips which always interrupted my sewing flow. I'm a self-professed gadget lover, but these are one of those things that stand out ahead of the pack. I don't know how those folks at Clover Japan got to be so clever?
The result was that I was able to put on binding that looks as good from the back as it did the front without a massive amount of unpicking. I only had to fix one corner which is a far cry from the days where I'd rip out an entire side. The edge shown above next to the silly fish fabric is the back! Can you believe it? My skills are growing.
Taking stock of my skills was a great thing. I'm glad Rachel suggested it. I'm happy I pushed myself to try something that I might otherwise have pushed off since my previous attempts were subpar. Do you take stock of your skills? I've got a list brewing in my head. Applique, freemotion quilting and knitting are near the top. How about you?
well done you!!! (and thank you yet again for being my enabler, haha!)
ReplyDeleteWhat technique do you use for machine binding - it looks phenomenal!!!
(I really need to cut down on my exclamation marks...)
In this case, I attached the binding to the front of the quilt using a 1/4" seam. I flipped the binding to the back and held it in place with the Clover binding clips. LOTS of the clips. Then I used the stitch-in-the-ditch walking foot adapter (like an edgestitch foot) with the needle in the third position over to the right. Next time, I'd brave it even scanter. This was a new technique for me this time. I am frankly a little surprised myself at the success.
DeleteThanks Amy for that post! Two things for my birthday list. The stich in the ditch walking foot adapter and the binding clips.
DeleteThanks for the great tips Amy...I have already bought some binding clips (ooo, about 7 seconds after I'd read your blog post!) and am now adding the walking foot adapter to my wishlist - I am blown away by the results - I love how clean it looks, with (I'm hoping!) a little less blood, sweat and tears than the ways I've tried machine binding to date! Thanks!
DeleteLovely work! I'm still getting the hang of all the great Bernina feet and attachments, it's so much fun :)
ReplyDeleteFree-motion is my next skill port-of-call; I bought the foot I need on Wednesday afternoon. I had a play with FMQ on the old machine but the walking foot skipped stitches far too much for my liking. I know Bernice won't do this so I'm really excited to start learning it again... armed with my e-reader copy of Angela Walters' book (thanks Lorena for the tip there!).
I was lucky enough to take a year long sampler class taught by a well-known and highly talented New Zealand quilter. The class was really about different patchworking techniques (EPP, applique, foundation piecing, etc), so she didn't teach free-motion quilting. However, she did have some advice. Have a drink (one only), then go for it. You will obviously need to practice on a scrap sandwich to get the idea and your machine set up right, but she maintained that you need to practice on an actual quilt so that you are motivated to do your best. I put her advice into practice last night after a glass of wine and started free-motion quilting my (approx 60 inches square) granny squares quilt in a large meander pattern. There are definitely places where the quilting is substantially less than perfect, but at least I am over the first step and started.
ReplyDeleteTwo other thoughts. One, those binding clips look great. My attempts at machine binding involved LOTS of pins, which worked out ok, apart from all the stabbing. Will have to see if I can source them in NZ but otherwise may need to visit Jane's shop. Two, I really enjoy the honesty in your blog. Some are so relentlessly positive that it is hard to relate. Keep on keeping it real.
Thanks for the tips on binding with the machine. The binding looks so neat and perfect! Awesome work. I've always blind hand-stitched mine down at the back which takes a few nights to do. Last Saturday I finally bought a Bernina QE (such a beautiful stitch & solid machine). It comes with the walking foot and stitch-in-the-ditch guide plate for it! Am definitely going to try your way next time I do some binding - it looks so neat and lovely and will save on stab wounds to my hands. I like those clips too. I usually use binding clips, which look a bit like hair clips, which is fine for hand sewing but tends to shift/distort the binding a little which wouldn't work as well for machine binding.
ReplyDeleteDo you have the BSR foot with your machine? Freehand quilting with the BSR is great fun. I played around with the one in the shop and it was so good. It was easy to get nice smooth stitches. My machine comes with the BSR so I'm hoping to get some time this weekend to bust it out and have a play.
That binding looks great! I've always just hand stitched mine, I would like to machine stitch it if it were going to look that good. I want to see if I can get a ditch adapter thing-a-me for my walking foot now. And some of those binding clips, I think they would be handy with bag making too, so might have to look into those.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you don't do free motion. I guess your bold colour choices and graphic style suits straight line quilting. You really should try it though. Make yourself a fat quarter sized sandwich, have a glass of wine and have a go ;) I found my quilting got better after doing some free-motion applique if that helps.
That binding looks fab! Well done you for challenging yourself. Rita Red Pepper is coming to a Melbourne Modern Quilt Guild sewing day and is going to demonstrate machine sewn bindings, which I am really looking forward to. And if you don't mind Amy, could you email me your snail mail addy as Inwould like to send a wee care package to help with your list ;o)
ReplyDeleteI just got those clips. I'm so excited to use them! I hope they make my binding look as good as yours! :)
ReplyDeleteSo fun to see this post, Amy! Being able to machine bind with a straight stitch that accurately is totally impressive. Congrats at giving it a try! Those clover clips look super. 222
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy, I've had my eye out for those binding clips but only seem to find them in small packs. Your binding looks great, well done! I think I need to find my stitchy comfort zone before I go stretching myself outside it (:
ReplyDeleteWow! Am so glad I popped over here to read your full post, as the pic I saw on Flickr didn't show the stitching results. The precision you got was incredible! I got some of the Clover clips recently and can't even believe how superior they are to everything else I've tried for securing binding. They do come in a pretty stupid box, though. I keep opening it the wrong way and they spill out. Never mind.
ReplyDeleteYou're inspired me to see if I can find a stitch in the ditch adapter for my walking foot. Definitely worth the money, by the looks of yours.
I totally agree with Adrianne; the way you keep it real is refreshing.
Amy ! Thanks for this post . Your binding technique has come out so neat . What width do you cut your binding strip ?. I find that if I cut mine 2.5 inches and fold it in half then sew it on the front using a 1/4 inch seam when I fold it over the binding is wider at the back . So .....how do you get the stitches so perfectly placed on the edge of the binding both back and front ? Thanks .
ReplyDeleteHi Gina. I've experimented with a number of different binding sizes. For hand sewing, I like 2 1/4". For machine sewing, I use 2 1/2". This time I attached it to the front first, using my walking foot mark as a guide (generous 1/4") and then flipped it towards the back carefully lining up the flipped edge with the front binding stitch line.
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