Do you prefer hand or machine quilting?

**Michelle** · 01-08-2002, 10:18 PM

I am new to quilting, but I think that I will probably prefer to do it by hand since I'm not much of a sewer (imagine that--a quilter who has never really sewn before!! LOL)

Which do you prefer, and why?

**Julie** · 01-09-2002, 10:18 AM

I made my first and only quilt in 1991, and I had a ball making it! The pattern is a very basic one, "Trip Around The World". It's in different shades of blue, 3 borders, and a flowery backside. The nice thing is that it's reversable and also machine-washable! It's made mostly on my sewing machine, but after it's all sewn up, I hand-tied some decorative heavy-duty wedgewood blue thread throughout the quilt. I have the material for another quilt, but have been VERY LAZY about starting it. I have no excuse except that I have no sewing room and no hardwood floors at home (it's carpeted throughout).

I liked doing the quilt on the machine, as I don't think I'm a very good hand sewer. But when you sew up the material on a machine it can get very bulky, and you have to start and stop, and start and stop to straighten it up. Would love to sit in on an Amish quilting session or two, if they allowed the English in!

Julie

**scooby** · 01-09-2002, 04:14 PM

I haven't started quilting yet. I have been reading everything I can tho. I guess I will be hand quilting when I start as I don't have a machine.

Scooby

**QuilterMom** · 03-08-2002, 07:39 AM

I don't have a sewing machine either so I don't have a choice but to hand quilt. I did get a great book (That Perfect Stitch: The Secrets of Fine Hand Quilting by Roxanne McElroy) and it has some great info and tips.

BTW - I have never sewn before either and so far I have made 3 quilt blocks. One of my friends was over the other night and I showed them to her and she couldn't believe I didn't know how to sew - I guess they must look pretty decent!

**justGina** · 03-08-2002, 11:43 AM

I would LIKE to hand quilt, but I'm so darn impatient. I want to see the quilt finished.

I ordered a walking foot for my machine last week (it should be in today, need to go see), so I'm mainly going to machine quilt. Maybe smaller quilts, i.e. baby quilts, I can hand quilt.

I just finished a Rail Fence top. I'm going to add a wide black border (maybe a black-on-black pattern) because I used just about every color of the rainbow in it. Instead of quilting this one, I'm going to tie it either with black yarn or with narrow black ribbon that I will tie into bows.

**Michelle** · 03-08-2002, 12:30 PM

Ooh that sounds nice Gina--you should post pics when you're done

**Ilovesewing** · 03-16-2002, 03:52 PM

I can't get into the hand quilting yet. Unfortunately, my hands swell up when I do any kind of 'hand' work....can't even cross-stitch because of it. So I machine quilt. I bought the darning foot for my machine and meandered on the quilt I just finished (Nine-patch) and it turned out great. I've also tied quilts and they come out nice. I read somewhere that you can use the fancy stitches on your machine instead of tying so I did that on another quilt for my daughter. I made the Lovers Knot in a twin size for her daybed when she was younger, and then tied it. Well, she managed to get a hole right in the middle of the quilt, so I took it all apart, fixed the whole, then instead of tying it again I used the heart stitch in place of the ties. It came out great, and she's thrilled she has pink hearts all over her quilt! I'd do that again. It isn't so easy though to get a large quilt into the machine though ..takes a lot of manuevering.