Quilting my first patchwork

Once I had basted my patchwork next was time to actually start sewing it together and quilting it. This was the slightly scary part. I ordered a new foot for my sewing machine as it was recommended to use a walking foot as it should in theory pull all of the layers through evenly.

Fitting it was exciting! Not as easy as you’d think but I managed it eventually after struggling with the screw to attach it.

 I then had to test out this foot on a spare bit of fabric.

I adjusted the tension of the thread down to 1 to make the stitches even and both threads cross over in the middle of the fabric.

Then to start sewing up the seams of my quilt as per this tutorial video by Melanie 

It was nerve wracking making the first few stitches. I wanted to get it right. I checked after the first few stitches that it was looking ok on both sides. When I got to the far end I turned around and started heading back the other way.

i completed the first line both ways.

 

I was a bit worried when I had done the first strip that it was twisting slightly and not being held properly. I worked out that it must be because I didn’t have enough pins in it to hold all of the layers in place. I had run out of safety pins. A new pack of pins arrived so I went through and re-pinned the whole thing to try to make sure that this doesn’t happen again.

Then I could carry on and keep sewing outwards from the centre.

Woohoo. All of the stitching done in one direction.

 

Then I began in the same way to stitch across in the opposite direction. I really hoped that this would work as I wanted. In the tutorial it said that people can often find that the fabric puckers or twists a bit in the middle of the little squares at the corner of the patches so I was nervous that mine would do that. I was very happy to see that it didn’t seem to be doing that.

Here is the finished piece all quilted up.

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I’m so pleased with how it’s worked. Everything isn’t necessarily perfectly straight but I’m still pleased with this as a first attempt. This is as far as I got to last weekend. The next step is to trim and bind it. I’m just looking at the minute to find some good fabric I can use to bind it. I’m thinking some orange would work out best but I’m not sure what I have or can get to bind it. Watch this space and I’m hoping I’ll soon have the binding fabric and have this completely finished.