Today’s Topic: How to Quilt YOUR Signature
Good Morning, Quilters!
Welcome to the Better Machine Quilt-a-long based on my book 25 Days to Better Machine Quilting.
(Find all of the previous Lessons HERE. Sign up for emails of the class HERE.)
Handwriting and Quilting
There are four reasons to learn how quilt your handwriting.
- Your handwriting can be a bridge to doodling and machine quilting.
- It’s a great way to add personality in the form of short messages in your quilts.
- Your signature makes a great label for your artwork. (Yes, your quilts are artwork!)
- Quilted text is beautiful!
Your Handwriting as a Bridge to Quilting
The easiest quilting motifs are continuous line designs. Continuous line designs are patterns or motifs which can be doodled or stitched without lifting the pen or knotting off. Each segment of the pattern is connecting in one continuous line. Flower Power is a great example of a continuous line design.
Handwriting is mostly a continuous line. Because you already have the muscle memory established for cursive handwriting (most of us at least), it makes a comfortable start to doodling and machine quilting.
Use YOUR Handwriting to Leave Notes in Quilting
One of my favorite ways to personalize quilts is to leave quilted messages. Add song lyrics, poems, family jokes, prayers.
Everyone loves to find a message hidden in the quilted line!
(BTW–My book is dedicated to my Mother–who always did small things with great love!)
Quilted Text is Beautiful
Quilted text looks great in most quilts. It is a great way to fill unusually shaped spaces with your quilting. Whenever you get stuck in a space where a motif won’t fit–add a short phrase!
And it doesn’t have to be a word or a phrase. Try repeating a letter several times to create an interesting pattern.
Your Signature
Quilting your signature into the quilted line assures every quilt has a label. (Perfect for those of us who don’t always get around to labels!)
For ALL of your lessons, be sure to quilt your signature and the date!
How to Quilt YOUR Signature
Practice doodling your signature in one continuous line. Most of the lower case letters are easy to connect. The exceptions are i, j, t and x. (See how to quilt i, j, t, and x. )
You will likely need to create your own method for adding the upper case initials to your name. For example, when I write the K in Kennedy, I start on the top line. When I quilt, I start it on the bottom line.
See the short doodle video, How to Doodle Your Signature and Other Text HERE.
To separate words in a phrase, add a wavy line. The wavy line serves as a break between the words.
To stitch several lines of text, you have two choices. Either knot off at the end of each line as I did in the Small Things, Great Love quilt. or quilt a line underneath the first line of text to return to the left side of the page to begin the next line.
Today’s Practice
Watch the Doodle Your Signature Video
Doodle your signature! Create a continuous line version of your signature and the date.
Grab a quick quilt sandwich, Pop your bobbin thread and begin quilting.
Fill a quilt sandwich with your doodles.
SIGN and DATE your quilt! This quilt will serve as your “I’m a better quilter!” reference quilt!
Have Fun Quilting!
Yours,
Lori Hancock
You might also enjoy my motif books: Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3 and More Free Motion Machine Quilting 1-2-3
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy Quilts and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, pin or share with attribution to LKQ. For all other purposes, please contact me at Lori@LoriKennedyQuilts.com. Thanks!
