Good Morning, Quilters!
Today is Open Line Friday…Everyone Asks, Everyone Answers! Please chime in with YOUR responses–we have a lot of combined quilting experience–so please tell us YOUR thoughts!
No question is too small.
QUILTING ON PRINTED FABRICS
This week, our friend Gertrude asked this question:
How do you make quilting show on printed fabrics? (Think Kaffe Fassett)
Just give me an excuse to think about Kaffe Fassett…
(BTW–His name rhymes with “Safe Asset”).
Let’s break the question into two parts: thread choice and motif choice.
THREAD CHOICE
Here’s a little sample I did using Kaffe Fassett fabrics, two solids, and a variety of threads.
Row one: Sulky Rayon 40 wt
Row two: Sulky Cotton 30 wt Blendables
Row three: Sulky Poly Deco 40 wt Polyester
Row four: Sulky Cotton 30 wt Blendables
Heavier threads show up better on all the fabrics.
Color contrast shows up best.
Quilting shows up more on solid fabrics.
CHOOSING A MOTIF
Simple and larger free motion quilting motifs work best on printed fabrics.
Save complex motifs for solid or near solid fabrics.
Plan the free motion quilting while you are planning the quilt if you want to add complex free motion quilting motifs.
SULKY
I’ve also received a few questions about Sulky thread and whether it is okay to use non-cotton threads in our quilts.
I have bee using Sulky Rayon threads for free motion quilting my quilts for almost 15 years and love the sheen and beautiful colors. They wash beautifully and wear well over time. Rayon is not strong enough for constructing seams, but it is perfect for quilting!
Almost all of the tutorials and quilts seen on The Inbox Jaunt are stitched with Sulky 40 wt Rayon…however, I just discovered Sulky’s 30 wt Rayon…even heavier! I will be buying more of this great thread!
Sulky has a newly designed website. It is fabulous! Education, inspiration and you can purchase thread directly. Check out their Featured Artist this week… someone you know pretty well!
(FYI-I have received samples of thread from Sulky, but no other remuneration.)
THE LINES ARE OPEN
Please let us know YOUR ideas on prints, quilt motifs, thread, doodling, pens, tulips, gardening, movies…
We’d LOVE to hear!
Lori
PS…All tutorials, images and information are the property of Lori Kennedy at The Inbox Jaunt and are intended for personal use only. Feel free to re-blog, share or pin with attribution to The Inbox Jaunt. For all other purposes, please contact me at lckennedy@hotmail.com. Thanks!
