Embroidered Quilt

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Instructions

Make sure you have a way to line up your continuous embroidery! Make sure you have a way to line up your continuous embroidery!

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Difficulty:

Category: Quilting

Type of item: Home Decor

For: Home

Style: Funky

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Materials

quilting cotton, rayon thread, crystals

What was your inspiration?

I got an embroidery machine for Christmas and wanted to do more than 'just' embroider items. This adds a whole new use to my machine! I have watched Eileen on tv and new her class would have lots of tips for ME. I love the look of the project.

I learned SO much from this class since it 'forced' me to dive in and use my machine in all different ways! I was able to problem solve and make it work the way it is supposed to. It was so much fun and I really enjoyed seeing the piece come together. My quilt is just a small wall hanging because I am limited to a 5x7 hoop and the small jef files (I wish I could make a bigger one!). The reverse-piecing is easy, although I wouldn't do it this way on a 'real' quilt because I couldn't get the sashing on the back to sit nicely (my own impatience, I suppose) although I have done a quilt with a similar technique with a slight variation on the way you cut & sew the back sashing, with good results). Of course, the back is a horror show but since it's a wall hanging, I'm ok with that. I considered covering the back with some black fusible felt, and I may do that at some point, to make it more of a finished art piece. I added some crystals along the border for fun. I'm going to wash the quilt to see how they stand up to washing and see how the shrinking makes the quilt look. Hopefully it doesn't get ruined! lol!

What are you most proud of?

I am proud I learned how to get design files from my computer to my embroidery machine; how to get those designs to stitch; I really struggled with alignment in the continuous embroidery so I didn't give up until I made it work and found a solution (a cloth setter for my Janome machine). I'm glad I finished the project even though I had challenges and it's not perfect (I ran out of thread, my motifs are misaligned before I found the cloth setter, some of my feathers are cut off by the binding, and my quilt is not square!)

What advice would you give someone starting this project?

Try some test pieces first and get comfortable lining up your motifs. Be patient and don't sweat it! (And I found Clover Wonder Clips to be great for holding all the layers together when adding sashing strips - easier than getting pins through the layers!)