Hawaiian Quilt Tutorial Continued

February 4, 2009

This tutorial is a continuation from the entry dated January 31, 2009.

Step 8. Starting from the center and choosing one segment (1/8th of the section), pin with applique pins. Applique pins are pins that are approximately 1/2". They are easier to work with, because they do not stick out as much as regular pins. When basting, the thread will not be catching and pulling as much as they do on regular pins.

Step 9. After you have finished pinning or you run out of pins, you can start basting. When you baste, you want to keep it a maximum of a 1/4" from the edge as possible. Again, starting from the middle and working up one side of a segment, baste. The basting should not be more than an inch long.

Once you are done with one side of a segment, go back to the center of the quilt and baste the other side of that segment. This prevents unevenness when basting.

I start out with a strand of approximately 30 inches of thread, and tie a big knot. When basting, don't pull the threads to tightly, or else it will distort the fabric. When you need more thread, simply whip stitch in that one area two or three times, and then snip thread off.

I have heard of quilter's using some kind of glue to baste their applique. I have not done this and am scared too. Would love to hear from other quilter's who have tried this and what the results are.

Step 10. After basting, take out all the pins and start hand appliqueing the quilt. Have fun.

Quilt & Bitch