Back to Play Time--Part 4

Ok, after that brief pause to learn circles, let's get back to our project.  Here you have to think about what stitching needs to be completed before you quilt it and what needs to wait for the quilting.  You have cut out shapes on the top of your project and those need to be finished.  So let's start with those.  Here's where you can utilize the circles that we've been playing with.  You need to choose a stitch that covers well and cover all the raw edges on the top.  Yes, they do have plain straight stitching right next to the raw edge and you will need to cover that stitching as well as cover up the raw edge.  In these first examples I am using a very wide satin stitch.

Trimming close to your stitching

Raw Edged Stitched Shape--Cut Out

Just reminding you of what you have already done.

To check your stitch out before you use it on your quilt top, put stabilizer behind one of the unused charms and see how your stitch--thread--will work.

This way you can decide if the stitch will adequately cover your edges or the settings are correct before you have to become very good friends with your seam ripper.

Stitch around all your open shapes and raw edges.  Please use stabilizer--you will be so much more happy with the results!  I did stop and change thread colors at the seams where my colors changed.  I did it for effect so you don't have to.

I also did a very close "scribble" around the edge of one of the flowers.  This was done in "free motion" style with a stabilizer underneath it.

Please stop and think about whether you are free motioning or regular stitching before you begin each stitch.  Check whether your feed dogs are up or down and check the presser foot on your machine.  Is it the proper foot for the particular stitch you are doing?

With each section, when you take the piece out of the machine, turn it over and pull your thread tails to the under side.  Tie them by hand so they don't get caught up in other stitching and so they don't come out.  This step will really make your piece neat and tidy on top.

Once you are done, turn the piece over and carefully tear out the stabilizer.

Yes, I used two sheets of stabilizer and overlapped them.

Now you are ready to sandwich the top with batting and backing of your choice.  I used a turquoise print backing and a Hobbs Heirloom 80/20 batting in mine.  No particular reason other than I had a scrap of that batting which was just the right size.  I wasn't planning any trapunto effects to I didn't use wool batting.  You can certainly get much fancier that I did and plan many more quilting effects than mine.  Choose what you are comfortable working with.  I wouldn't recommend a high loft batt because it may really give you some pleats and puckers in this small a piece.  I used safety pins to baste mine as I usually do.

The next step is to play with the doodling on your piece.  We will tackle that next.