Tips for Quilters: A Handbook of Hints, Shortcuts, and Practical Suggestions from Experienced Quilters

Before You Begin

"Quilting wisdom" comes primarily from two sources -- one's own experience, and other quilters!

Hints, shortcuts, and practical know-how are traded at quiltings and sewing circles. But not all of us have access to these gatherings. Grandmothers, aunts, and neighbors have traditionally been reservoirs of quilting secrets. But not all of us have these treasures. Good pattern books have thorough instructions, but few include details about choosing needles or how to stretch or condense a quilting pattern, or what to do about a stain.

Tips for Quilters is a treasure of quilting wisdom, assembled from a premiere group -- those women who have perfected piecing for generations, who long ago learned how to prevent thread from knotting while quilting, who continually experiment with new tools, new batting, new markers.

I hope that you find Tips for Quilters second best only to being in a roomful of quilters! While these experts are not physically present, I have tried to preserve their voices in the advice they so generously offered. In many cases, several quiltmakers submitted similar ideas. The name listed represents a specific rendering of a particular idea.

May be you warmed as I have been by these contributors' generous sharing of their experience. May you grow more confident and find quilting more satisfying because of what you learn here.

-- Rachel T. Pellman

Chapter 1. Selecting Fabrics

"I look for balance, keeping whites, yellows, and extra bright colors interspersed evenly through the whole quilt. I make sure I use enough of an accent color so as not to look like an accident and to make the quilt sparkle." -- Darla Sathre, Baxter, Minnesota

"Sometimes the pattern itself seems to call for certain fabrics; a Grandmother's Fan, for example, would seem appropriate in soft, Victorian-looking colors. Patterns like the Ohio Star or Eight-Pointed Star need bright or dark main colors for the star points which I want to emphasize." -- Marilyn Umble, Atglen, Pennsylvania

"Usually I choose a print first, then pick colors rom the print to match the solids or the smaller design prints I want to include." -- Betty Boyton, Gordonville, Pennsylvania

"When I'm planning to applique, I squint my eyes to see if the colors I've chosen blend." -- Sharon van Meter, St. Charles, Missouri

"Whenever I find a good light color, I buy a yard because it's always harder to find lights. I try to mix large prints, small prints, color values, etc." -- Nancy Wagner Graves, Manhattan, Kansas

"I try not to use a dead white background. Instead, I find a neutral fabric with a slightly textured look for the background." -- Shirley Liby, Munci, Indiana

Chapter 8. Tools of the Trade

"I use a tiny washer I got in a store with a tiny hole in the center to trace outside a marked line. Larger washers can be used in the same way to mark wider spaces. I place my pencil in the center hole and "roll" the edge of the washer against the previous line. It makes another line outside the marked line, the exact distance as the width of the washer." -- Katie Esh, Ronks, Pennsylvania

"I sometimes use Scotch tape that is sticky on both sides to prevent the fabric layers from shifting." -- Diana M. Garrison, Silver Spring, Maryland

"I've used a metal shisk kebab skewer, heated in the flame of my gas stove, to melt a small hole in the corner of plastic templates so I can mark corners for accuracy." -- Julie McKenzie, Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania

"I use a toothbrush to get rid of eraser dirt after erasing pencil marks when I've finished quilting." -- Joan Vanover, Easton, Pennsylvania

"I sharpen chalk pencils and other soft pencils with an emery board." -- L. Jean Moore, Anderson, Indiana