I recently released the Sunroom Quilt Pattern as a part of the Sewn Home Series and found a new confidence when it comes to curves.
Before this pattern I had never sewn curves and was really scared to try! Now that I have done it - I don't know why I was scared. For tips on piecing with curves check out this blog post here.
When I got this baby size Sunroom Quilt done - I wanted to try a new pattern for my quilting. When I quilt on my machine at home I almost always do a grid or straight lines. This time I decided to give curves a try... I LOVE IT!
I'm not a pro at this, but I can share a little about what I found helpful. It was so much easier than I thought! I was only quilting a baby size quilt here. I might tell a different story if this was throw size and I don't think I would even attempt to maneuver a queen or king through my machine.
1. Glue Basting
I don't know for sure if this made a huge difference, but I decided to use this temporary spray basting instead of pinning my quilt this time. When I spray baste my quilt I also heat set it by pressing the front and back of my quilt sandwich once I get all the layers together. This made for a really tight and crisp quilt for me too roll up and push through my machine.
2. Mark Quilt
I used this gorgeous, handmade hera marker to mark the corner of my quilt while I had it taped to the floor. (Before heat setting the glue basting.) You can use this hera marker as well! Marking out my lines gave me an accurate start to my quilting. You can go across the whole quilt, but I didn't need to do that because I have the guide foot you'll see next. I also used this curved ruler that I already had on hand, but if I hadn't had this I would have used a bowl or anything else I had laying around the house that was curved.
3. Walking Foot + Guide
This walking foot and guide on my machine was definitely a must! I set my guide foot just a little wider than 1". I started in the corner with the first curve and then worked my way out. Once you get to the last marked line - you can use your foot as a guide to finish the quilting.
That's really it! Just make your way from one corner to the next. If you keep moving in one direction that will avoid wrinkles and warping.
If you give this a try let me know! You can do it - be brave!
Check out these other tutorials you might enjoy:
Free Quilted Pillow Tutorial
Sewing With Curves
Making Half-Square Triangles
I’m so glad I found your website, for many reasons. So informative with the photos so helpful. You have another follower.
Thanks for showing your steps for this pattern! I had always wondered if I had to mark the center and work from there out in both directions or if I could start in one corner (which is what I was hoping to do). Thanks to you, I now know that it will work! Yay!