adventures of a quilting diva

My post from June 2007 Top Ten Tips for Miniature Quilts is still one of the most visited posts on my blog. Just as piecing a miniature quilt has different problems than piecing a full-size quilt top, quilting your miniature top can be challenging too. So for all of you who were inspired to make a miniature quilt top, here are some suggestions on how to get it quilted.

1. For pieced quilts, trim all seam allowances after sewing and steam press your blocks to flatten the seams as much as possible. Do not slide the iron back and forth across damp blocks, press and lift the iron instead.

2. Split your batting apart to make it thinner or use one layer of cotton flannel as the batting.

3. Simplify and reduce full-size commercial quilting templates or patterns. Trace the design onto a piece of paper, leaving out some of the lines, then reduce the modified design using a photocopy machine or scanner.

4. Use a fine #50 cotton thread such as Mettler Silk-Finish for hand or machine quilting and the smallest needle you’re comfortable with. Regular-weight thread tends to look too bulky and distracts from the miniature effect.

5. Try hand quilting one stitch at a time, rather than loading several stitches on the needle.

6. When machine quilting use a smaller than normal stitch length.

7. Don’t be afraid to take your time and quilt slower than usual. With miniatures you have only a fraction of the ground to cover than with full-size quilts and it is no fun removing extra-tiny stitches.

Hope this helps! If you have any other suggestions for quilting miniatures, please add them to the comments section. I’d love to hear what works for you and I’m sure the other readers would appreciate it as well.

^_^ happy quilting!