Ongoing Quilt Projects, Continued from the "No Appreciation...." Thread

[fisherlady]

What makes a 'good fabric' for backing or topper and how much should it cost?...
And what makes an 'ideal' fabric for top or backing and what would the high quality stuff cost?

 

[speckledhen]

What makes a 'good fabric' for backing or topper and how much should it cost?...
And what makes an 'ideal' fabric for top or backing and what would the high quality stuff cost?

I use 100% cotton that feels thick or dense enough. I hold it to the light to be sure it's not gauzy. And I know some manufacturers that make excellent fabrics, so I also look at those as well. Waverly, David Textiles, Emma & Mila all are carried now by Walmart and they make great fabrics. Can't remember the others off the top of my head. If you go to Thousands of Bolts and look at a drop-down of their manufacturers, ALL of theirs make good quality fabrics, too.

as far as the cost, that just varies with what you can find. For instance, I found one fabric at the quilt shop in town, $11.99/yard. SAME EXACT fabric by Maywood Studio (it's in your quilt you bought, actually, and you may remember the discussion) at Thousands of Bolts sells for $4.95/yd. Sometimes at Walmart you can find a high quality fabric for less than that if they have it on sale. I never buy fabric at quilt shops unless there is a very good reason for it. For example, their fat quarters can be $3-3.50 each. Same thing at Thousands of Bolts is $1.89 or if it's a pricey fabric, $2.09.

 

[speckledhen]

I think I'm getting a little burned out. This is nowhere near as precise as I like, too many snipped off star points, etc. But, it can be a nice lap quilt for the deck or something.

 

[speckledhen]

oh, I got a super nice email today from a lady who watched my Youtubes on threading and winding the bobbin on my Rhonda (Brother PQ1500s).

Hello Cynthia,

I wanted to take a moment and Thank You for the two videos you have posted on threading the Brother 1500S and winding the bobbin. I have just purchased the PQ1500SL and I'm setting it up today. (I'm so thrilled!). After reviewing the instruction manual, I decided I needed a better 'visual' and after searching the Brother site for a tutorial, I came up empty.

I found both your videos to be just the answer to my questions.

I'm new to a machine that has a side loading bobbin, so I'm testing out my stitches using the bobbin that came already installed in the machine. I'm sure it came with a minimum amount of thread and will run out shortly. Then, I'll get to tackling that too!

Thanks again for sharing your knowledge. I look forward to any other tips you might post related to this machine and also to seeing what you are working on.

Best Regards,
Juliann Hildemann

 

[jeria]

I use 100% cotton that feels thick or dense enough. I hold it to the light to be sure it's not gauzy. And I know some manufacturers that make excellent fabrics, so I also look at those as well. Waverly, David Textiles, Emma & Mila all are carried now by Walmart and they make great fabrics. Can't remember the others off the top of my head. If you go to Thousands of Bolts and look at a drop-down of their manufacturers, ALL of theirs make good quality fabrics, too.

as far as the cost, that just varies with what you can find. For instance, I found one fabric at the quilt shop in town, $11.99/yard. SAME EXACT fabric by Maywood Studio (it's in your quilt you bought, actually, and you may remember the discussion) at Thousands of Bolts sells for $4.95/yd. Sometimes at Walmart you can find a high quality fabric for less than that if they have it on sale. I never buy fabric at quilt shops unless there is a very good reason for it. For example, their fat quarters can be $3-3.50 each. Same thing at Thousands of Bolts is $1.89 or if it's a pricey fabric, $2.09.

 

[jeria]

Just don't use sheets. They are too dense to hand quilt and a nightmare for machine quilters. Have a longarm and quilted full time for 5 years.

 

[speckledhen]

Just don't use sheets. They are too dense to hand quilt and a nightmare for machine quilters. Have a longarm and quilted full time for 5 years.

That is what I've heard and I've never done it, though, in a pinch, I guess it could be done as long as it was on a machine. I don't longarm, though.

 

[Kassaundra]

I quilt on my home machine, w/ several different QAYG methods, and have used sheets w/o any problems.

 

[speckledhen]

I quilt on my home machine, w/ several different QAYG methods, and have used sheets w/o any problems.

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Considering that the thread counts on sheet vary wildly, I would say some may be easier than others to quilt by hand, though a good machine should make fast work of most any sheet. I have just never tried it.

 

[Kassaundra]

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Considering that the thread counts on sheet vary wildly, I would say some may be easier than others to quilt by hand, though a good machine should make fast work of most any sheet. I have just never tried it.

Yes, I have only ever machine quilted w/ it, I bet hand quilting would be problematic.