Hand quilting on machine applique

by Susan
(Fayetteville, AR)

Would you still consider hand quilting a machine appliqued quilt?

Reply

Absolutely!

If that is what you want to do, then I think you should do it! No one has the right to make a judgment call on whether or not you did the 'right' thing on your quilt...it is an expression of YOU! I firmly believe that.

The only 'quilt police' are self-appointed. No one voted them in or hired them...and consequently they DON'T get to boss anyone around.

That said, I will tell you how I would make the decision for myself--but I've only hand quilted one quilt in my entire life--never enough time to get all the quilts made that I need to make...but here goes...

...if the machine applique was like the invisible machine applique that I love to use, it mimics hand applique, then I'd go full bore with the best hand quilting that I could do...small, even stitches, traditional thread choices, etc.

However, if the machine applique was done with fancy threads and decorative stitches or a satin stitch so that the applique stitches were an integral part of the 'look' of the quilt, I would have to seriously consider using a more whimsical, contemporary or folk-arty type of hand quilting. Perhaps something along the lines of the work that Laura Wasilowski is doing with her fused quilts. I'm thinking in particular about the scattered seed stitch that she uses. (You'll have to scroll down about a third of the way on her page to see it.) In my humble opinion, the thread in that type of quilting would balance more with the decorative thread/stitches of the machine applique.

But again, as I wrote earlier, it is YOUR quilt, and YOUR needs and creative vision are more important than anything that anyone else thinks.

I'd love to see what you're working on. Do consider sharing a picture(s) of what your working on on our Share Your Quilt page.

Readers, do you hand quilt your machine applique? Share your thoughts with us using the 'comments' link found just below. Thanks!

Piecefully,

Julie Baird
Editor

This article was printed from Generations-Quilt-Patterns.com