Hand Quilting
Today’s guest blog post is written by Anna of Wax + Wane Studio. Anna is well known for her beautiful hand quilting, and is here to tell us more about her journey through hand quilting and the types of materials she likes to use!
Hello, I’m Anna. I’m the hand stitching obsessed quilt nerd that runs Wax + Wane Studio, which is my ongoing personal project of designing and creating modern quilts. Inspired by nature, mid century design, unusual shapes, and contrasting colors I create unique, modern quilt patterns and textile designs.
I started hand quilting about seven years ago. I was freshly married, living in a new home, my husband and I were working opposite shifts (so I had a lot of alone time), and I had a king sized quilt top recently pieced together that I had no desire to wrestle through my machine. So, without any research or preparation, I bought some fresh needles, thread, and 20” hoop and I dove head first into hand quilting. Luckily, I fell in love with the process - the independence, the monotony, and the meditative quality of it, and it’s still my preferred way to finish a quilt.
Hand quilting has become a form of self care. It slows me down, it calms me down, and it allows me time to relax & reflect while still feeling productive and accomplished. I like that I can work on hand quilting outside and while I’m watching my children. The romantic and utilitarian in me loves that I’m practicing an art that has been around for centuries and that (hopefully) my quilts will be used and loved for generations. Hand quilting is a way for me to feel connected with both the past and the future while also living in the moment.
I like to be able to see the “hand” in hand quilting, so I tend to use a thicker thread to create a bigger, chunkier stitch. My favorite thread to use is DMC’s Pearl Cotton in size 8. It has a lovely smooth feel and has just the right amount of sheen to make your stitches shine without being overbearing. While I did use my hoop for my hand quilting project - that king sized wedding quilt - I never used it again. Maybe it’s because I haven’t made a quilt that large since then, but I tend to find it easier to just go without a hoop. I also like to keep the rest of my notions to a minimum. I go without a thimble as much as possible because I find them cumbersome, but when I do need one I use the small leather pad stickies for my finger tips. As for needles, I would say I’m still on a quest (a very meandering, unhurried quest) for my favorite. Currently, I am using DMC’s size 5 embroidery sharps and I like them a lot but they are not what I would consider my holy grail.
Using a Hera marker lets you create straight lines without ink
I get asked a lot how I keep my lines so straight and my not-so-secret weapon is a Hera marker. I use a Hera marker and a ruler to create straight lines on my quilt sandwich to follow while I stitch. You can check out my “Marking” stories highlight on my Instagram profile to see how I do that. I also get asked about how I keep my stitches so even and to this I say, “practice, practice, practice.” Hand quilting is a lot like handwriting in that the more you slow down, concentrate, and practice the neater it will be and that style varies from person to person.
One hand quilting secret that I learned the hard way was hiding knots. On my first project mentioned above I spent way too much time strategically planning my stitch paths so that at the end of my thread I would be able to reach in-between the layers of the quilt sandwich to tie it off. Finally learning the “pop the knot” trick was a game changer for me. This is a technique where you pull the knot at the end of your thread through the fabric so it hides between the top and the back, within the batting. For a more in-depth tutorial on this method check out the “Knots” stories highlight on my Instagram profile.