Friday 9 November 2012

Giant star quilt - FMQ

I spent quite a lot of time over the last few days free motion quilting the star part of my giant star quilt.


I used a pink 50 weight Wonderfil thread for the quilting, in a teardrop echo pattern (also called a crybaby meander) following this video tutorial, and inspired by this quilting done by Heather of Crafting...


I'm not all that happy with the quilting - there is a bit of eyelashing on the back, and I struggled to keep the quilting smooth, especially in the middle.  Over the course of the quilt though, my quilting definitely improved.


This is the whole quilt.


Since the quilting is less than perfect, I think I will keep this quilt for myself.  Now I just need to fill in the background with straight line quilting, and bind it, and it will be done.



I pumped up the saturation of this photo so you can see the quilting on the back. 

The quilt is backed with this (brand new) alphabet duvet cover I picked up from Ikea in Hong Kong a few months ago.  I had seen a few quilts around the internet backed with Ikea fabrics, and loved the idea (not least because it means you don't have to piece the back).  Ikea doesn't have any shops in New Zealand, so this was my first chance to check out their duvet covers and fabrics.  In the end, I only brought this one home - it is not that exciting but I think makes a simple and effective backing.  The plus is that I will get backings for two large quilts out of the duvet cover, and there are four matching pillow cases which would do nicely for backing cushions or mini quilts.

Do you stick to standard quilting cottons to back your quilts, or do you like to use other materials?  If so, is it to save time, save money, or just because you like the look (or feel) of something different?

3 comments:

Susan said...

I have never used a sheet or duvet cover for backing- is yours cotton? I tend to stick to the traditional finishes but I love the look of your Ikea piece!

Cille said...

I used the same Ikea fabric for a finish last year :) your star quilt is lovely. I really like your fabrics. I have the bird fabric too - but only a fq so I hoard it.

Sil said...

I made a star similar to this, can you go to see it? It's my Big Red quilt.
Regards