Thoughts about binding a quilt with Big Stitch

It's been a loooong time since I've hand quilted a quilt. With quilters, stitchers and makers retreating to the solace of handwork in 2020, I was inspired to add Big Stitch quilting to complement the Australian Aboriginal fabric designs in this piece. The colorful dots and dashes of perle cotton running stitches make a lovely, tactile addition to the organic Dreamtime designs. 

Hand stitched binding using Big Stitch with 5 wt. perle cotton threads.

In an earlier blog post, I highlighted the Big Stitch hand quilting on this quilt. This past week, the binding was attached and hand stitched down.  

The quilted sandwich was trimmed and binding pinned. It's ready for hand stitching.

Binding a quilt with decorative stitches

I frequently use decorative machine stitches to bind charity quilts and kitty quilts. This is when the binding is attached to the back of the quilt, brought around the edge to the front, and machine stitched down. It's fast and efficient. But this was my first "go" at using visible hand stitching as both a decorative and functional element for the binding.

Binding sewn down with Big Stitch running stitches in 5 wt. perle cotton.

Threads and Fabrics

I used perle cotton threads for the hand quilting and the hand binding stitches—8 wt. and 5 wt., mostly Eleganza from WonderFil Specialty Threads. 

Front and back of the quilt with hand quilting and hand stitched binding.

The fabrics used in this quilt are all Australian Aboriginal designs from M&S Textiles Australia.

• Sandy Creek red in the center and cornerstones,
• Sandhill red for the outside borders,
• Kangaroo Path yellow for the inner border,
• Women Collecting Water yellow for the backing and binding.

The pattern for this quilt is called Blue Girl by Villa Rosa Designs.

Sandy Creek quilt. Finished size: 50.5" x 51"

Thoughts about Big Stitching the binding

I really enjoyed the Big Stitch quilting... choosing the thread colors, following the lines in the fabric prints with running stitches, seeing the quilt come to life with the hand stitching. To be honest, although I really like the end result of the Big Stitch binding, it was more difficult and time consuming than I had expected.

Big Stitch hand quilting and Big Stitch quilt binding.

Cons:

• I found I could do only one stitch at a time on the binding. For the quilting, I could load the needle with multiple stitches before drawing the needle through the quilt sandwich. And although the hand stitching is a slower process, this one-stitch-at-a-time binding process was unenjoyably slow.
• Even though I went through the binding and only the top layer of fabric and the batting, the needle was difficult to pull through with every stitch. The effort and struggle took the fun out of the hand stitching. Maybe a 12 wt. cotton thread would alleviate this??
• I also wonder if a blanket stitch would be easier.

Pros:

• It was rather easy to keep the stitches at a consistent place on the binding. As one thread ran out, I chose a new color and continued. Just like with the hand quilting.
• It was fun to add the "Xs" at the mitered corners.
• The drape of a hand quilted quilt is quite lovely.
• The free-motion machine quilting (with blending colors of thread) and the larger, more colorful running stitches are very sympatico on this quilt. Both techniques created a cohesive and beautiful texture on the quilt and the Big Stitch on the binding carried the concept through to the finishing... and the edge of the quilt.

Sandy Creek quilt with hand and machine quilting.

Further investigation required

If anyone reading has insights or suggestions for hand binding with Big Stitch, I would welcome your thoughts! Were I to try it again in the future, I might experiment with different/lighter thread weights or another stitch design (blanket stitch?). 

This was a good learning experience for a "first try" and I'm quite pleased with the end result (just not so much with the process). The Stitching Success Tracker is counting it as a "finish."

August Stitching Success Tracker.

Hand quilting with Eleganza perle cotton and Big Stitch

Have you ever tried hand quilting? How about with 8 wt. or 5 wt. perle cotton?
This is Big Stitch quilting... and I've been working on a quilt with both Big Stitch and free-motion machine quilting.

Big Stitch quilting with 8 wt. and 5 wt. perle cotton threads.

Big Stitch quilting

"Big Stitch" is exactly what it sounds like—running or quilting stitches that a longer (bigger) than what we generally think of for hand quilting. Big Stitch is kin to its predecessor, "utility quilting," which is a faster means of finishing a quilt by using bigger hand quilting stitches as opposed to the traditionally prescribed 12, 15 or more stitches per inch of fine hand quilting. 

In today's quilting world, there are so many lovely, big, fat, decorative threads available, that using them with Big Stitch can add color, dimension and design elements in addition to the functionality of quilting. What fun!

Big Stitch and free-motion machine quilting combined.Fabrics and marking 

Threads and needles

The threads I'm using are mostly Eleganza 8 wt. and 5 wt., a perle cotton from WonderFil Threads. A chenille needle, crewel needle or other large-eyed needle with a sharp point works well for this style of quilting. 

Note: some needles used for needlework such as needlepoint have a blunt point that works well for canvases, but not as well for stitching through the tighter weave of our quilting cottons.

8 wt. Eleganza perle cotton thread from WonderFil Specialty Threads.

No-mark quilting

The fabrics in my quilt are Australian Aboriginal designs from M&S Textiles Australia. By echoing the motifs printed on the fabrics, I've not had to mark the quilting/stitching lines. And I hold the quilt sandwich on my lap to hand stitch. I'm not using a hoop.

Following the designs on the fabric for Big Stitch quilting.

The quilting on this quilt is almost complete. There is a combination of hand [Big Stitch] quilting and free-motion machine quilting. And once I audition the binding fabric, the plan is to big stitch the binding as well.

Hand and machine quilting.

Attaching a quilt binding using Big Stitch will be a new process for me. 

Slow Stitching Mindfulness

"Hand stitching is for people who like to be busy,
but busy in a calm and relaxing way."

I saw this quote on social media recently. Those of us who enjoy handwork can identify! With that, I thought I'd inventory and share my current hand stitching WIPs [work in progress].

Seed stitches with perle cotton on a garment-to-be.

Mix-It top
I'm using the rice stitch or seed stitch to add color and pattern to a new Mix-It top [The Sewing Workshop patterns]. The base fabric is from the Denim Studio by Art Gallery Fabrics. It is a nice weight for hand stitching and needles well. I do use an embroidery hoop for this work.

Hand seed stitches on a cotton from the Denim Studio by Art Gallery Fabrics.

Big Stitch quilting
The Sandy Creek print from M&S Textiles Australia is perfect for adding colorful accents of 8wt Eleganza perle cotton [WonderFil Specialty Threads]. I've combined free-motion quilting by machine with big stitch hand quilting.

Big stitch quilting.

By echoing the lines of this Sandhill print [M&S Textiles Australia], no marking is required! Gotta love the organic patterns in this fabric collection!

Big stitch quilting.

Hand embroidery
Just a little more embroidery to do on this Bee Kind canvas tote bag panel [Northcott Fabrics]. I also have the September Morning panel waiting in the queue. You'll love stitching through this canvas substrate.

Hand embroidery on a canvas tote panel.

Visible Mending
This is a visible mending upcycling project—the proverbial Boyfriend Shirt. 

8 wt. perle cotton for stitched embellishments and visible mending.

Paper piecing
I'm still enjoying my 100 Day Project of focus cutting three-quarter inch hexagons. 

English paper piecing.

Threads for hand stitching projects
The threads I've used for these hand stitching projects include:

• 8 wt. Eleganza perle cotton from WonderFil Specialty Threads; 
• Valdani 12 wt. perle cotton; 
• 6-strand embroidery floss and Valdani Wool Thread for hand embroidery; 
• cotton sewing thread for paper piecing.

8wt perle cotton by WonderFil Specialty Threads.

If you haven't tried Valdani Wool Thread (100% virgin Merino wool) for embroidery, I suggest you give it a needle. These threads were recommended by my friend, Vicki McCarty at Calico Patch Designs. This thread has a lovely loft and springy-ness that comes with being a wool fiber. The stitches sit higher from the canvas, giving the work more dimension. The variegated colors are especially appealing.

6 strand embroidery floss and Valdani Wool Thread for hand embroidery.

The weather is beautiful here today. I just have to decide which mindful stitching project to take outdoors with me.

Combining free-motion machine quilting with big stitch quilting.

Enjoy a little bit of nature—whether outdoors or on your stitching projects.

Garden blooms.

A patriotic sampler from vintage quilt blocks

Red, white and blue sampler quilt made from vintage quilt blocks
and vintage patchwork fragments.

Do you collect vintage textiles? In the early 2000s, I was a frequent peruser of the "vintage quilt blocks" and "antique quilt blocks" categories on e-bay. Purchases of vintage pieces can be prompted by an interest in the fabric prints and their historical significance, a unique or favorite block design, a color palette, their purported age (caveat emptor/buyer beware), or purely an inexpensive price tag on a random lot that you are compelled to rescue.

This is my time-span patriotic sampler quilt. It came to be from two e-bay purchases—each an assortment of vintage patchwork fragments—with a price tag that was right for me. When the contents of these two independent purchases were sitting side-by-side, the red-white-and-blue color palette became so prevalent to my eye that I decided they could work together in a single quilt.

"Patriotic Sampler" time-span quilt using vintage and new fabrics.
Completed in 2006. Hand quilted. Finished size: 54" x 46"

This sampler is another quilt I showed at the Choo Choo Quilters guild meeting to kick off the "Back to the Future" theme of working with vintage textiles. These quilt blocks were not quilted, unlike the remnants used in the pinwheel quilt I talked about in this post.

In this vintage assortment, there was a nice variety in the size and motif of the quilt blocks. The four larger blocks include a churn dash, 8-pointed LeMoyne star, spiderweb block and the 8-pointed flower block made from the red plaid fabric. These larger blocks were spread across the top and surrounded by smaller 9-patches and strips of 4-patches. The "missing" point from the LeMoyne Star was quilted into the quilt.

LeMoyne Star and Churn Dash blocks.

The hexagon flower patch was hand appliqued onto a new reproduction fabric. The 4-patches and 9-patches were made with a variety of shirtings and small prints. The red-checked flower block was hand pieced (not appliqued) by the original maker.

Close-ups of the sampler quilt blcoks.

Spiderweb quilt block.

A single orphan 4-patch was turned on point and framed to give it more prominence. A new dark blue fabric frames the block. The frame is trimmed to the required size to fill the space.

A 4-patch on point was made into a square-in-a-square. 

More small prints... and stripes... add to the variety of the vintage prints. New, reproduction-style fabrics were used for the inner and outer borders as well as the backing fabric.

Stripes and small prints. The border fabrics are reproduction prints.

And this quilt is actually hand quilted—by me! Following guideposts in the patchwork, the quilting is simple.

Hand quilting.

The Baptist fan (quilting motif) was used in the border.

Hand quilting: Baptist fan motif.

The backing was a new fabric—a patriotic reproduction with George Washington—that tied in with the theme. The quilt was completed in 2006.

A George Washington patriotic fabric on the back of the quilt
ties in with the theme.

Embroidery and quilting by hand

As a new quilter, I hand embroidered this penny square. It was from a guild program about Redwork and everyone exchanged a penny for a pre-drawn design on muslin.

Penny square rework design.

This piece is not that big (17.25" x 14.75") but I hand quilted it. Believe it, or not! Look at the cross hatching. There is also a rope braid quilted in the outside border. Aaah, I was so ambitious and nostalgic in those days.

Braided rope border pattern.

Does everyone go through that phase where they want to do traditional hand quilting on all their quilts? Or maybe it was the guild I was in. It had a lot of members who were third-, fourth- and maybe fifth-generation traditional [hand] quilters. I didn't have the patience (nor the history in my genes) to get that good at it, so I'm glad I found free-motion machine quilting and the quilt-it-by-hand phase quickly passed. I am much better with the machine.

Redwork rabbit. Hand quilted. 17-1/4" x 15-3/4"

My current guild, the Choo Choo Quilters, is dedicating this year's programs to handwork. I presented last month's program, "Quilting with Hexagons." The April program is about embroidery on quilts, so this little bunny has come out to play at a guild once again… and just in time for Easter, too.