December's Quilt Hint

Miscellaneous Tips

With the holiday season upon us, it's not really a good time to learn a whole new way of doing something. So, this month we're going to list a few tips that may help you speed things along, tips that aren't going to take too much energy to learn. We need all the energy we can get just to stay sane this month.

1. When I tape a backing down to get ready to "sammich", I use the edge of my 6" x 24" ruler in the same manner as a brush that is used to smooth out wallpaper. This means I don't have to crawl around on the batting to smooth it. I then do this again when I lay the quilt top on the batting. Contributed by Katy-Did
2. To get nice FLAT blocks, I keep a dozen or so terrycloth towels near my ironing board. I press my blocks ON the towels as the loft of the terrycloth allows the bulk of the seams to sink down and reduces bumps on the surface of the block. I also use spray starch. Important: make sure towels are 100% cotton. If there is any polyester in them...watch out when a hot iron touches it! Yuck. Also by Katy-Did
3. NEW!If you use a towel with a woven in plaid or check you can use this as a grid to make sure your blocks are even and square. sent in by BettyBoop
4. Before attaching the binding on your quilt, serge or zig-zag the edge to give it a nice even finish and to fill in the binding a bit. Contributed by Ka/De. Watch for her complete binding lesson next month.
5. When quilting by machine, sit at a 45 degree angle to the machine, with the wheel at your right shoulder. This helps you move the bulk through the machine easier.

If you have a hint, drop a line to Loons. We'll add it to next month's tips and give you credit!