Quilt Construction

Step 3: Notes before you start to sew

Now you are all set to sew....but a few notes first:

--The only critical thing about quilting is seam allowance. It is important you keep a consistent seam allowance. One quarter (1/4) inch is ideal but for this project it is more important that it be consistent than be exactly 1/4 inch.

--Always, always, always sew with pretty sides together. In other words, when you put together the two pieces of fabric to sew, the good (pretty) sides of the fabric should be facing each other. If you get confused, pin the fabric before you sew and open it up to check that it looks right.

--For machine sewing, use 10-12 stitches per inch. On my machine, this means set it at 2 or 2.5.

--With quilting (unlike other sewing projects) you do not need to back stitch to lock the stitches at the beginning and end of each stitch line.

--If you are hand sewing,* use a small running stitch and the same 1/4 inch seam allowance as for machine sewing.

*There is an interesting article about hand sewing here: http://agnews.tamu.edu/dailynews/stories/CFAM/May0803a.htm and hand stitching instructions here: http://www.sewing.org/enthusiast/html/el_handstittch.html