How to Sew the Quilt Batting

Use the quilting stitch to hold the batting in the quilt.

Quilts are textile sandwiches with fabric on the outsides and batting in the center. There are multiple ways of sewing the batting into the fabric, but one of the most popular is by hand quilting. A pattern is marked on the top fabric and the textile sandwich is basted together. A special needling technique is used to create a smooth running stitch along the pattern lines on the quilt top. The many lines in the pattern create a decorative design on the quilt while holding the three layers together.

Things You'll Need

• Basted quilt
• Quilt hoop
• Between needles
• Quilt thread
• Scissors
• Thimble

Instructions

1. Open the hoop by unscrewing the butterfly nut on the outer ring and separate the two rings. Lay the basted quilt over the inner ring. Slip the outer ring over the inner ring with the quilt fabric caught between the two rings. Make sure that the quilt top in the middle of the ring is taut but not stretched, and has no wrinkles. Tighten the butterfly nut to secure the hoop together.

2. Cut a piece of quilt thread 18 inches long. Thread the needle and create a quilter's knot at one end of the thread by wrapping the thread around the needle shaft three times, then sliding the wrapped strands down the needle, past the eye and along the length of the thread strand. The knot will stop at the end of the thread.

3. Hold the hoop in your lap in a comfortable position. Hold your left hand beneath the quilt and your right hand above the quilt. Place a thimble on your right middle finger. Take a tiny stitch, only sewing through the quilt top fabric. Tug on the thread sharply to pop the knot through the fabric onto the inside of the quilt. This is called burying the knot.

4. Holding the needle in your right hand, balance the point on one of the quilt design lines. Keep the needle straight up and down by placing the needle eye in a dimple in the thimble. Hold your left hand directly below the needle on the quilt underside.

5. Gently push the needle through all three layers of the quilt. Immediately stop as soon as you feel the point of the needle poking your underneath hand. Keep the needle point exactly where it is while moving the eye of the needle down toward the surface of the quilt. You will end up with the point inside the quilt and the rest of the needle laying on the quilt surface. All of this will be held secure with the thimble.

6. Press your right hand thumb on to of the quilt surface, directly in front of where the needle point is. Gently push the needle with the thimble, keeping the needle flat against the quilt surface. As soon as you see the bare tip of the needle point emerge from the quilt surface, stop pushing.

7. Remove your thumb from in front of the needle. Use the thimble to straighten the needle back up until it is fully upright. Push the needle through again until you feel the point on the back side of the quilt, then rock the eye of the needle back down toward the surface of the quilt.

8. Rock the needle up and down in this manner until you have three or four stitches held on the needle. Push the needle completely through at this point, gently tugging the thread to secure the first few stitches.

9. Place the point of the needle on the design line, directly in front of where the thread came up from the first set of stitches. Do another set of rocking stitches and pull the needle through. Continue on in this manner until you have covered the entire quilt top with the design.

Tips & Warnings

• When you are beginning to learn to quilt, concentrate on making your quilt stitches the same size. Smaller stitches will come with practice, but even stitches are more desirable at first.

• If you are left handed, reverse the directions for left and right hand.

References

• Threads Magazine: Perfect Your Hand Quilting Stitch