How to Hand Quilt Better Than 99% of Quilters

Making a handmade quilt can be an incredibly rewarding project, so we’re going to give you some tips on how to hand quilt better today!

It’s a relaxing pastime, a treasure in the making, and a piece of art all rolled into one.

It is no mean feat, but one that is certainly a worthwhile undertaking.

In my previous post how to choose the best sewing machine for quilting I looked at quilting using a machine.

And in this post I will look at quilting by hand.

There is a lot of debate among quilters about whether or not to use a quilting hoop. Many prefer the freedom that hoopless hand quilting offers, and they use only hoops when working on specific shapes.

I’m going to focus on this hoopless technique.

Prepare your work area to ensure good lighting, a comfortable room temperature, adequate work space, and support for your back. Don’t forget to take breaks, go for a walk, and stretch.

What you need to hand quilt without a hoop

Some of the tools and supplies you need to hand quilt include:

Thimble: choose a thimble that you’re comfortable using. There are various types made of different materials––metal, leather, and porcelain––try out a few before buying one.
A yard of muslin (for practicing)
Quilting fabric. See this post from ‘The Thimblelady’ Quilting Fabric and Quilting Material for suggested materials.
24” square of batting/wadding/filling (or appropriate size for your project). For beginners: choose a batting that’s easy to sew – for example, a lighter polyester type.
Quilting and basting needles. These come in different sizes, and the larger the number, the smaller the needle will be.
Needle threader
Threads for quilting: ‘The Thimblelady’ has great advice about threads, and explains how the best ones have these three characteristics: they are thin, slippery, and stiff. See her post Best Hand Quilting Threads.
A good pair of scissors
Embroidery basting
Mechanical pencil or washable marker. For dark fabrics, you can use tailor’s chalk (used to mark fabrics when making blouses, dresses, etc.).
Ruler

Hand quilting stitches for beginners

When you’re learning how to quilt by hand, it’s important to get to know, and practice the basic stitches:

Quilter’s knot: wrap your thread three times around the threaded needle and pull these 3 loops of thread down until you get a knot at the end of the thread.
Running stitch: starts on the right side of the fabric (front) and pulls the thread to the wrong side of the fabric (back). Repeat over and over until you complete the line. Be consistent, keeping the same stitch size and distance between the stitches.
Tunneling stitch: hold the needle almost parallel to the fabric to keep the stitches even.
Rocking stitch: creates a smooth line by using the needle in a rocking motion.

How to create a hand sewn quilt

Thread your needle, and cut the thread at about 18-24” of length.
Make a quilter’s knot on the end in the following way: make 3 loops around the needle, and holding these loops slide them down to the bottom. You’ll get a knot with a little tail. Snip the tail off, leaving the knot at the end of the thread.
Start with the back of the fabric facing you, and the front resting on a table
Place the wadding or filling layer on top
And finally, place the top layer of fabric on top, with the right side up, facing you.

You should have a type of fabric sandwich.

For some patterns, you will need to trace them onto your quilt before you start the basting. You can mark your quilting design using a pencil or washable marker.

There are many patterns to choose from. If you’re a beginner, it’s definitely recommended to start with an easier one, like stars, hearts, leaves, or flowers.

I like this video here from Sharon Schamber all about Hoopless Hand Quilting which I think you will find helpful.

Using the video as a guide you can see that Sharon begins by basting the design over the quilt. The stitches need to be pretty close together––leave approximately a 2-finger width between them. And use a double stitch for the basting.