Quilting a Hand Appliqué Quilt
About a month ago, I went to an estate sale filled with quilting items. The late owner was a truly master quilter and left so many beautiful works behind her. Looking through the items, I found a few finished hand appliqué quilt tops. I felt very fortunate to find them because I was specifically looking for well-made appliqué quilts that I could finish with custom longarm quilting.
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Hand Appliqué Quilt Found at an Estate Sale
This is one of the beauties I found at the sale. I wasn’t aware of the pattern, but FB quilters informed me that it was designed by Nancy Pearson. The appliqué is done so perfectly that I admired it immediately.
I believe the maker used the needle-turn method without freezer paper or starch, judging by the condition of the top and other projects that were still in progress. (I didn’t purchase those because I didn’t think I would be able to finish them by myself.) I am so amazed at how perfect the curves and points are!
Stitching in the Ditches
Before quilting, I took some time to stitch in the ditch around each piece. I believe this step is especially important in an appliqué quilt because it helps secure the appliqué and makes the shapes pop, adding more dimension to the design.
I used InvisaFil from WonderFil, which was recommended by a local shop. It is a 100wt, cotton-coated polyester thread. While it is very fine and blends well, I found that it isn’t truly invisible since it is not a clear thread.
Custom Longarm Quilting Design for a Hand Appliqué Quilt
In my design process, I normally start with the borders. It seems to me that the borders set the tone for the entire quilting design. However, since this quilt has busy prints in the borders, I simply used my “go-to” design, swags! I used curved rulers from The Quilted Pineapple.
Now, I have to admit, I could have just quilted straight lines. The fabric was too busy to really show off my swags and feathers.
For the main block, I wanted to frame the appliqué to accentuate it. I used curved rulers by Bethanne Nemesh, and it worked out well.
I love feathers, and I debated how to emphasize them around the frame. At first, I thought about using some grid work, but the remaining area was too small to show the delicate details. So, I went with an organic line filler, which works well with almost any design.
I also added some defined lines on the flower pieces using matching thread. It certainly added more flair to the appliquéd flowers. Hand embroidery would have been more appropriate, but I wasn’t confident enough to do that.
Quilting a hand appliqué quilt requires thoughtful design choices to respect the maker’s work. If you have questions about custom longarm quilting for appliqué quilts or are interested in having a quilt finished, feel free to leave a comment or reach out to me at piercestquilting@gmail.com or fill out this form to get started.
