If I had my druthers, I’d handquilt all my qulits myself. But I make way too many tops and have such little time that this is a bit of an unreasonable expectation. Still, though, after about 9 years of patchworking, I’m a novice at machine quilting. I held out as long as possible—until just about 4 years ago—before even trying it. Straight lines (usually without using a walking foot) are just about the height of my ability right now.
One goal for the year ahead is to practice free-motion quilting and get back into more regular indulgence in handquilting. Anyway it makes sense that my first project is experimentation at the extremes of linear quilting. Why not know what little I know fairly well?
Matchstick quilting is just channel quilting where the channels are at most 1/8″ wide. It can be also characterized as “quilting the crap outta your top.” Sometimes it makes the quilt stiff, but with looser-weave fabrics, decent drape remains. Now, one ought to do this quilting parallel with the weave whenever possible.
Let’s explore what happens when we matchstick quilt on the bias…I made this improvised, but very square quilt top precisely to measure the warping lean that develops. Put a wide plain border on so that course corrections may be made later.
I like to do a first pass with 1/4″ channels. You see that there’s no perceptible bias; the square remains square.
The second pass to split the channels in half, however, stretches the square out of perpendicular at the same angle as the stitching. Mind you I did stitch the first pass in one direction and the second pass in the opposite direction so this balance of pull on the weave didn’t make it the perpendicular remain true. In fact, I might have reduced the lean a little, though just a little.
Embrace the lean. Square up and bind. And never do this accidentally in the future. I washed the quilt in the washer with hot water and then just let it lay flat to dry overnight. It’s almost truly square without blocking.
The paralellogram looks to me like an energized square winding up to start a sprint through the wind. It feels like the anticipation I have about my own year ahead.
Let’s go…!
The Details
Pattern: precision and improv patchwork
Materials:scraps from the bin: handdyed indigo flour sack and osnaburg
Techniques: machined pieced; “matchstick” machine quilted in lines about 1/8″ apart; and hand-bound
Finished size: 18.5″ x 21″
Started: May 27, 2014
Finished: May 28, 2014
it’s beautiful. I love the tiny bits of colour in the binding
So interesting! Thank you for sharing the process! The quilt gets so much personality from the distortion. Never would have imagined that.
I like the lean; looks like it wants to run in the wind and let it’s ears flap like a pup.
Thanks for sharing this! Though this time you created something better (I presume) than imagined, it’s good to know implications. I have done a bit of matchstick quilting but never diagonal, so I much appreciate hearing about your experience.
I love it. I do not get that much pull, but everyone’s approach and technique will be different. I wonder if one could manage that on purpose?
I love it. the colors, the lean. it’s dynamic and full of potential. and thank you for the warning… it could be devastating if this was an unexpected result.
I learn something from each of my quilts. I have also had the opportunity to see some of my earlier quilts after several years of use. I have learned that for a quilt that will be used on a bed, you need to have enough quilting lines to take the stress of pulling the quilt up over you. Quilted lines on the bias have more stress on them because the fabric stretches on the bias but the stitched quilting lines do not. I made a few quilts and quilted them diagonally because that was easy on my domestic machine and I was following the diagonals of the squares in the patchwork. In these quilts every one of the quilting lines has breaks in it. So, I have learned to quilt a bit more heavily than I used to and also to think about the direction of the straight line quilting. Curvy lines have more give to them than straight lines.
I think it is so interesting how the thread and fabric behave during and after stitching.
I wondered if that would pull it off true. Happy to hear about the experiment. Love the color combination, piecing and shape.
I wonder if the use of a walking foot would reduce the pull? Love the finished piece…it gives an incredible sense of motion.
i did use a walking foot.
I have been following your blog for many years now and my mind still gets blown at how good your work is. The break in the second (third?) outer square is genius. Thanks for posting.
So interesting! Both the quilt and what you learned. I have not done matchstick quilting yet since I mostly make larger size quilts but I have been playing with some ideas for wall pieces and will remember this….especially since I bookmarked!
I love the asymmetric look of your quilt.
Thank you for sharing your experiment!
that is really cool! So the square started out square? I know that’s pretty obvious, but it’s Sunday and I’m not paid to think on a Sunday!
Yep!
An excellent experiment! I love it, and matchstick quilting is something I still haven’t tried. Your crosshatch quilting is my very favorite, but this is a close second. I cannot wait to see what the year brings!
I’m a hand quilter as well, but I finally decided to give machine quilting a try. I bought the walking foot two months ago, but still haven’t given it a try! Time is so hard to find.
It never would have occurred to me that the machine quilting could warp the quilt so much. I’m so happy I know that now, because that could be a very disappointing lesson to learn.
I do love how your quilt turned out. It looks like it’s trying to leap into the air. It gives a wonderful motion to what started as a very static object.
This is so awesome, in all the ways. I’m also keen to try matchstick quilting, but leave it to you to discover a totally new and remarkable way to play with it. You rock so hard. :)
I love this so much. It’s just EXACTLY like life. We are all marked by our experiences – sometimes we lean back or sit down and sometimes our experiences leave us driving forward. Reading this post was a little like fortune-telling, like the quilt was a tarot card and your feeling about the final bound quilt was how you read it. Beautiful.
test.
I do love your analytic nature, not to mention your style! And C I would be so psyched to send you a copy of my FMQ book if you’d like it. Let me know if you’d like to check it out! Always love to share what I can with people who’ve given me inspiration.
Its so interesting that the lean was formed as a result of the quilting, I would never have guessed, I love the look of it leaning.