For the Want of a Nail

Some time ago, most likely when my oldest was little, I read a nursery rhyme that went like this:

For the want of a nail, a shoe was lost.
For the want of a shoe, a horse was lost.
For the want of a horse, a man was lost.
For the want of a man, the battle was lost.
For the want of the battle, the war was lost.

So what does this have to do with quilting? The rhyme tells of the importance of paying attention to details. Quilting is all about details. We prepare our fabric (to pre-shrink or not to pre-shrink, is a debate for another day). Then we cut it as precisely as we can. We sew with a scant 1/4 inch seam. We piece with precision and hopefully, if we hold our mouth just right, cross the correct number of fingers and toes, and pray fervently, our blocks come out correctly.  Details are very important.

I have learned more about the importance of details since I have been working on the quilt with the women at church. Largely because there are so many of us working on the quilt. Partly because so many of us are not quilters. When it is just me working on a quilt, I know what I have done and generally can figure out why something has gone wrong. There have been many things I have learned and many things I already knew that I am thankful I know.

Details matter! Here are some I have dealt with on this quilt.

Starting with the quarter inch seam. Tatianna and I both have 1/4 inch seam presser feet on our machines. Mine is just the quarter inch width. Hers has a little guide to run the fabric against. I have taken the time to measure the distance from the needle to the edge of the feet. It is barely under a quarter inch. Yea!!! We just use our presser feet to guide us. But many people don't think to check that measurement. I learned to check that when I was at a 4-H leader-mete in Utah. They had us sew 3-1 1/2" strips together and measure the middle strip. If it was not 1", our machine's markings or presser feet were not accurate. Like I said I knew this, but trying to piece together blocks made by different women, hammered that point home. There was one block that I had to literally take apart and resew because the seams were 3/8 of and inch instead of 1/4 of and inch.

Squaring up blocks is not something everyone does, I used to watch the Quilt in a Day Series with Elanor Burns on PBS. I watched her square up pieces so they would fit easier. Now after I cut part of a block and do something like flippy corners I will go back and square up the part. This was very helpful when putting together the star blocks for this quilt. It certainly made the block look nicer. I definitely could tell when someone hadn't done it to their block.

Cutting is an area that I tend to get crazy about. I have lots of different rulers to make the job easier. I have a strip ruler that I love. In fact I have two. One was slightly broken at a sewing camp when it was dropped. I glued it together with super glue and it held temporarily. The woman who dropped it felt that she should replace it and despite my protests, did. I offered her the broken one but she refused. I used it for 8 years occasionally trying to fix the break. This summer I finally got some 5 minute fix and fixed it for good. Tatianna is probably going to get one of them.

One thing that was drilled into me at a young age is to be accurate in cutting. Whether it is for clothing or quilting be accurate. On this quilt a couple of women cut their own blocks. They had not ever cut quilt blocks before and therefore the blocks weren't quite square. Also I don't mind getting some smaller pieces when I rotary cut but I hate to open up a piece of fabric and discover some one has sliced into it. These women cut their squares using a rotary cutter and the strip ruler. But they didn't cut the strips and then cut the strips into blocks. They laid out the fat quarter and cut out the 4 1/2 inch blocks using the strip ruler and rotating it for the cross cut. I now have half of four fat quarters that have slices cut into them in 4 1/2 inch intervals. They are now in the scrap bin.

Measure twice and cut once. This is all on me. I unrolled the batting and assumed that the batting had been folded lengthwise. I proceeded to cut 30 inches off the width making the batting too small for the quilt. I knew better but was on a deadline and didn't take the time to measure. You better believe I measured the next batting twice before cutting.

Audition/practice the design. I did this on a couple of 5 inch squares with batting. I wanted to get the feel of how the pattern would look and how it would feed with the walking foot. I was very glad I had done it.

The right tool for the job. This is about my machine. My machine only has about a 7 inch throat space. I have come to realize that it is not a great machine for quilting even though it is marketed as a quilting machine. My machine does not have a stitch regulator and I have not mastered (or even begun) free motion quilting. So I planned to do a grid pattern for the quilt design. A quilter friend suggested I put my walking foot on and just use the guide to quilt the grid. That way I would only have to draw a couple of starting lines. That most likely would have worked on a wall quilt but not on the slightly larger than twin sized quilt I was working on. I ended up ripping out two lines of quilting. I then laid out the quilt, marked the quilting lines. I took off the walking foot and used my 1/4 inch presser foot because it is easy for me to follow the markings with it. I also ended up quilting a much bigger grid than I had planned. All in All it doesn't look too bad but it is not as I had pictured it.

Marking tools are not all created equal. I have found that some do not hold their points, some will not erase, and some need sharpened every time you mark a line. Always, Always check your marking tool on some scraps of the fabric before using it. I did do this, so no worries on this quilt. Also those disappearing marking pens that you iron out, can and sometimes do come back. And the ones that you wash away... Don't let them get warm before you wash them out with cold water. Heat will set that ink, even just getting warm in the sun. That tip I learned from a quilter who learned it the hard way.

Thread is something I usually don't bother with. I just use Coats Dual Duty. Well, my daughter had bought some machine quilting thread for a sewing project. I substituted the Dual Duty thread for the sewing project. Since I have the machine quilting thread I decided to use it. I didn't see much difference in it and the Coats Dual Duty. Of course it is the Coats brand of machine quilting thread so that may be why. I do know that many quilters like a more expensive brand of thread. I have found many who really feel Superior Thread brands are the best. I have asked a couple of long arm quilters and they say the thread does make a difference. I may just have to invest in some good thread to see how it does. I suspect that when I get a long arm machine I will buy better thread just because of the investment.

Make sure you have enough fabric before you start. Don't be fooled into thinking you can get some more if you need it later. My general rule of thumb is buy an extra 1/2 yard for cutting mistakes. Because I know I will make some. Any left over fabric goes into the scrap bin. Tatianna gets crazy if she thinks I am throwing away fabric that can be used for something. So we have a scrap bin. Any thing that is less than a fat quarter gets dropped in the scrap bin. Sooner or later one of us will do a scrap quilt.

Speaking of Fabric. Fabric is another area that I don't get crazy about. This quilt was made from fabric in my stash so much of it came from Mom's Crafts and Fabric's in Delta, Utah. I had picked up several fat quarters that she had on sale when I lived there. I have used all kinds of fabric and I know there are different grades of cotton fabric. I heard a 4-H judge tell a young teen that she should have made her first quilt out of a better grade of cotton. While I know that all fabric is not created equal, I also know that many of us can't afford to spend $8.00 to $10.00 a yard. I know that I really can't afford it even though I still splurge on it. I definitely don't buy it for my kid's first quilting project. Besides many of us are not lucky enough to have a local quilt shop nearby. Therefore we end up buying from the local box store who because they buy in bulk and can sell it cheaper. Still you need to be careful. Some tips I have learned; look for 100% cotton, make sure the fabric feels substantial and has some body to it. If the fabric is sheer, crackly, or light stay away from it, at least for quilting.

Quilting is about details and beautiful quilts are created when the details are considered. I wish you all beautiful quilts and a future where you never want for a nail.