Welcome to a new term here at Quilt School! We've got some great techniques lined up to share with you in the months to come as the latest in our online series of free tutorials, and in this post we'll show you how to sew and quilt patchwork by hand. In this article we'll get started with oh-so-soothing hand piecing...
Whether you're looking for a refresher or you're new to quilting and testing out new skills, we've created this Quilt School series is for you. In this post, our in-house tech expert Sarah Griffiths takes you through the basics of hand piecing patchwork – a handy technique for when you’re on the go and the perfect excuse to enjoy a spot of hand stitching after a long day! Once you've mastered the art of hand piecing you'll learn how to make a patchwork quilt.
Once you've read our photo walkthrough, practise your hand piecing skills by trying our patchwork cushion project before you move on to making a full quilt. Use this tutorial to piece your quilt top and then explore the rest of our How to Quilt guides – we'll talk you through How to tie a quilt or guide you through the basics in our Quilting for beginners post to read the rest of the steps for turning your quilt top into a quilt. We'll be adding a full guide to hand quilting to this article soon in the new year.
This article was first published in Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine.
Beginner's Guide to Hand Quilting
Good news! If you want to find out how to quilt your projects by hand (trust us, it is really therapeutic!) then keep an eye out for the new issue of Love Patchwork & Quilting magazine. It comes with this Beginner's Guide to Hand Quilting booklet and is on sale on 23 December 2020.
Stock up on these handy supplies for hand stitching
Hand piecing templates
There are a variety of hand-piecing templates and hand quilting stencils available to buy, if you don’t want to make your own. These will come in various shapes, with a small hole at each corner of the piece for marking seam allowances. Simply cut around the template and mark the piece through each of the holes with a fine pencil. Then use a ruler to join each mark and create your stitching lines.
Piecing needles
These needles are thin, with the eye stamped into the shank, so it’s not larger than the rest of the needle. A no 9 is the standard size for hand piecing. If you’re not comfortable working with this smaller needle, start with the smallest size you do feel comfortable with and drop down as you get a better handle on the technique.
- Buy it now – You can pick up a set of Sewline Tulip hand piecing needles for as little as £6 on Amazon.
Add-A-Quarter ruler
This handy little tool has a ¼in lip for adding seam allowances around your templates quickly and consistently. It also provides a straight edge for a rotary cutter. Once you’ve used an add-a-quarter ruler, you’ll never want to be without one again!
- Buy it now (Amazon, £9.99)