County Line Quilters
(based in Framingham, MA)
Revised:  Sunday, October 08, 2006

Tips From Members

1.  Always Square Off Your Blocks
It is critical for blocks supplied from various sources to be as consistent measurement wise as possible. Take care to square up blocks you supply to an accurate required final measurement. Consider if each block supplied for a top were 1/8" shy of the final full block measurement. When say 4 blocks are sewn together, the overall "shy" amount has grown to 1/2"!!

2.  Keep to a true 1/4" sewing seam allowance.
Having seam allowances that are slightly larger or slightly less than 1/4" will result in off size blocks which can create problems if you are sharing blocks (see Tip #1).Take a moment to check whether or not you are getting a true 1/4" seam allowance when sewing pieces together. You can check this by sewing 2 pieces together and then carefully measuring the resulting seam with a ruler.

3.  Snip off triangle tips
Piecing by machine also means ending up with triangle tips of fabric left over. It's best to snip these off before continuing on with additional piecing. Also, if you are sharing blocks, it makes sense to snip off tips so the next person doesn't have to; hopefully they will do the same for blocks on their way to you!

4.  Standardize on 1 brand of ruler.
There are slight differences in measurement between different brands of rulers. If you stick with one brand for all your sizes of rulers, you'll have more consistent measurement over all the aspects of your projects. Also, if you like a particular feature or aspect of a particular ruler, it is likely that the manufacturer carries that into other sizes of ruler.

5.  Remove lint from your sewing machine.
Your machine will run more smoothly if you clean lint out of your machine every 8 hours of sewing or every time the bobbin thread is changed. Blowing lint out with pressured air is not recommended for electronic machines as this can simply push lint further into the machine.

6.  Keep an emery board around
Use the side of an emery board to sharpen needles. Even brand new needles fresh out of the package have slight defects that keep them from running optimally in your machine. A quick swipe or two on the emery board can remove any burrs left over from manufacturing. You can also use the emery board to remove burrs from your bobbin shuttle.

7.  Use embroidery needles for troublesome threads.
For troublesome metallic or Sulky rayon threads try using an embroidery needle. Because embroidery needles have a longer hole and shaft, they cause less thread breakage.

8.  Try out some 60 weight thread.
Because 60 weight (wt) thread is a bit more lightweight than the standard thread, it disappears quickly into fabric being hand appliqued. Lightweight thread is also effective if you're doing machine quilting - load it up top and in the bobbin.

9.  Use high quality cotton threads.
Good thread has longer fibers for a smoother surface so there is less breakage. No name or generic brand threads tend to fuzz, fray and break over time.

10. Don't use packaged seam binding.
Packaged seam binding is ok for clothes sewing but is not a good product to use to bind off a quilt. It often results in a quilt that "bows" either in or out, meaning it does not lie or hang quite flat.   It's best to make your own binding out of fabric that helps compliment your quilt. If the longest dimension being bound is no more than 45", you can simply cut   straight grain strips of fabric as needed. If any side of your quilt is longer than 45", cut bias strips of fabric to make your binding.

11.  For paper piecing, try using water soluble paper.
After completing sewing your paper pieced item together, just spritz the paper on the back with water and it dissolves.

12.  Quick positioning of applique pieces can be done with temporary glue.
After cutting out pieces for hand applique, you can using a few dabs of temporary water soluble glue to position them in place avoiding the need for pins or pre-basting.