What’s a New Quilting Trick You’ve Learned?

By National Quilters Circle Editors

After years of doing something you’re passionate about, a person is bound to pick up handy tricks along the way. Some tricks may be obvious, while others may be more intricate. Everyone has their own technique when it comes to quilting, but it really comes down to what works best for you. We decided it would be fun to ask our friends on Facebook for their own best quilting tricks. Maybe one of these will work for you!

Quote about quilting

“I do all my quilting by hand and recently learned how to use masking tape to keep lines straight. This makes it so easy to get exact lines. It is much faster than eyeballing or marking with water soluble pens.” – Jeanie

Quote about quilting

“My new quilting tip is to use a ‘blind hem stitch foot’ for piecing Quilt-As-You-Go blocks and for straight line quilting. My foot has a bar in the center, which is a perfect 1/4 inch to the edge of the foot.” – Sheila

Quote about quilting piecing

“Piecing is more accurate when the fabric has been starched.” – Cindi

Quote about quilting fabric

“I now buy fabric online!” – Deb

Quote about learning quilting binding

“I’ve finally learned how to sew the ends of my binding together!” – Mary

Quote about quilting

“Simply slow down when using the walking foot, it’s not meant to run. Also I’ve found it handy to iron all my fabric.” – Deborah

Quote about quilting binding

“Put the binding on the back first, and then bring it around to the front.” – Robbin

Now it’s your turn: what’s a new quilting trick you’ve recently learn? Let us know in the comments!

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10 Responses to “What’s a New Quilting Trick You’ve Learned?”

  1. Kathie Banks

    I've learned to add a strip to my binding calculation to make sure that I don't run out of binding before the ends meet up. I've also learned to use wonder clips to hold the binding while I sew. They hold great and I don't bleed on the quilt from pin pricks.

  2. Phyllis York

    I’ve learned to eliminate 4 layers of fabric in my binding corners. Clip the fold on the binding corner. Fold the top binding layer back. There is the triangle layer. Loosen the threads on it and clip the triangle off, eliminating 4 layers of fabric. Corners lay flatter and easier to miter

  3. Carol

    I incorporate a fabric panel into the back of each quilt. It saves on backing fabric and many medleys have panels that will compliment your quilt.

  4. Dorothy

    When cutting fabric, to keep my ruler from shifting while pressing down, I set my Mom’s heavy fabric covered brick doorstop on the upper end of ruler. It holds ruler firmly down, and it doesn’t shift. I also saw once where someone placed a 5 lb hand weight across top of ruler, Same results! 😉

  5. Phyllis Ewing

    Patience Finished products are such joy❤️

  6. MMJones

    When your squares are still on the design wall, and you're trying to arrange them, look at the quilt through the lens of a camera. It accentuates color variations, and will help you pick out errors in design that the human eye can miss.

  7. Scott Mason

    I've learned to buy my fabric and supplies at local shops, not on-line or in chain stores. I want them to be there with classes and support and value their help building the quilting community.

  8. Brit

    When selecting fabric, I take a photo with my iPhone. Then I change the photo into grey scale. Now I can see if I have the range of values I need; i.e. dark, medium and light. The phone works as a ruby viewer

  9. Polly Stahl

    I recently learned how to piece using glue instead of pins and I love it! I also used glue to make my quilt sandwich and it worked pretty well too. Much easier to sew than with pins.

  10. Phyllis Miles

    Always use the same brand of rulers. There are teeny differences between.