Step-by-Step Texture Quilting: 65 New Free-Motion & Walking-Foot Designs

By Christina Cameli

Bring a new artistic dimension to your projects with this inspiring reference from the bestselling author of First Steps to Free-Motion Quilting.

It’s never been easier to add playful texture to your projects with free-motion quilting! Gain the confidence to quilt like an artist with bestselling author Christina Cameli’s tactile approach. Try your hand at organic and geometric textures, with step-by-step lessons to sixty-five designs and ten variations.

With this guide, you’ll find yourself invigorated to finish projects on your home sewing machine or longarm—whether you’re a confident beginner or a seasoned pro.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Apr 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9781617457999

Christina Cameli

Christina Cameli is an enthusiastic quilting teacher and nurse-midwife. After being introduced to quilting by her grandmother, she learned free-motion quilting and over the next decade began teaching classes and writing books. She lives with her children in Portland, Oregon. christinacameli.com

Book preview

thinking texturally

Quilted textures have a way of drawing you in and making you want to touch the quilt. They bring out the best in the piecing. The play of shadow and light delights even nonquilters, grabbing their attention and inspiring appreciation for the skill involved.

Quilting takes a flat piece of fabric or patchwork and breathes depth into it, bringing it into the world of sculpture, a soft bas-relief. The dimension in a quilted piece invites us to look deeper, to move closer, to wrap up and enjoy.

I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned about quilting textures that delight both eye and hand. Included are many designs that you can recreate, and I hope you enjoy them. I hope even more that this book gives you the tools to understand your quilting choices at a deeper level, and to have the confidence to create the quilting designs that will work best for your projects. I can’t teach you perfect quilting. In fact, you’ll see how imperfect my quilting is as you go through the book! The magic of texture can still shine through. I hope you try it yourself!

departing from line-based thinking

When I first started quilting, the quilting designs I used most were designs like vines and flowers, and motifs like hearts and stars. I still like quilting these sometimes. They are like little drawings or icons in thread. Seeing the thread improves your understanding of the design. I consider designs like these line-based designs.

Line-based quilting designs

As I’ve quilted longer, I realize I now prefer designs that have visual rhythm to them. These designs rely less on seeing the thread. In fact, to my eye they look better with subtle, matching thread. Instead of focusing on the thread, I notice the places that the thread is and isn’t. The places that are not quilted are important and define the texture that is created. I consider these designs texture-based designs.

A texture-based quilting design

Some of my work is more textural and some is less. I perceive line and texture as opposite ends on a spectrum in quilting.

A leaf design with little texture

A leaf design with more texture

A leaf design with pronounced texture

Every quilter will have a different range on this spectrum that feels interesting to them. In this book we’ll focus on the texture end of the spectrum. If you’re used to thinking in drawings with your quilting designs, this might feel a little strange. I encourage you to try stitching some of the designs and see how you like them. To begin, let’s explore some concepts.

Echoing

One of the most powerful ways to create texture in quilting is by echoing. When one line responds to the line before it, mimicking its curve or direction, we see both lines together as a unit, and that unit has visual

Reviews for Step-by-Step Texture Quilting

[Jimelle Salyers · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Wonderful ideas and clear, simple instructions. A great book for even a super beginner!