Hand Quilting Techniques for Farmhouse Style: Easy, Stress-Free Ways to Quickly Hand Quilt

By Carolyn Forster

Discover a stress-free technique for creating gorgeous, hand quilted projects in a modern farmhouse style! This complete quilting guide introduces you to the beauty of utility quilting, an ideal method for modern quilters who seek the satisfaction of hand quilting but like to get things done quickly. Use simple, all-over designs, bigger stitches, a

• Language: English
• Publisher: Landauer
• Release date: Oct 25, 2022
• ISBN: 9781637410851

Carolyn Forster

Carolyn started quilting as a girl, and it has since then become an integral part of her life. She has been a teacher for over 15 years and her quilt projects have been published in a number of books and magazines. Her books, Quilting-on-the-Go, Utility Quilting, and Quilting-on-the-Go Taking It Further, help make patchwork and quilting easy and accessible to quilters of all skill levels. Carolyn and her family live in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, UK. (carolynforster.co.uk)

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Dedication

For my parents, John and Jeanette Shephard, who have always supported me in my stitching.

Hand Quilting Techniques for Farmhouse Style

Landauer Publishing, www.landauerpub.com, is an imprint of Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc.

Copyright © 2022 by Carolyn Forster and Fox Chapel Publishing Company, Inc., 903 Square Street, Mount Joy, PA 17552.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Fox Chapel Publishing, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in an acknowledged review and the enlargement of the template patterns in this book for personal use only. The patterns themselves, however, are not to be duplicated for resale or distribution under any circumstances. Any such copying is a violation of copyright law.

Project Team

Acquisitions Editor: Amelia Johanson

Managing Editor: Gretchen Bacon

Editor: Joseph Borden

Designer: Mary Ann Kahn

Photographer: Colin Walton at WaltonCreative.com: cover; pg. 1; pg. 89; pg. 91; pg. 92 top left; pg. 93; pg. 95; pg. 101; pg. 103; pg. 113; pg. 115 bottom right; pg. 118; pg. 119 bottom

Indexer: Nancy Arndt

Print ISBN 978-1-63741-085-1

ISBN 978-1-947163-92-8

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022941262

We are always looking for talented authors. To submit an idea, please send a brief inquiry to [e-mail].

Note to Professional Copy Services: The publisher grants you permission to make up to six copies of any quilt patterns in this book for any customer who purchased this book and states the copies are for personal use.

For a printable PDF of the patterns used in this book, please contact Fox Chapel Publishing at [e-mail], with 9781947163928 Hand Quilting Techniques for Farmhouse Style in the subject line.

Contents

INTRODUCTION

GETTING STARTED–SUPPLIES

PREPARING TO QUILT

UTILITY QUILTING DESIGNS

THE STITCHES

BINDING AND OTHER EDGE FINISH TECHNIQUES

PROJECTS

COFFEE CUP COZIES

UTILITY POUCH PROJECT

JAPANESE WRAPPING CLOTH

THIRTIES NINE PATCH QUILT

COURTHOUSE STEPS QUILT

SQUARE BY SQUARE QUILT

FRENCH LINEN QUILT

WINDING WAYS QUILT

BIG BASKETS QUILT

STRETCHED HEXAGON QUILT

CHRISTMAS PRESENTS QUILT

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

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Introduction

What Is Utility Quilting?

We are all familiar with quilting, the running stitches that hold the layers of a quilt together, but we may be less familiar with the term utility quilting. Utility quilting is quilting that gets the job done.

Utility quilting can be seen on the first quilts ever made. Look at collections in museums and you will certainly see the beautifully executed stitches and ornate designs, but you will also find quilts that have simpler designs and often bigger stitches and thicker threads. The utility quilting on these quilts got the job done. Nothing more, nothing less. It is not fussy and fancy or ornate. Utility quilting is functional rather than ornamental. It can apply to the design or the stitching, and both can be combined. For the women making the quilts it allowed them to finish the job and get the quilt on the bed.

Quilts held together with basic stitching and using simple designs can be seen all over the world, from Waggas in Australia, Borromono in Japan, Kantha in Bangladesh, Amish in America and strippy quilts in northern England. Taking inspiration from our forebears and around the world, today we can hand quilt our quilts quickly and attractively.

Looking for further definitions of the word utility I found that in economics it is used to describe a measure of relative satisfaction. We can also use this definition in that sense when applied to our quilting. Many quilters still enjoy the process of hand quilting, but sometimes need it to be simpler and quicker in this modern day.

This applies well to the idea of utility quilting our quilts. There is definitely a level of satisfaction to be achieved by being able to quickly and easily quilt our quilts!

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This quilt from Provencal, France, has fancy vines in the border, but the entire center has been quilted with hanging diamonds.

Utility Quilting Designs

Utility quilting designs are often allover designs that do not necessarily relate to the pieced quilt top. They give the quilt an even amount of quilting all over.

If you look at old quilts, and even those in museum collections, although many may be beautifully and intricately quilted with feathers, wreaths, flowers, and vines, you will also see many with an allover quilting design that covers the quilt or large parts of it.

Often, the quilt was quilted simply to keep the batting in place during laundering. It did not need to be fancy and time-consuming since the idea was to get the quilt on a bed sooner rather than later. It is also possible that stitchers could learn or hone their quilting skills with this style of quilting, as it is easier to quilt the utility designs, rather than trying to follow intricate patterns.

Utility quilting is not fancy. It takes a minimal amount of marking. It can be quilted in one direction, so there is no twisting and turning of the quilt to maneuver it into the right position. It is often a quick way to hand quilt (or sometimes machine quilt) a top to give it an even amount of quilting overall.

An advantage of the allover design is it it tends to act as a unifying factor, often bringing a oneness to otherwise disparate of fabric and piecing combinations.

WELL-WORN FUNCTIONALITY

Due to the functionality of the quilts that utility stitching and quilting designs were used on, many show signs of wear and tear. But there is usually enough stitching left to see how these designs made quilting the quilt a quick and easy process.

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This vintage quilt shows very apparent signs of wear. It is very soft and has obviously been used and washed many times. The allover quilting design has kept the layers together, but nothing has been able to stop the fabrics from wearing thin and exposing the batting.

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This 19th century scrap quilt is quilted all over with single crosshatching. This helps to unify the design.

Utility Quilting Stitches

Utility quilting means bigger stitches and thicker thread. Larger stitches get the job done quickly and in a bold fashion. Thicker thread can also be used on its own or with the addition of buttons or felt to tie the quilt layers together.

It has been said that the use of the thicker thread came from women pulling the stitches out of grain sacks and keeping the thread to tie or quilt their quilts.

For inspiration, look at old quilts in books or museums. There will often be one or two in a collection that have been stitched with larger stitches or tied. These quilts were put together quickly and long hours were not spent on the quilting, as these quilts needed to be in use on beds. This also means that examples are not seen often as these quilts were made to be used and often wore out.

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Sample of sashiko work, Waves design

Other influences for this type of quilting are sashiko from Japan and the kantha work found in Bangladesh and in West Bengal, India. Examples of this work would be seen at exhibitions and trade vessels would sometimes bring back pieces of cloth with the stitching on it. All these things played a