QUILTsocial Issue 6 | Page 32

Quilting your modern placemats You now have a total of 4 little quilt tops to practice modern quilting on! Layer the placemat top, batting and backing and you're ready to quilt. There are many quilting designs being used in modern quilts: straight line quilting, echo quilting and graphic designs to name just a few. I decided to quilt each of my place mats in a different design. Here’s what I came up with for the first placemat. I used a variegated thread and quilted with lines ½" apart. There are many beautiful variegated threads available now in different weights. Look in your thread collection and see what you have! 3 Tips for straight-line quilting 1. Always use a walking or even-feed foot. 2. Draw lines with a ruler using a fabric marking tool - chalk marker, washout marker etc. It's a good idea to test your marker on scrap fabric to make sure it can be removed. 3. Use the quilting guide bar that comes with most machines. It’s probably tucked away with all those extra gadgets that you have never used! T H]H