Quilting Terms
- Applique
- Fabric pieces sewn by hand or machine to the top of your quilt. Quilting is not done on appliqued pieces, but is quilted around them.
- Basting
- Long stitches in parallel rows & columns (spaced about 4-5 inches apart). Basting is done in preparation for hand quilting.
- Binding by Hand
- A double fold strip of fabric (2 ½ “ X the entire outer edge of the quilt) that is machinge stitched to the front side of the quilt, folded to the back and hand-stitched to the back.
- Binding by Machine
- A double fold strip of fabric (2 ½ “ X the perimeter of the quilt) that is machine-stitched to the back of the quilt, folded to the front and machine-stitched to the front.
- Cross-Hatching
- Quilting lines that form a diagonal grid, mainly used for the background of applique.
- Custom Quilting
- The quilting is designed to compliment the quilt top using coordinating motifs or patterns (quilting within blocks & borders is custom quilting).
- Echo Quilting
- This is multiple rows of quilting repeated around applique or pieced work.
- Freehand Quilting
- This is also known as “free-motion” quilting. This quilter does not use a pattern, but “draws” the quilting as she sews.
- Meandering
- This is continuous, curvy quilting that is similar to jiggsaw puzzle pieces.
- Motifs
- These are designs used to compliment a fabric or patchwork or theme of a quilt top, such as animals marching along a border on a “Noah's Ark” quilt.
- Pantograph
- This is usually done “edge to edge”, it is an all-over pattern to unify the look of the quilt. With complicated patchwork detailed quilting doesn't show up as well, so a simple all-over pattern may be desired.
- Stippling
- This is very close meandering stitching used to make applique stand out.
- Stich-in-the-ditch
- This is quilting in the seams of the patchwork. It is often difficult to do effectivedly because of seam thickness & bumps. Stitching ¼ “ away from seams is often more attractive.