LESSON 4: QUILTING

Quilting is the process of creating a quilt or sewing of two or more layers of material together to make a thicker
padded material with a soft substance or wadding between them. It is a handwork which makes use of geometric
designs. These designs are formed by combining colors, lines, and shapes.
The word "quilt" comes from the Latin “culcita” meaning a large stuffed sack, mattress or cushion. The earliest
known quilted garment is depicted on the carved ivory figure of a Pharaoh of the Egyptian First Dynasty, about
3400 B.C. It has been used for clothing and furnishings scattered throughout the world thousands of years
before.
In Europe, quilting has been part of the needlework tradition and has been one of their favorite activity at home
especially during winter. Quilted articles lined with foam such as comforter and blankets are very useful during
winter because of their thickness and extra warmth that it gives. Quilting can be done by hand, by sewing
machine, or by a specialist long arm quilting system.
A quilter is the name given to someone who works at quilting.
QUILTING TOOLS AND MATERIALS
A. Design Aids
Tools, materials, and equipment to be used in quilting may vary depending on the project design you want and
the transfer method it requires.
To come up with a better result, you should be familiar and oriented on these tools, materials, and equipment
especially their specific functions and uses.
The following are hints that will help you with regard to designs:
1. Commercial stencil template or perforated pattern. A fast and easy way of producing a quilt design.
Templates come in a great variety of shapes and sizes. Solid or window templates are made of metal and
transparent plastic. However, you can make your own if you want to.
2. Graphing paper. Useful for planning or sketching a design to scale.

3. Dressmaker’s carbon paper and tracing paper. These are very good materials for transferring the design.

4. The ruler or yardstick. Useful for marking straight line designs and as a measuring device.
5. A compass or a round object. It can be used for drawing curves.

6. A pencil or a dressmaker’s/tailor’s chalk. It is used to mark directly on fabric.

7. Pounce. It is a special powder used for temporary markings with perforated patterns.

B. Tools and Materials for Piercing and Quilting

1. Needles – for piercing and quilting. A “between” needle is considered best in piercing.

2. Pins – these are the plastic headed pins which are very sharp and good for piercing straight
through the material.

3. Scissors – they come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes

C. Tools for Marking
1. Ruler – this is a long, transparent tool that is best when marking fabrics.

2. Pencils – there are varieties of marking pencils from soft lead to water soluble ones that are
available in the market.

3. Thimble – make it a habit to use this metal, plastic, or leather device on the middle finger to prevent being
pierced by the needle.

4. Wax – this is ideal for strengthening the thread and making it much easier to pull through the fabric.

5. Frames and hoops – use to hold the three layers of materials together to prevent from budging up of
underneath layers. A quilting hoop is deeper in order to accommodate the three layers of top, battling and
backing.

6. Fabrics used in quilting – the best fabric to start with is a firmly woven, lightweight, pure cotton, although
a number of polyester cotton blends are quite manageable and easy to handle.
NOTE: Quilting is classified as to type of wadding and the technique used to sew it in place.
PARTS OF A QUILTED ARTICLE
1. Top Layer – is the decorative side of a quilted project. You may use a printed or solid-colored fabric or even
a completed piece of patchwork, appliqué, or embroidery. From Ma’am Wella’s reference
2. Filler – The material placed in between the batting and the backing for the purpose of giving bulk to the
quilted article Julian G. Cruz, et.al 1998. Usually made up of cotton or polyester fiber. It is also called as batting
or wadding. From Ma’am Wella’s reference
3. Backing – bottom layer or lining placed after the filler. It should be of a lightweight fabric or sometimes of
the same fabric as the top layer especially if it is to be exposed. From Ma’am Wella’s reference
Types of Quilting Design
1. Outline Quilting - refers to hand or machine quilting that outlines a shape or area of a quilt, either patchwork
or appliqué, in order to emphasize the shape. It follows the outline of shapes already present on the top of the
fabric layer.
2. All-over pattern - Regular pattern produced by consistent repetition of one or more shapes. It covers the
entire surface.
3. Ornamental Motifs – include designs with complicated details. They are best sewn on plain lighter colored
fabric to show up quilting better.
4. Border Designs – are made up of repeated patterns of motif complimenting the main design. This type calls
for a special planning to balance the design.
KINDS OF QUILTING
1. PADDED QUILTING
It is also known as English quilting in which only specified sections of the stitch
design are padded, to give the design the physical qualities of the length, breadth or
thickness. It is best to use plain color fabrics. The design best suited to this type of
quilting includes motifs and curved geometrics composed of many tiny sections. If
you want to experiment on modern style instead of padded quilting, use a printed
fabric, with a distinct motif composed of small curved areas.

2. CORDED QUILTING
It is a type of quilting in which linear designs are raised from the background with a
cord or yarn filler. This kind of quilting is often combined with the padded quilting to
accentuate both the lines and shapes of the design. There are two ways of achieving
the raised look. The most common method is to stitch the design in two lines through
the layers of the fabric. The passages are threaded with yarn or other rope-like-fillers.
The second method involves only one layer of fabric. The cord is laid under the fabric
and stitched in place at the same time.
3. TRAPUNTO OR STUFFED QUILTING
This type of quilting is distinguished by the top layer of the quilt or wall hanging
is lined and selected areas are outlined with running stitch. Stuffing is pushed into
these areas from the back to emphasize them and make them stand out more
distinctly. Tranpunto can be fused successfully with other forms of quilting. It is
very effective with a closely quilted background, or with linear details added in
Italian quilting.
4. SHADOW QUILTING
It is a semi-transparent or transparent cloth is used for the top layer and a fabric
with a patched design, for the underneath layer. Colored wool is used to stuff
between layers. Threads are sewn underneath around the patched design to give
a more embossed effect. He embossed effect can be achieved by using shapes
of different thickness and combining them with appliqué and other types of
stitches. Combining different types of colors and designs produces a more
artistic effect.
5. SASHIKO
It is a form of quilting which originated in Japan as a plain running stitch made
to strengthen or repair a fabric, padded or unpadded. The fabric is put to a
variety of uses, notably in fireman’s clothing (which is doused with water
before firefighting) and in clothing and household furnishings. The stitches are
longer than normal quilting stitches and are done using a thread which contrasts
with the cloth, black or white, or white on a blue or red background, and vice
versa, which colors are popular among the Japanese.