A to Z of Machine Embroidery and Quilting

/embroidered-applique.com/wp-content/uploads/D1-150x150.jpg" target="_blank">http://embroidered-applique.com/wp-content/uploads/D1-150x150.jpg 150w, http://embroidered-applique.com/wp-content/uploads/D1-300x300.jpg 300w" width="320" />If you’re a quilter, you’re probably familiar with the concept of “stitching in the ditch“. Basically, this means stitching on the lower side of a seam that has been pressed to one side, as close to the fold as possible.

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It’s an ideal way to quilt if you’re a beginner, and it’s a quick and easy way to quilt if you’re short on time (or ideas!).

When I’m quilting around embroidered appliqué shapes, I like to stitch in the “ditch” around the edge of the shape.

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This helps to give definition to the shape as it has the effect of lifting the appliqué up off the background. If a higher loft batting is used, the effect is more pronounced.

When the background is quilted with a more dense quilting design (e.g. pebbles or swirls) then the quilting in the ditch around the appliqué shape will create the effect of trapunto without the extra work.

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Stitched on a BERNINA 830
featuring AURIfil Cotton Mako Thread

My favorite battings to use for quilts showcasing embroidered appliqué when I want to create the trapunto effect by quilting in the ditch around the appliqué shapes are Quilters Dream Wool and Quilters Dream Puff. These are both high loft battings that are a joy to quilt and give beautiful results when quilted.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

What I love about this collection… GO! Bloom is what I call a “whole cloth embroidery quilt“. The center is stitched onto a single piece of fabric, 36″ x 36”. The pieced circle is appliquéd onto the background. My signature technique for marking the quilt background combined with the positioning technology that is built into all of my designs makes this project much easier than you might imagine. The 4 pillows (2 are 15″ x 15″, 2 are 17″ x 17″) are a great starting point to practice your multi-hooping skills (following detailed instructions of course!) before embarking on the larger, but still very manageable, quilt. Choosing the fabric for this quilt from Ricky Tims‘ gorgeous hand dyed fabrics as pure joy!

The GO! Bloom quilt contains Quilters Dream Puff batting, with quilting in the ditch around each appliqué shape and reasonably dense quilting in the background. The embroidered appliqué shapes have a beautiful trapunto effect, looking like they float on the background of the quilt.

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Stitched on a BERNINA 830
featuring AURIfil Cotton Mako 50 wt thread
and Ricky Tims Hand Dyed fabric

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Stitched on a BERNINA 830
featuring AURIfil Cotton Mako 50 wt thread
and Ricky Tims Hand Dyed fabric

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Stitched on a BERNINA 830
featuring AURIfil Cotton Mako 50 wt thread
and Ricky Tims Hand Dyed fabric

Ariel sent me this photo of her GO! Bloom quilt:

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GO! Bloom by Ariel

What I love about this particular quilt – other than the gorgeous colors – is that Ariel used designs from the Transformation Quilting Collection to quilt her quilt in the hoop using her embroidery machine. The designs look as if they could have been made specifically for this quilt – and I applaud Ariel for seeing the possibilities.