One of the quilting forums that I visit on Facebook (celebrate hand quilting) has had some discussion about stippling. I have been doing a lot of stippling on the whole cloth quilt that I am working on so I thought I would write about it again.
There are many ways to do stippling, random, meandering lines (like machine stippling) in an orderly pattern, many variations. I use stippling to flatten out the quilt around the areas that I want to stand out.
I do the stippling by simple echo quilting around the motifs very close together, less than 1/16″ but I don’t mark or measure.
Here is the area of the quilt I am working on today.
you can see that I am going around the edges of the space to be filled with stitches very close together. I am using a #11 John James needle and YIL quilting thread. I think you can also see the marking from the grid in this picture (I find it easier to mark the grid over the entire top even in the areas where the grid will not be stitched)
here is a picture that shows the other side of the area that has more of the stippling filled in
The overall look has some texture, which reminds me of an orange peel, and makes the non stippled areas stand out more.
Here is a picture of the look without the addition stippling
Lots more quilting to go!
I am also stippling around the edges of the quilt
The bias binding will follow the curves that follow the feathers around the edges.
This is not something I would do on every quilt because I think it would be lost on a printed fabric, but I think it is great on a solid fabric. It takes some time but it is not difficult to do. I am all for any quilting that I don’t have to measure and mark!
Here are more pictures of the quilting (click pictures to enlarge)
Happy Quilting
Tim
that is one beautiful quilt! I did stippling by hand on one quilt but have not done it since. like what you are doing with this one.
thanks Karen….this one is the most heavily quilted full sized quilt I have done….next one will be very simple! I need a change
Tim, I hope to use some stippling on my red and green quilt. Love how you explained why and how you do it. Have you ever thought of selling this whole cloth pattern, I am sure many would be very interested!
I think it would be great on your quilt! love to see it when you do
I have not thought about selling the pattern because I would have to draw it out neatly
I might give it a go when I am finished quilting it
Gorgeous, gorgeous work there, Tim
Thanks!
The stippling makes the feather/fan pop. SOOO neat how it really accents your design. Nice work Tim.
Thanks Colleen!….when I first start it looks strange and I think I am crazy, but when it gets filled in it looks totally different and then it is worth the effort
Oh, this is so lovely!
thank you!
Great detail pictures of your work. When I first looked at this quilt I thought ‘why more quilting?’, but now I can see what you’re trying to accomplish. This is an amazing quilt!
LOL…I thought the same at one point, but I always think more is better
Tim, you are the master! Absolutely stunning!
thanks Linda….
This just looks better and better!!
the par that is looking the best is that mow I can see a relatively large area that is finished…and I know I wasn’t crazy to do it
Absolutely gorgeous work, Tim! You get a beautiful trapunto-like effect on the non-stippled motifs!
I was thinking of stuffing the motifs, but I think that they stand out enough without….And stuffing trapunto takes forever
Holy snap that is gorgeous. Wow oh wow!! Kudos to you. It is gorgeous.
Thanks!!
Great Photos…up close and personal!… so good to catch the detail of your amazing skill. Thanks.
I am having fun learning to use my new camera
This is very unique type of quilting..i like its stitching art very nice. Looking so beautiful…I will try to do like this.
Very nice quilting..Love that design by stitching..looking so nice and beautiful…
thank you!