Welcome to the Wyld Whirl Quilt Along! My name is Tawnee, and I am the owner of Wyldwood Creative. I’ll be guiding you through each step of making the Wyld Whirl Quilt. We’ll break it down into 7 parts and cover every single stage of the process, from selecting fabric to labeling and binding your quilt.
Week 6 Quilt Along Task
This week is an exciting one because we are finally quilting! It's one of my favorite parts of the process, where all the hard work of piecing comes together to create that beautiful, layered look. We will prepare the backing fabric, baste all three layers of the quilt, and get to machine quilting on your home machine. Let’s dive in!
Preparing Backing Fabric
To begin, we need to assemble our backing fabric. Depending on the size of your quilt, you may need to piece together some fabric to make it large enough for the back. For most quilts, you’ll take the yardage needed for the backing and cut it in half to create two pieces to sew together to make one large piece. For extremely large quilts, like bed-size quilts, you may need three pieces for the back.
Tip: Look for 108” wide fabrics or “wide backs” to use for backing. No piecing needed!
Pair the two pieces, right sides together (RST), with the selvedges aligned, and sew together with a ½” seam allowance. Press the seam.
If you want a more polished look, you can pattern-match the back. Here’s how:
1. Find Matching Points: Lay out your two pieces next to each other and find where the pattern repeats and lines up. You will need to purchase extra fabric if you are pattern-matching, as you will lose a few inches getting the repeat to line up.
2. Crease and Glue: Once you’ve found where the two pieces match, fold one edge along the matching point and crease it well. Apply a small bead of glue along the edge and put the fabric in place, finger-pressing to tack it down. Once in position, heat-set the glue with an iron.
3. Sew and Trim: Once your two pieces are glued together, head to the sewing machine. Line up the pieces so that you can sew directly down the crease line you created. Let the line feed into the center of your presser foot, keeping everything flat and feeding smoothly. Once sewn, trim the excess down to about half an inch, then press to the side.
Admire your work!
Basting
Basting is the process of joining the quilt's three layers—backing, batting, and quilt top—together. Start by taping the backing fabric to the floor, right side down. Stick the tape to the fabric first, gently tug to pull it taut, and secure it to the floor. Tape all four sides and corners, and add more tape if needed for a larger quilt.
Adding the Batting: Lay your batting over the backing fabric, with the softer, fuzzier side up. Gently smooth it out.
There are so many different types of batting out there! Suzy Quilts has a great blog post all about batting here.
We love the Kyoto cotton-bamboo blend from Moda. It’s a great low-loft batting that gives a great drape to your quilts.
Placing the Quilt Top: Place the quilt top centered on the batting and backing. Ensure that the backing and batting are larger than the quilt top to allow for shifting during quilting.
Basting: Before we can start quilting, we need to secure all three layers together. There are many options when it comes to basting! I tried a new method with this quilt and used Elmer’s glue. I am very happy with the result and plan to use it going forward. You can also use pins, spray, or thread baste.
Pin Basting: You can use safety pins to secure all three layers together before quilting. Special basting pins have a slight curve to make it easier to pick up all the layers. Place a pin every palm-width or so across the entire quilt. Be sure to avoid putting pins where you want your quilt lines to go. It can be a good idea to mark your quilt lines before pin basting.
Glue or Spray Basting: No matter what you’re using, the process is the same. Start by pulling the top and batting layer back halfway. Apply the spray baste or glue and carefully place the batting and top back in place, smoothing gently from the center out. Repeat for the other side, then again pull back just the quilt top. Once everything is sprayed or glued, heat-set with your iron from both sides. The weight of the iron will smush all the layers together, and the heat will dry the glue or set the spray, depending on what you’re using.
- Spray: You can buy canned sprays like basting spray or 505 spray. These are available at most large craft stores but come in aerosol cans and can smell chemically. (Be sure to open a window!) They can also be expensive.
- Homemade Spray: Prior to this quilt, I used a flour and water mixture on the stove and added vodka. This spray worked great, but it takes a long time to make as you have to let the mixture cool. It also doesn’t keep and will go bad after a couple of months.
- Elmer’s Glue: This is my new favorite method! I simply drizzled the glue between each layer. I used the tip of the glue bottle to smooth out any large globs. This was cheap, I already had it on hand, and it was easy to apply.
Marking Quilting Lines
You can quilt in any pattern you like! I love soft, gentle waves for beginners because you can't mess them up. For this quilt, I decided to do a grid that followed the diagonal lines in the pinwheels. For marking the lines, I like to use a Hera marker. This leaves a crease instead of adding any substance to the fabric, eliminating any risk of stains. Use a ruler and the Hera marker to create creases along your desired quilting lines.
There are other methods, such as using painters' tape or guide bars, but marking creases with a Hera marker works best for me. Try a few different methods and see what works best for you! If you need any tools, shop our store.
Machine Quilting
Choosing Thread: I prefer using 100% cotton thread, but I also encourage using what you have on hand. When selecting your thread, pull it off the spool and lay it across all of the fabrics in your quilt to see how it looks. High-contrast threads will make the quilting lines pop more; mid-tones will help the quilting blend into the fabric. If in doubt, you can never go wrong with white or cream!
Preparing the Machine: Clean your machine! This is a great time to give your machine a good clean and add a fresh needle. I like to use the 90/14 quilting needles from Schmetz. I also wind at least two bobbins so I don’t have to stop and wind more while I’m quilting.
Taking the time to do this will set you up for success when quilting! If you have an extension table, be sure to put it on your machine. If your machine has an even-feed foot or walking foot, make sure it is engaged. An even-feed foot or walking foot grabs the top layer of fabric as the feed dogs grab the bottom. This will help all the layers of the quilt go through the machine more smoothly. These aren’t necessary, but they can make a big difference!
I typically use and recommend 100% cotton thread for quilting to match the fiber content of the fabric. However, I’m also a big fan of using things I already have, so I decided to use two colors of polyester thread I had that just happened to be a perfect color match! Here's the really pretty orange one I used.
Quilting Process
Where to Start Quilting: I like to begin in the center and work outwards to the edges. You can also start at one side and work your way to the other side. Whichever you choose, just be sure to start on the same side of the quilt each time. Alternating back and forth will cause ripples between your quilt lines.
Quilting: Take your time and go slow. Sit up nice and tall and keep a wide grip on your quilt. Be sure to support the weight of the quilt and let the machine do the work to pull it through.
Check Tension: Regularly check your thread tension to ensure your stitches are looking good. If you see the top thread on the back, increase the tension; if you see the bobbin thread on the top, reduce the tension.
Stitch in the Ditch: When quilting along seams, follow the seam line for guidance. Focus your eyes at the front of the foot and guide the seam line right down the center. If your lines aren’t perfect, don’t worry! Washing a quilt is like waving a magic wand—those little imperfections just disappear.
Avoiding Puckers: You may have areas where the fabric is bunching and folds over on itself, creating a pucker. This is okay! It happens. If you see that it's going to happen, you can try to avoid it by stopping, lifting the foot, smoothing the fabric out away from the needle, lowering the foot again, and continuing sewing. You may need to stop and do this a couple of times.
Take Breaks: Don’t forget to stand up and take a break; drink some water. Quilting is a marathon, not a sprint!
Start Bigger: If you’re doing a grid or lines, start with larger spacing. You can always go back and add more quilting like I did!
If You Don’t Want to Do This Part: If all of this sounds intimidating and stressful, there is another option: long-arm quilting! You can send off your quilt top with the backing and batting to a long-arm quilter, who will complete the quilting part for you using a long-arm quilting machine. These large machines can create unique and intricate designs on your quilt that can’t be achieved on a home machine. You can also look for long-arm rental in your area. I love going to APQS in Issaquah to quilt all of my quilts!
That wraps up Part Six of our Wyld Whirl Quilt Along. I can’t believe we’re almost done! Next week, we’ll add a label and binding and have our finished quilt! If you have any questions, leave a comment below, and don’t forget to share your progress on social media with #WyldWhirlQAL.
Happy sewing!
Follow the whole series:
Week 5: Assembling the Quilt Top
