Meandering Quilting: Pattern or No?
Quilting in the past has been a rather staid craft with the creative expression being in the selection of fabric pieces and in the placement of those pieces in various patterns. In more recent years, quilting has become more of an art form, and no more than in the area of meandering quilting. This style of quilting allows the quilter to design in an almost freehand fashion, creating a wide variety of designs. If you are a quilter wanting to expand in expression of creativity, you may want to learn more about meandering quilting.
Meandering Quilting Allows Freehand Artistry
The majority of quilters much prefer regular designs on quilts which work to form a specific design that forms a pattern or picture. However, there are other free spirits who enjoy the free expression that comes with meandering quilting. Circles, curves and straight-line designs sewn into the fabric, without the aid of patterns or without even sketching the image first, are considered meandering quilting.
Essentially, stitching designs without the aid or benefit of any pattern is considered meandering quilting. Or it is know as stippling when it comes to smaller or more intricate work. While often executed by hand sewing, there are some quilters who use a machine for meandering quilting, and they present excellent results. Stitching designs into the quilt in a freehand fashion demonstrates the know-how as well as the imagination of the quilter.
Typically, designs made by meandering quilting will not cross over one another, whether it is in a floral design or circular design. It is possible that when including more than one color of thread to form the design, these different colors will not overlap. And when tracing only one color, it will not cross. Using fabrics cut into various shapes often makes the designs appear totally unique, with stitching holding them all together in a freehand design.
Meandering Quilting Controlled By Hands
Manual stitching for meandering quilting is regulated by the quilter to establish equally separated stitching, overall that does not touch. When using a machine, quilters may utilize a darning foot or other free-floating foot that does not hold the cloth down while it is being sewn. This allows the operator to control the movement and release of the fabric. The machine can also used with the feed dogs to permit the operator have complete control of the fabric’s movement.
Stitches ranging from a half-inch apart to as much as two inches apart, sewn by freehand are considered free-flow stitching, or meandering quilting. Stippling is smaller – closer to one quarter inch apart. With these methods, the quilter is able to accomplish amazing designs. However, realize that you are still sewing through all three layers of the quilt, the front, the back and the batting. With many meandering quilting techniques, the design can be replicated on the back or the back may contains a totally different design.
The type of fabric used is up to the discretion of the quilter, as is the padding. Cotton seems to be the most popular for use as the padding because it does not hold the warmth as much as artificial fibers. However, it is still capable of being crushed by hand or crimped when creating unique designs.