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Sulky’s PolyLite thread adds shimmer to wall quilt

by Nancy Devine

Yesterday, we wove together and decorated a sweet woven heart basket for our Laughing Flowers wall quilt. Today, let’s get the background quilted and ready for the flower-filled basket. The background will be a little thicker than the usual quilt so it can support the 3D woven heart basket, let’s see how to create a more solid background for the wall hanging. Then, we’ll add some shimmer to it with Sulky’s PolyLite thread.

A match made in heaven! Hands that sew can use some tender care.

A match made in heaven! Hands that sew can use some tender care.

There’s been a lot of hands-on work involved in this little quilt so far, and there’s more to come. When you change your machine’s needle to work on the quilted substrate of this quilt, take a moment to take care of your hands with a good quality lotion. I like Handmaid in a scent called Celebration. It smells like birthday cake, and that’s the best smell in the world — well, next to new fabric…

The quilt sandwich is a bit different:

  • 18 x 22 neutral fabric
  • batting
  • ultra firm interfacing
  • batting
  • muslin

Press all the layers together so they’re smooth. Spray baste the layers together, and use safety pins to secure the corners.

Spray baste all the layers of the quilt sandwich.

Spray baste all the layers of the quilt sandwich.

I elected to quilt the wall quilt in a diamond pattern, using Sulky’s PolyLite thread in a pale pink because I love the little shimmer it creates.

Install your walking foot according to the manufacturer’s instructions. At this time, I also changed my machine needle because this is a robust quilt sandwich. A new, sharp quilting needle will go through the layers more easily and create beautifully formed stitches.

Use a quilting ruler to draw a line on the diagonal, from the top to the bottom of the quilt sandwich, this will be your quilting guide. Stitch quilting lines, first in one direction and then the other to create the diamond pattern.

A walking foot and quilting guide makes short work of creating the diamond quilt pattern.

A walking foot and quilting guide makes short work of creating the diamond quilt pattern.

Embellish the wording label with a lacy edge.

Embellish the wording label with a lacy edge.

Once the quilting is finished, embellish your quilt with the wording label using your stash of lace, buttons, and small doilies.

Spray baste the back of the woven heart and place on the quilted background.

Stitch to the background, very close the edge of the heart, taking care not to sew it closed. (see photo)

Stitch the heart to the quilted substrate...

Stitch the heart to the quilted substrate…

...but don't stitch the heart closed.

…but don’t stitch the heart closed.

Sometimes we’ll look at a quilt and know it’s something wonderful, and small details like Sulky’s PolyLite thread that adds shimmer is a detail that makes all the difference. Tomorrow, we’re going to finish up our laughing flowers wall hanging. It’s already making you pretty happy, right?

This is part 4 of 5 in this series.
Go back to part 3:  Fray Check makes the woven heart stronger
Go to part 5:  2 sewing tools to make binding a quilt easier

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3 comments

Karen March 15, 2016 - 1:09 am

I’ve never tried quilting with Sulky polylite. I will have to use it sometime. Thanks for the tip.

Reply
Nancy Devine March 15, 2016 - 6:35 pm

You’re welcome! It’s the nicest thread to use for FMQ — it just glides so smoothly.
Thanks you for visiting QUILTsocial.com

Reply
Laura March 11, 2016 - 2:05 pm

I too love the shimmer of sulky polylite. I bought the whole set and use it on many projects.

Reply

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