Abashobbes

I'm getting close to finishing this infinity quilt for a friend's daughter. This is being made from her grandmother's clothing: 20 pieces including blouses, dresses, slacks, jackets, pantsuit, and the red is from a linen skirt. I started this too many years ago, I'm ashamed to admit. But I'm excited to be getting closer to completion. I'm also making another quilt for my friend (the daughter) with the same 20 articles of clothing cut for a different quilt pattern.

My struggle is how to quilt this one and what color of thread? All suggestions welcomed!
Thanks,
Anita

patricej

will you quilt it using a long-arm?
an embroidery machine?
on a regular machine?
by hand?

my own inclination would be to use something lightish in those areas; darkish in those; and red for the background.

of course, i usually play things safe and don't have a lot of bravery or imagination when it comes to the quilting stage.
i'll bet you see lots of better advice from others.

Rff1010

If the focus is the fabrics from the memory quilt then I would keep the quilting simple. An All over design with a neutral thread, grid pattern, ditchwork, simple loops. The focus is the fabrics. You can do some fancier border work if needed but the point of the quilt is to remember the person who wore the clothing.

Tartan

Coming along great! I might do simple wave lines across following the waves of the pattern. As for thread, I might go with red?

juliasb

This is a very beautiful quilt. Many great Ideas have been passed your way. My own preference would be a silver or gold to enhance the design. This will be a much loved quilt.

Homespun

Oh, wow, that looks gorgeous. I have no idea how to quilt it.

Iceblossom

The quilting design is my downfall in the process. My technical skills are ok, but I just don't have the knack that some people do for the 3D aspects of quilting. I also prefer less quilting and thicker batts than is currently popular.

I'd probably match the thread with the red and do an all over edge to edge sort of simple wavy tile pattern. The quilting will show some in the prints and simply hold the rest together.

For a more intricate design, I'd probably go a golden tan color thread that would disappear more into prints but show in the red.

Notwendy

I echo some of the others - a simple grid pattern in red would be nice and would still let the fabrics stand out.

Abashobbes

Thank you for your suggestions. I plan to quilt on my long arm. ANita

platyhiker

I really like Patrice's idea of using different color threads for different areas - that will keep the quilting subtle and keep the focus on the pieced fabrics.

For bargello quilts, I think it can be very attractive to quilt straight or gently curved lines through the center of the curves created by the pieced fabrics. You can then continue to echo those curves through some or all of the red background fabric. Here's a drawing of some of the lines:


Please note that I drew my lines with high contrast colors to make viewing them in the photo easier; I think making color choices that blend into the fabrics will be very attractive and keep the focus on the pieced fabrics.