threads. Entire books have been written on these subjects, so I’ll try to keep it simple. I know you’re anxious, but don’t skip this section!
Parts of a Quilt
Other than an overall design (see page 7), most pieced quilt tops consist of blocks that are sewn together to make the top. Many tops, but not all, have sashing strips between the blocks and borders around the joined blocks, which are all identified in the illustration below. Sashing strips, borders, and backings can be plain or pieced. The binding is what encloses and finishes the outer edges of the quilt. In some cases, it too can be pieced for design considerations.
Fabric
Generally speaking, quilts are made from high-quality cotton fabric, although we’re starting to see more and more quilts that make use of silk, linen, lamé, and other specialty fabrics for embellishment or creative effect. As this is a book about basics, we’ll deal strictly with the use of cotton.
Essentially, there are two grades of quilting cotton: craft quality and quilt-shop quality. Both have their place. Craft quality isn’t as expensive as quilt-shop quality, and for good reason. It’s geared more toward short-term, nondurable craft items. For a quilt that’s meant to last for many years, be sure to purchase quilt-shop-quality fabric. The dyes are less likely to run and are longer lasting, and the greige goods (base fabric) used in the manufacturing process are of much higher quality. With all the work that goes into making a quilt, it’s worth the extra price for good-quality material to ensure it will last.
Most quilter’s cottons are manufactured to be about 44" to 45" wide from selvage to selvage. As a general rule, you don’t want to assume that you have any more than 40" to 42" of usable width after selvages are removed, especially if you prewash your fabrics.
The word selvage, also spelled selvedge, is derived from the old weaving phrase “self edge.”
Fabric Preparation
To prewash or not—that’s always the subject of much heated discussion. I understand the arguments in both camps, but in the end I rarely prewash my fabric for a number of reasons.
Contrary to popular belief, prewashing will not fix a bleeding fabric—only a dye fixative will do that. Washing will remove surface dye, but we now have dryer sheets that will catch that extra dye when the finished quilt is washed, so I feel no need to prewash for that particular reason.
If I suspect that a particular fabric will bleed, I test a swatch of it in a jar of hot water for about 20 minutes. If it turns out to be a bleeder, then I’ll treat it in a dye-fixative bath. Because that one fabric has now been preshrunk, all the fabric going into the quilt with it needs to be preshrunk as well.
To prevent loss of dyes in cotton fabrics, do not use laundry detergents for washing; only use soaps. With repeated use, detergents can actually break down the bond between cotton and the dye, resulting in fading and color loss. Use a quilt soap as directed on the container, or add ½ cup of plain sudsy ammonia to the washer tub after it has filled with water and before you add the fabric. If you have a front-load washer, add the ammonia or quilt soap to the liquid dispenser, diluting the soap with a cup of water to make it less pasty. Do not use both products together.
Likewise, if you’re mixing different weights of cotton fabric in a quilt, it’s imperative that you prewash in order to preshrink. Different weights of fabric will shrink at different rates when the quilt is eventually washed, which could be disastrous. It’s best to preshrink mixed fabric types.
Grain Line
Even though modern fabrics are made on highly sophisticated machinery, the basic process is little different from early history. Long warp yarns are tightly secured on each end of the loom and weft yarns are then woven side to side through the warp yarns to create the fabric, which is later printed or dyed. Due to the weaving, fabric has different grain-line properties.
The long, tightly secured warp yarns form the selvage. The grain running parallel to the selvage is called the lengthwise grain. It has little to no give when you pull on it. The less tightly secured weft yarns are called the crosswise grain. There is a bit of stretch to this grain. Both lengthwise and crosswise grains are generally referred to as the straight of grain.
When working with patterns and books, you may run into two abbreviations that pertain to fabric: SOG is a shortcut for “straight of grain.” WOF is the abbreviation for “width of fabric,” meaning the width from selvage to selvage.
The tricky grain line is the bias that runs at a 45° angle to the straight of grain. It has a considerable amount of stretch and can become distorted when overhandled. Take care when handling the bias edges of patchwork pieces.
The most important rule about grain line is that, as much as possible, all pieces parallel to the edges of the block should be cut on the straight grain so that the completed block won’t easily stretch out of shape. As with any rule, sometimes you’ll need to make exceptions.
Threads
The best thread for machine piecing is high-quality cotton thread. You’ll find beautiful synthetic threads used in all manner of quilting and embellishment on the surface of the quilt. Why not use these for piecing as well? Part of the reason for the desirability of cotton thread for piecing is that it’s weaker than polyester threads. This might not make sense until you consider that the seams joining all the little pieces in a quilt can come under a lot of stress. It’s far better for the thread to break under high stress than for the fabric to tear. A seam can be sewn again but torn fabric isn’t so easy to fix. This doesn’t mean you’ll want to use weak thread that breaks easily, causing seams to come apart willy-nilly. You need thread that will hold the seam together well, but that will also give under extreme stress before the fabric tears.
Just as with fabric, there are differences in the quality of the cotton that makes up different threads. Look for long-staple Egyptian cotton. It’s more expensive than short-staple cotton, but it’s worth it for its durability. Short-staple cotton is generally fairly inexpensive but it pulls apart easily, creating more lint in your machine.
