Printable View
Sew, as you know I've only begun quilting about three weeks ago, right. In my reading I stumbled upon way cool info. about using perle cotton in the quilting process. Okay, did I die and go to heaven? I love, love color (as if you didn't know) and it seems perle cotton will make a quilt sing!!!! I hope to amass a heapa bunch of it for my projects.
What about you? Does the pop factor of perle cotton call you from near and far? Any fans of quilting with perle cotton in the house?
Namaste,
Blondie, our resident Sunshine Girl and folk artist, hand quilts with Perle Cotton #8 most of the time. You might want to pick her brain about the pros and cons.
Barb, you beat me to it! Yes, Blondie is the Queen of Quilting with Perle Cotton #8. :D Love, love how she does her hand quilting.
Ooooowwww, can't wait to see, meet her! Might have to be tomorrow, but I'm gonna get on it.
Thanks, gals. ;-)
I think it depends on the look that you want for your quilt. I just did a baby quilt using perle cotton #8. I loved doing it without a hoop or thimble; loved the colors and how it looks. I am about to start a second one after Christmas. I don't know much else about it; just got some info from Blondie, looked at the ones she did (on her albums) and went for it. I used it on some mug rugs and love them too.
I like to use perle cotton when quilting crazy quilts, but never thought about using them in traditional quilts. They do make the embroidery stitches pop on crazy quilts.
Perl Cotton #8 - oh yeah, my only way to hand quilt. I don't do any fancy small stitches any longer because, well, I can't. So, I decided several years ago that if I was gonna hand stitch, I would flaunt it. A few years later, I saw online that others are flaunting it as well. Sigh. Always been a head of my time. I think I have a few pics in my albums that show my big old stab stitching.
Pros = love the look and feel. I make all my COC's with them and sometimes just mix all the colors up in one wild colorful jumble.
Sometimes just white perl cotton is the perfect touch.
Cons = with my constant friend, Arthur, it can hurt like heckfire shoot to pull through all the sandwiching. To help pull the needle through, I cut up those rubbery drawer liners into squares or circles and grab the needle. Voila! I tried finger cots but could never find any that fit my fingers good enough to keep from slipping. BUT! One day while sitting in the ER recently, I discovered that I left my "pullers" at home. So, I lifted a pair of gloves off the wall and cut the fingers off. Used them and let me say I felt brilliant. Worked like a charm. Gripped the needle firmly and easily pulled through.
Well lady, ain't you the cat's meow. These are wonderful suggestions, all. So sorry you had to be in the ED to discover the best one that worked for you; that sucks.
You go 'head, lady who is ahead of her time. I am so glad you are a presence here.
Oh, and ya friend "Artha" as we affectionately call him in my culture . . . yeah, he's trying to visit over here too. I ain't giving in ESPECIALLY with being new to quilting :icon_heh:.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blondie
And then she took another pair and pulled out her magic marker, blew the gloves full of air and decorated them thusly:Quote:
Originally Posted by Blondie
http://www.balloonhq.com/column/hans/nov00/glove1.jpg
I just got a book by the Australian quilter Sarah Fielke who uses Perle Cotton. Check out the youtube:
Hand Quilting With Perle Cotton with Sarah Fielke, Quilting Instructor for Craftsy.com - YouTube
Come to find out I had stumbled upon her and gave the YT thumbs up. Went a step further today, thank you Martina, and wrote a blog post and included the vid for reference.
Thanks for the reminder. :icon_bigsmile:
I'm finishing up my Embellished Button Skirt and then I am sure to earnestly work on completing my hand tied quilt top. :icon_giggle:
I may have to try using the perle cotton for quilting again. Did a little a while back and had not thought about doing it again. I have a star quilt top that I have been attempting to quilt by hand and my quilting looks awful. Blondie had the right idea when she said if you are going to hand quilt, it needs to show. Lots of work and mine looks crummy. Think I have some of that thread around here somewhere.
Brenda in Bama
I used embroidery floss recently and made big stitches on a panel just to try it out. After it went through the wash I was really pleased with how it looked. I will try the perle cotton someday but I had the floss so just so you know, that works well, too.
Brenda girl, go for it! One thing I liked that the lady in the vid said, "not to over worry about small stitches, concentrate on 'even stitches'". I said to myself, "now that sounds doable."
It's just so pretty. You've got to give it a whirl.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Quiltlover
I saw someone use it on a blog and never looked back. I'm newer to quilting also and while I took a FMQ class and am still practicing, I decided to give hand quilting a try and love the look using perle cotton. I bought a piece of fabric that looked like it was tiny quilt squares and practiced away. I'll turn that into a pillow, but I see the hand quilting as way easier than trying to machine quilt on my sewing machine, at least for anything larger than a lap quilt.
MarshaRini,Quote:
Originally Posted by marsharini
This is all so exciting I just can't get stuff done quickly enough so I can begin, LOL. I'm finishing up an embellished skirt, and need to complete another skirt to wear TOMORROW NIGHT, yikes. But, I so want to complete my first hand tied quilt so I can go on to my next quilts, ha ha ha. The ones after the first one I'll begin with the perle cotton.
Good for you, "Never looked back". Hey, do you yet have a photo album here?
Got to get some pics on here myself. I have lots more UFOs than FOs. LOL Counted a while back and must have at least 12 UFOs.
Anyway, I have been trying Perle cotton on my star quilt and do like that it is easier on that particular quilt. Different batting than I usually use and it is difficult to sew through with a regular quilting needle. Large embroidery or crewel needle pierced through easier. Was disappointed at the small selection of the Perle cotton thread at Hobby Lobby in size 8. Also might like thread to be a bit smaller. Will get DD to help me with pics while she is home for holiday.
Brenda in Bama
you know me so well - don't ask how I am just getting around to seeing this. That put a big happy day smile on my face.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sandy Navas
Just looking back over this thread and meant to add before , but, well, my brain doesn't always think like it should. Even when using perle cotton, it is especially nice to use a thread conditioner or wax. I always have some little wax conditioner. Makes a world of difference. Some threads, depending on the color or dye lot seem to be naughtier than others at getting tough to pull. Continued success to YOU. For me, hand stitching is so theraputic. It relaxes me, gives me time to plot things out and plan my next project.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lyric
I have Thread Heaven, Blondie. Thank you for the hand stitching well wishes. I appreciate it. I too hope to find it therapeutic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Blondie
Just about to try it... I hope end result will be a good one!
Hand stitching is relaxing to me too. I have tons of blocks that I have sewn together while sitting with DH while he watches TV. TV has hardly anything I enjoy. Guess it is an age thing. LOL
Blondie, and other users of perle cotton...What size do you use? I bought size 8 thread but it seems kind of bulky to me and my fabric wants to pucker. I know, you are going to say don't pull your stitches so tight! I am working on that. LOL
Brenda
If a person has never hand quilted, can someone give a rough approximate of how long it would possibly take for a beginner to hand quilt something say, lap or queen size? I always thought hand quilting took ages, so I've never tried it. I've been looking into it more and now that I see this post about using perle cotton as an option for bigger stitches, I might give it a go in the near future. Do you need a frame/stand/hoop to hand quilt?
Waving to my neighbor :icon_hi: I say, "Uww, uww, uww, uww, I know, I know, ask me, ask me!"Quote:
Originally Posted by Breezed
Nope, you don't. Wish I could recall what prophyte quilter told me that but this sec I can not. For real, it was via a You Tube video I think that a quilter stated she does not use the hoop. I suspect she's not alone. :icon_cool: