Before the season’s colors turn with Autumn, we must finish up the Summer Days Quilt.

A quick look back at the quilt top pieced using the 10” Squares Pre-Cut friendly sewing pattern Baby Blocks Quilt. 

Wanting to create the feeling of bright and happy days, I looked for colors that evoked this notion. Pulling from the expertly curated “Sunny Side Up” Pre-Cut bundle was the right choice, as it is packed full of just the right Mixology prints.

The colors remind me of sliced citrus like grapefruit, oranges, lemon and lime. Ideal for a quilt to picnic on, during summer outings. 

 Complimenting the 10” Squares is yardage of Fresh Solids in Mint Chip, Peach Blossom and White.

Adding the Fresh Solids to the sashing and borders really enhanced the Mixology fabrics used in the center but did not distract from their textured prints.

To finish off the quilt composition with a bit of charm, was the addition of Oxford Chambray in Blue used in the striped sashing and borders.

Now, we can move on to the next step: Machine Quilting 

This can feel like a daunting step for your first time quilting on a home machine, but like any other part of sew­ing, practice is the key. What we will focus on today are the tools necessary to make the quilting process easier.

Let’s start with a quality batting like the Behind the Seams CloudFill Fusible Fleece.

The material is a medium weight, good quality and fusible on one side. 

When the quilt top is ironed on to the fusible fleece, it will hold in place during the machine quilting with no shifting or puckering!

Saving us from fusible sprays and open­ing the windows for air ventilation.

Curved quilting pins keep all the layers together. 

While the top is secure with the fusible fleece, we can’t forget to keep the backing fabric in place.

Use curved quilting pins to puncture through the many layers of your project. Depending on the size of the quilt and your experience, place pins within 5” from one another and more along the edges of the quilt top.

Remove the pins one at a time as you quilt.

Depending on the machine you have and the quilting pattern you choose to top the quilt with, it is important to use the right quilting foot attachment.

Here are two options commonly used. 

The left is a free-motion quilting foot used for adding curves or changing direction quickly.

The attachment on the right is called a walking foot, best used for straight lines moving in one direction. What makes it so helpful is the fact that it picks up the foot with each stitch to keep the sandwiched layers of fabrics from puckering. 

The right needles are an absolute necessity.

Machine quilting moves at a quick pace, so it’s important that the needle used can handle the stress of punching through heavy layers of fabric and batting. Research the correct sized needle for your machine and buy a set of quilting needles for the project. Most likely you will need more than one. 

Fill up those bobbins!

 Leaving loose ends in the middle of the quilt should be kept at a minimum. Filling up a handful of extra bobbins at the start of the project will save you from having to clip the top thread and re-thread your machine mid-quilting.

Get more quilting thread than you think you’ll need. Trust me, playing the quilting-thread-roulette game isn’t as exciting as it sounds. Buy the extra spool of quilting thread or largest cone that will fit your machine to save yourself the headache.

Hera markers are so helpful!

These handy tools make a lasting indent in your project without the need to wash out the markings post quilting.

Use the hera marker to make straight or curved lines as quilting guides on your project. Keep in mind, the hera marker’s indent may be difficult to see in different lightings, it may be best to try another marking tool.

Machine quilting became so much easier when I used my first pair of fabric gripping quilting gloves. In my book, they are an absolute necessity. The gloves help you grip the quilt without struggle and guide it more smoothly while free-motion quilting. They make all the difference.

Lastly, a large ruler and rotary cutter with a fresh blade make it much easier to square the quilt when trimming off the excess materials, post quilting.

All these tools were helpful in the completion of the Summer Days Quilt where we used a free-motion quilting design of single loops.

The single loops are a simple pattern to practice and control in the machine once you get the rhythm down.

Most loops ranged from 1”-2” in size and I tried to keep them fairly close together, so no gaps were left of unquilted blocks.

The design you pick to machine quilt your project should match the overall look and style of the quilt. Since the Summer Days Quilt has a light-colored playful design, the single loop quilting matched really well. 

If the quilt had darker colors or an art deco feel, I would most likely stick to straight line quilting. 

That being said, the best part of machine quilting your own projects is that you are the boss of customizing your quilt. Pick the quilting designs that you enjoy making!