How To Quilt By Hand Without Sewing Machine (Beginner’s Guide)

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Hand-Quilting

For quilting by hand, you will need to learn how to run a stitch. You will be stitching the three layers of a quilt together to make it secure. The stitch size of a quilt depends upon your comfort level, and the length of the stitches is more critical than the stitch consistency.

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Materials You Need for Hand-Quilt

There are three basic materials you will need to sew a quilt without using a sewing machine. These materials include wooden-frame (optional), needles, thimble, and threads.  To sew a quilt by hand, you will need quilting needles short in size but strong for stitching a quilt several times. These quilting needles come in different sizes, starting from sizes 7 and 8. You will need a 

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Materials You Need for Hand-Quilt

thimble to wear on your hand to protect your fingers while stitching a quilt. I use a rubber thimble that works great for me and keeps my finger from hurting. You will have to push the needle in a vertical direction for stitching a quilt so the rubber thimble can protect your fingers to a great extent. The choice of thread depends upon you. Choose a thread that goes with your fabric. In my 

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Materials You Need for Hand-Quilt

experience, use cotton threads for cotton material and shiny threads for linen fabric. The color scheme you choose for stitching a quilt will complement the overall look of the quilt.

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Step Wise Guide To Quilt By Hand

Here is a step-by-step guide to hand sew a quilt. While quilting, you can use your lap, embroidery hoop, or wooden frame. It depends upon you which one you would like to use.  In my opinion, try quilting with all of these and decide which one you prefer for your project. I use a wooden frame because it fits my needs. It is essential to note that a hand-quilting starts at the center and works outwards to the corners.

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Step Wise Guide To Quilt By Hand

Step 1 Select a thread and appropriate needle size depending upon your fabric. Once you are done with the selection process, thread a needle of about 12 to 18 inches.  Tie the knot at one end of the thread. Place the needle at the quilt top and push through the batting. You will see the needle up to the quilt surface. Pull the knot through the batting with a 

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Step Wise Guide To Quilt By Hand

small backstitch. Now repeat the process in the opposite direction to start quilting by hand. Use a thimble to save your fingers from injury. Step 2 For the quilting line, place your finger where your needle will poke through. Now in a vertical direction, push the needle through the fabric and batting till it touches your finger. Again be careful about your finger. 

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Step Wise Guide To Quilt By Hand

Do not poke the needle with force because it can hurt you. Furthermore, push the needle in an upward direction and then backward in a vertical order in the fabric.  In this way, you will complete one cycle of a stitch. Repeat the procedure for several stitches. The stitches on the quilt depend upon the fabric you are using.

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Step Wise Guide To Quilt By Hand

Step 3 & 4 Pulling the needle through layers of the quilt will help you with the cozy and neat stitch. It would be better to keep the stitch small with little spacing because it will look more classy and attractive.  Make one stitch at a time to avoid the difficulty of seam junction of stitches. Finish the stitch with a knot that you can make while running a needle into the batting. 

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Step Wise Guide To Quilt By Hand

Make the knot and trim the extra thread.

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Additional Tools For Beginners

The essential tools that you can use for quilting include a needle, thread, fabric, measuring tape, pins, a measuring ruler, scissors, safety pins, iron, chalk or markers, and glue.  All these tools will help you get a perfect-looking quilt. While you are at the beginner’s level, these tools are enough for you. When you move to the advanced level, you can use quilting utensils for patchwork quilting.