Anything applied to the surface of a finished top has to be attached somehow, and the usual question asked is whether to do it by hand or by machine. Asked that way, it becomes a question about patience, or about the evening ahead, or about how much time is left before the gift has to be wrapped. Asked properly, it is not about the quilter at all. It is about the edge.
A straight edge suits the machine. The presser foot rides along it, the feed dogs pull evenly, and a line of stitching sits parallel to the edge from one end to the other with no decisions to make in between. Squared pieces of lace, rectangular panels, anything with a border that runs in straight lines and turns at corners can go under the needle and come out neatly, and there is nothing gained by doing it slowly.
A scalloped or curved edge is a different problem. The outline changes direction continuously, and a machine following it must either stop and pivot at every change, which shows, or cut across the scallops in a smooth line that ignores what makes the piece worth applying in the first place. A needle in the hand follows the outline exactly, catching a thread at a time along the curve, and the stitching disappears into the shaping instead of arguing with it.
The quilt in this tutorial has both kinds on the same top, and both methods were used accordingly. The result is that nothing on it looks compromised, because no piece was attached by a method its edge could not take.
Points worth holding on to:
- Let the edge choose, not the clock. Straight and cornered goes to the machine. Curved and scalloped goes to the hand.
- A pivot at every scallop shows. Stopping and turning around each curve leaves an angular line where the outline was meant to be soft.
- Curves are stitched a thread at a time. Catching only the outermost fibres of the applied piece keeps the stitching from reading as an outline of its own.
- Position everything before anything is stitched. Laying the whole arrangement out and pinning it in place first prevents the crowding that happens when pieces are added one at a time.
- Mixed methods on one top are not a compromise. A quilt can carry both without looking inconsistent, because the difference sits in the edges rather than in the finish.
Work like this rewards a needle that passes cleanly through several layers without dragging, and our notions are available here.
Happy quilting.
