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Transcript:

Helen: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Caroline: Hello and welcome to Love to Sew. I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics.

Helen: And I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns.

Caroline: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew our own clothes and want to encourage you on your sewing journey, too.

Helen: Join us for today’s interview with Bhiravi Rathinasabapathi.

Hello, Bhiravi. Thank you so much for coming on the show today.

Bhiravi: Hi, Helen.

Helen: We are so excited to chat with you about quilting, a topic that we have yet to cover on the show, if you can believe that. So thank you for coming on today to chat with us about it. Um, can you please introduce yourself to our listeners?

Bhiravi: Yeah. My name is Bhiravi, and I am a quilter and a quilt pattern designer. I’ve been quilting for a couple of years but sewing for a long time. And I, I love to teach people how to quilt.

Helen: And where are you from?

Bhiravi: So my parents are both from India, so I am Indian, and I’m Tamil. And I, personally, I grew up in Florida, and I now live in Berkeley, California.

Helen: Awesome. Okay. You mentioned that you just got into quilting a couple of years ago. So I think we need to hear this story, like, how and when did you learn to sew and then how did you get into quilting?

Bhiravi: I learned to sew a long time ago. I learned to sew when I was in middle school, and I am 28 now, so there’s been quite a few years of garment sewing. But a couple years ago, I, kind of, started to see stuff in the quilting world online that was really appealing to me, and I loved all the patterns I was seeing, and I just started making stuff. Um, I think the first thing that I made was the Antelope Canyon Throw from Vacilando Quilt Co.’s book, Simple Geometric Quilting, and I, kind of, just went with it from there, and I got really into it.

Caroline: Amazing, and we’re so excited to talk to you about quilting today because this is actually our first episode covering quilting, and we want to get all into Quilting 101. But before we do that, we wanted to ask you a few questions about your business, Strawberry Creek Quilts. Can you tell us the story of your business?

Bhiravi: Yeah, absolutely. So I have always been a very creative person, and I knew that that was something I wanted to start a business in, in the creative space. Um, and when I found quilting, it, kind of, felt like I had found my thing. I felt really good about being able to design patterns and express myself creatively and also run the business side of things around that. So, a couple of years ago when I started quilting, um, I picked it up really fast. And then about a year ago, in October of 2020, I left my full-time job to basically start a business in this space. And the name Strawberry Creek Quilts is actually based on a creek called Strawberry Creek in Berkeley, California, which is where I live.

Helen: Oh, cool. Man, this is all so recent, so I just want to ask, like, how’s it going?

Bhiravi: It’s going well. It feels like every day is a new adventure, basically. I’m still in that really early, like, baby business stage where I’m, kind of, learning what works and what I like to do. But yeah, every day is exciting. Every day is an adventure. I used to work in tech, so it’s super different, and I, kind of, love it.

Helen: Very cool. Okay, tell us a little bit about your patterns so far because you have three available in your shop. So let’s get into it. Tell us a bit about your patterns.

Bhiravi: Yeah. So when I come up with quilt designs, I just start sketching. And, like, when I land on something I love enough to write into a pattern that is when that goes from idea to, like, actual pattern that you can, you know, purchase and make and have fun with. I actually have three patterns in my shop right now, and it’s, kind of, great because they are all different difficulty levels.

So my latest pattern called the Civil Stripes Pattern is just this really bold, simple, easy quilt pattern that is beginner friendly. And then I have one called the Redwood Coast Quilt Pattern. And that one is more of, like, an advanced beginner, like, maybe you’ve made a quilt before, but maybe, you know, you don’t have to know a ton of skills to do it. And then the last one is the Petal Points Quilt Pattern, and that one is more of that, like, intermediate level, just because there’s more complexity to it.

Helen: Yes, and they’re all so different. I really love the aesthetic in all of the designs. Do you feel like you have, like, an aesthetic for your collection or are you, sort of, testing the waters and figuring things out as you go?

Bhiravi: I feel like I’m definitely figuring things out as I go. The common thread is these are just all patterns that appeal to me aesthetically. And at this point, I would call my style, like, modern traditionalism, like, that’s the quilting umbrella that it falls under, but definitely having fun within that and exploring a lot.

Caroline: And you were saying that when you have an idea, you, kind of, sketch it out and then once you really love it, you decide, you know, to turn it into pattern. I wonder if you could tell us a little bit more about what that process looks like from, you know, when you decide to turn a sketch into a pattern and how long does that take?

Bhiravi: Good question. It takes awhile. The initial sketching, it can take as long or as short as I want, basically, because I can sit down with that notebook and you could leave me alone with that notebook for months, and I would just keep sketching things. Um, so it’s a matter of just, you know, playing with the designs, playing with the visual style. Um, and I love to take traditional patterns and, kind of, remix those in new ways, so that’s a favorite. Once I’ve, kind of, done that and I’m like, this looks nice. I want to turn it into a quilt. Then, I start doing math. So that is, kind of, seeing what sizes of pieces would go together well for this. Um, how much fabric do I need? How big do I want the finished quilt to be? Do I want multiple sizes? So then I go through that process of doing the math, coming up with, like, the basic, how this gets sewn together.

And then I will start to actually write the instructions to make it. Once I’ve written the instructions, that’s usually the point where I start testing, um, myself. So I try to, like, actually make the pattern, and then there’s, like, a whole editing process and a process with, like, external testers, and that can take awhile.

Caroline: I imagine the testing process takes a while to get it perfect.

Bhiravi: It does. It does. And luckily with quilts, I feel like it depends a lot on the quilt, but one good thing with quilts is I am relying a lot on traditional techniques or things that I’ve done a lot of times before, so the individual components aren’t too fiddly. Where things can really change is how things are worded or, um, you know, how I decide to give instructions on a particular section or how the whole top comes together.

Helen: Yeah. That makes a lot of sense. And you also say on your website that your patterns “teach and inspire.” So we’re curious what you mean by that. Why did you choose to teach quilting skills through your patterns?

Bhiravi: I think it’s because that’s how I learned to quilt. So I didn’t grow up with a quilter in the family, and I didn’t, like, learn to quilt by watching someone or doing videos. The way that I learned was books and digital patterns, and I had so much fun with that. I would be able to, like, see something, imagine it in different colors, and then just follow the pattern to make it. And I, kind of, felt like each pattern writer was taking me through this journey where I was, like, met at my skill level, I was taught to do a new thing, hopefully, challenged the right amount, and it was such a good experience, and that’s what I want to recreate for people.

Helen: Yeah. I really like that in patterns, obviously, with quilting patterns, too, because I’ve had a few experiences where I’m looking at a pattern and it assumes that I know how to quilt already. So it’s, like, here, like, cut out these pieces and then just put them together. Like, what’s the problem? I’m like, but I don’t know how. I don’t know how to do it. So, I like when there’s, like, tips and advice in the pattern about how to actually make a half square triangle or something like that. Because as a beginner, I just don’t know these things.

Bhiravi: Yeah. It’s hard as a beginner because, like, sometimes, yeah, you just don’t know where to start. And sometimes, if you don’t have somebody, like, to look over their shoulder, like, if you don’t have someone to watch, it can be hard to figure out where to start.

Caroline: I have a business question for you. Obviously, Helen and I are both business owners, so we’re interested in this kind of thing, but I wonder, like, quilting, the quilting world is so huge. There are so many designers out there. And as a new designer in a market that’s fairly saturated, I wonder how you connect with your audience and get your designs out there so people can find them and sew them.

Bhiravi: That’s a really good question. I feel like this is still something I’m figuring out. So I’ll, kind of, give that caveat. But one of the main ways that I connect with people is actually through Instagram. I actually started with just my account. I didn’t know anybody in the quilting world. And I took a quilt pattern writing course from Amber at Alderwood Studios, and basically, through that, I met a lot of people who were in the same stage as me, who were getting started in the world of quilt patterns. Once I, kind of, met those people, I felt like I had a community. I started posting stuff and sharing stuff and commenting on stuff. And I’ve just met a ton of quilters through that process.

Caroline: Very cool.

Helen: So smart.

Caroline: Instagram, love it.

Bhiravi: Yes.

Caroline: And you also sew garments. Can you tell us a little bit about what your experience has been like sewing clothes versus quilts?

Bhiravi: Yeah. When I started quilting, I thought it was going to be super easy because I had made so many garments, and in many ways, it was. It was pretty straightforward, but I learned pretty quickly that it was a totally different skill set. So to me, garments are all about, like, the breadth of your skill set, working with curves, working around the body.

And with quilting, it’s so much about, like, how do you have this straight seam and a precise seam allowance? And you often have to repeat things a lot of times to get a whole quilt done, and there’s all these areas that you can play with precision and shape and line, and so those were all new to me.

Caroline: Yeah. Awesome. Yeah. There’s definitely some, some major differences, and it’s true. Like, when you sew clothes, you, kind of, think, well, I’m putting together this 3D object, and there’s, like, darts and style lines, and it’s so much more complicated, but then like Helen said, you get into quilting and you’re like, wait, what do I need to do here?

Helen: It’s even more precise, too. That, like, threw me off when I started quilting because I’m not the most precise garment sewer, and I know you can be, but a lot of the things I make are, kind of, loose and flowy. So, you know, seam allowance can vary a little bit, but with quilting it’s really important, um, so I had to practice a bit more. Yeah.

Bhiravi: That was a lesson that I had to learn when I started quilting. I think the first quilt that I made this seam allowance was all over the place. And luckily, it was from the book, Simple Geometric Quilting, and so it was, like, a really forgiving beginner friendly design.

Helen: Yeah. That’s good advice to start somewhere simple like that where you have a bit more wiggle room. I bit off a bit more than I could chew with my full, like, bed size quilt right now. And I’m just hoping that when I go to put the sashing on, and we’re going to get into all of these terms, but I’m hoping that it’s all going to work out, and I’ll, like, be able to true everything up, and fingers crossed. We also really love seeing Reggie, your orange studio cat, on your Instagram, and we were wondering if you had any special tips for quilting or sewing when there’s a pet around?

Bhiravi: Amazing. Um, I’m so glad you like him cause I like him too. Reggie is always around when I’m sewing, and he actually likes to come and sit on the desk in his little crate while I’m sewing.

Helen: Aw.

Bhiravi: Those are the good, good times for sewing with a cat. Um, he also likes when I’m mid-project to just come and sit on the project, like, just squarely on it, and he won’t leave until I’ve given him, like, 10 minutes of attention.

Helen: Aw, forced breaks. Maybe it’s a good thing.

Bhiravi: Exactly. With a pet, like, that’s how I, kind of, treat it. I’m like, okay. He wants attention right now. Like, I guess this is my cue that I need to take a break from the sewing element of my work or whatever.

Helen: Amazing. Well, we both really enjoy following you on Instagram. You share lots of great tips, and you’re in stories all the time talking about quilting. So, um, if you want to get into quilting I do recommend following Bhiravi @strawberrycreekquilts, but let’s get into the nitty gritty, this Quilting 101 episode we’re doing. What is quilting?

Bhiravi: That is a great question. I feel like quilting can encompass so many things depending on where you’re from and what you’re talking about, but basically, it’s just joining together different pieces of fabric, often multiple layers of fabric, and creating a blanket.

Helen: Amazing.

Caroline: It’s as simple as that. Hey.

Helen: Mind blown.

Caroline: And quilting has a long and storied history. I think beginners see a lot of terminology that references traditions they might not have heard of, so we were wondering if we can go over some of the quilting traditions that are out there?

Bhiravi: Yeah, absolutely. When I think about the whole wide world of quilting in the Western world, and specifically, I am in the United States, there are a few key, kind of, terms and key things that I think about.

So the first type of quilting is called “wholecloth quilting,” and it is exactly what it sounds like. It is when you take a piece of fabric, like whole pieces of fabric, a backing, a middle, like, fluffy batting layer, and a top piece of fabric, and you, basically, sew the three of them together. And in whole cloth quilting, this has been around for probably 200-ish years.

You can do all kinds of designs and techniques with the actual quilting to create, like, shapes, uh, when you’re stitching those layers together. So that is the first one.

So the next kind of big quilting tradition that we think about is “patchwork.” So in the Western world, and in many parts of the world, patchwork is just taking small pieces of fabric and sewing them together to create designs. So if you have seen a traditional quilt, this is probably what you’re thinking of. It is probably some kind of patchwork. This is also what I do. Um, so it was probably what I can speak to best.

Helen: That makes sense.

Bhiravi: On top of that, you also have different kinds of “paper piecing.” So there is, um, there are different types of quilts where you use paper and designs drawn on paper as a guide when you’re quilting and when you’re sewing fabric pieces together. Um, so one is called “English paper piecing.” This is really popular in the UK, but you basically cut templates out of paper, wrap them in fabric, and sew them together by hand. There’s also “foundation paper piecing,” which is where a block or a design is drawn onto a piece of paper, and you literally stitch your fabric on top to create that design.

And then other than that, there’s many other things out there, but the other big category is appliqué, which is where you have one piece of fabric and you attach other pieces of fabric on top to create a design.

Helen: Mhm. Very cool. Okay. This is a maybe obvious question, but with the paper piecing, you take the paper off after, right?

Bhiravi: Yes you do.

Helen: Okay. So you’re stitching onto the paper, and then you’re, like, ripping the paper off, uh, along the stitching lines.

Bhiravi: Exactly. So for foundation paper piecing, your needle is actually going through the paper and creating, like. a perforation you can tear off.

Caroline: I have a question about English paper piecing cause I’ve seen people do it on Instagram and it, it seems to me like they’re such teeny tiny little blocks and they’re all hand-sewn together. Is that, like, truly what it is like? It must take so long.

Bhiravi: It does. I mean, I’ve only done a little bit of it. It does take a long time because you are hand sewing this thing that’s already, like, a million tiny pieces of fabric, but your shapes can be bigger or smaller, so if you’re thinking of, like. hexagons, like hexies, you could have one inch hexagons or you could have, like, three inch hexagons, and it’s all fair game.

Caroline: Okay.

Helen: Whoa.

Caroline: Okay. I mean, three inches to me still feels really tiny. I can imagine, but I can imagine it being quite, like, relaxing if you’re doing English paper piecing and you can do all hand sewing, like, that’s something you can do while you’re watching a show or something, kind of, like knitting, right?

Bhiravi: Mhm, exactly. A lot of friends who English paper piece have told me, like, I just like to keep it in my bag so if I’m, like, on the go or waiting somewhere, I can just work on that.

Caroline: Oh, it’s a whole new world. Very cool.

Helen: Okay. So for those of us who are not in the U.S. or Canada, or, like, um, English speaking countries, are there other types of quilting that are out there that we can touch on?

Bhiravi: Yeah, absolutely. So there are quilting traditions all around the world, and I definitely don’t want to leave those out. So a few terms that I’ve heard recently are “trapunto,” which is, like, an Italian form where you’re adding stuffing to your quilt to create three-dimensional shapes. There’s Japanese “boro,” which is based on patchwork and mending. I feel like I’m going to say this wrong, but there’s also a Korean patchwork form, I think it’s called “jogakbo.” We might have Korean listeners who better know how to say that term, but it is a beautiful form of hand stitched patchwork. I also came across, of course, Indian “kantha” stitching, which my family doesn’t have a tradition of, but I do have a cousin that’s getting very into kantha stitching.

And then also Central American “molas,” which are, like, a reverse appliqué where there are stitch designs, and there’s some, like, cutting and slicing that happens to create patterns. Um, so there are all of those all around the world. And then even within the United States, I feel like there are so many groups of people that have been quilting, and I feel like there’s a lot of diversity out there in the quilting community if you take a look. So there are also a lot of, like, native American and African-American cultures that have created quilts to, like, tell their story and preserve their heritage.

I grew up in Florida, and so one type of quilting that I, kind of, came in contact with was Seminole patchwork. And I more learned about it in, like, history books rather than meeting actual cultures. Um, but it is this really unique and intricate form of strip piecing that was created by, uh, the Seminole Indian community in Florida for many, many, many years. And then I think you’ll also see in the art world, you’ll see, um, the Gee’s Bend Quilters and their improv style which is really bold and modern and visual and again, really different from that traditional patchwork that is based on precision, so all kinds of stuff out there.

Helen: Yeah, we, Caroline and I watched a really good documentary about the quilters of Gee’s Bend, so we’ll put that in the show notes because it was so fun to see their designs and hear their story.

Bhiravi: Absolutely.

Caroline: Yeah, definitely. And we’ll, we’ll totally link up all these different, uh, traditions, patchwork traditions, quilting types, in the show notes with some pictures and stuff, so everyone can go check that out. Let’s talk a little bit about the different parts of a quilt because I feel like, when I think of quilting, it’s not just about the piecing on the quilt top, right? So can you walk us through that a little bit?

Bhiravi: Yeah, absolutely. So Caroline, like you mentioned, the piecing of the quilt, the patchwork that goes together is often the quilt top. That is, again, it’s just the top layer of the quilt underneath that you have some kind of stuffing, so this is called batting, and that is what makes your quilt soft and squishy and warm, and then you’ll have some kind of backing fabric, usually just one big piece of fabric on the back, and all three of those get stitched together. Then, you, on the edges of your quilt, you have binding, and that is the fabric that’s, kind of, wrapped around the outside, holding it all together and finishing those edges.

Helen: Right. Okay. So if we’re talking about quilting, is it okay to say like I’m quilting tonight? And if I’m referring to just, like, the piecing part, not the, like, stitching part. Like, how do you am I the only one who gets confused about this? How do you say, like, I like quilting or I’m quilting when you’re, like, only doing part of it. Like, what if you never do the stitching part? Are you still a quilter?

Bhiravi: You are absolutely still a quilter. I think those of us who quilt a lot, like, we call it quilting no matter what part of this process that we are doing ourselves. You’re absolutely a quilter, if you’re doing the patchwork, you can call it quilting. Specifically, when I write patterns or tutorials, sometimes I’ll refer to piecing versus quilting to talk about different parts of the process I’m describing.

Helen: That makes sense. Thank you for clarifying. I just didn’t want to be left out. Okay, let’s walk through the steps of making a quilt. Obviously, the first thing that people are probably going to do is the piecing part or picking out the quilt top, so can we talk about that first?

Bhiravi: Absolutely. Um, so the piecing of the quilt top is the part that you’ve done, and it’s the part that involves cutting out the different pieces of fabric, sewing them together, pressing them, and putting them together in different orders and shapes. So the quilt top is usually either made up of blocks, which are just blocks in a row, or it can be a medallion style, which is, kind of, like, a central design or, like, a big design over the entire quilt. And those are a couple of the big visual designs that we have.

Helen: That makes sense. And are most quilt blocks, when you are doing a block design, are they typically, like, 12 by 12, or do they come in lots of different sizes?

Bhiravi: So 12 inches is a really common size for a quilt block. It does tend to be one of, like, the go-to standards, but you can have all kinds of sizes, and often a designer or a quilter will choose the size based on what works best for the pieces they’re cutting.

Helen: Right. That makes sense. Like, what works best with the design. And then I’ve noticed some block-based quilts also have, like, borders around them or sashing and some don’t. What’s the design, like, thought process there?

Bhiravi: I think it’s totally up to the designer or the quilter to, kind of, choose that stuff. When I’m doing a block-based design, I will create the block and then I’ll often see what it looks like with and without sashing, and I’ll even vary the size of the sashing to decide if I want that in there.

Helen: That makes sense. I guess you can eliminate that, as well, if you’re the quilter and you just don’t want to put it in there.

Bhiravi: Absolutely. You can just directly sew your blocks together. And in fact, one of my patterns, the Petal Points Pattern is like that, there’s no sashing, and that is so that there’s a secondary design created by the block, so there’s, like, a couple of different focal points going on basically.

Helen: I find that so satisfying when you make the blocks and then you put them together and there’s, like, it’s, like, an optical illusion almost. And there’s, like, another pattern that develops when you put them together. It, like, blows my mind every time.

Bhiravi: Exactly. That’s my favorite.

Helen: Yeah. So fun. Okay, what about different common patchwork components? Um, it seems like there’s some recurring themes in quilting design.

Bhiravi: Absolutely, and especially if you start looking at traditional quilts through the ages, you will see some stuff that shows up over and over and is, kind of, the foundation. So I like to think about, um, bars and strips, so those are just, like, long, straight lines in your quilts. Um, you’ll see blocks that are four patch, which is, like, two squares by two squares in the little square grid, a nine patch, which is three by three, or a 16 patch, which is four by four. So these are squares pieced together to make bigger squares.

You’ll also notice half square triangles, so that is when you see a square, and it is divided on the diagonal, and there’s two different fabrics creating that square. There are also flying geese, so this is when you have a rectangle with a triangle inside of it. And then there’s also some less common or more advanced elements, and those would be half rectangle triangles, so a rectangle that’s divided on the diagonal, quarter circles, and then you’ll also see half or whole circles as well. ‘

Caroline: Mm. The circles always blow my mind.

Helen: Oh, I know, right?

Caroline: So cool. I mean, how do you do it?

Helen: So cool. I mean, how do you sew a sleeve into an armscye, Caroline? It’s not that different.

Caroline: I know, but then it’s, like, flat. I don’t know. It really blows my mind. What about improv quilting? I want to ask about that as well. Like, can you tell us a little bit about how that works and I mean, is it really improv? Do you plan a little bit of it out at all? How does it go?

Bhiravi: Improv quilting is really improv. It’s totally on the fly. And I think it varies culture to culture, like, how much you plan ahead of time and how much you don’t. I like to just sit down with, like, piles of fabric that are, like, color coordinated and start to piece different shapes and see how they look together. I also know improv quilters who will say, hey, I’m making this small quilt, and I will lay out the fabrics by quadrant, so I can at least see where the colors land and stuff like that. But you can basically either just start randomly sewing these fabrics together, or you can take these, like, classic shapes and elements and just, kind of, put them together on the fly. It’s really fun.

Helen: It’s so fun. I’ve done a little bit of it. I made some Christmas stockings, and then more recently, I made a little improv, like, tapestry, and it’s a great way to use up fabric scraps from your garment sewing, especially if you’re not too worried about the durability of the final project, you can mix different fabrics together and just have fun with it playing around and seeing what comes up. And I find it to be very, like, creatively cathartic, personally.

Bhiravi: Yes, it’s actually, it’s one of those things that I do when I’m feeling creatively blocked is I’ll just sit down with a pile of fabric and sew it together, improv style, and see what comes of it, and it’s, kind of, refreshing.

Helen: Yeah, but it is really amazing that so many quilt designs seem to be based on these, like, five or six different patchwork components, like, is there more than just these things or is it really just, like, different combinations of these common elements?

Bhiravi: There are definitely more things out there. Like, there’s no way as a quilter that I would, like, know all of the different components. Um, these are top of mind, but I know people also make all kinds of templates and different units that they’ve come up with that are traditional, so there’s tons out there.

Helen: Oh, ok. But you can do a lot with a half square triangle.

Bhiravi: You can.

Helen: I also find it really satisfying when I’ve encountered instructions that have you make multiples of something. So instead of just cutting out a bunch of squares, you’re doing, like, long strips, and then you’re cutting those strips up, and it’s making squares, or instead of making one half square triangle, you’re making four at once. And there’s all these cool techniques to multiply and get more of these pieces so you can be faster, more efficient. Um, and I find that very satisfying as well.

Bhiravi: Yeah, absolutely. I love, like, doing half square triangles, like, eight at a time is a common method or flying geese four at a time, and it saves a ton of time, and it also feels like this really cool hack that you figured out, even if, you know, you read it in a pattern or whatever. It’s really fun.

Helen: Yes. Okay. I want to talk about pressing because this is probably my biggest challenge with quilting is that there’s so many intersecting seams, especially when you’re working with complex block design. So what are you supposed to do in these situations?

Bhiravi: Yeah, absolutely. So there are many different ways to press. And my first tip would be, if you were working off of a pattern, look at what the designer says cause I know it’s super tempting to skip that little, like, notes or, like, about this pattern section, but if there is a really important pressing instruction, they will give it to you, hopefully.

Helen: Fair.

Bhiravi: Um, when you press seams for a quilt, what you’re basically doing is, you’ve sewn the two pieces of fabric together, and you need to, like, flip that over and then basically, iron or press your seams down to make sure they don’t create a ton of bulk or, like, sit weird. When you do that, you can either open up your seams and press open where the fabric on either side is just pressed to that side, or you can press to one side. So maybe that was a little confusing, but basically, you can press open, or you can press to one side, and that determines where the extra fabric goes compared to your seam line.

Helen: Right, and then as you think about where it’s going to intersect with the next piece, deciding, like, if you’re going to press it to the right or the left, and then maybe you have, like, opposite directions so that when you put them together, they’re less bulky.

Bhiravi: Yes. So first of all, if you press open, you don’t have to worry about any of this. I don’t often press my seams open because I feel like it’s a little less durable, or you can have some issues with, like, fraying if you’re not careful, but it is a really simple way to avoid the whole seam issue. Press all your seams open.

The other thing that you’re talking about is pressing to one side, and you can press to one side and then where you seams intersect, um, your seams can do what is called nesting. So you can press so that, you know, at an intersection, the seams on one side go one way and the seams on the other side go the other way. And so there’s less bulk, and they, kind of, fit together like puzzle pieces. So that’s another way to do it.

Um, a lot of people who press to one side, myself included, will default to pressing towards the darker fabric. So if you’re sewing a navy next to a white, you press to the navy, and then from the front, you won’t be able to see any of, like, the fabric overage.

Helen: Right. That makes a lot of sense. I feel like a lot of our listeners have done this before in sewing. Maybe they weren’t even aware of it with making garments, but, like, at the, you know, underarm seam or the crotch seem, like, having one seam go one way and one another. So you’re nesting those seams, so you don’t have that much bulk in your project. So it’s a similar, well, it’s not similar, it’s the same, kind of, idea.

Bhiravi: Yes, it is.

Helen: Yeah, yeah. The other thing I was wondering about is that I feel like I’m, this is just turning into, like, Helen’s help with quilting, um, I think that I might be, like, over pressing when I’m quilting, like, is there a right amount to press? Can you, sort of, misshape your pieces by doing too much pressing to try and get everything, like, super, super flat?

Bhiravi: Great question. I will say that this is the part where it becomes super important to make the distinction between pressing and ironing. So I know I’ve heard you guys talk about that before, but pressing with quilting, we mostly want to put our iron down on the fabric and let it sit there until the fabric, kind of, like, takes shape versus ironing is going to be more of a back and forth motion and that can distort your quilts a little bit.

Helen: Right. Yeah. That makes sense. It’s challenging sometimes because the pieces are so small, and you just start, like, wrestling your iron in there.

Bhiravi: Yeah. Helen, I also know that the pattern that you’re working on is a little more advanced. It definitely has the smaller pieces and tons of seams, so that might be a bit…

Helen: Yes. We were mentioning this in the break we’re like I’m, I’m making the, uh, Nova Star Quilt by Then Came June. If anyone’s interested, we’ll put a picture in the show notes of my progress, but yes, there’s a lot of small pieces, and I definitely bit off more than I can chew, so this is really good, helpful information for me.

Bhiravi: I love that pattern. It’s beautiful. And then if you make that one, anything you make after that is going to feel pretty approachable, I think.

Helen: Yes! Alright, I have one more pressing question, pressing question. Um, I see a lot of quilters on YouTube doing finger pressing and not even using their iron for a lot of their pressing. So can you touch on that?

Caroline: It’s, like, a double pun.

Bhiravi: Absolutely. Oh my gosh. I love finger pressing. So finger pressing is just, instead of an iron, you’re using your finger to create a crease where you would press with your iron, and it’s super handy. It’s really fast. And I don’t really think there’s that many downsides to it, especially if you’re piecing something simple and straightforward. I would say if you were pressing along a bias edge, like, something that’s cut on the diagonal of the fabric, then you want to be a little careful with finger pressing because you don’t want to pull too much on your fabric.

Helen: Right. So would that apply to, like, half square triangles and things like that?

Bhiravi: It depends on how your half square triangle is made, which I know is a frustrating answer. Um, I will fingerpress half square triangles, but I’ll just be, kind of, gentle with that seam, especially if they’re small.

Helen: Okay. Cool. Okay. I think we can move on from pressing. We have so many things. What about the basting? There’s that moment where you’ve got your top and you’ve got your bottom and you’ve got your midsection, the batting. How do you, sort of, put the, all of those things together?

Bhiravi: Good question. So there are many ways to put your quilt together. The one that I use most often is called pin basting, and it is basically taking safety pins and pinning all three sections together, and they make special bent safety pins that are for quilters, so that is what I do. And I actually have a tutorial on my blog as well. So if you search “basting” on my website, that will come up about how to pin baste.

And then on top of that, there’s also spray basting. This is not one I use often, but if you go to the fabric store or you go to the craft store, you will see a spray based spray on adhesive. And basically you spray your quilt backing, you put your batting on top and smooth it down, and then you spray that again. And then you put your quilt top on, and it basically temporarily glues it all together.

And then the last one, the most traditional, like, old school, kind of, method is to thread baste. The nice thing about this is you can take any thread. I usually do a contrasting color to my quilt. You take a needle and you just, kind of, loosely, um, stitch the three layers together, and you’ll basically do your quilting and then pull out all the thread at the end. And it’s really easy, and you don’t have anything, kind of, getting in your way as you’re trying to quilt.

Caroline: And you mentioned that you are in a small space, you’re in a small apartment. So I want to know how do you, baste in a small space, do you have any tips for our listeners?

Bhiravi: Yeah, and I actually have a tutorial about that, too. So if you look at “small space basting” on my website, that’ll come up. But basically what I do is I use a desk, a tabletop, a couch, some kind of smaller surface, and I baste in sections and then just hold my quilt together with pins. So you have to go a little more slowly, but you can do it if you don’t have a huge floor to lay out.

Caroline: And with the spray basting, that spray adhesive, is there any sort of considerations to make about how and when or where I guess you do it so that you’re not getting that gluey spray on other things, like, do you have to put plastic down or something?

Bhiravi: Honestly, I’ve never used the spray adhesive myself. What I’ve heard from friends is that you do want to either have a floor space that you can clean, or you can do it outside or you can put down plastic.

Caroline: Okay. Got it. Cool, cool, cool. And I wonder, like, is there a reason that the backside of quilts is usually just, like, a whole cloth or solid color? Like, why not make both sides patchwork?

Bhiravi: If you’re really ambitious, I think you can totally make both sides patchwork. And actually Ameri from @nextgenquilting on Instagram made a two-sided quilt where it was, like, the same design patchwork on the front and back but different color schemes. So that one is really cool and worth checking out. I personally keep my backing solid because I feel like it is a lot easier to not get wrinkles in that backing when I’m sewing. And also it’s just nice to, like, make two quilt tops and make two quilts, and it’s half the work.

Caroline: Right. I imagine, like, Helen, when you’re finished all of your complicated blocks, you’re not going to want to, to a whole other side.

Helen: Here’s the thing I was thinking about. Like, I have these leftovers from when I cut out all the pieces for this quilt, I have some fabric left over and I’m like, can I not just put these pieces together, like, not in, like, a cool pattern or anything, just, like, a few rectangles together to make up the back so that I’m not, like, wasting that fabric. And it sounds like that would be fine.

Bhiravi: It would totally be fine. And actually some quilters will, if you have extra units leftover from your quilt top, like, half square triangles or flying geese, they’ll put that in with the rectangles or with fun colors and do a pieced backing. Um, and there’s actually an Instagram hashtag that is #partyinthebackquilt. And I feel like I’ve seen people share with that all the different backings they’re making.

Helen: Oh fun. Okay. I’m going to follow that one. That sounds like the right hashtag for me.

Caroline: Yeah. I’ve seen quilt backs that are, like, they’ll just do, like, a strip of blocks along the back and the rest is solid. And I think that’s a really cool way of, like, incorporating a little bit of piecing on the back. Also, often, like, the fabrics that you use for a quilt back are not wide width. So if you’re doing a large quilt, you still have to attach, like, two pieces of fabric at least together, right?

Bhiravi: Mhm. Yeah. Absolutely.

Caroline: Okay. Very cool. Okay. What about the actual quilting part when you’re, you know, stitching onto those three layers? How do you do it? What are the different methods? Can you talk a little bit to that?

Bhiravi: Mhm, so when you actually do the quilting section, that’s where you’re attaching three layers together, um, and you can either do it by machine. You can do it on your domestic sewing machine at home. You can do it by hand, so needle and thread, which is, I guess, how people have done it for a very long time. Or you can have your quilt long armed, and you can either do this yourself, or you can send it out. But basically what a long arm is is somebody with this, kind of, like, fancy sewing machine set up loads your quilt onto a frame, and they have the quilt stretched out, and then they have this sewing machine that will, kind of, move that’s, like, the long arm portion. Um, and it will move over your quilt, and they can move it in different patterns to create designs with the quilting. So those are the three main categories.

Caroline: And which one do you most commonly do?

Bhiravi: I usually quilt by machine at home. It’s just, it’s something that I can do myself on my own schedule. And it’s also pretty fast compared to something like hand quilting, but I am getting more and more into hand quilting because it’s really fun. I love the feel and the texture of it. It’s just, it’s very meditative, too.

Helen: Yeah, I saw that you recently hand basted in one of your Simple Stripes Quilt Designs using Baptist fans, so they’re, kind of, like, arching, sort of, semi-circles that overlap like scales. How long did that take you to do?

Bhiravi: Good question. So right before my Simple Stripes Quilt Pattern released, I was working on my sample, and I was hand quilting it. And because it was for a release, it only took a few days of, like, many hours of hand quilting on each day. It was, kind of, deadline sewing.

Helen: Yeah. Fair enough.

Bhiravi: But it does take a little while.

Helen: And do you, kind of, chalk out the design before you sit down and start to quilt it? Or I guess you could probably improv hand quilt as well.

Bhiravi: You can. On that one, I specifically drew out the lines with, like, a washable fabric marker. Um, so I use a blue one from Dritz, and it always comes out which is nice. So yeah, I drew my lines, and then I just stitched directly over them. And I actually have that tutorial up on my website as well.

Helen: Perfect. I’m curious, like, when you’re quilting at home on your machine, are you just using a regular sewing machine? Like, is that something that I could do with my garment sewing machine for, like, this bed size quilt? Or is that, how am I going to get that? How does that work?

Bhiravi: Absolutely. So first of all, um, you can absolutely do it on your home machine. And for a long time, I used my Singer Heavy Duty at home for quilting all my quilts. So I would roll up the quilt on one side and then I would, like, do a straight line through my machine. And then I would, like, unroll it a little bit and do it again. It totally works. And the only question is: how heavy is your quilt? Right? Like, a bed size quilt is pretty heavy to move through the machine.

And then your sewing machine needs to have, like, enough space underneath that arm for you to, like, push the rest of the quilt through, but you can absolutely do it yourself. That said, a lot of quilters, especially for something like a bed size, that is really hard, will send that out to a long armer, and I think that’s a great option, as well, because it just, you get to skip that portion and outsource it to a different artist who is going to, like, really take care of your quilt. I definitely think you can do that, too.

Helen: Yeah, I’m leaning that way, for sure. The bigger this thing gets the more, I’m like, this is not happening.

Caroline: And then the long armer will give it back to you quilted, but then you still have to do the binding along the edge.

Bhiravi: Yeah. And I think most long armers will just have you do the binding, but basically they will, you will ship them your quilt. Or if they’re local, you’ll drop off your quilt. They’ll often either have batting for purchase, or you can give them the batting that you have if it’s compatible with their machine. And then you’ll work with them to pick out a specific design, and they will help you with thread color, all that stuff, and they will give it to you beautifully quilted. And then you just trim the edges off your quilt and bind it, and you’re done.

Helen: Very cool. So in that scenario, you don’t even have to do the basting part, like, the pinning and stuff.

Bhiravi: Yeah.

Helen: Oh, amazing.

Bhiravi: Exactly.

Helen: Okay. I’m sold.

Bhiravi: Because they’re also loading all of the layers into their machine. So you, all you have to do is, you have to press your quilt top and your quilt back and make sure that’s sewn together, usually. Most long armers will have a website with an FAQ page, so just do whatever they tell you to, but it’s really easy.

Helen: Awesome. I do like the quilting on the machine, like, for the smaller projects I’ve done, but I’m thinking that this is a bit large, large undertaking.

Bhiravi: Large and heavy if it’s a bed size quilt.

Caroline: So we want to talk next about the supplies you might need to make a quilt, both, like, on the materials side and the tools side. So can we start with fabric and maybe you can tell us a little bit about the types of fabrics that you can use for quilting?

Bhiravi: Yeah, so quilting, I normally just use quilting cotton. So that is all those cute prints that you see at the fabric store, if you go to, like, a JoAnn’s or something, but you can also use cotton poplin. You can use linen. Anything that is woven and a natural fiber does pretty well. Even polyester broadcloth and things that are a sturdy woven will work. I also find that I can use offcuts from my garment sewing in patchwork, especially if I’m working with, like, a woven shirt or a dress or something, I’ll take those offcuts and quilt with them.

Helen: Yeah. I’ve been enjoying using some of my garment sewing scraps as well. But one thing that threw me off when I got into quilting was the way that the fabric is sold, because it’s a little different than the way that we sell garment fabric to, um, garment sewists. So why is it all so delicious sounding? Like, what’s with the jelly rolls and the layer cakes and the fat quarters and, like, what’s the deal? It’s all different.

Bhiravi: Um, so that is a great question. Um, I buy a lot of my fabric just as yardage, and then there’s also something called a fat quarter, which is a quarter of a yard, but instead of, like, a nine inch cut vertically on the whole strip of fabric, it is an 18 by 22. So a fat quarter is an 18 by 22 square, or rectangle, instead of, like, a nine by 44 cut on the fabric. So that is, like, the first term.

There are also terms like jelly roll and layer cake and charm pack, and those are referring to different sizes of pre-cut fabric. So Moda Fabric, kind of, started all of this. A fabric store owner friend told me this recently. Moda started all of this and actually trademarked some of these names, so they may have other names as well. But a jelly roll is, for instance, a roll of two and a half inch strips of fabric, and there’s usually about 40, 42 of them. You’ll also see layer cakes, um, those are 10 inch squares. And you’ll also see charm packs which are, like, little five inch squares as well.

Caroline: So when you’re working with, like, a jelly roll or a layer cake, for example, where they’ve already got these squares cut for you, do you just take those and then sew them right into a quilt as they are? Or do you take those and then cut them down using a pattern and then turn them into a quilt?

Bhiravi: You can do either. Um, one thing that you’ll notice is that sometimes, especially layer cakes and charm packs, will have a pinked edge, so they’ll have a zigzag on the edge. If that doesn’t bother you, you can just start sewing with it directly. But there’s also patterns that will tell you how to cut into them or turn them into half square triangles or stuff like that.

Caroline: Mm, very cool. Okay. One more question about fabric. I always preach, like, prewashing fabric before you sew with it, but I feel like it’s different in quilting. Like, do you need to prewash your fabric?

Bhiravi: Yeah. Great question. So, first of all, I always pre-wash for my garments, too, but with quilting, I never pre-wash. And here’s the reason for that. When you get your quilting fabric, it’s all nice and crisp, right? And I find that easier to work with. And then the thing with the quilt is, if it’s all made of quilting cotton, and then you throw that whole thing in the wash, it’s going to shrink in this pretty predictable and even way. Um, so there’s not like a huge issue with the shrinking. I also, on my first wash with, like, a whole quilt, I will throw in a shout color catcher, which is this, um, little sheet that will catch excess dye in the wash. And I feel like that helps to prevent any bleeding or anything.

Caroline: Ah, and then once you wash the quilt that ha-, if the fabric hasn’t been, pre-washed it, kind of, scrunches up and creates that really cool look that we all love in quilts, right?

Bhiravi: Yeah. I personally love it. Um, a lot of people call it quilt crinkle and, um, it’s something that people actually really like, but again, if you’re not wanting that crinkly look to your washed quilt, you can just prewash your fabric and press it really well before you start.

Helen: There’s something so satisfying about, like, cutting into not pre-washed cotton because it’s so stiff and nice and flat off the bolt, and then you can just cut into it and sew it, or use those jelly rolls or layer cakes right out of the package, and it is very satisfying to not have to press things before you get started.

Bhiravi: Oh yeah. Caroline, how do you feel about that as someone who runs a fabric store?

Caroline: I feel fine cause I really do see quilting as, like, a whole different world. And I personally love the quilt, what did you call it? The quilting scrunch?

Helen: Quilt crinkle.

Bhiravi: Quilt crinkle.

Caroline: Quilt crinkle. I love the crinkle look. So I totally support that. Also, I’m, kind of, like, all for, like, less as, as little extra work as I can do in sewing, like, the quicker I can get to the end result, the better. So the idea of not having to prewash and press fabric before getting started on a project is very appealing. I’m all for it.

Bhiravi: Absolutely.

Caroline: Okay. So we’ve talked about fabric. Can we get into thread? Cause I feel like this is another thing that is a little bit foreign or different for quilting than it is for garment sewing.

Bhiravi: Absolutely. So when I started quilting on my first few quilts, I just used the same Gutermann All-Purpose thread that I used on my garments, and it worked great. So you can absolutely do that. Um, these days I like to use like a hundred percent cotton thread and I use Aurifil, and basically, it’s a 40 to 50 weight thread that you want to use.

Helen: And why did you make that switch? What’s the benefit to using cotton?

Bhiravi: I mean, first of all, with just my quilts being otherwise all cotton, it was, like, it would be nice to have it match. I also like Aurifil cause it’s, like, super smooth, and it’s, like, intended for quilters, so it comes in a really wide color range, and it feels like it’s, kind of, like, built for this craft, so that’s why I switched over.

Helen: Fair enough, the right tools for the job.

Bhiravi: Exactly.

Helen: And then the actual quilting part can be done with a heavier thread, right?

Bhiravi: Yeah, absolutely. So with the actual piecing and patchwork, you’ll definitely want to use that thinner thread, so, like, 50 weight is a good place to start for the actual quilting. You can go as heavy or as light on that thread as you want. I will often use my 50 weight thread if I just want a subtle, straightforward quilting line, but I will switch to, like, a 40 weight, a 28 weight, or, um, even thicker weights for hand quilting, if I want the quilting to stick out more. And I want it to stand out more.

Helen: Right. That makes sense for the hand quilting, especially. I could see wanting, like, almost an embroidered look with that.

Bhiravi: Exactly. And then when you do the machine quilting and you go for a thicker thread, let’s say you put a 28 weight in your machine, again, that just makes the quilting lines stand out more. And I will say in that case, you would probably just put the thread through the top of your machine and into your needle, and then you’d have a standard, like, 50 weight or 40 weight in your bobbin.

Helen: Right, just like top stitching on jeans or something.

Bhiravi: Exactly. Same thing.

Helen: Cool. Okay. And then what about the batting? Do you also do a hundred percent cotton typically for your battings?

Bhiravi: I use cotton, I just use a hundred percent cotton or a cotton bamboo blend. A lot of that for me is based on what’s available, what’s a natural material, but also affordable. And I find that cotton is that nice middle ground for me, but there’s all kinds of stuff. You can use polyester. Polyester tends to have, like, kind of, a poofier look in your finished quilts versus cotton will often lie flatter. There’s also all kinds of silk/cotton blends, silk/bamboo/Tencel, all kinds of stuff. And then you’ll also see wool batting, which is less common and requires some careful handling, but it can also be really puffy and really warm.

Caroline: And is the wool batting? Is that washable?

Bhiravi: It is washable. Um, I haven’t used it myself. Basically, with wool batting, I think there might be some prewashing that needs to happen or, you know, just accounting for shrinkage in your finished product.

Caroline: Okay. And are there any specific brands that you go for, uh, in terms of batting?

Bhiravi: I am not, like, a brand loyalist with quilt batting. I will, kind of, just, kind of, see what suits my needs at the moment. I have used Quilter’s Dream. That’s a kind of go-to for me. And there’s also things like Warm and Natural that’s available pretty widely.

Helen: And do people ever just not put batting? I want to ask this question now, like, is that allowed? I mean, I’ve also noticed, like, the, I mean, quilting can be, kind of, an expensive hobby, and the batting is quite pricey. So, like, can you just not, if you want to just put the backing and the top together?

Bhiravi: So you can. It also depends a little bit on how thick your backing is because if you have a flannel backing, it’s going to provide, like, a little bit of that warmth and like squishiness. You can also use things like different kinds of fleece on the back of your quilt instead of batting. And then the other thing is instead of using traditional batting, you can use anything that’s squishy. So you could use, like, a, kind of, sweatshirt material. I think I’ve seen some quilters use, like, repurposed old t-shirts, and it is a little more work, and it can get a little bit bumpier, but you can use whatever you want in the middle or nothing.

Helen: Ah. That’s interesting. Like, you could put, like, an old fleece blanket in there.

Bhiravi: Exactly. And that’s your batting layer.

Helen: Cool. Awesome. That’s great. Okay. What about other tools? I mean, obviously our listeners probably have a lot of sewing tools already. Are there specifically quilt tools that they might want to get their hands on?

Bhiravi: So with quilting specifically, the first thing that you’ll run into is that you need to cut your fabric, and if you’ve done a lot of garment sewing, you may already have a acrylic ruler and a rotary cutter, but for me, those are, kind of, must-to-have just so that you can cut accurately at the sizes that your pattern or your quilt design needs.

You’ll also need basting pins or spray or something to, kind of, hold your quilt together. Both of them work really well, and it’s just a matter of preference, so either one is great. If you’re hand stitching, you will need needles that are a little bit thicker for that. You can either use Betweens which are meant for, like, small quilting stitches, or I will often use a needle that’s meant for, like, embroidery or millinery work if I’m hand quilting with thick thread.

And then also when you get to the binding stage, you may want binding clips to, kind of, hold your quilt sandwich and your binding together. That is going to help you get really neat stitches if you’re machine binding or hand binding. But overall, my philosophy is, kind of, that you can start quilting with what you have on hand because patchwork is an old art form and it’s based on using what you have and, like, available materials and repurposed materials, so I would say just dive right in.

Helen: Yeah. You can even use old garments, like, patchworking denim together looks really cool. So just try it, just give it a go and see if you enjoy it. And if you do, then you could take on a bigger quilting project.

Bhiravi: Yeah. Helen, your patchwork Ashton Dress has lived on my Pinterest board for forever.

Helen: Oh. Thank you so much.

Bhiravi: It’s so beautiful.

Helen: I had so much fun with that project. Yeah, I absolutely loved it. And it’s just really cool to reuse those older things or scraps that you have lying around. It makes you feel very accomplished.

Bhiravi: Absolutely and sustainable too.

Helen: Yeah. Well as garment sewists, we’re used to using patterns. So what are our options for learning traditional quilt patterns?

Bhiravi: Yeah. So there are certain books that are encyclopedias of different quilts and blocks and patterns. And one that I see referenced often is called the Encyclopedia of Pieced Quilt Patterns by Barbara Brackman, and that will give you a great library to start from.

Helne: Amazing and blocks also seem to go by lots of different names or vary by region or some names just mean different things. So how do you, like, look up and find what you’re looking for?

Bhiravi: Yeah. If I see inspiration somewhere, if I go to a museum and I look at a quilt, or I hear something online, I will just type in whatever name into Google that I know, and sometimes you will see those additional names, variations come up. A good reference book will list out the multiple names that a quilt block might have. And then when you start to look at quilt blocks, you’ll, you’ll hear all sorts of names, and just know that you might have multiple names for the same thing or very similar. In particular, if you’re into star quilt blocks, I feel like that’s super popular. You will see things like the Sawtooth Star. Um, and then a variation on that is the Ohio Star. And then you’ll see the Feathered Star, the Lone Star, the Blazing Star, um, and some of those have regional variations as well. There’s also things like the Carolina Lily or Cat’s Cradle or the Churn Dash, the Friendship block. And you’ll, kind of, learn as you get more familiar with quilt patterns.

Caroline: And none of these are really trademarked, like, you can, different patterns designers will use these different, special blocks in their patterns. There’s no, like, rules about whether or not you can use them.

Bhiravi: Yeah, so the colloquial names kind of belong to everyone, right? They’re just in like, common domain, I guess. So all of these names that I’m, kind of, saying right now are just common names for quilt blocks, things like the Log Cabin. And then if you go to an individual designer’s site, say Then Came June’s Nova Star, that is something that Megan came up with, and so that is, like, her name for her pattern.

Caroline: Ah, got it. Okay. Next question that I have is what would you recommend, like, what quilt size should a beginner start with? I’m asking for a friend.

Bhiravi: I feel like this is aimed at Helen.

Helen: I feel very attacked.

Bhiravi: Um, so you can start with any size you want, and I know that a lot of people will start with baby size quilts cause they’re really small. They’re super manageable to get through your machine. You could also do a wall quilt which can be a baby size or smaller. All works. For me, like, I don’t have a baby. I didn’t have anybody to give my quilts to, so I started with throw size quilts because I knew that’s what I would use most often, but it wasn’t necessarily as big as a bed size quilt that was really hard to wrangle through my machine. Um, so I would say a baby size or maybe a throw size, but the smaller your quilt, the easier your job will be on that first one.

Caroline: Okay. What size calls are you making Helen?

Helen: Um, it’s a bed size quilt.

Caroline: Cool, cool, cool.

Helen: I did pa-, when I passed the, like, throw sized marker, when I had enough blocks to make the throw size, I thought about stopping, but I’d already cut out all the pieces, so…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: …I want to, I want to go all the way, but, um, I love the idea of a wall quilt. If you don’t want to, you know, necessarily have, you know, quilt a throw quilt or you don’t have babies in your life you want to give quilts to. A wall quilt is a really cool idea, or you can do, like, table runners or placemats, those kind of smaller projects can be really fun. And another thing I’ve seen, speaking of all these, like, classic blocks, uh, is people making lots of different blocks that are completely unrelated. You know, you’re just trying, I’ll make a Sawtooth Star and then I’ll make a Churn Dash and then I’ll make a Flower Basket. And then you put all those together into a kind of patchwork quilt where you’ve just explored all these different techniques.

Bhiravi: Yes, and if folks are interested in learning more about that, those are usually called sampler quilts, and there are specific books or patterns, or even, like, traditional ones you can look at that have an assortment of techniques in them.

Helen: Oh amazing. Okay. Sampler quilt. I’m on it.

Bhiravi: By the time that this episode comes out, actually, in November, I think there’s actually going to be a sampler quilt project that I’m part of, and that is going to be, um, in partnership with Amanda, from Broadcloth Studio, a bunch of other, um, quilt pattern designers, and we’re putting together a sampler quilt to go with, by the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston

Helen: Oh, so cool.

Bhiravi: That would be a free pattern and sew along.

Helen: Wow. So like all these different designers are contributing a block, and then they all go together.

Bhiravi: Exactly. So if you want to make that, I will be sure to link it on my webpage and in my Instagram. You’ll see me posting about it if you listen to this episode when it airs.

Helen: Oh, cool. Yeah. It’s such a great way to learn different techniques, and then in this case, get exposed to lots of designers, which brings us to our next question. There are some amazing modern quilt patterns and designers out there, including you. So what are some of your favorites? Where should our listeners go and start following people for inspiration?

Bhiravi: Absolutely. So jumping right in, I made a list of some of the quilt patterns that are my favorites and that I would recommend to people just starting out. So the first one is the Meadowland Quilt by Then Came June. This is, kind of, I think of it as the internet’s favorite pattern because everybody wants to make a Meadowland Quilt. Um, Then Came June, Megan Buchanan, is one of my favorite quilt pattern designers because I absolutely love her style, and I love the way that she shares her quilting practice and her life as well. So I would go follow her. You can also, if you’re more advanced or if you’re ambitious, like Helen, you can make her Nova Star Quilt pattern.

Helen: Thank you. Thank you. Applause. No applause needed. It’s fine.

Bhiravi: Alright, and then another quilter that I really love because of the way that she teaches and the way that she puts colors together is Susie from Susie Quilts. And specifically, I really like her Maple Quilt, which is just a few big strips pieced together in a medallion style, and I also really like her Gather Quilt as well. And so she really plays with construction, and she’s a graphic designer by trade, so she has really great diagrams on her quilts.

Helen: Cool. I’m clicking through all the links as you’re talking, so it’s really fun. I encourage our listeners to do the same.

Caroline: I love the Maple. Okay, here’s the problem: I’ve already made two quilt tops and not actually quilted them. And now I want to make another one because this Maple Quilts is so cool.

Helen: But, Caroline, those were, like, five years ago. Like, you got to move on. What advice would you give somebody if they were like, I made two shirts five years ago, and I never finished the binding on them and now I can never sew again?

Bhiravi: Well, Caroline, I think what you need is a long armer. I think you need to send the quilts to a long armer, and they will do the quilting.

Caroline: Yeah, no, I know.

Bhiravi: And then, they’ll be finished.

Caroline: Okay, thanks for the pep talk, guys.

Helen: It was a little bit of, like, harsh love. I’m sorry.

Caroline: Yeah, no, that’s totally fine. I can take it. Okay. What else? What other quilt patterns, uh, do you love, Bhiravi?

Bhiravi: Okay, so my friend, Amanda at Broadcloth Studio has a quilt called the Sonnets Quilt. I really love this one because it has, like, it’s basically a gentle introduction to modern improv quilting. So you make all of these little improv squares, and then the pattern has you join them together with this solid sashing, and it looks really, really beautiful. So I would recommend that one.

And then Erin at The Blanket Statement has a lot of great, like, modern, graphic, kind of, quilt patterns that feel, like, really fresh. And in particular, I start-, when I first started quilting, I remember seeing her Pine Falls Quilt on Pinterest, and I now test for her, but I, I did tell her that story of, like, when I first learned about modern quilting, I remember seeing your pattern and it, kind of, got me interested. And then she also has the Crosslake Quilt and the Birch Point Quilt, and those are two designs I really love.

In terms of newer designers, Tesselate Textiles, Christine, has the Karnak Quilt, and it is this beautiful half square triangle, kind of, based pattern. That is, it looks a lot more complex than it is. It’s really, really gorgeous. Archaios Quilt Company, the Demeter Quilt, is a really good one that plays with flying geese and color. And then Anna at Wax and Wane Studios has, um, the Quilt Runes Mini Patterns series, and that is a series of, like, wall quilts that come with, like, advice on hand stitching and just look gorgeous. I think.

Caroline: I love them. So inspired.

Helen: You should see Caroline’s face right now.

Caroline: I love that there are so many options for smaller quilts that you can use as wall hangings cause that feels very approachable to me. Like, just dip your toes, you know, that’s how. I’m so excited about this.

Helen: You’re feeling inspired. That’s good.

Bhiravi: Yeah. I will also say that if you are looking at a block based quilt and it looks really cool and you want to make it and you don’t want to commit to a whole quilt, you can just make a block and turn it into a tote bag. There are definitely tutorials out there for that, or a wall hanging or whatever you want. You don’t have to make a whole thing.

Caroline: Awesome.

Helen: Um, that is so true. It’s, kind of, like that mantra where if you don’t like a book, you don’t have to read the whole thing. Like, you can try it, and if you don’t really enjoy, maybe you just didn’t like making that pattern for some reason, it’s fine. You don’t have to finish.

Bhiravi: That’s true.

Helen: Yeah. Oh, this is such a great list. Thank you for prioritizing beginner friendly patterns. I definitely encourage our listeners to check these out. We’ll be putting them all in our social this week, so you’ll see them on there if you follow us @lovetosewpodcast.

Caroline: I had one other quick question about patterns because I think a lot of our listeners are used to reading, like, indie garment sewing pattern instructions. And I wonder if there are any, like, differences that you want to point out between quilt patterns and garment sewing patterns when you’re, sort of, reading them and using them?

Bhiravi: Yeah. So when you start reading a quilt pattern and you look at a quilt pattern for the first time, I would say, don’t skip any of the notes sections upfront, like, make sure you read through it and don’t just skim it. Um, because some of the base assumptions like seam allowance are different. And just reading that beginning section will give you a good foundation. And if you don’t understand something from there, just Google it. I’m pretty sure you’ll be able to figure it out. So that’s the first thing.

The second thing with quilt patterns is the cutting charts can be, kind of, overwhelming. Most quilt patterns don’t have templates like garments do where you print it out, piece it together, and cut it out with scissors. Some do, but most quilt patterns will give you a chart of cutting instructions, and they will say, cut this many strips of fabric and cut it into pieces of this size. So when you first look at that, that can sometimes be a little bit overwhelming, but I would say just go slow, one step at a time, and you’ll be fine.

And I will also say that it is really helpful to print that sheet out so that you don’t get confused. So I like to print out my cutting chart, and then I circle, like, the column or whatever that is for my size of quilt. And then I, like, check off each item as I cut it, so I don’t get confused. So those are my tips.

Caroline: Awesome. Thank you for that. That’s really helpful. And are there any books that you would recommend to our listeners?

Bhiravi: Yes. So the first quilts that I made was from this book called Simple Geometric Quilting by Vacilando Quilt Co., and I highly recommend this book because it is super approachable. It is organized by order of difficulty and types of units and everything in there looks really modern and I, I think it’s great. There’s also Urban Quilting by The Weekend Quilter, um, by Wendy Chow, and that book is full of amazing quilt patterns again, in that, like, modern, fresh style. So both of those, highly recommended.

Caroline: Fabulous. Okay. And we want to tie it back to garment sewing one more time. Obviously, you can make, kind of, quilted garments. So do we have any good options for garments that include quilting techniques?

Bhiravi: Yes. So I was mostly thinking about quilt coats with this section, specifically because quilt coats have been having, kind of, like, a moment lately, and I feel like everybody wants to make one.

Um, recently there is the Hovea Jacket, I hope I’m saying that right, from Megan Nielsen. So that is one that is actually designed to be a quilted jacket. And there are plenty of tutorials from both garment sewists and quilters available through Megan Nielsen’s blog that will, kind of teach, you how to make it.

There’s also the Tamarack Jacket from Grainline Studios, and that one I know is a Love to Sew classic. It’s TnT. Um, so that is again a pattern that is intended to use quilted fabric which is really great. And then there’s also the Grainger Coat that is from Muna and Broad, and I saw that you guys had added it to the list, and I was, like, I’m so glad that you mentioned this one because it has a really complete size range, and again, is intended to work with quilted fabrics. And then the Nova Coat finally is one that I have seen be turned into a quilt coat, um, even though, you know, you have to change the instructions slightly to make it work.

Caroline: Awesome, and that one is a Papercut Patterns.

Bhiravi: Yes.

Helen: Papercut Patterns. You really can get creative with adding quilted elements to your garments. It doesn’t have to be something that’s designed to be quilted. You could use a small piece of quilting in a garment or, like, do some patchwork on a garment. We were talking with, um, Francisco from @ciscosews about that earlier in the season. So get creative. You can start, uh, implementing some quilting techniques in your garments, or you can start actually making a quilt or a quilted project if you want to get into quilting. I’ve been super enjoying it myself in the last year, so I hope that some of our listeners will dive into quilting or maybe you’re already a quilter, and you knew everything in this episode, and this just made you feel really good.

Bhiravi: And I will say the Ashton Dress, uh, from Helen’s Closet Patterns is really great in a denim patchwork, and you can check that out on Helen’s website.

Helen: Thank you. Oh, wait, I have one more question. I just noticed it here. Okay. this is very applicable. How do you stay focused on a quilt and actually finish it? Because after this episode I want to make, like, 10 more quilts, and it’s so hard to resist starting a new one when I’m not even done with the one I’m currently on. Does that happen to you?

Bhiravi: I often have multiple quilting projects going at once, so I may not be the best person to ask. But in terms of, like, actually finishing a quilt start to finish, um, it can be hard, especially for those bigger bed size quilts, so I would say, just give yourself time on that. And then I also like to divide out my tasks. So, like, I will devote, you know, a couple evenings to cutting out all the pieces for a quilt. And then on a separate day, I will start sewing. And then I’ll give myself again, like, several days, several weeks, several, you know, long stretches of time to actually do the sewing of the patchwork. And then when it comes to basting, like, I like to do that on a separate day, so I, kind of, split everything out, so it’s not too much at once.

Helen: Yeah, that makes sense. And then just try to resist buying supplies for more quilts.

Bhiravi: Yeah, I can’t help you with that. I have too much fabric.

Helen: Fair. Fair. I’ll just struggle on my own. No, no, it is so fun to collect, uh, the different quilt patterns on Instagram and Pinterest, and I’m just building up a library of things that I’m excited about. So thank you for all of your suggestions and thanks for giving us Quilting 101. It was really informative, and I don’t know about our listeners, but I feel very excited. I’m going to go work on my quilt right now.

Bhiravi: Absolutely. Thank you so much for having me. This has been really fun, and you guys are my favorite podcast, and I really appreciate you having me on.

Helen: Aw, thanks.

Caroline: Ah, thank you. Before we say bye, tell our listeners where they can find you online.

Bhiravi: Yeah, you can find me online on Instagram @strawberrycreekquilts, or you can find me strawberrycreekquilts.com.

Caroline: Amazing, and we’re going to have some awesome show notes for this episode with tons of links and pictures, and yeah, we really appreciate you coming on. Thank you so much, Bhiravi.

Bhiravi: Thank you.

Caroline: Bye.

Helen: Buh-bye.

Caroline: That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me Caroline at blackbirdfabrics.com and Helen at helensclosetpatterns.com. We’re recording in beautiful British Columbia, Canada.

Helen: Go to lovetosewpodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with links and pictures from this episode, all that quilting goodness. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, send us an email at hello@lovetosewpodcast.com.

Caroline: If you love Love to Sew and you want more, you can sign up for our Patreon. For $5 a month, you get a full length bonus episode and weekly behind the scenes pics. For $10 a month, you get all that plus a mini episode focused on sewing techniques and 15% off discount codes for Helen’s Closet and Blackbird Fabrics. Patreon is the best way to support us so that we can keep making this quality sewing content. Go to patreon.com/lovetosew for more info.

Helen: And did you know that we have Love to Sew swag? You can visit our shop to get tees, pins, and tote bags with art by Josie Adams of Hey Miss Designs. Tell the world that you’re a stitch witch, that you can make anything, or that you are a Love to Sew listener. Go to lovetosewshop.com to get yours.

Thanks to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant. Jordan Moore is our editor. And Margaret Wakelee is our transcriber. And thank you so much for listening. We’ll see you next week.

Caroline: Bye.

Helen: Buh-bye.

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