Quilt Assembly & Thread Choice

Yesterday I blogged about Inspiring Quilts. This posting contains the technique stuff I learned from Michael James's book.

1. Stretch the backing, good side down, tightly and pin down the sides.
2. Lay the batting over the backing. No pinning.
3. Cover with the top, show side up.
4. Smooth out the top and adjust the seams. Pay particular attention to the seams that define the pattern. Pin these key seams to the backing so they'll remain in the correct position during the rest of this process.
5. Use a tailor's basting stitch to secure the principal seams to the batting/backing. This extra basting step will take longer than the final quilting but the accuracy it affords is mandatory IMHO. (I want to look into using basting gun instead.)
6. Unpin the backing and roll up the quilt.
7. Quilting Thread & Foot—Nylon mono-filament as the surface thread with cotton-covered polyester thread in the bobbin. Walking foot prevents creeping of the top layer relative to the backing.
8. Quilt from the outside edges inward. This method helps reduce the distortion in the overal shape of the finished quilt.