How to Hand Quilt Without Using Quilting Frames

I come from a long line of seamstresses, my great grandmother, grandmother, aunts and my own mother who handed down the skill to me. Great grandmother and grandmother sewed out of sheer necessity, my aunt and mother began their career as seamstresses for the same reason, but in later years developed their talents into a more lucrative career by making quilts and quilting other folks quilt tops for profit.

Quilters never throw away a piece of fabric, no matter how small that piece might be, it can be used in a quilt. Dresses used to be made from the coveted White Lily flour sacks, that came in various cotton prints. The floral print bags were carefully washed and kept until enough of the same flour sack fabric was saved to make a dress with, any leftover scraps went into the quilt bag for later use. The tiniest pieces of fabrics were 'paper pieced', a piece of newspaper was cut and used as a template, the tiny scrap fabric was then sewn directly onto the newspaper, and each precise 'paper piece' would be fitted together and expertly sewn into an intricate pattern. The paper would be removed when the quilt top was completed., and the quilting process would begin.

I learned to sew on my mother's Singer peddle sewing machine, which still works perfectly and I have displayed in my home. Peddle sewing machines gave way to electric sewing machines, sergers and long arm quilting machines.

The art of hand quilting is almost a lost art, understandably so It is time consuming and labor intensive, but a hand quilted quilt is something unique that you put a lot of yourself into and will last for decades, even centuries, if properly cared for.

In my foremother's time, quilting frames were considered a luxury, a luxury that they could neither afford nor had space for. Again, out of necessity, they developed a method of quilting that did not require quilting frames. That method was used by my aunt and mother, taught to me and I will share it with you. I, like them, have never owned quilting frames, and have been quilting for my family, as well as for profit, for several years.