Now that our fun runner top is done, it’s time for one of my favorite parts – the quilting! There are so many options with stitch designs, thread, and even what type of machine to use. You can really personalize your runner with this step. Let's explore some fun quilting ideas to achieve this.
Prepping Your Quilt for Quilting
Get started by making a quilt sandwich with the runner quilt top on top, batting in the middle, and the backing fabric on the bottom.
- If you are using your sewing machine, make sure your batting and backing fabric is about 1" larger than your runner top on all sides. This will allow for any shrinkage while quilting the runner. I have not had much shrinkage when quilting this runner with either my sewing machine and longarm quilter, but it's always good to have the extra backing fabric and batting just in case.
- I pin the sandwich together with quilter safety pins that are bent in the middle, about 3"-5" apart on the quilt. Regular safety pins work fine, too. I start pinning in the middle of the quilt smoothing the sandwich out as I pin.
- For longarm quilters, you'd prep this project just like any other quilt or runner on your frame.
Quilting Ideas
This runner is a great project to quilt on your domestic sewing machine. The runner's not too big and bulky, and there are many easy quilting stitch options that would look great for this project.
Straight Line Quilting
With this technique you sew straight lines an equal width apart. You can sew them vertically or horizontally.
Sewing Machine Foot Needed:
- A walking foot for your machine. The walking foot is a must-do as it makes quilting easier and smoother than a regular sewing foot.
- Start by stitching a straight line in the middle of your runner/quilt sandwich. I like to use Washi or blue painter's tape as a stitch guideline for this first row to keep my stitching straight. I stitch just outside the tapeline as straight as I can. I prefer this over using a water soluble pen to draw a straight guide line as I've found some pen marks don't wash out despite the water soluble ink.
- I space my lines about 1" apart for a runner this size and use a metal guide bar that came with my walking foot to keep my next stitching lines straight. I placed the bar about 1" from my needle and place the stitching bar on top of the row I just stitched while creating the new row.
- You can also opt to space your rows closer or farther apart. I liked the scale of the 1" lines for my runner.
- You can continue to use Washi or blue painter's tape if you don't have a guide bar with your walking foot or prefer that as a guide.
Here's a pic of the guide bar I have with my machine's walking foot.
Wave Stitching
Sewing Machine Foot Needed: A walking foot
A wave stitch is another simple, fun way to quilt your runner. There are two ways to do this technique:
Create the Wave
- Stitch your runner like a straight stitch, but instead move the runner slightly make gentle waves as you move across the runner.
- For the next row, start about 1” above or below it and echo the quilting by following the curved line below.
- You can vary the width of the stitch. I didn't use the metal row guide like I did with straight stitch quilting, but you can use that if it helps you make the waves. You'd just place the guide bar on the stitching as before and follow the waves.
Decorative Wave Stitch
See if your sewing machine has a large wavy decorative stitch. My Viking Opal 670 has a nice wide decorative stitch I can use with my walking foot.
- Start with a row of stitching in the middle of your runner and create additional rows about 1" apart.
- You may need to use a specific foot if you use a decorative stitch. Follow your machine's instructions for this.
- I didn't use a guide bar for this technique as it was hard to find a reference point for the bar and I liked the variety in the stitch width. I just eyed the distance and had fun making waves!
Free Motion Quilting
Supplies Needed: Free motion quilting foot for your machine.
The runner is a great project for free motion quilting, too. You could use a stippling stitch or fill in the borders and the inner panel between the flip flops with your favorite free motion design.
If you are new to free motion quilting, I’d check out these resources and practice first before quilting your runner with technique. Personally, I'm still very much a student learning free motion quilting and have found these resources helpful. Check out their sites for pictures of good examples of free motion quilting!
www.leahday.com - Leah has great tutorials for free motion quilting. My quilt guild shared one of her videos for a guild program and I found her teaching style to be very helpful.
www.creativebug.com – Sue Nichols’ free motion quilting tutorials. Sue's series details different free motion quilting techniques. Creativebug is a membership site that offers classes on different types of arts and crafts, including quilting. I can access Creativebug for free through my local library’s online resources, so you may check with yours to see what subscriptions they offer. I’ve also had a paid subscription for years (prior to my library’s access) and love that you can save your favorite classes.
If you are interested in exploring Creativebug, you can check it out here.
Longarm Quilting
This runner is a quick project on a longarm quilter. I love how you can quilt the runner quickly and have access to so many great stitch designs, especially on a computerized longarm quilter.
I’ve typically used beach-themed stitches or fun curves. On this runner, I used a stitch called seashell swirls and kept it loose. I also used white thread to create some good texture with the quilting and to keep the flip flops as the star focus of the runner.
Thread choices can also have a big impact on quilting. I recently used this stitch (Soho) and a variegated blue thread on a customer quilt that would be perfect for this runner. Either a coordinating solid color or variegated thread would give the runner a fun pop of color. The choice in thread colors and quilting designs is yours and a great chance to really personalize your runner!
To Quilt Over the Flip Flops...or Not
This is your choice, too. I've quilted around the flip flops when using my domestic sewing machine for the quilting. When I've used my longarm, I've quilted over them to keep the quilting design consistent. It's really a matter of preference, so go with what feels best for your runner.
Don’t own a longarm? Here’s a couple of options:
Check with a local longarmer. See if there's someone in your area you can hire to quilt your runner. This would be a quick or small project so costs should be minimal.
I can help! If you are in the US, I can quilt your runner for $25 + plus shipping back to you. This includes a special quilt design of your choice, 80/20 batting, and thread. I can also help with binding, too, for an additional cost. Feel free to reach out to me at info@coloradothreadworks.com for more info.
Final Steps
Binding
Now that the quilting is done it's time to bind and finish your runner. I typically bind this runner with the same fabric I used for the borders. But feel free to use what you think will work best for your runner.
Binding seems to be something quilters either love or hate. I love to bind and do both hand-binding and machine-binding. I typically consider how much use or washing the quilt may get to help me decide if it's best to hand-bind or machine-bind it. If it's a quilt that could be used and washed often, I lean toward machine binding. If the quilt is an heirloom piece or special quilt, I hand-bind it. Either way I usually have a smile on my face when I am binding my quilt. My husband has started calling binding "quilt dessert," which I think is very appropriate!
Next Week
It's time to get together and share our runners! I'm hosting a live Zoom call on Thursday, July 31th at 4 pm MST (Denver). Please note a time change from Tuesday to Thursday this week due to a change in my schedule. Look for the link in the Tour de Fabric Quilt Along Forum and in your inbox in the next few days. If you have not signed up for our Quilt Along emails, you can do so here.
I hope today's post gives you some good inspiration on how to quilt your Flip Flop Hop Runner! Please feel free to share more about your runner in either in the Tour de Fabric forum for this quilt along or email me at info@coloradothreadworks.com. I'd love to see them! Happy Quilting!