by Sandra | January 26th, 2010
After spending so much time trimming trapunto for machine quilting the normal way, which is sewing around the trapunto elements with wash away thread and a layer of batting behind the top–no backing, I wanted to see if there was a different way to achieve the look without the trimming step.
For some time I had been thinking about trying machine quilting with two batting thicknesses as I machine quilt all of the layers. The usual wool with a thinner batt combined for the trapunto effect. Then recently I learned that the competitive longarmers had been doing this already for competition. Would it work on a home machine?
The one thing you can’t do at a quilt show is feel the quilts. I would have known by feeling those quilts, that they are stiffer and do not have the drape of a normal combination of top, one batt & backing. I did not like the feel or the drape of my sample at all.
The other problem I had was the tension with the loft. For machine quilting, we have to pin it and do not get the consistent tension and “flatness” that the longarm rollers provide. For me, it was like trying to walk through deep snow. My hands ached after a few hours of quilting and I felt like I had run a mile. This was just a small sample! Can you imagine a big quilt? Fitting the added bulk under the machine head would also be problematic.
Nice fill on the cookie, but the background is rather thick, which is hard to capture in a photo.
As far as the trapunto effect of the design elements, I found I did not like the one size fits all approach. Although dense quilting filled the areas that were supposed to be flat, these areas felt particularly stiff because of all that batting density was heavily compressed under the stitching. Back to the drawing board and the usual trimming for now. This technique looks good hanging in a show, but for me, it didn’t pass the feel and drape test of what a usable quilt should have.
I will keep playing to find a different technique to satisfy both the aesthetics and the drape and feel for my preferences.
A side note: The blue background is not as neon as in these photos. I can’t seem to get the camera to capture the right “blue” and it would take too much fussing in Photoshop this morning. I have to get back to work! 
Sandra
It is such a treat to see more of your talent. Will this pattern also be in the book ?
I look forward to your blog every day.
I hope you are managing the quilting comfortably with your wounded hand.
Sandra,
You do the most amazing work! Your teapot is absolutely beautiful – reminds me of the traditional English chintz teapots…
I will be following what you do with your batt choice with great interest. I too home machine quilt, and struggles with the bulk from the quilt sandwich often! Using wool has made manipulating the bulk easier, but I have found that I have to pin the quilt sandwich a lot more… thus adding to the weight.
I’m a longarmer, but I am in complete agreement with you about using two battings. It does make for a very stiff quilt, so I will stick with the soluble thread method. When I enter a quilt in a judged show I often get a comment on the “excellent drape” of my quilt. They must feel a lot of quilts that are stiff as boards!
very interesting ! Thanks for the info . So what your saying is that you used two batting layers and just quilted to get the puff in the cookie ?
When you do it with the trimming, how do you go about putting the extra battingin ? Do you do it after you have appliqued around some of the cookie, then insert the batting ?
I know you don’t cut the back .
Thanks Ivory Spring, that is exactly the look I was going for witht he teapot.
Jan I am so glad to hear from a longarmer that I wasn’t off on my experience and results. They DO get a lot of stiff quilts in show (they win). They show well, but aren’t very user friendly. My personal perference is that my quilts should have both. There is many a time on the road, I have used my show quilts for warmth in the hotel room. Especially now when they give you that “piece of fabric” at the end of the bed they call a blanket . Again, it looks good, but it isn’t very functional.
Boop,
Yep. When I layered the quilt, instead of just one layer of batting, I used two. So my quilt sandwich had a double spread of wool in the middle. No trimming atall just quilt as usual. It made for well filled trapunto elements and applique, but…..and this is a big but…….the squished down areas from the background fills were stiff and a bit distorted. If I had used a poly batt, the distrotion would have been horrendous. Wool tends not to distort at all with machine work.
I use the Machine Trapunto method normally. Hari Walner’s book is where I heard of it a long time ago and then I had Diane Gaudynski clarify for me in a workshop. (Thanks Diane!)
Basically this is what I do:
1) After my top is complete and marked, I saftey pin a thin batting to the quilt top back (I use the thinnest Quilter’s Dream Poly) behind the areas to trapunto.
2) I stitch around any motifs (quilting and applique) that I want to have a stuffed appearance with water soluable thread in the needle and bobbin. I use Superior’s “Vanish-lite” water soluable thread. Make sure you clearly mark this thread and don’t mistake it for white cotton thread!
3) Trim away excess batting close to the outside edges of the stitched areas.
4) Layer quilt as usual with top (that now has the trimmed trapunto), Wool batting, and backing.
5) quilt as usual. You do stitch around the trapunto areas again, because the water soluable thread will wash away leaving only the cotton thread you quilted with.
I hope this helps Boop!
Thanks Sara, no this particular pattern isn’t in the book, but the sugar cookie is part of the book pattern. I made this block pattern special for the “Tea with Me” workshop coming up. If there is interest, I could have it available as a block pattern. I usually design very specific patterns for each workshop that will cover specific techniques and problem solving issues with a project.
I am working around the hand to quilt and do the handwork, it isn’t my best work, but it isn’t hopeless either. AS long as the project isn’t heavy, I do OK.
Thanks for the lesson ! I will try it out in my next quilt !
BTW Your tea pot is wonderful !! I love the fabric as well as the detail !
I am intereted in this pattern, if it is possible. Thanks for considering it.
May I mention that Diane’s second book also shows how to do this and she credits Hari with the method.
Absolutely Sara! I will also add that Diane’s books are the DEFINITIVE books on machine quilting. If you want to learn to do it right and do it well, Diane’s books are the ones to buy without exception.
I spent a lot of money on classes to learn machine quilting from a lot of “national” famed instructors and also bought all the books on the market (of which I have since sold on eBay). I remained in first gear until I purchased Diane’s books and took a workshop at the Quilt Museum with her.
The best money I ever spent! I felt as though I had been handed the keys to the kingdom of successful quilting.