Loop quilting design
Loops, also called loop-de-loops, are a line that curls back over itself every inch or so, worked in rows about 2" tall. It is the free-motion design where crossing your own line is the point.
By Editorial Staff
How to stitch loops
- Drop or cover the feed dogs and fit a free-motion (darning) foot. Run the machine at a steady medium speed and move the quilt smoothly with both hands; the speed of your hands sets the stitch length, and 10 to 12 stitches an inch is the usual aim.
- Stitch forward, then curl up and back over the line to make a small loop, and carry on forward. Keep the loops the same size and the same distance apart.
- At the end of a row, curve down into the next row and loop back the other way.
Home machine, longarm or by hand
| Level | How | |
|---|---|---|
| Home machine | Beginner | Free-motion foot |
| Longarm | Beginner | Freehand |
| By hand | Better by machine | Too dense or too long a line to stitch by hand |
Thread for loops
40 or 50 weight. Because the line crosses itself, thread builds up a little at each crossing; a finer 50 weight keeps it neat.
| Size | Quilt | Stitching | Top thread | Bobbin thread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crib | 45" × 60" | 127 yd | 175 yd | 175 yd |
| Throw | 60" × 72" | 204 yd | 280 yd | 280 yd |
| Twin | 70" × 90" | 297 yd | 408 yd | 408 yd |
| Full | 84" × 96" | 380 yd | 523 yd | 523 yd |
| Queen | 90" × 108" | 458 yd | 630 yd | 630 yd |
| King | 108" × 108" | 550 yd | 756 yd | 756 yd |
Stitching is measured on the drawing above at 2" rows. A lockstitch takes about 1¼" of top thread and 1¼" of bobbin thread for each inch it sews; we add 10% for starts and tails. To check your own machine, sew 12", then measure what came off each spool.
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