Spiral quilting
A round spiral from the center of the quilt out to the edges, lines ¾" apart. It softens a quilt of straight seams and has no starts and stops at all once it is going.
By Editorial Staff
How to stitch spiral
- Fit a walking foot and lengthen the stitch to about 3 mm, 8 to 9 stitches an inch. Roll the sides of the quilt so the part under the machine lies flat, and support its weight on the table so it doesn't drag.
- Draw a 3" circle at the center and quilt it, then turn the curve into a spiral by keeping the edge of the foot ¾" from the line inside.
- Sew slowly and turn the quilt a little at a time; the outer rounds need the whole quilt turned, so give it room on the table.
Home machine, longarm or by hand
| Level | How | |
|---|---|---|
| Home machine | Intermediate | Walking foot |
| Longarm | Intermediate | Circle rulers or computerized |
| By hand | Better by machine | Too dense or too long a line to stitch by hand |
Thread for spiral
40 or 50 weight cotton.
| Size | Quilt | Stitching | Top thread | Bobbin thread |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crib | 45" × 60" | 100 yd | 138 yd | 138 yd |
| Throw | 60" × 72" | 160 yd | 220 yd | 220 yd |
| Twin | 70" × 90" | 233 yd | 321 yd | 321 yd |
| Full | 84" × 96" | 299 yd | 411 yd | 411 yd |
| Queen | 90" × 108" | 360 yd | 495 yd | 495 yd |
| King | 108" × 108" | 432 yd | 594 yd | 594 yd |
Stitching is measured on the drawing above at ¾". 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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