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Toad Tips

Toadusew’s Tips and Resources Section

Welcome to the Toadusew Toad tips Section

If you are having trouble with any of our patterns this section was designed to provide you with additional assistance. If you have found an error please report it to us right away. Corrections and updates to published Toadusew patterns are available here.

Preparing Your Fabric

  • It is highly recommended that you wash your fabric prior to starting a quilt project.
  • Any shrinking will take place prior to quilt assembly, reducing pucker.
  • Excess dye in the fabric will be removed without running into neighboring blocks.
  • Chemicals and sizing will be removed, reducing skin irritants and dryness while working on your quilt.
  • Serge or pink raw edges prior to washing to prevent fraying. Wash and dry fabric with the same settings you plan to use when laundering the completed quilt.
  • Use a “Color Catcher” to pick up excess dye.

Building A Color Grade

  • Creating a good color gradation is what gives this quilt its stunning appearance, making your choice in colors and fabrics a critical element in color grade quilts.
  • Fine Tuning – Abrupt changes in color shades and values will be obvious in the overall design. A red lens will help detect problems.
  • Subtle & Simple Prints – Select fabrics with subtle patterns, gentle movement and smaller prints.
  • Test Your Choices – Prior to cutting fabric for your entire quilt build a test block to make sure that the fabrics interact.
  • Get a Second Opinion – Your local quilt shop is the ideal source for advice and guidance in fabric selection.

Drawing On Fabric

  • Once fabric drawing is complete use wax paper to heat set the drawing. Place the fabric between two sheets of wax paper.
  • Place a paper towel or pressing cloth over wax paper to protect your iron. Use a high setting and press for 1 minute while constantly moving the iron in broad circles over the fabric.

Accurate Cutting

  • Fold selvage to selvage making sure that the fold has no puckers or wrinkles. The raw ends may not match, which is normal.
  • This straightens the grain of the fabric, allowing you to “true” the fabric. Lay the fabric on a cutting surface with the folded edge closest to you.
  • Use the crease where you folded on the grain of the fabric as the guide for ruler placement. Once the crease is lined up with a line on your ruler, make your first cut. Stabilize your ruler when cutting to keep the cut true.

Organizing Your Fabric

  • As you cut your fabric, it will help to keep it organized. Pinning pieces together and labeling them or storing them in marked zip lock bags will save you time and prevent you from losing pieces during the construction of your quilt.

Strip Piecing

Preventing Seam Wobble & Puckering When Sewing Strips
  • When sewing long narrow strips together, alternating the direction of your seams will reduce waviness and wobble in the final product.
  • If your seam shows any puckering increase your stitch length.
  • Repeat this process every third or forth cut as it will prevent long strips from bowing should your cuts vary slightly.

Joining Strips

  • Place the end of two strips perpendicular to each other, right sides together.
  • Draw a line crosswise from corner to corner.
  • Sew a straight seam along the marked line.
  • Leaving a quarter inch seam allowance, trim away excess fabric.
  • Press seams open to reduce bulk.

Raw Edge Machine Appliqué

  • Click here to visit the “Steam A Seam” Website for manufacturers instructions
  • Always do a test block prior to beginning your project.
  • Place the fusible material over the chosen motif. Using a permanent marker make a clear tracing of the entire motif on the front of the fusible material. The appliqué will be a mirror image of the motif – if you want an exact duplicate, use a light box, and place fusible material on the reverse side of the design.
  • Using scissors rough cut around the motif leaving a minimum ¼ inch seam allowance. Separate and discard the back paper layer.
  • Prepare your appliqué pieces, all at once, and attach all the appliqués that will not be placed over seams prior to piecing. Motifs that sit over seam allowances will be fused when quilt top is complete.
  • Using sewing machine secure the edges of all motifs with desired stitch. Satin, Zig Zag or blanket stitch add a decorative effect. Prior to sewing motifs test stitch types, sizes and thread colors on scraps. If using a blanket stitch, reduce stitch size as motifs corners are approached.

    • Additional Helpful Information

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Planning Your Quilting Design

  • Keep an inspiration book. Cut photo’s from magazines and note what you liked, keep articles about quilting techniques, appliqué pattern sheets that can be converted to quilting designs etc. Don’t throw away your doodles!
  • If your quilt is busy in it’s piecing or fabrics, consider a simple all over design; 1/4 echo or simple medium stippling. Intricate quilting on a busy quilt will be lost.
  • Examine your quilt and draw shapes that reoccur throughout the quilt. Use those shapes to create a motif that will work throughout the quilt.
  • Soften quilts with strong geometric shapes by adding curved quilting.

    • Additional Helpful Information

    Click here for quilting tips
    Click here for marking tips
    Click here to see our additional information links

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Machine Quilting

Preparing to Quilt
  • Cut batting and quilt back, piece together if required, so that they exceed the size of the quilt top on all sides by 2-4 inches. Iron both the back and the top.
  • Mark the quilt top, if required, prior to layering and basting your quilt. Once this is done use your preferred method to layer and baste the quilt.
  • Using any scraps, assemble a practice quilt sandwich. Attach walking foot and stitch a line. Check the stitches on the top and bottom of the practice sandwich. Make any adjustments to stitch length and top tension, retest if necessary, until desired results are achieved.
General Quilting
  • Quilting in the ditch should be done first as it will stabilize the quilt for any additional quilting.
  • Work in straight lines across the quilt starting from the center. Finish any quilting that can be completed with the walking foot prior to free motion quilting.
  • Pull your bobbin thread up to the top by holding the top thread and dropping your needle up and down once. Pull the top thread back up to the top and the bobbin thread will follow it.
  • You can lock stitches by gently holding the fabric in place and allowing the feed dogs to move the quilt under the needle in very small increments. Sew 6-8 small stitches and release pressure.
Free Motion Quilting
  • For free motion quilting set up your machine up in the following manner: select straight stitch length of 0, reduce your presser foot pressure if required to do so by manufacturer and disengage or cover feed dogs.
  • Use a practice sandwich, get a feel for manually regulating the stitch length with the speed you run the machine and how you move the fabric.
  • Try not to look right at the needle, instead look ahead to where you need to go next.
  • Don’t judge your work as you go. If you stitch out of place, avoid being anxious about it, in amongst all your other beautiful quilting, these little errors won’t be noticeable at all.
  • When stippling, imagine that you are drawing an S in different sizes and orientations.
Preparing Your Quilt for a Long Arm Quilter
  • Make sure that your seams are all pressed correctly and the top and back are well pressed and wrinkle free.
  • Make sure loose threads are trimmed from both sides of the quilt. If there are any weak seams reinforce them.
  • Stay stitch the edges of the quilt. Sew 1/8 inch from the edge of all sides. This will prevent the edges of the seams from coming undone.
  • Make sure your batting and backing are 4 inches larger than your quilt top on all sides. If your quilt is predominantly dark, provide dark batting.

    - Asta Dorset, Professional Long Arm Quilter

    • Additional Helpful Information

    Click here for quilting design tips
    Click here for marking tips
    Click here to see our additional information links

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Perfect Quarter Inch Seam

  • From your scrap bin cut 3, 1.5″ x 5″ fabric strips. Adjust your machine for it’s quarter inch stitch. Sew the strips together and press using your preferred method. You should now have a pieced unit that measures 3.5″ x 5″. If this is not the case then you will need to adjust your sewing machine accordingly. This test not only accounts for the way your machine is set, but also the way you cut and press.
  • Use mole skin or painters tape to create a ridge that you can butt the fabric up against while you sew. Make sure the tape is at the correct location to achieve the quarter in seam, then perform the above test.

    • Additional Helpful Information

    Click here for pressing tips
    Click here to see our additional information links

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Pressing

  • Prior to pressing your seams, set them. This is done by leaving the right sides together and pressing the unit while it is still closed. This will take care of any puckers that occurred during sewing and tighten the stitches.
  • Lightly finger press the seams prior to using the iron
  • Press the iron down on the seam, pick it back up, and press down on the next piece. Avoid pushing the iron along the surface of the fabric as this can cause distortion.
  • The greatest advantage in pressing seams closed is the strength of quilt is improved. In addition to this your quilting methods are unlimited (you can’t stitch in the ditch if you press open). For these reasons we advocate pressing closed.
  • A good rule to follow when pressing, is to press the seam to the side of the darkest fabric whenever possible. This is not always possible as some seam joints simply won’t easily move that way. If this is the case simply press the seam in the direction that creates the least overall bulk.
  • Spin your seams when you have intersection of 4 or more.
  • A finished block that is too small can be enlarged with an aggressive hot steam iron :-)
  • If you have to change the direction of the way a seam was pressed always close the unit, press, and then repress in the desired direction.
  • The heavier your iron, the better results you will get.

    • Additional Helpful Information

    Click here for 1/4 inch seam tips
    Click here to see our additional information links

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Marking Quilt Tops

  • Whenever possible mark the quilt prior to creating the quilt sandwich
  • Use a light box for complex patterns
  • Use a sand board to keep the quilt from shifting while marking. A light box is also an ideal tool for marking complex designs.
  • Test your marking tool on a scrap piece of fabric from your quilt top prior to marking in order to avoid any unpleasant surprises when it comes time to remove the marks.
  • Use Mylar to trace quilt patterns and make your own templates for shapes that will be repeated in your quilting strategy. It is also helps to mark placement guides on the Mylar in order to avoid having to measure for each placement of the design.

Finishing & Binding

A Quick Finish
  • We use Quilters Hangup Quilt Sleeves. They come with everything you need to attach the sleeve to the quilt, are fast and simple to install and will save you fabric. best of all, your quilt will not sag or droop on the pole. For more information on this great product, click here.
A Quick Finish
  • Layout and pin your quilt top to the back right sides together.
  • Sew a ¼ inch seam around the edges of the quilt leaving an opening on one side. Secure your stitches at the beginning and end with a back stitch.
  • Lay out your batting on a flat surface. Make sure the batting is smooth and without wrinkles. Lay the inside out quilt on top of the batting. The wrong side of the quilt top should be next to the batting.
  • Sew the batting to the quilt around the edge following the ¼ inch seam line on the quilt leaving the open area without stitching. Use a long stitch length such as a basting stitch to secure the batting.
  • Trim the batting close to the stitched edge. Turn the quilt inside out through the opening in the edge. Turn the quilt top edge at the opening over the batting and turn the back under ¼ inch.
  • Hand sew the opening closed with a slip stitch. Baste your quilt sandwich with thread or pins to keep it flat while you quilt.
A Traditional Finish
  • Using a large square ruler and rotary cutter, trim the batting and back of the quilt so they are even with top. True the corners first, then the remaining edges.
  • Join all binding strips together end to end. Press the entire length in half, right sides facing out.
  • Attach the binding to the quilt top using a walking foot. Lay the binding strip on the right side of the quilt top, aligning raw edges of the binding and the quilt. Leaving a tail, start sewing halfway down one side using a straight stitch and quarter inch seam. Stop sewing a quarter inch from the corner and lock stitches.
  • Fold the binding at a 90 degree angle, with the tail of the binding pointing away from the quilt. Fold the binding up, and then back down even with the edge of the quilt. Begin stitching at the edge of the next side, back stitch to secure and continue sewing around the entire quilt.
  • Stop sewing and secure your stitches when you get within 8 inches of your starting point. Leave an ending tail of 10 inches. Overlap your beginning and ending tails and trim so that the overlap is equal to the width of your binding. If your binding was cut 2 1/2 inches wide, overlap your ends by 2 1/2 inches. Move your binding away from the quilt, open it and join strips together (see to Toadtip: Joining Strips). Refold your binding in half and finish sewing the binding to the quilt.
  • Press and pin binding to the back and whip stitch, hand mitering corners as you sew.

Additional Helpful Information

Click here for quilt planning tips

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