Table Topper #1

Who said quilting with a walking foot is boring? Shown here is the front and back of the table topper from Quilt as Desired (Charlene Frable), revealing a simply classic, yet stellar design, quilted completely with a walking foot. Quilting tip: I used 50 wt. cotton thread (Mettler brand) in both the top and bobbin, a 80/12 microtex sharp needle, and a 2.0 stitch length. Follow the quilting directions as described in the previous post, but keep your needle down in the fabric when pivoting slightly to quilt diagonally. Next stitch in the seam line between the purple circle and the blue/purple print fabric. I used a star stencil to mark the center circle and quilted it with matching Mettler cotton thread.

Binding note: I decided a piped binding would best finish this project. I cut 2" bias strips of blue fabric and used purple fabric for the piped accent. I used an acrylic yarn inside the piping strip to get it to stand up a bit. This was my first attempt at piped binding and I think it turned out well. My only issue was the edge finished a bit tight and tended to curl up in spots. I pressed it well and that helped. On a second attempt, I will clip the edge slightly to help it lay down before sewing the binding down.

Remember, this pattern makes two table toppers. Next time, I'll show you a different way to quilt it using a darning foot and a free motion design.

Copyright 2008, Sharon Baggs