How to add quilting to your printed LTW dollhouse quilt
What is a printed LTW dollhouse quilt?
A printed LTW quilt is made from a high resolution scan of an original LTW Miniatures hand pieced, patchwork dollhouse quilt.
Printed quilts bring plenty of charm and detail to your miniature world, but because they are printed rather than the many hours of stitching that goes into a real patchwork quilt, a printed quilt is a more affordable option to add colourful cosiness for your dollhouse miniature collection.
The patchwork patterns are beautiful, but if you would like even more detail and texture for your miniature printed quilt, you can add quilting!
About quilting
Quilting is the process of stitching together three layers of fabric, ordinarily this means the top layer, the batting or wadding and the bottom layer. It's a little different for dollhouse quilts as I don't include batting in my dollhouse quilts because that makes them too stiff to drape.
You can still add decorative quilting stitches to your printed quilt for added detail and texture.
I would highly recommend quilting by hand, as this will give you more control. Margins for error are a lot smaller on dollhouse miniature quilts than real sized ones.
Plus if you hand quilt, you can do it sat on the couch with a bit of rubbish TV on - a very cosy way to spend an evening!
How to add quilting to an LTW printed quilt
You will need:
- LTW printed quilt - find the full range here
- Embroidery thread
- A needle that's as fine as you're comfortable with, but longer is better
- Scissors
- Optional: a thimble to save your fingertips!
Let's get mini quilting!
- Separate out your embroidery thread into individual strands. A little goes a long way in miniature! I have used complimentary colours, but you could go contrasting or even a totally different colour combo. Endless possibilities!
- Tie a very fine knot. Go in from the edge or back of the quilt and firmly pull your knot through. The backing has a much looser weave than the front, so this is the easiest way in. This is the trickiest bit! It can take a few attempts to master.
- Add your quilting stitches in your desired pattern. I do a few at a time, being careful not to pull too hard as this will wrinkle the quilt top. If it does wrinkle, stretch it out as you go.
- Always consider the back as well as the front of your quilt.
- Once you've finished a section, or your thread is near the end, tie a little knot on the back of your quilt and sew the trailing thread into the inside of the quilt.
- Keep going until you're happy with your quilting design, front & back.
A note on machine quilting, or if you want to add wadding.
It is of course possible - and much faster - to machine quilt if that is your preference. It is however much harder to hide the untidy beginnings and endings of your machine quilting when the back is already on your printed quilt.
I would recommend adding a new fabric backing to your quilt, and machine quilting as desired, then adding binding in the traditional way.
I don't tend to add batting/wadding, as it makes it very difficult to drape your quilt realistically, but if you prefer a more 3D textured look it can be a fun way to achieve that.
Avoid actual batting, and instead experiment with thicker jersey cottons, or I've even seen kitchen tissue used! When you've finished, you may need to pin your quilt in place if you want it to drape.
Fancy giving it a go yourself? Find all my original LTW printed dollhouse quilts here.