This is the last installment of this series of how to tie quilting knots in quilts. Quilting bee style!
For the last couple weeks, I have been helping a lovely group of ladies tie quilts for seniors that are graduating from high school. About half of the ladies that came to help had never tied a quilt before.
So we had fun learning and quilting together.
Today I will be sharing the third of three quilt tying stitches that I know. The Crow's Feet stitch is the most complicated of the three, but it is still easy.
For this one you will need a really long needle. I like the doll needles that are about 6 inches long. The longer the needle, the farther apart your stitches can be.
Start by approaching your stitch from the edge of the quilt, between the top and bottom layer of fabric. I like to stay on top of the batting too when I travel, but that is up to you.
Leave a thread tail long enough that it peeks out the edge of the quilt.
Come up through the top layer to start your stitch.
About 1/4 - 1/2 inch away go down through all the layers, then come back up again about the same length away, to make a backwards stitch. If you did it like I did in the picture, your needle will be pointed toward the starting point.
Pull your needle through, but not all the way. Leave a nice loop of thread on the top side. Thread your needle through the loop. Do not pull tight.
It should look like this so far.
Last, your needle goes down through the last hole but only through the top layer. Travel through the layers to the next stitch and pull the threads tight. It should make a Y shape, like this. This is why it is called a Crow's Feet stitch, because it looks like crow's foot!
This is what it will look like after a few stitches. I used dark thread under a thin fabric, otherwise you shouldn't be able to see the thread under the fabric. Traveling through the batting is harder, but it also prevents seeing the thread too.
This is what it should look like on the bottom.
This one is easy to do, and once you get into the rhythm of the ins and outs, it moves really quickly.
I love doing baby blankets with this stitch because there is no risk at all of the stitches coming out.
Thanks for following along with this series of blog posts. If you know of any other stitches that you love, please leave a comment below so I can find out about it too!
Have fun quilting!
I really like the finished look. Sharing with my guild. Thanks.
Hey Moriah!
Thanks for asking! To tie it off, I tie a knot right at the edge of the quilt that will covered with the binding. Or I leave about a 6 inch strand going through the batting. That will hold and not show.
How do you tie it off? And how do you start without a end showing if you can’t start at the edge?
Thank you for the detailed explanation of the crow’s feet stitch. I was hoping for a live tutorial but I couldn’t find one, this explanation was great and with practice it works very well. Love the stitch.
I’m so excited to find this stitch for quilting, my mother in law made beautiful quilts using this stitch, she’s been gone 24 years and I’ve always wished I would of had her show me how to do it. I’m now making quits for my children and grand children using this stitch. thank you