CANDY STAR Quilt Along, Part 5: Start Quilting

Hi, I’m Satomi from Satomi Quilts and welcome to CANDY STAR Quilt Along, Part 5! This week we are making the quilt sandwich and starting free motion quilting.

Make the Quilt Sandwich

Before quilting, make the quilt sandwich. Place the backing on the wrong side up, quilt batting on top of the backing, and then quilt top on the batting with the right side up. Use the curved pins to baste the three layers. If you prefer spray basting, go ahead and follow the instructions provided with the basting spray you choose to use.

Free-motion Quilting and BERNINA Q 16

I free motion quilted on the Q 16 using my go-to Silk-Cotton Thread by Mettler Threads. Here are the quilting designs I used for this project:

• Allover loops for the block
• l’s loops for the block
• Wishbone for the sashing
• Motif for the cornerstones
• Feather for the borders

First I divided it into 2 sections in the Candy Star block. I quilted allover loops in the center diamond starting from one corner and landed at the opposite of the corner. Then, I placed the needle in the down position so that I could shift the quilt top and was ready to quilt the next part.

This corner is also the starting point of the next quilting of the outer triangle. I quilted with L’s loop and this one looks like the lower case letter “L” in cursive. Keep quilting all outer triangles with L’s quilting and this way you can quilt each block continuously.

After quilting each Candy Star block, I quilted sashing with wishbone. I started from one of the corners of the sashing and landed at the other end of the corner.

For the cornerstone, I added a free motion motif.

How to Quilt the Cornerstone

1. Mark the diagonal lines on the center square with Hera marker.

2. Start quilting with the top corner of the center square.

3. Quilt with gentle curve as shown below.

4. Go back where you started.

5. Quilt around the center square with gentle curve and go to the next corner.

6. Again quilt with gentle curve to the other side of the corner.

7. Go back to the corner where you started.

8. Quilt around the center square with gentle curve and go back where you started.

Machine Quilting Tips for Beginners

If this is your first-time machine quilting this size on a domestic sewing machine, I recommend quilting from the center block toward the outside since the backing fabric will shrink as you quilt.

1. Quilt the center block.
2. Move to the sashing and cornerstones around the center block you just quilted.
3. Quilt the next Candy Star block and repeat the process.
4. After quilting all the blocks and sashing, then quilt the borders.

CANDY STAR Quilt Along Schedule

• PART 1: PREPARE FABRICS
• PART 2: CUT FABRIC AND MAKE 5 BLOCKS
• PART 3: MAKE 4 BLOCKS AND CORNERSTONES
• PART 4: ASSEMBLE THE QUILT TOP
• PART 5: START QUILTING
• PART 6: FINISH QUILTING AND COMPLETE

Next week will be PART 6. We are finishing up quilting and attaching the binding to complete the project. Also, I will share how I quilted on the borders.

Happy quilting!