1) When I first began making quilts using photos, I was very reluctant to actually quilt on the photo. The quilting, I felt, would distract from the detail of the photo rather than enhance it. When I wanted to quilt, either by hand or machine, I would treat Kona cotton myself, rather than use either 200-thread-count fabric or the pretreated sheets. Kona cotton is softer, and although it has more texture that a higher thread count fabric, the images were still bright and clear.
- 2) However, when I began working with the larger sizes of pretreated sheets (EQ comes in both 11 x 17 and 13 x 19 sizes, which we can special order), the large unquilted area made the images somewhat puffy, so out of necessity I began quilting them. Surprise, it didn’t ruin the photos at all. Here are some of the things I learned: (since I haven’t learned how to get paragraphs in the blogs, I am numbering them and you’ll just have to pretend)
3) Use a small needle and fine thread for the quilting, unless you want it to be a decorative element (see below). I use a 10 or 12 needle, and 50-weight thread. I try to use as few colors as possible, probably because I’m lazy. Sometimes a middle value of grey will work for all the quilting. Slightly darker works better than lighter, and greyed colors work better than bright. You can match the thread color to either the foreground or background. If there are architectural elements in the photo, they are easy to outline and give depth to the photo. If I am working with people, I’ve discovered I don’t like the look of quilting on a face, so I usually just outline the face to the hair line. Clothing is another area that can be outlined to add depth. Remember, though, that a heavily quilted area will recede, while unquilted areas are accented. Quilt as though you are sketching, and don’t worry about backtracking or crossing over previous stitching.
- 4) If you want to make the quilting more decorative, use a larger needle and machine embroidery thread. I am fond of Madeira thread, which is soft and shiny and quite visible. Tip: If you plan to cover an area of a photo with stitches, “Posterize” your photo first to lower the number of colors in it. Both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements can do it.
These are great tips, - thank you for sharing.
I am with you on the “not quilting on faces” thing, - although it is not that I do not like the look so much as not liking the feeling of “stabbing” someone’s face with the needle, especially someone I know. I am trying to overcome this by practicing threadpainting on faces, - just small samples as a start so that I do not have to be afraid of ruining a whole quilt.
Thank you so much for posting this– I am trying to figure out how to machine quilt a top that has several picture of the Arizona and California deserts in it. They are too large to leave unquilted, and yours is the first site that deals with how to go about quilting a photo. I tried looking for close ups of other photo quilts, but there really aren’t that many, and very few that are something you’d want to emulate. Your quilts are gorgeous! Thanks again!
Good stuff.