How do you winners get your quilting to show?

[bobbipatillo]

most of the quilting I have done looks invisible to me. Not necessarily the thread color but the lack of "puffiness" or the dimensional aspect. Is it the type and thickness of the batting? If the stitch tension is looser that will be a mess right?

Tell, Tell

Bobbi

[Jessica Gamez]

the quilt I just did had wool batting on top of hobbs 80/20 to make the quilting show a little better.

For great pictures, quilting shows a lot better with side lighting. I have a window on the side of my studio and when the sun shines in without any lights on in the house, the quilting shows beautifully.

[LynnQuilts]

The batting has a lot to do with how much the quilting shows. The thicker the batting, the more the quilting will show. Some battings are more puffy than others, and therefore will show the quilting more. Wool batting generally shows the quilting very well, as does most poly battings. Cotton is flatter and doesn't show the quilting quite as much. And some cotton battings show it more than others. A thin cotton will obviously not show the quilting very much. You can also, as Jessica said, put two battings together, like a cotton on the bottom and wool on top, or poly on top, give it a little more definition that way. For photographs, the side lighting is what makes the quilting show up, like Jessica said. You could have the most puffy quilting and if you just take a picture straight on with a flash, you will see very little of it. The side lighting is the key for making the quilting show up on photos.

[MtnBarb]

Bobbi, great question. I was wondering the same thing.

[ramona-quilter]

I take photos of all of my customers quilts. I include a photo on the invoice for them, too. But I really take the photos for me; they help me remember the motifs and designs that I used and how I did them. It is like a photo journal. I blog them, too and include the kind of batt and thread that was used. It is for me, though.

I have a tall foyer that is perfect for hanging my customer quilts for photographing. If I want the quilt definition to show, I do not take pictures during the day. The big windows provide too much light to see the shadows that really define your quilting. I have my DH hold one of those cheapo clip on lights down low but pointing up toward the quilt and I get just enougth shadow to see the quilting. I also get a straight on shot just to show the full quilt mostly to help me remember what it looked like and to print on the invoice for the customer.

Batting does make a difference in quilt definition. I think all the BIGs use wool because it is so lofty. I like it too, because it breathes, like cotton, it is natural. Quilter's Dream Puff is also wonderful for quilt definition.

[Sandra Darlington]

I have been playing with different battings since I bought my Liberty. I find that I love using Quilter's Dream battings, and love the wool best (so far). I also like the Puff for defination. Their cotton is wonderful...well, I guess I just like all their battings. I do not use the real thin batting as I think I would stretch it too much.

While we're on the subject of wool battings...has anyone ever had a problem with cloths moths? That would be my only concern. I've had the little buggers eat holes through my good wool sweaters and even in a wool blanket.

I'd love to hear comments about wool battings.