Why Hand Quilting?

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Starting out, hand quilting seemed like the simplest way of stitching a quilt together. Not the fastest, but the most straight forward. When you hand quilt, you slowly pass over every inch of the quilt you’re making, paying real care and attention to each stitch. Truly a labor of patience, meditation and love.

Quilting by hand doesn’t give you perfectly straight rows of unbroken thread - you end up with wonky, uneven dashes that give a quilt character and leave the mark of the maker. It makes every quilt one of a kind and gives a nod to the long tradition of quilt making.  

Back in 2016, I started machine quilting a handful of quilts as a more economical way of producing work - it’s significantly faster and reduces the end price, making owning a handmade quilt more accessible to more people. Think art prints vs. original paintings.

But I do still hand quilt my one of a kind quilts (which I plan to do more of) and the whole cloth linen collection. Because while it’s not the fastest or the most practical, it turns a piece of fabric into a piece of art. 

Laura Preston

Designer + maker living, working and traveling in an Airstream trailer since 2013

https://www.vacilandoquilting.co
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Why The Materials?