Philippa says...
Philippa answers common quilting questions.
Philippa's general class supply list
We have been asked about the supplies needed for each of the classes. Lots of the classes do have a specific list for you, or a section at the beginning of the class where I show you what will be requ...
How Philippa Squares up a large quilt before binding (or piping and binding)
When I have a large quilt to square up I clear furniture and spread it out on the floor. I get all my quilting squares and rulers, my long tape measures and also long squares/rulers from my husbands w...
How to get the best results from your steam iron
If your iron is a regular steam iron I suggest you empty your iron when not is use so water is not sitting in the chamber. Distilled water is recommended, failing that cooled water from a boiled kettl...
How to pull the top thread to the underneath when you are doing machine applique
The technique of pulling the top thread to the underside is exactly the reverse of what you do when you want to pull the bobbin thread to the top of the work. Lower the needle into the fabric and drop...
How do you pick which colours fabrics to put together in your quilts?
This is a tricky one and so personal.Ā I know I've been teaching and a student has selected fabrics and I've secretly thought 'hmmm' - and then when the piece is finished it looks fab!
I think the eas...
Why don't you re-print your books?
There has been quite a lot of chat recently about my book AppliquƩ Mastery and so I'm going to explain my position and the history on this.
I wrote it in 2014 and lovely Kim was the outstanding graph...
What sewing machine should I buy?
Sewing machines are such a tricky thing to advise on. Getting a cheaper machine will not be the nicest sewing experience and may put you off. But then getting a more costly machine when you are new to...
Help! - I'm having problems with my rotary cutter
There are actually quite a lot of reasons why your rotary cutter might not be working very well:
1. It's an old blade (unlikely if you are a new quilter) so not very sharp any more. Treat yourself to...
How to square up and cut strips from full width fabric.
The following tips assume you are right handed. Reverse these instructions if you are left handed.
Clear a good space on your table and in regard to chairs and stuff on the floor around you. The tabl...
How to avoid chopping off your points when sewing a half inch wide binding onto pieced quilt tops which only have quarter inch seam allowances.
Without Piping
To put a half inch wide binding on a quilt with pieced blocks, and no piping, I would cut the batting/wadding and backing bigger than the quilt top. I would then layer up and do all th...
