September 02, 2026
DIY Quilting Techniques - a closer look at machine and hand quilting options

Perhaps one of the most exciting things about quilting, is just how many vast opportunities there are for creativity and variety. If you are creating your own quilted yardage or panels for garments like Loft, Pixie, Pathfinder and more, there are lots of quilting options you can consider - here’s a few you can peruse for your own project.

(Looking for information on piecing rather than quilting? Come check out our crumb quilting and foundation paper piecing guides! Or, come check out our step-by-step tutorial for creating your own quilted fabric.)

Machine Quilting Techniques

Generally one of the quickest ways to secure quilt layers together, machine quilting techniques are a popular option among modern sewists. Here’s a look at some of the different types. 

Straight-Line Quilting

Perhaps the simplest option for most sewists, straight-line quilting is achievable without any special equipment, on nearly any machine, and is relatively quick. We’ve included how to achieve this in the Loft Quilted Jacket pattern, as well as in a helpful overview in this post: How To Make Quilted Fabric

Close up of a woman wearing a pieced Loft Quilted Jacket in shades of purple, blue and white. Even straight quilting lines criss-cross to create a diamond quilting texture.

Decorative Straight-Line Quilting

Want to jazz up your straight-line quilting a bit? Consider adding in some decorative stitches! They add a really unique look to even simple materials for your project, like the lining in this Leaf Hip Pouch.

Stitch-In-The-Ditch

This technique is done by stitching in the lines created by the seams of your quilt top, for a very low-profile look. It secures your quilt and enhances the texture of your design without competing with it. This may be a technique you’d enjoy for helping a certain part of a design stand out, or if your quilted panel is more pictorial in nature.

A woman rests her arms on the window ledge of an old wood cabin, wearing a Loft Quilted Jacket made with half-square-triangle and squares. The quilting lines have been "stitched in the ditch" along the existing seam lines.

Make it a design feature!

In projects like the Leaf Blankets, the quilting is made to be a part of the design itself by creating the veins in the leaves while stitching the layers together. This same technique can be transferred to different quilt blocks and appliques in your design as well, depending on how easily you can maneuver your quilt under the machine.

A wooden picnic set and basket are laid out on top of a collection of Rangiora Leaf Blankets, from the Twig + Tale New Zealand Leaf Blanket Collection.

Free-Motion Quilting

This quilting style is much more organic and freeform than straight-line quilting, though it can follow prescribed patterns or lines if you want it to. To make it, you can draw lines yourself, use acrylic templates, or just let your hands be your guide for a really free-form look. It is accomplished by using a special free-motion foot for your sewing machine, and dropping the feed dogs so that you can stitch in all directions, rather than just forward. This makes guiding the quilt through the machine much easier, as you aren’t turning it all the time. Getting the pacing consistent can take some practice, so it may be best to practice on scraps your first time. 

A close-up photo of a freemotion quilt featuring white, pink, and green motifs. If you look closely at the quilting, there are loops and hearts all over.

Longarm Quilting

Many really intricate, all-over designs can be achieved by this specialized quilting technique, which utilizes a very large, free-moving sewing machine on a quilt sandwich that has been secured in a large frame. While this is not generally a machine type that home sewists have access to, it is a service you can often find to hire in your area, charged by the area being quilted. 

A close-up image of a white longarm quilted blanket, featuring intricate scrolls, paisley, and other designs.

Hand Quilting Options

Arguably the most accessible quilting option, hand quilting is limited only by the time it takes. You can create any design you want: following the pattern lines, adding additional design details, or using an all-over design. The process is slow, but rhythmic and straightforward, and generally completed with stitches that look relatively the same on the back, as they do in the front.

Straight-Line Hand Quilting

Much like by machine, straight-line quilting can be a simple place to start in your hand quilting journey. This is typically done with large running stitches, made in a sort of rocking motion for speed. You can mark your lines out, or use lines in your quilting design as a guide, doing as many or as few lines as you like depending on the quilting distance required by your batting.

A close-up look at the fabric of the jacket featured in the title photo shows a mixture of white, brown, pink, and yellow plant-dyed fabrics, quilted simply with large running stitches done by hand quilting.

Following Quilt Lines

If your quilt has motifs meant to make pieced shapes, such as a star, circle, or more, you can use your hand stitching to mimic these shapes at the edges, or even continue them through the shape to add extra dimension.

Close-up photo of a Loft Quilted Jacket being worn by a woman on a boardwalk surrounded by trees. It features large colorful star motifs, and the quilting lines follow the edges of them.

Freeform motifs

Like free-motion quilting, you can ultimately stitch any designs by hand that you like. Long wavy lines, concentric circles, meaningful shapes…just about anything is fair game, and all achievable in the space of your lap when sewing by hand.

A man wears a denim=pieced Loft Quilted Jacket, featuring hand-sewn concentric circles overlapping one another almost like ripples in a pond.

Tying

A faster hand-stitching option for securing quilts is tying, where single stitches are made with thick embroidery threads, and then tied on the top. You can make the stitches in a long line for speed, then cut them apart to tie. The main drawback to this technique is that it is not quite as durable - it leaves the quilt a bit more prone to damage, and won’t work with loose battings that require more dense quilting. (Not sure what we mean? Learn all about batting in this post all about the best materials for quilting.)

A woman wears a Loft Quilted Jacket made from a tied antique blanket featuring a variety of pastel colours. She is standing in front of a field of long grasses.

These are just some of the possibilities in the wide world of quilting - and there’s also never any reason you can’t get creative, and create your own looks! Just because something is typically done a certain way, doesn’t mean you can’t experiment. Play with layers, shapes, mixing styles…whatever you like! Let your creativity be your guide…and of course, come back to share your quilted projects with us, so we can celebrate them with you!

You can share them with us…

A woman with short silver hair is walking down a dirt road wearing a Loft Quilted Jacket made from a variety of linen scraps.

Here's the complete T+T Quilted Jacket Guide, with all our quilting resources at a glance!

Featuring photos by Esmé Valk, Dani Schleuter, Erica Wright, Julieanne Cavender, Lanie Kelton, Jessica Van Slooten, Mieke Oostveen, Larissa Van Kooten, and Carol Kite