Quilting Designs

There are a huge variety of quilting designs that are possible these days. Here is my definitions of what is possible for commissioned quilts made by the Joyous Quilter. The price of quilting is charged by the square inch so, generally speaking, the larger the quilt the more expensive it is. The one exception to this is Trapunto which is a considerably more intense quilting technique and is therefore is more expensive.

All of the costs shown below include thread, batting and labor.

Tied ($0.02)
In the technique of tying a quilt one uses embroidery floss or crochet yarn and makes one stitch at predetermined intervals, usually in line with the pieced pattern, and makes one stitch from the front to the back of the quilt and back to the front. The yarn is then tied in a knot and the loose ends clipped off at around half an inch long.
This technique is the least robust of all quilting methods and is meant for a quilt that has light usage.

Simple ($0.03)
Simple quilting is lighter than a pantograph or designing a custom quilting pattern. Elements of more complex patterns may be introduced depending on the nature of the quilt. Possibilites include "stitching in the ditch" or "echo quilting".
Stitching in the ditch means carefully sewing as close as possible to the stitch line between pieced elements of the quilt. Afterwards it is difficult to see where the quilting has been stitched on the front of the quilt.
Echo quilting follows elements of piecing or appliqué, outlining those elements with one or more stitching line.
An example of simple quilting is "Composition Alpha" in the Commission Gallery.

Pantograph ($0.04)
A pantograph is a repeating pattern that is printed onto a long paper roll and can be carefully followed by a quilter with a laser pointer that is attached to the quilting machine in order to reproduce the pattern in stitch form onto the quilt. A pantogrpah is often referred to as an "edge to edge" design as the pattern is applied from one side to the other of the quilt in repeating and of interracting rows and takes no account of the piecing design. An example of a pantograph was used in "Rock On!" in the Commission Gallery.
See below for the pantographs that are currently available for commissioned quilts.

Custom ($0.05)
Custom quilting is one of the most creative and fun techniques and greatly considers the design of the piecing or appliqué used. A typical example is that which I used on "Change & Flow" in the Commission Gallery.
Custom also includes the use of quilting templates which can form all or part of the design.

Complex ($0.06)
Complex quilting is where intricate design or special technique or several changes of thread color may be called for. A combination of other techniques discussed above may collectively produce a complex design.

Trapunto ($0.07)
Trapunto is an intense and complex technique producing a heavily quilted but beautiful appearance. Elements of the design contain additional batting resulting in a three dimensional appearance, see "Oak Leaf Wedding Ring" as an example (on the Comm'n Gallery page).