alwaysquilting
judysew4th
knitsnquilts
ladybirdee
In April a new issue of Down Under Quilts was published with an advertisement in it for Aurifil threads. This lovely Australian magazine also came with Issue 4 of “Collectors’ Series” of World Quilts. This time the chosen country was India. 
I have always been interested in Kantha quilts after seeing one owned by a friend many years ago. The little book on Indian quilting got me thinking about using Aurifil thread (the Ne 12 weight – the heaviest in our range) to stitch a sample with. I do not own any Indian fabric, and wanted to use what I had at home. This fabric is cotton and probably comes from Indonesia.
I put the three layers together, and used a fine batting as I was stitching through each layer. It does take time to do, and it is difficult to ‘eye ball’ the rows. It doesn’t really matter if the lines aren’t accurate as the pattern covers the errors. I find it best to cut shorter lengths of thread as you are stitching closely across the fabric.
Stitching across the fabric
The back of the stitching on the cream lining.
I needed to complete the sample in time to write this blog and decided to make a rotary cutter pouch. I cut the pattern from one I had bought at a local quilt show , as I thought it was a clever and unusual design. Luckily for me, everything worked well – always a risk when you try something out for the first time!
Ooops – sorry about the stray thread I forgot to cut after hand stitching the binding down!
If you are interested in the ‘look’ of Kantha quilts, it may be worth your while trying the Ne 12 threads – as they do glide through the layers easily.
Finished pouch
Filed under: Cotton Mako', Cotton Mako' Ne 12, Home page, Patchwork, Quilting | Tagged: Down Under Quilts, Kantha Quilting |
Always Playing with Aurifil Thread 
Very awesome idea!
Hope you can use it sometime.
I used Ne12 threads on a quilt I made last year, the quilting was big stitch and kantha style quilting. I tried other sorts of threads as well, but much preferred the Ne12 as it handled much better and gave me the sort of look I was after, plus there were so many colours to choose from.
Thanks Pip – there are so many lovely colours in the range – and I agree it sews beautifully through all the layers. Glad to hear you have tried this style of quilting – it must take hours to do a quilt, but the effect must be fabulous.