Have you been brave enough to quilt with minky yet? I remember growing up seeing lots of quilts with the dotted minky backing and they were always my favorite to wrap myself up in.
Quilting with it was a whole different world! I started with baby quilts. Smaller, less intimidating. It. Was. A. Disaster.
Source: Fabric.com
I don’t mean it went okay and I’m being dramatic, I mean it went truly terrible. Before I scare you too much, I was a new quilter and working with minky probably wasn’t a great idea!
The hardest part was keeping the minky flat, square, and in the right place! It seemed to slide, stretch and move whenever I moved my quilt.
Since then, I’ve worked with minky many times, and have definitely learned some tips and tricks! I also teamed up Shannon Fabrics for a few of my quilts this summer and they have the dreamiest colors and length options.
It was fun to quilt with minky again, and I remembered all of the little things that help with being successful.
I thought I’d share them here, so without further ado..
5 Tips for Quilting and Sewing with Minky
Tip#1: Use the right needle
Shannon Fabrics recommends using a stretch needle (90/14 to be exact) which will help as you’re sewing.
I picked one up from my local quilt shop and honestly it was a lot easier to stitch using the right needle!
Tip #2: Keep a vacuum handy
I was really happy that I had my handy Dyson nearby to suck up all the floaty bits that come off the edges as you cut. Surprisingly, once you vacuum the edges, it doesn’t really shed after that.
Tip #3: Baste, pin, and baste some more
I mean it, whatever you do to secure your quilt sandwich or fabric pieces, double it. Triple it.
Okay you get the point. I usually do spray baste (Odif 505) and pins, for minky I do extra pins. And extra spray.
Tip #4: Use a walking foot
A walking foot is one of those things that new quilters usually don’t have (at least I didn’t!) and honestly, it should just come with a machine. They’re so helpful!
I find myself using mine for lots of things. It helps guide your fabric through by moving the top of the fabric, so it’s not just the feed dogs doing all the work.
Tip #5: Lengthen your stitch
Experiment a little to really figure out what stitch length works best for your minky.
The Shannon Fabric Luxe Cuddle minky that I used recently worked really well at 3.5mm+ when I was quilting.
There you have it! Now you can avoid the disasters that I experienced with minky as a new quilter. If you’re scared or nervous.. just remember, trying new things can be good. And at the end, you’ll have the cuddliest, most fought over quilt in the house. At least ours are!
