I love quilting but I have really only ever hand quilted – a long, slow and very rewarding process.

When I decided a quilt would be the perfect keep-sake gift for my son’s 10th birthday I had only days to make it, so it was going to have to be quilted with the machine.

I decided on a red and navy theme and got to sewing stripes of Fabric.

This quilt introduced me to a lot of new techniques. The first being spray basting.

This process is so simple and quick!!! As long as everything is well pressed and lying flat it really is quite easy.

I ironed my backing fabric and then lay it out on my table-tennis table. I used masking tape to keep the fabric stable on the table and then carefully placed the wadding on top of it. The fabric was a little bigger than the table so I had some overhang on one side. To start the gluing process I folded the wadding back over itself perfectly evenly on the long edge. I then carefully sprayed the first half of the wadding with glue following the manufacturers instructions. I then lifted it back and pressed it evenly onto the fabric to ensure it was smooth, starting in the centre and working out. I then repeated the process with the other side. I first needed to move the overhanging fabric onto the table and secure it with tape. I then folded the wadding back onto the glued side and repeated spraying it with glue and smoothing it over the fabric.

Next I pressed my top fabric so all the striped seams were facing in the same direction. I repeated the spray gluing process, this time with the fabric on top of the wadding. I spray glued on the floor rather than the table-tennis table this time.

Once the top fabric was securely attached I started machine quilting, in the ditch. This was my first time doing this and it wasn’t as hard as I expected. I sewed up in one direction and then back in the other direction to ensure the fabric was evenly spread and didn’t start twisting. I rolled the fabric into a big tube so I could more easily manage it as I sewed.

Once I finished I trimmed the overhang of the backing leaving a 4cm seam around the outside.

This overhanging fabric then became my binding. I folded it in and hand sewed it in place.

It’s not perfect but I’m really happy with how it looks. Here’s a view of the back.

My son loves it! I hope it is in his life for many years to come.