Appin

If you google vintage crazy quilts you will get some ideas. Many UK vintage quilts, victorian era, were velverts and satins, crazy patches and heavily embroidered. Colours are so rich with these fabrics.

SueZQ from MN

I don't know if you have all of your piecing already done or not, but maybe I can help you or others that are interested in working with velvet. I have sewn velvet for clothing as well as décor items and have found out a few things that have greatly improved the final outcome. Velvet frays horribly, so when you cut it out, use a pinking shears or a pinking blade in your rotary cutter and be sure that your seam allowance is very generous. Do not use too high heat and never press on the right side of the fabric. Consider investing in a needle board for pressing, or borrow one from a sewing friend. Velvet crushes easily from pressing and sometimes the steam holes on the iron faceplate can leave permanent marks on the fabric. Both of these problems can be lessened by using a needle board. I have had a Dritz brand for over 50 years, and it was an expensive notion when I purchased it, but I was even more surprised to see how pricey they are today. (In my opinion, it is worth the investment as it can be used with any fabric that has a nap to it.) Investigate purchasing a used one, just make sure that they aren't damaged, or rusty. It doesn't have to be huge in size, just large enough that the iron does not hang out over the sides of the needled area or you'll get a mark along the edges on the fabric. I hope that something I have said will be of help to someone out there. Working with velvet can be a real learning experience, but the end results are spectacular. Good luck.

cashs_mom

I've also used velvet fairly extensively in clothing. A lot will depend on whether it's velvet or velveteen. Velvet is rayon or silk with rayon backing. Velveteen is cotton and a bit more forgiving. I second the needleboard but have also found that a plush towel is a fair substitute if you don't want to invest in a needle board. Be very careful with the pressing. As SueZQ said, velvet marks easily. Velveteen not so much.

You can used flannel instead of backing to make it a bit lighter. If you want to use backing, I'd look for the lightest weight batting you can find. There are some very thin ones out there.

I'm not sure about trying to hand quilt. I think the big stitch as mentioned earlier in this thread would be the only way you could do that.

juliasb

I love crazy quilts and have only done one full size crazy quilt. I tied it in the traditional way using yarn. The velvet was no problem. It is disbursed through out the top. No batting and a dark cotton backing. The weight of the top, since mine is foundation pieced was enough weight with just the cotton backing. I would not recommend glue basting on a quilt like this because I would not be washing it right away. it is important to know if all the fabrics you use are machine washable unless your plan is dry cleaning when necessary. I even use lame in my crazy quilt. So it will be dry cleaned when the time comes. the choice is always yours on the backing. No matter the weight of the top should be enough to keep anyone warm enough.