Sew Inspirational

What Judges Look For

By Narelle Grieve

There are many factors which make an award winning quilt. The judges, who are carefully chosen by the organisers, take much time in scrutinising each quilt in the categories. Decisions are made after discussion, which is sometimes very intense. A category may be put aside and another category judged if a decision is difficult to make. Then the judges come back and reconsider.

You can rest assured that responsible judges take their task very seriously and realise the importance of their decisions. The usual number of judges is three.

Organisers of the Exhibition invite the judges after much consideration. It is good to have judges who come from varying fields: e.g. a traditional quiltmaker, an innovative quiltmaker and someone who is not necessarily involved with quilting, but is of an artistic nature.

The visual impact is the first impression of the quilt. This will happen regardless of whether the quilt is a traditional or innovative. They stop you in your tracks; they take your breath away. You have to stop and look at it closely and keep coming back to it, wondering how the quiltmaker achieved one aspect of the quilt or another. These quilts are not always the recipient of a prize, because within the category, there may have been better quilts. Viewers at quilt shows often seem to think that the judges are blind, or they may have totally missed the quilt they love so much. Unless the quilts are hung by category, it can be difficult to compare the quilts in each category.

Some factors which are taken into account when judging are the following:

THE GENERAL APPEARANCE
The overall impact and artistic merit of the quilt. Factors included in this are the condition of the quilt, the degree of difficulty, fabric quality and if the quilt sits well.

The sides of the quilt should be flat and even, unless the quiltmaker has chosen another option.

COLOUR AND DESIGN
There should be a rhythm and balance in the composition and colours should be harmonious. If this is not the intention of the quiltmaker, as in some innovative quilts, the intention of the quiltmaker should be obvious to the viewer. If blocks are used in the quilt they should be in straight lines both horizontally and vertically. The quilt should flow and have a balance of unity and a sense of proportion.

PIECING AND APPLIQUÉ
Whether the quilt is pieced or appliqued, the construction should be of a high standard. Straight seams should be straight, whether appliqued or pieced, and curves should be without sharp angles. The applique stitches should not be visible; they should be firm, small and not loose. Often when the stitches are too loose and quilting is next to the line of stitching, the stitches gape. The thread used with applique should match the colour of the piece being appliqued. With machine applique, the stitching should be constant and not varying sizes, unless that is the intention of the maker.

A common occurrence is when darker fabric shadows through the light fabric being appliqued which can be very distracting to the eye.

Points on piecing should be precise and pieced accurately with the seams flat and well pressed. If a striped fabric is used and the intention of the quiltmaker is to match the stripes, this should be accurately sewn. Similarly, with mitred corners; if a stripe is used the stripe should match accurately with the mitre.

The quilt top should be carefully pressed so there is no distortion to the pieces.

MACHINE QUILTING
There are many quiltmakers who choose to machine their quilts, this is an art in itself, and is equally as effective as hand quilting. However, because it is sewn on the machine and is faster to execute, care should be taken in the preparation of the quilt. Machine quilting takes longer to unpick! The stitches should be uniform on the front and back of the quilt. The tension should be correct with no loops on either side. The straight lines should be straight and the curved lines smooth. There should be no pleats or puckers on the front or back. There should be an even amount of quilting on the entire quilt, this way the edge will be smooth. There should be no knots on the front or back of the quilt, they should all be ended invisibly.

HAND QUILTING
The criteria for hand quilting is similar to that of machine quilting. The stitches should be the same size on the front and it should not be possible to see where the threads have begun or ended. Straight lines should be straight and curves smooth. Of course, the smaller the stitch the better, but consistency is more important than a few small stitches, then a few large ones. There should be no knots showing on either the top or reverse side of the quilt.

There should be no marking lines visible in either technique. The colour of the quilting thread is not a major factor, if a contrasting thread is chosen, remember that the stitches will be more visible and subject to recognition if they are uneven.

In both machine and hand quilted quilts there should be a balanced amount of quilting across the whole quilt. The quilt should be looked at as an entirety when deciding how to quilt. A common fault is that quilters look at each block in the quilt, instead of looking at the whole quilt.

TIED QUILTS
With tied quilts the knots should be uniform in size. They may form a secondary design, but whatever choice is made by the quiltmaker, the knots should be firm and hold the piece together.

FINISHING DETAIL
The type of edging or binding is often something which lets a quilt down in judging, although it is by no means the most important aspect. The binding can be likened to having a picture framed with just the right frame. As much care should be taken with the bindings of quilts as with the body. The binding or other chosen edge should be securely flat and neatly sewn. If the corners are curved, they should be well rounded and the binding should not be stretched. The binding should be full of batting, this ensures longer wear.

There should be a label attached telling the name of the maker, date made and any other relevant information which may be of importance to either the maker or the recipient of the quilt.

The next time you attend a quilt exhibition try to judge the show yourself. Be unemotional about the quilts, look at each one critically (but silently; you never know if the maker is beside you!) and decide which quilt you would have chosen to win the prize.

Whatever the reason you make a quilt, whether you make if for the specific purpose of entering it in a competition or to keep someone special warm, remember that judges do not have any emotional attachment to your quilt. They realise that you may have spent hours in the making of it, but will know nothing of the events which were shaping your life when it was made.

If your quilt does not win a prize in the Exhibition don’t take it too much to heart. Remember it is the opinion of the judges.

If you make a quilt, you have achieved, and the person to whom you give the quilt will always know that it is something special.