How to do trapunto by machine
Baste, trim, quilt, wash.
Step by step
- Put high-loft batting behind the motif. Don't add the backing yet.
- Stitch round the outline with water-soluble thread on top.
- Turn over and trim the extra batting close to the stitching.
- Layer backing, standard batting and the top, and baste.
- Quilt the outline in permanent thread.
- Quilt the background densely, then wash to dissolve the basting thread.
Watch
Trapunto on Your Home Sewing Machine Machine Quilting (7:37)
By LandauerPublishing · Open on YouTube
Chosen from its title and channel: a 7-minute video from LandauerPublishing on the same topic as this guide. Embedded from YouTube with credit; we don't host it. It only loads when you press play.
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Sources
All checked 1 November 2026. We read these; we did not test the products ourselves.