Master Hand Quilting
Master Hand Quilting, Steal My Best Tips, and Build a Sampler You'll Reference Forever
A look inside the Hand Quilting Sampler (HQS) workshop with Katie Zahm of Zahm Co.
Maybe you've scrolled past a photo of those big, cozy visible stitches and thought, I want to make that, only for a quieter voice to talk you out of it: I wouldn't even know where to start. My stitches would be a mess. Or maybe you've hand quilted before, it's just been a while, and you'd love a refresher plus a few tricks to sharpen up.
Either way, breathe easy. There's no wrong place to be starting from, and no perfect stitches expected here. Nervous first-timer, curious machine quilter, or someone shaking off the rust: you're all welcome at the same table.
The Hand Quilting Sampler, or HQS, is a six-hour class where you'll get real, hands-on instruction, walk away with my best tips, and leave holding a finished sampler you made with your own two hands. Come as you are, at whatever level you're at. Just bring some curiosity and a whole lot of permission to experiment.
What you'll actually learn
Most people think hand quilting is one skill: poke the needle in, pull it out, repeat. It's so much more than that, and by the end of the day you'll understand it not just as a way to hold a quilt together, but as a design tool.
Here's the thing: the look of your quilting changes completely depending on the thread weight, the needle size, and the stitch style you choose. A thin thread and small needle whisper. A thick thread and big needle shout. In this class you'll try more than seven different thread and needle combinations and see, right in front of you, how each one changes the personality of your stitches.
Along the way, you'll learn how to:
Go through the tools and notions together. Threads, needles, thimbles, markers, basting supplies: you'll handle them all and learn what each one actually does, so the wall of notions at the quilt shop stops being intimidating. Even better, you'll figure out what works best for your hands and your project, like which needle size and thread weight combo to reach for when you want bold, visible stitches versus soft, subtle ones.
Mark and baste your project. You'll feel the difference between spray, pins, and thread basting firsthand, so you know what you actually prefer.
Tie a quilter's knot, then "pop" that knot down into the batting so it vanishes (the move that makes people gasp the first time). You'll learn to start and stop your stitching right in the middle of a quilt like it's nothing.
Find your stitch. You'll practice the big stitch modern look, the traditional small-stitch look, and everything in between, using a simple rocking motion. The goal isn't perfection; it's rhythm and consistency.
Quilt lines, soft curves, sharp pivots, and grids through a series of guided templates, including motif-based designs where you decide where the quilting goes.
Try decorative binding stitches like straight, crossed, herringbone, and star, a finishing flourish that turns a plain edge into part of the design.
What Katie brings
Here's my favorite part of teaching this class: you don't have to buy a thing before you know what you like. I bring the good stuff so you can try it all first. And find your favorites. That means a full spread of Aurifil threads in weights 50, 40, 12, 8, and floss in a variety of colors, needles, the stencil templates for the sampler, your printed sampler label, basting spray, and thimble pad samples to test out. Play with every combination, find your favorites, and then decide what's worth adding to your own kit. No guessing at the shop, no buying five needles to find the one.
Your job is just to show up and I will help with the rest. This class welcomes everyone, from total beginners to seasoned quilters who just haven't tried hand quilting yet.
What you walk away with
This is the part I love most. You don't leave with a random practice scrap that ends up in a drawer. You leave with a finished (or well-on-its-way) sampler "book": four template pages of your own stitching that fold into a tidy two-page keepsake, complete with a cover, a label, and little ties to keep it closed.
And it's not just pretty, it's useful. Every stitch on it is labeled with the thread and needle you used (like "8, 1"), so your sampler becomes a personal reference guide, the thing you'll flip open for years to come whenever you're standing over a new quilt wondering, what thread should I use here? You'll have already tested it. It's right there in your hands.
You'll also walk away with something harder to photograph: confidence, and a rhythm. That quiet, slow, meditative pull of the needle that makes hand quilters fall in love with the craft in the first place.
Aurifil thread colors: 2930 Golden Toast, 2445 Victorian Rose, 2345 Raisin, 2566 Wisteria, 2847 Bright Envy Blue, 4644 Smoke Blue, 2850 Med Juniper, 4648 Cinnamon Sugar (variegated) each in a variety of 8, 12, 40, 50, floss weights.
Meet your teacher
Katie Zahm is a quilt designer and educator, and the maker behind Zahm Co. in Denver, Colorado. A self-taught quilter, she's known for modern, nature-inspired designs with a graphic twist and a muted palette; her quilt Astra even graced the cover of Quiltfolk's Colorado issue. While navigating hearing loss, Katie found herself drawn deeper into quilting, and especially into hand quilting, with its slow, intentional, therapeutic pace. That's the same spirit she brings to every workshop: patient, encouraging, and genuinely excited to help you find your stitch.
Where this class has been, and where it's headed
The HQS workshop made its debut in May 2026 with the Quaking Aspen Quilt Guild in Superior, Colorado, a room full of quilters who left with samplers and a new appreciation for the humble hand stitch.
And there are two more chances to join coming up:
📍 The Quilt Store, Broomfield, CO 🗓️ Saturday, September 12, 2026 · 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM 12716 Lowell Blvd, Broomfield, CO
📍 Road to California Quilters Conference, Ontario, CA 🗓️ January 2027 the show runs Jan 20 to 23, 2027 at the Ontario Convention Center, with classes beginning Jan 18
📍 Zahm Co. Teaching Events Catch me at an upcoming show, or invite me to your guild or quilting group for a workshop or lecture
Quaking Aspen Quilting Guild | May 2026 | Superior, Colorado
Ready to make something you'll reach for on every quilt?
Wherever you're starting from, that's the whole point: you'll leave better than you came, with a reference book you made yourself and the confidence to keep stitching long after the day is done.
Come find your stitch. I can't wait to see what you make.
Learn more at www.zahm.co | Follow along @zahmco | Questions? hi@zahm.co
And when you finish your sampler, tag @zahmco so I can cheer you on. 💛
Hello!
I’m Katie the designer and maker behind Zahm Co. Thank you for being here, I hope you find this blog helpful. For blog notifications, subscribe below!
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xx
