How To Quilt

If you know how to quilt then you have a craft that allows you to create works of art that your children and grandchildren will pass down the generations. Quilting no longer takes the months of work that it used to due to modern innovations in machine quilting.  However, first you should learn to quilt by hand in order to appreciate the true nature of the craft.

Quilting Starter Packs are good for Beginners

Before you start you should read a bit about the subject, and understand the tools and materials needed. You might find it easier to start with a beginner’s quilting pack that provides all you require for a starter quilt, or you might prefer to do it from scratch.  A starter pack introduces you to the basics of quilting, without you having to sew up your blocks before piecing them together to form your quilt top. 

You should also learn a bit about the fabrics you can use, and which require pre-washing. If your quilt is to be washable, you will have to make sure that the colors will not run, or you might end up with a quilt of varying shades of grey. You should also decide if you are going to hand sew or machine sew, and while hand sewing gives you more of a flavor of what quilting is about, machine sewing is a lot quicker.

A Quilt Top Can Take Months To Make

Once you know what tools and materials you need then you are ready to start.  A quilt top can be made from a number of different pieces of material stitched together in a random patchwork design, by creating a number of blocks of the same design, and then sewing them all together, or by embroidering or stitching one single sheet of material. The top is what takes most time and can take either a weekend or months to make, depending on size, type of design and whether you are hand or machine sewing.

If you have to cut your pattern, then use sharp scissors or a cutting wheel. If you don’t have a pattern there are plenty offered free on the internet.  The blocks should be cut so that you can sew them together allowing around a quarter inch allowance for the seam. Your pattern should tell you how to put the blocks together, and for your first quilt the sewing should be in straight lines.  This is where a sewing machine comes in handy. 

You have to sew enough blocks to make up the top of your quilt, and the number will depend on the size of the quilt and the size of the blocks. If you want to miss out this step for your first quilt, you can buy blocks ready made to sew together.  It means that your quilt design will not be unique, but the work will be a lot less and it might be a better way to learn.  However, whatever way you decide to go, you then sew the blocks together to make up the top. You can sew borders onto each block if you like, and also round the edges of the quilt top.

The Batting Determines The Thickness Of The Quilting

You now have to make up the quilt.  So far you have only made the quilt top, and what makes a quilt a quilt is the padding, called batting, that forms the centre of the sandwich. There are different types and thicknesses of batting according to the type of quilt you want. You will also need quilt backing, which is the underside of the quilt. The process of joining them together is called basting. You can also buy batting that sticks to the top and backing when ironed, so you don’t have to baste, just iron the sandwich.

When you baste you sew from the middle out so that you can keep it smooth and unwrinkled. You usually do this along the seams of the blocks, known as stitching ‘ in the ditch’.  When finished, you then finish off the edges of the quilt with a binding, or sewing on tassels or any other finishing effect that you want to use. 

Quilting can be as easy or difficult as you want to make it, according to the design and size of your work.  You should learn how to quilt on a simple piece rather than try to be too ambitious to begin with.  However, once learned, quilting is a wonderful skill to have.

About the author:  Jessie Pedersen is an avid quilter, having made quilts for over 10 years. She has come out with a simple and easy method to make a quilt in a weekend.