Looking to make my first quilt but almost completely clueless
#12
Power Poster
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Northern Michigan
Posts: 12,861
a quilt is quite simply fabric layered together with a middle and a backing and held together either with stitching (hand or machine) or tied...when you pull a pot holder out of your drawer you are holding a quilt! so don't get yourself bogged down with little issues. a simple one to start would be to just sew blocks together. depending on the size quilt you want to make...cut squares of fabric, all 4 1/2" squares or what ever size you want to work with...a big quilt would be good with 8" or larger blocks. sew them together in rows sew the rows together, you have your first quilt to put together ;) then decide if you want to tie it, hand quilt it, machine quilt it, or send it out to a long arm quilter to finish for you. beginning your first quilt should be a fun experience...just pay attention to accurate cutting and get that 1/4" seam consistant and you will be amazed at what you are doing 6 months from now!
#13
Power Poster
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: SW Iowa
Posts: 32,855
First of all welcome. We are glad to have you here. My first quilt was 5 inch squares sewed together. It was for my DGD because I knew she wouldn't complain if it wasn't perfect. I sewed my blocks together with a sewing machine and stitched diagonals through the squares with my sewing machine. She loved it and still sleeps with it. Go for it with your quilt and if you have questions just ask.
#14
agree with the post that says to check out YouTube. I have quilted for years and I am still amazed at what I can learn there. There are tons of videos from the most basic to higher levels of difficulty. It would also be a good idea to pick up a "all about quilting" book from a library, or from a sewing machine store etc. That would get you up to speed on the terminology - and that's half the battle!
FQ, HST, nine patch, SITD, binding, batting etc can be intimidating until you figure out the "code."
FQ, HST, nine patch, SITD, binding, batting etc can be intimidating until you figure out the "code."
#15
I hope you have a great quilt guild near you ... or you can start one. Being with other quilters does enhance the experience.
Besides learning from each other you get the opportunity to show off without seeing glazed eyes looking back at you. Nonquilters don't have the same love of the art or appreciation of what we do.
ali
Besides learning from each other you get the opportunity to show off without seeing glazed eyes looking back at you. Nonquilters don't have the same love of the art or appreciation of what we do.
ali
#16
I think I must have checked out every quilt book our library had! Some of them over and over. I love the old book by Robbie and Tony Fanning, "The Complete Book of Machine Quilting". It was published in 1980 and is dated in many ways, but Robbie has a great sense of humour and explains the whys and wherefors really well. She covers all kinds of things. I also love Diane Gaudynski for the quilting portion. Have fun!
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
JustMel
For Vintage & Antique Machine Enthusiasts
20
09-07-2012 06:28 PM