Quilting - Where To Begin?

[HomesteaderWife]

Looking back, it seems to be you wish you could get the years back. I wish I would've taken time as a teenager, when my Grandmother was still of able mind, and asked her to teach me to sew a quilt. Years down the line and my Grandmother gone, I've been wanting to quilt for years now but have absolutely no idea how or where to begin. My husband and I have been saving some of our favorite pieces of clothing over the years, too filled with holes here and there to constitute wearing any longer, but enough material to save and make a patchwork quilt one day.

So quilters, I would really appreciate your help. How do I get started, what sort of materials do I need? Do I pad in between the patchwork and the backing? What sort of backing should I use? I have a mini sewing machine, but I would really enjoy going the long road and doing it by hand. What type of stitching style should I use? Any books, videos, websites, or personal tips are greatly appreciated.

 

[nuthatched]

I use an app called 'Quilting tutorials by MSQC', you might have a quilters guild somewhere nearby that would be willing to teach. I use cotton batting. You can get textile detergent to make sure it doesn't bleed in further washin and professional fabric softener to make every thing comfy from Dharma trading company, they also sell all sorts of fabric and dyes. I dyed a bunch of light cotton into the colors I wanted.

 

[NatJ]

I suggest you start by making a small quilt, maybe for a doll. (Or a baby quilt, or a potholder, or a placemat for the table.)
No matter how much you read and ask questions, there is a lot you learn just by doing. Personally, I prefer to make my first mistakes on a small project

Stitching the pieces together: straight stitch on a machine, or running stitch by hand. Unless you're doing applique, which calls for different stitches.

Many quilts are made with 1/4" seam allowances. That is almost universal in quilt patterns and quilt kits. If you are designing your own, of course you can use any size seam allowance you wish.

Yes, you usually put the padding (quilters call it "batting") between the patchwork and the backing.
Then you quilt (stitch) through all the layers to keep it from shifting around. (You don't want all the batting shifting to the foot of the quilt, or making a big lump when you wash it.)
There are different kinds of batting. Polyester is common, but there are wool and cotton and maybe other fibers as well. Some kinds of batting are more prone to shifting around than others, so you might need different amounts of quilting to hold it in place.
Sometimes the quilting stitches just go in straight rows across the quilt, or along the edges of the pieces you sewed together. Other times the quiting stitches make fancy designs on some of the large pieces of fabric.

One possible problem with using favorite old clothes: if the fabric is already somewhat worn, the quilt will wear out sooner than if it were made with new fabric. Considering the amount of time it takes to make a quilt, people often want it to last as long as possible.

If you really want to use the old fabrics (I understand wanting the memories!), you could layer each piece of old fabric on top of a piece of new fabric before sewing them together for the quilt top.

You could look for quilting books at your local library. I don't have any specific favorites to recommend, but you could just pick several and look through the basic instructions in them. After a while they all start to sound alike, and that's when you know that you've read enough of them

Some quilts are made of lots of same-size squares sewed together.
Some quiltes are made of various shapes sewn together to make patterns, usually using shapes with straight edges to make the sewing easier.
Applique involves stitching pieces down to a background, and it doesn't much matter whether those pieces are curved or have straight edges.
Some quilts just have a single large piece of fabric on each side, and fancy quilting stitches make a design all over it.
And of course there are many quilts that use combinations of styles.

 

[Folly's place]

I started doing big patchwork quilts on the sewing machine, actually very easy. Also, there's a store nearby that offers classes in quilting, and sells good cotton for quilts, and it's fun to do a class with other people. Probably not so much right now though. Online would be better, very likely.
Mary

 

[Folly's place]

Definitely start with a small project, especially if you are not going to machine quilt. Hand quilting is a lot like doing counted cross stitch; either you have the temperament for it, or you don't.
Mary

 

[HomesteaderWife]

I'm really thankful for all the input thus far, and I definitely want to start small and make a little project quilt (something doll or baby sized?) and see how it works out. I really like the suggestion of extra padding that used material to help keep it from wearing out too badly. It is definitely a sentimental thing to save these pieces, and I'm going to try and get a few videos saved and some reading material. I know alot of people use the machines, but I want to do it by hand because at the time being I don't have a foot-powered (non-electric) machine and want to try and avoid using more technology with it than necessary. I've had the patience for some very intricate and small work in other aspects, but one of the main things will be containing my thread and finding a strong enough variety to work well with this, I think.

 

[Blooie]

I was just telling a new quilter to do a search for quilting threads (see what I did there ) and decided to take a page from my own book and look around. So I’m just posting to see how you are coming with your Memory Quilt?

 

[21hens-incharge]

Can I join in too?

There are so many quilting videos on youtube it can be overwhelming.

I am finding machine quilting challenging. I think I need to slow down and do some smaller things with hand quilting. That will be a whole new learning curve lol.

Current projects...

Machine quilting this one. Nope it's not easy even with a walking foot and straight(sort of) lines.


I had some fun dot fabric I ran across while straightening my sewing room. Not enough to make a huge quilt but this was fast and fun to sew. Borders and quilting will wait.




Just a giant random star I made a long time ago playing around. I think I will make a border and some corner stars then hand quilt it as a lap quilt.

 

[Blooie]

Your quilt tops are so cheerful looking!! I think your idea of trying hand quilting on the star is a great one. I hope you’ll post photos of it and the other two when you get them finished.

I never could accomplish decent machine quilting, even on small wall hangings! My friend Julie, who used to own Big Horn Quilts online quilt shop, kept telling me to relax….that I was so tight I was actually fighting the quilt instead of guiding the quilt.

Theres something so relaxing to me about hand quilting….the feel of the needle in my hand, the sound of the thread being pulled through the layers, the little “pop” sound as I pull my starting and ending knots through…..it’s so satisfying for me to see the quilt design form the dimensional light and shadows.

Go for it but try not to get frustrated. I had to learn that’s it’s just fabric, not brain surgery, and even quilts we aren’t 100% happy with are still pretty doggone special! I still struggle with that….maybe I should print it in a T-shirt and wear that shirt as my “when I’m quilting” shirt!

 

[Folly's place]

I enjoyed machine quilting, and haven't done any for a long time. Must get back to it this winter! Need a new location in the house, part of the problem...
Hand quilting, tried, and don't have patience for it.
Mary