Quilting For Beginners

For those still learning the craft of quilting, it is best to start with small projects that are easier and faster to complete. Some simple items perfect for beginner quilting are pillow covers, table runners, or wall hangings.

Most quilters choose 100% cotton for their quilting fabric because it is easier to quilt, strong, and maintains its shape and color. For your batting, it will be easier to use a thin material. Batting is the fabric of layer in between the top and back layers of a quilt. You can use cotton, silk, wool, polyester or blends. When stitching the seams, always keep it ¼ inch and do your best to make them even all around.

When picking out the color of your quilt, consider who will be using the quilted item and the mood you want to set when that person uses the quilt. Warm colors such as red, yellow and orange create a feeling of alertness while cool colors like blue and earth tones are soothing and calming. Use cool colors for bedroom quilts and brighter or warmer colors for quilted wall hangings in areas where you receive guests. One important tip in choosing your quilting fabric is to make sure that it is colorfast.

Once you have a design in mind and have your fabrics ready, it is time to cut them. A helpful tool for beginner quilting is a quilting template, which is a material usually made of cardboard or paper pre-cut in a particular shape. These templates allow quick cutting of several pieces for easy quilting. They are ideal if you want to cut fabrics in other shapes besides the regular rectangle or square. Using easy blocks for beginner quilting is great to get familiar with the basic ideas and techniques of quilting including how colors work together. When cutting, make sure to use sharp scissors for easy cutting and to avoid ruining the edges of the fabric.

Another thing to consider in beginner quilting is whether you will choose hand quilting or machine quilting. Quilting by hand will of course take more time than using a quilting machine or a sewing machine. Hand quilters, however, argue that hand-quilted items are more special because of the time and attention given to them. In this regard, the choice is up to the person. Whichever you choose, the important thing is to enjoy what you are doing.

Certainly, there are other considerations in quilting especially for beginner quilting. There are many resources available out there and many expert quilters are more than willing to give you more tips and advice. Learn as much as you can about quilting and in no time, you will be quilting just like any pro.