Any quilters out there?

[Toooldtobearsed2]

I am desperate to do some quilting, it should be easy - sew pieces of fabric together......how difficult can it be?
I tried a couple of years ago, but as I clearly cannot cut a straight line, all of my 'squares' were not quite square. i did not know when to attach the backing, wadding etc, and ended up with something worthy of Picasso.

So - can anyone recommend a step by step guide, either a book or online that could help?

thank you :)

As a beginner at quilting, I used a rotary cutter, board and a Perspex template. My squares were 5" squares and I joined 26 together to make a row and then joined the rows together.
Once I had it to the size I wanted - big enough for a king size bed - I put wadding and a backing sheet on top and then stitched back and forth over each line. Then used Matt ribbon to bind round the edges.
Sounds simple, but it took me 2.5 years! Admittedly I only did it on weekends and mainly during colder weather, but I loved it.
I found a company online which could print photos onto fabric, so have several squares that are photos of my beloved DDog who passed away while I was doing it.

Anyway, after that epic post, just do it your own way and have fun x

Oh @AntsDeck, that sounds wonderful. I have several animals dgd is obsessed with, that might personalise a quilt even more that using her old clothes.
Thank you😘

YouTube the Missouri Star Auilt Company tutorials.

@Toooldtobearsed2 my pleasure 😘

@CormoranStrike I will. But only because I lust for the bones of Tom Burke😍 If you have any further advice, I will follow it slavishly. 💖💖💖

Are you on Facebook? There’s a good page called quilting for beginners

Pm me and I can watch out for you joining.

We made a block a month(I made two a month because I wanted quilts for twin beds for DGCs) that took a year. I have now quilted each block separately (quilt as you go method ) and just have to join them together.

I don't have a walking foot BTW, it isn't essential although I'm told it can be useful.

Log cabin is an easy way to start, you make squares from strips. Squares can be any size you want.

24 Quilted squares ready to join.

You mentioned that you'd like to make a quilt out of some treasured clothes so tbh I wouldn't risk it with those until you've at least done a sampler quilt and kind of know how to cut up the clothes you want to display in the quilt.

A sampler quilt usually has about 15 to 25 12" blocks and each of those will teach you a new technique or method. By the end of your sampler you'll be proficient enough to do a simple quilt and follow a pattern you like and have a better understanding of it.

It's a pity that there's no class near you. Mine is brilliant and only a tenner a week. We won't mention the obscene amount I spend on fabric.

You can totally do this @Toooldtobearsed2!

I had never quilted, had only just taught myself to use a sewing machine, and I made a quilt last year. Like you I was motivated to make something for someone in particular. My SIL was expecting my niece and I really wanted to make her a baby quilt.

I chose a simple pattern with fairly large pieces. It was basically a large heart in a white square. Not going to lie, it was way more time-consuming and difficult than I thought it would be. But I learned a lot along the way and really enjoyed it. And my niece is still using the quilt. :)

I’d love to help you, one beginner to another. I found the quilting reddit really helpful and useful. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.

Message me if I can help you at all. You’ve got this!

This is the quilt in progress. Not the best pic, but you get the idea!

imgur.com/Eyuu6DC

I have recently gone back to quilting and have six sampler blocks completed and am in the process of doing a Bento Box square. I do use paper pieces and it is very time consuming but deeply satisfying. I cut all the pieces (paper and fabric), pin the fabric on, baste the fabric, then stitch in the required pattern. It takes forever but the results are pretty ... it would be good to find some greater efficiency though.

Oh @Kescilly that is amazing! And that was your first one?

Thanks to everyone - Camerons quilting is seriously drop dead gorgeous and Glamgrans squares are an inspiration. I need to just crack on I think. I am over researching and disappearing down rabbit holes - who knew there were so may varients of quilting??? I keep seeing something new and thinking oooh....I coild do that. So I am stopping. Now.
Off now to buy my basics for quilting and I will just start.

Yay 😁😁😁

@Toooldtobearsed2 yes! It was time-consuming but it’s totally possible. I’m working on my second quilt right now actually.

Although I did think back to my first quilt the other day and realized had I known what was involved, I may have never gotten started. I had no business making a quilt! 😂

My first sewing project was a quilt from my 1st baby's clothes, have just done a second one for my second baby. These are my tips:

1. yes to rotary cutter, perspex square and cutting mat
2. Get some medium weight interfacing, which is iron-on on one side, this will help stabilise your squares especially if they are jersey from baby grows.
3. Iron on the interfacing and then cut out the square.
4. Once you have all the squares spend about a month rearranging the squares on a spare bed to get the perfect pattern (this is optional!!!)
5. Sew together and iron - lots of ironing!
6. Get some adjustable fabric adhesive spray to stick together your patchwork, a middle layer if you want one - I use fleece rather than wadding, and your backing piece. Also don't rush this - do lots of smoothing out on a flat hard surface.
7. I quilted (sewed together) using the square edges for a basic pattern - called stitch in the ditch. Sometimes my sewing wasn't perfect so I would have to adjust my needle along. For this reason I learnt that that its easier to 'hide' these adjustments if your backing piece is a pattern not plain after my 1st attempt.
8. But for the binding edge material choose a plain rather than a pattern (again learnt hard way after 1st attempt was a repeating linear pattern). Agree with a previous poster - the missouri star quilting company You Tubes for this are brilliant.

Enjoy - I love the ones I've done - they sit on the end of the girls bed and make me smile inside when I see them...