Patchwork Quilts

[Bestwishes23]

Hi Mumsnet crafters,

I'm after some advice/inspiration. I usually crochet but I'm looking for a new hobby to try out.

I've always wanted to try make a patchwork quilt, but I don't have much experience in sewing and I don't own a sewing machine, which most of the tutorials use.

Is it possible to hand sew the pieces together? I was thinking of getting a fat quarters pack and practicing the running stitch. Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance! 🌸

You can do paper piecing by hand which lets you do interesting shapes.

I would rather machine sew the actual quilting myself, and also the border.

Is there a maker space near you? In a library maybe?

Have you looked into paper piecing ? It looks a nice way to hand sew a quilt although I imagine it is time consuming

Following too as I would like to make one but don't want to use a machine as my neck weakness means I have to lie propped up at an angle a lot

Loads of tutorials on you tube. Good luck
E

English paper piecing! You can handsew the quilt top, then hand quilt it.

I don't know much about the subject, but my late mum was a quilter and here are a few things I remember her mentioning.

Hand sewing seems much more beautiful and authentic, but it takes FOREVER and you may lose the will to live.

People appreciate baby quilts and lap quilts nearly as much as full-sized quilts. Stick with those. They are far less effort and much cheaper to buy the fabric for. People don't appreciate how much time and money quilts require, so don't make a full-sized as a gift for a friend or relative unless you are 100% sure they would love it.

The actual quilting step (when you stitch all the layers together) can be done much more efficiently and looks better if mounted on a big frame and done with a special machine. She used to send her quilts off to have that step done, and she felt it was money well spent.

Have fun!

People were making patchwork quilts long before the sewing machine was invented. So, yes - it can be done by hand.

But as PP say, it's a slow process. And hard on the fingers.

Have a look at 'Debbie Shore Sewing' on YouTube for Sewing ideas.

There is also a super channel for beginners by 'Melanie Ham' who is sadly died a few years ago now but her tutorials live on.

Oh, and as much as 'English Paper Piecing' would get you a quilt eventually, it would take years and you would probably have to send it off to a company for the actual quilting part. If you wanted to try a Sewing machine you could buy a basic one to create a quilt topper as you only really need a basic straight stitch.

My Sewing machine has all the fancy stitches and it was a waste of money as I pretty much only use the basic stitches!

English paper piecing is folding fabric around paper templates, securing them then whip stitching the pieces together only catching the fabric not the paper then removing the template.

The US version of hand piecing is holding cut fabric together & stitching by hand as you would with a machine.

EPP is totally addictive & I have 3 quilts on the go, a cushion cover & several smaller bits 😃

Just grab a charm pack, cut some templates & give it a go!

English paper piecing, as previous posters have suggested. I started making my EPP quilt over five years ago and it's still not finished as I got a sewing machine in the mean time and made other quilts faster. I still like to go back to my EPP quilt occasionally because one day I will finish it and it'll be beautiful. Truly handmade!

English paper piecing is time consuming but very relaxing, I've got a quilt on the go at the moment. There are lots of tutorials on YouTube.

You will need quite fine needles, usually size 10 sharps which are a bugger to thread but clover sell a fine needle threader which does work unlike some others on the market. If you find sharps too short you can use milliners needles which are a bit longer, I use John James size 11 milliners needles. I find a thimble essential for EPP but it can feel a bit awkward to begin with, try as many as you need to find the right fit. I use a leather one which feels very comfortable.

I took up this as a new hobby in lockdown. I bought a really cheap janome sewing machine and mad lots of stuff. I am not a neat sewer, but I imagine it cou,d be done

Paper piecing really isn't that time consuming if you're making a smaller quilt and don't go for 1" hexagons. It's also a nice portable way of quilting.

I've done a single bed sized hexagon with 4" pieces, several dresden plate wall hangings measuring about 40" square and am currently doing a tumbling blocks lap quilt, all done by paper piecing and hand sewing except the bindings.

I was going to suggest this but you don't use running stitch. There are plenty of tutorials on YouTube.

You can hand-quilt but it takes FOREVER to make a sensible sized patchwork, never mind the quilting part. I regularly make machine-stitch quilts but admit that the one handstitched quilt I started a good decade and a half ago I never finished.

If you enjoy it, I would say that for anything bigger than pot holders/cushions I would invest in a machine to save your sanity unless you really, really want at least a year-long project. If you're not a confident sewer to start with, in some ways you may as well be learning how to use a machine. Once you get to the quilting part (as opposed to the stitching the patchwork together part) you can see every stitch. You can pick up second hand sewing machines for about £50. As long as you're not using thick wadding, a beginner machine will get you started. I recently invested in a sewing machine table extender, which makes quilting a lot easier, particularly when you get to the point of sewing blocks together/binding, as you have to hold up less of the weight of it.

Machine quilting makes the actual quilting part in particular much easier, when at least initially you're likely to be using long straight stitches "in the ditch". It also makes it easier to bind and finish the quilt securely.

Machine quilting opens up a lot more techniques - I'm doing a lot of foundation paper piecing at the moment, which I find quite satisfying and gives really cool effects, and you can bash out a complex 12x12 block in an afternoon so can see the progress with each crafting session.

You can send large quilts away to be quilted - at a price.

I sewed a patch onto my jeans the other day and omg, I did indeed lose the will to live and it was only a 6’x3! I suggest getting a secondhand machine and practising.

Thanks very much for everyone's advice. I'm going to do some further research into the suggestions here and hopefully I'll have a quilt one day!

Yes it’s entirely possible, and the traditional way quilts were made. It is very time consuming and takes a lot of concentration, but as you crochet you’ll be experience with that!

My DM joined a quilting group decades ago and there are 3 layers so you definitely need a sewing machine

The middle layer is quilt padding

It is perfectly possible to quilt by hand with the right needle and very difficult to quilt anything larger than a baby quilt with an ordinary sewing machine.