Essential quilting equipment, where to start??

[robertisking]

Hi. I am going to attempt a single quilt and I am a bit confused as to what equipment I need to start. Do you think a rotary cutter, cutting board and quilting ruler would suffice? And does anyone have any suggestions for these? As cheap as possible please. Lastly, any good websites? Thanks very much for any ideas.

I made my first ever patchwork quilt just after Christmas and had none of the above, although there were a few wonky lines here and there (I like to think it added to the charm!). I've linked to the cherry menlove website which I think is lovely.

I do now have a rotary cutter and board, both of which I got from John Lewis for about £35 together.

I think it's worth paying for quality, not sure if you'll get a cheap & cheerful rotary cutter that's worth having. Or you'll end up having to replace the blades more often anyway (£5 each on mine).

I'm in progress on a patchwork quilt; I mostly just used scissors, paper, acetate & pencil. I didn't buy the cutter or cutting board until I got to sashing, actually. Quilting needles said to be good to have & I just got a quilting hoop which is probably pointless, but will try to report back on how I got on with it.

I guess you have a sewing machine you're quite familiar with already? I have a walking foot on order, too, for machine-quilting.

Dunno about lotsa websites, but this needle review amuses me.

I used big safety pins instead of quilting needles.

Also didn't use a walking foot

Thanks for the replies....altho' I feel out of my depth after reading yours ragged! Sashing? Quilting hoops?
I intend to machine quilt in the 'crazy' style (think it is called that) with a border and strips so it is more tied together IYSWIM.
Tried to understand the walking foot, but got nowhere. Do you think I will need one?
...novice...

not everyone uses a walking foot, give it a whirl and see! Cass Art has very good value cutting mats and rotary cutter, but depends on the style of quilt you are going to make. Most of all enjoy it!

Tip for your first one, you can actually buy packs of pre-cut squares which you just sew together, no cutting involved. Sashing is a strip of border that goes round the blocks you make, not necessary if you don't want it. I have been quilting for 8 years and I've never needed a walking foot, but my friend swears by it. It's up to you.
When you put your quilt together, i.e top, wadding and back, don't bother sewing or pinning the layers together, it takes ages. There is a spray glue you can use available from most quilting shops, about £8 a tin.
Good luck, enjoy it. It can become quite compulsive...

Just completed my first four squares. Will have to stop now as I am using archaic scissors and have a huge dent in my thumb! So will def. get a decent new pair. Seems to be going ok...still not sure what a walking foot does...anyone??
Thanks.

Walking foot: Ok, you know the feed dogs on your machine (the jaggedy bits under the foot). well they feed your fabric through the machine. When you're quilting you have three layers (backing fabric, wadding & quilt top). If you sew it with a normal foot the bottom fabric is prone to move more than the other layers because of the feed dogs. A walking foot has it's own feed dogs on for the top of the fabric too, so helps it move more evenly. It's great for doing straight lines/in the ditch/gentle waves/large circles. Other option is free motion quilting, which requires another (cheaper) foot but takes more skill which I'm rather lacking

I would definitely recommend a good rotary cutter, ruler and mat. Like Smartiesrule I use 505 spray to baste my quilt (hold all 3 layers together for quilting)

Got it, thanks.
May I ask one more question, purdy please.
When you have your finished quilt, (I'm talking 2014 probably) do you add machine stitching across the quilt, to hold it all in place and if so, how do you physically bunch it all up to fit it in the machine? Surely a padded quilt won't fit in the space next to the needle.

Yes, it will fit. Much rolling and stuffing of quilt through the hole is required, but it should go. Don't bind it around the edge until you've quilted it. Oh, and start quilting from the middle if you can.

Some people roll the quilt (and pin with safety pins), and others squoosh it all in. I did a mix of both (and mine was a quilt for a double bed). My tutorial (the one I linked to in my earlier post) goes through it step by step, all with pics, so you can see what I did >>disclaimer: I'm no expert, as you can see by my finished product! )

I machine quilted - sometimes 'in the ditch' (i.e. between the patches), and sometimes across the patches.

Play around and have fun! :)

The way I'm doing it is getting the layers together & then I was advised to hand quilt inside each of the patchwork blocks (or whatever shapes they are). Do the quilting in the ditch after that, due to the way material may move around.

Haven't heard of the glue before. How long does it keep it all stuck together for, presumably not permanently. Does the glue last well for at least a month?

Good tips smarties. Just looked at your tutorial thingy Flubba, am in awe! Nearly gave up when I got to the binding bit! As mine is going to be very free-form (ahem) I might try and think of an easier
alternative way to do it. Long way to go first, my thumb aches.

ragged the glue stays stuck for months. I had one on the go for 8 months, and I only had to reapply glue to the corners once. It's fabulous stuff.
Thanks robert I have been quilting years and I still pick up tips from others now. The learning never stops!

Flubba Your quilt is lovely. I've done some patchwork but haven't actually made a quilt as yet. Soon, hopefully!

Thanks DonkeyTeapot - it took me a good couple of weeks over the hols when I had a bit of spare time (and spare hands to keep the kids from running through my patterns which took up the whole floor! :o)

I've got to ask - why DonkeyTeapot? :)

Ha ha, well I needed to register for something and every user name I could think of was already taken, so I started thinking up pairs of words that would never normally be associated - not as easy as you think, because your brain automatically plays the word association game! Anyway, DonkeyTeapot was successful :)

haha! fair enough! :)

flubba luv your quilt esp the squares where you have sewn the swirls or crosses -i like that -i cut out loads of squares but am needing a kick up the back side to get started -i feel inadequate in case i make a mistake but i cant make a mistake if i dont get on with it -you are so right it doesnt matter if the seams are a bit off -i can see that now -you have kicked my but i will start it next week on my days off

I have successfully learnt to install & use my walking foot tonight (preen preen).
Just had to announce that somewhere. Not bad for someone who never used a sewing machine until a month ago!

ps: re the glue: how much time do you get while it's still wet, and to put the layers straight before it sets solid & everything is stuck together for months?

Thank you curly and I'm glad my wonkiness has inspired you too! :o :o :o :o

Hi, robertisking. I've just started my first ever patchwork quilt, which I also reckon might take me until 2014 to finish .

I have a self-healing mat, a rotary cutter, and two rulers, 6"x24" and 12.5"x12.5". The squares I'm doing are made up of strips of fabric, though and I couldn't cut them accurately enough without all that stuff.

I don't suppose you fancy a slow-moving quilt support thread, do you? My progress is so slow, I've managed 8 squares so far, only 56 more to go . I think it might help with my motivation!

ragged just seen your question. The glue allows you to reposition the fabric. What I do is put the backing then the adding then the top how I want them. Then I flip it over so the backing is on the top and pull one side of it back to the opposite side (so you have half the wadding showing). spray that half of wadding with the 505 spray, then ease the backing fabric down onto it from the middle and smoothing as you go. Then repeat for the other half of the backing. Flip it over and do the same for the quilt top side (I do this second because you usually cut the wadding and backing bigger than the quilt so it helps stop the glue getting on the floor). If you find it's creased you can just lift the fabric again and smooth down until it's all nice and smooth. You can still lift the layers weeks after ime.