Please talk patchwork and quilting to me, I think I have found a new obsession!!

[Lulumama]

Bought a sewing machine , and am doing a basic sewing course.. I have been looking on youtube and found some gorgeous quilting ideas, involving jelly rolls and charm packs... Please tell me how to get started.. how much stuff do you need - all those fancy rulers and measurers, and what do you stuff the quilt with etc etc etc

any links and advice gratefully appreciated

x

Oh dear - this could make you very poor. I went to a fabric warehouse on Wednesday for their open day. They had talks and showed us loads of new gadgets. I have a very big wish list so probably I shouldn't be answering this. I will try to put my sensible head on.

I would definitely invest in a rotary cutter and a self healing mat and probably at least one ruler. That is your basic kit although there are loads of cutters, dozens of mats and a multitude of rulers to chose from.

I don't know where you live but there may well be a quilt/needlework show coming up shortly so they are worth a visit because you can get bargains and inspiration.

If you are impatient try Creative Grids starter sets. They are usually at shows but still have special offers on their websites.

Have you got fabric yet?

Oh and best quilt book for advice and instructions on all sorts of techniques is this

There are many others which are good but this seems to cover everything and is also a lovely book to look at.

I would say you definitely need a self-healing mat, rotary cutter (a good quality one - it'll work out a lot cheaper in the long run and save lots of frustration!) and a ruler.

There's various ruler sizes that I like. I'd say a 6" x 12" is a good starter one if you're planning on using precuts (i.e. jelly rolls, layer cakes, charm packs). If you're planning on doing cutting from fabric you've bought by the meter, then I like my 6" x 24" ruler (you can cut across the full width if the fabric is folded in half). I also like my 12.5" square too.

It's important that you set up a 1/4" seam allowance. Some machines have a 1/4" foot (or you can often buy one). On mine I adjust the width setting of my straight stitch (sounds a bit odd and all it does is move the needle left & right) until I had a 1/4" seam when following the edge of my normal foot - saves paying out for another foot but not all machines allow you to do this.

I like a walking foot for quilting and managed to snag a bargain on Ebay - it has feed dogs (spiky things that move your fabric) on the foot so that the bottom and top fabrics move at the same pace rather than one being pushed more than the other. I also have a free motion quilting foot.

You use wadding/batting for the padded bit of the quilt. There's loads of combinations of fibres. Polyester is usually widely available (i.e. local shops tend to have it) and is the cheapest. Handling it makes me itch though, so I stick to other waddings. I like bamboo best I think. I've also found the recycled bottle one from Cotton Patch is good and tend to use that for crafty stuff (wallhangings, etc.) but haven't tried a bed-size quilt with it.

thank you so much ! that's all very helpful

not 100 % sure of setting up the seam allowance, there are seam allowance markings on my machine, but none that say 1/4?

I am going to the fabric shop tomorrow as they run quilting classes apparently and were very helpful

i bought a charm pack to practice on as they were so cheap.....

I will get a rotary cutter, and a grid from there too

it looks so much fun !!

can i crash....... not strictly related but i would really love to have two quilts made for my littel girls to fit their single beds. would they cost a fortune to get made and where should i look?

try etsy

frugalincornwall.blogspot.co.uk/ this blog does loads of quilting on the cheap!!

bettykelly To give you an idea the last quilt I made was a lap quilt (about 50" x 60") and cost £85 in materials alone.

went to local shop, they didn't have any rotary cutters or self healing mats in stock :( boo. so have asked DH to order me some. they don't do lessons but if you buy your fabric from them, you can go in anytime and they will help you free of charge, so that's good !

Lulu I made my very first patchwork quilt just after Christmas - and wrote a step-by-step tutorial with photos for it here on my blog. I didn't have any of the fancy stuff (although I have bought a 'magic mat' and rotary cutter now). I have straight lines, but wonky seams but I still loved it :o

thanks flubba, will look at that now :) the 1.4 inch seam is emblazoned on my brain !

oooh, that looks very lovely :) the instructions and guide look really simple and clear so will look properly later on when got plenty of time, thank you for sharing your lovely quilt and blog x

Lulumama - Have you had a look at local Adult Education courses for this term? They are starting about now so you might be able to find one quite quickly.

Around here we also have some Saturday courses as well as blocks of evening classes - a did a bag making one a while ago so even a workshop day might be good to get you going.

Is your fabric shop a Patchwork and Quilting one? Specialists shops will do courses but a general fabric shop might not, or at least not for quilt making.

Or do you have a branch of the Quilter's Guild round your way where you could go and visit for a couple of sessions?

Personally I think it is worth doing a course so you learn the 'right' way of doing things, but is only because that is the way I did it - too chicken to just have a go!!

Somoene else has suggested that too ! I am doing a general beginners sewing course with a local lady, I can't find a sewing guild, well, there is one, but their website has been dormant for 2 years and the average age in their pics is about 103 The fabric shop don't do lessons, but if you buy your fabric from them, they;ll help yiou , which they did today when i was stuck ! they are a quilters specialist shop, handily enough. I will look into another LA course though too, thanks x

I'm surprised at your patchwork shop - I have been to several lately and they all do courses. I think yours is missing a trick there with the renewed interest there is these days with hand made things and sewing. When I get my patchwork shop (ha, ha - in my dreams) we will definitely do lots of courses.

I know you have been looking at jelly rolls and charm packs but have you thought about a kit? They usually have the fabric and instructions. I have one on the desk in front of me where it has been for months for a quilted bag in batik from these poeple They also do layer cakes with a pattern in them for quite a reasonable price. You have to like batiks though as that is all they seem to do but they aren't the only ones doing kits. It is a good way to start - it takes all the colour matching and quantity worries away and hopefully if the instructions are good it will be a doddle.

I found another shop that does courses but a bit £££. At the mo, I am happy learning from youtube, it seems to be going quite well, got my rotary cutter & self healing mat so all set up now...going to finish 3 quilt tops, then get to grips with backing, wadding, binding, sashing etc....

I like a challenge