Quilting

[Gorja]

Hi,

Really want to make a quilt when my sewing machine gets fixed.
Where is the best place to buy material for it.
Have spent hours on ebay looking but have confused myself completely!

Thanks

Beth

You need a good quality cotton. i get great bargins at our local market, i like to feel it as ideally you dont want something which will 'stretch' when you are.sewing it.

I use www.cottonpatch.co.uk/, the have some lovely fabrics but they are quite expensive. However they also sell the wadding for the middle, they have one that is made from recycled green bottles, which I have used and is nice and soft.

hobby craft does some fat quarter bundles - 5 fqs for £12; currently 2 packs for £20. If you interspaced with some plain cream/white/black cottin, you could make an easy and pretty quilt in no time.

Alternatively, if this is your first quilt, you could use old sheets and pillowcases and duvet covers....yes they are probably polycotton, which will cause the purists to take a sharp intake of breath....but unless you are wanting to create an heirloom quilt, polycotton will be fine for your first attempts. When you are ready to start making something that you want to keep until you have grandchldren and then pass on, then buy the best quality cotton you can.

If using polycotton, and especially if its old and soft, get som dylon spray starch and starch all your pieces before you sew - just to make it easier to work with.

('scuse the typos)

Ebay is great, especially if you are just starting out. There are lots of sellers on there who have done the cutting out - jelly roll strips, squares of various sizes and all that. Or you can get cheap FQs.

You need an idea of what you want to make though. Have you got a plan in mind? I could point you to some good eBay sellers if you want.

Other good shops are Lady Sew and Sew here They usually have some bargains.

thevillagehabberdashery.co.uk is brilliant, quick service and full of great fabrics. raystitch.co.uk is another great store on line, both have 'real' shops too. Fabrics Galore in Battersea, London is my all time favorite place to buy fabrics.

Quilty Pleasures has a nice range of fabric and FQs Always wash new fabric before cutting out.

I also buy remnants and old clothes and sheets in charity shops, jumble sales, eBay and local markets. Save your old clothes if they are cotton. Go for natural fibres avoid but stretch fabrics.

You might want to consider buying a walking foot. If you call World of Sewing they will advise you which one fits your machine. Cost about £35 and well worth it - it stops the top layer of fabric slipping under the presser foot.

My favourite topic! I could look at fabric for quilting all day. Try:

Favourite Fabrics on Ebay - great 100% cotton fabrics for around £7 a metre. (Sorry I can't link, Ebay is banned at my work! But you should come across them fairly easily when browsing cotton fabric for quilting/craft.

Emma's Fabric Studio - www.emmasfabricstudio.co.uk/ - just a delight to browse

Dragonfly Fabrics - www.dragonflyfabrics.co.uk/ - one of the few places who will send you samples for a small charge.

www.myfabrics.co.uk/tilda-fabrics.html - haven't tried this company but I have my eye on them for being one of the cheapest (by a fraction) places to buy lovely Tilda fabric.

Fabric Rehab - fabricrehab.co.uk/ - for loads of fun and playful designs.

Sometimes for colour matching, feel etc there's nothing better than going to a local fabric shop.

I disagree about wanting something that stretches - if you're doing anything like squares, triangles, star patters etc you want something that doesn't stretch easily so that you can line up your seams properly.

Also when ironing fabric or pressing seams it's important to just press, don't drag the iron over as that will stretch the fabric and make your seams out of whack. Really depends on your project though, I wouldn't worry about this if doing crazy patchwork for example.

(swear i read someone suggesting stretchy fabric... weird! sorry if i mistinterpreted someone, ignore me!)

Folksy is worth a look too, lots of smaller independent sellers. A lot like etsy - www.folksy.com