How do you make a patchwork quilt?

[justneedsomesleep]

I have no idea other than it is sewing bits of material together. I don't have a sewing machine (but a lot of time!)
Do you sew these bits of material on top of something and how do you make it 'puffy' or padded?
Help and hints appreciated.

You make the top first - sew together patchwork pieces. Do find a simple pattern for the first try such as 'nine patch'. Once you have made the top, you make a 'sandwich' with your quilt top on top, then the puffy bit called the batting(?) then the bit the cotton for the back underneath. The filling and the back bit to be a bit bigger all the way round before your quilt it. Secure them all together using loads of safetl pins - every few inches or by tacking the three layers together. Then quilt them together using small neat stiches. Then trim to shape and add the binding around the edge.
Make a few mini doll quilts first to get some practice. Look at the quilting groups on flickr and ask in the discussion section for pointers to online tutorials. I'm still learning but have had loads of help from people in these groups.

You can also do super traditional hand sewing: the most common pattern is a hexagon, and you use papers.

Draw (or buy) a hexagon template. (If buying, you get 2 - one bigger than the other)
Cut hexagons out of paper - the best stuff is magazine pages.
Cut hexagons out of your fabrics bigger than the paper ones by 1/4 inch all the way around.

Put a fabric hexagon on top of a paper one, and stitch the overlap over, rough stitching, going through the paper and the fabric. You get a tight hexagon with tidy seams.

Slipstich the hexagons together.

Take papers out, and quilt using method described by onFriday

Suggest getting a book out of the library. I have a friend who does a lot of quilts, she's amazingly productive. I think it goes quickly once you get into the swing of it.

Do you mind if I butt in to ask something...?

I was just wondering about the types of fabric you can use for patchworking. I have a scrap box of beautiful Laura Ashley curtain fabrics left over and have read up on patchworking and would like to give it a try...

Will the thicker fabric create a quilt far too heavy and cumberome? Will it be too thick to quilt it once the batting is on etc? I'm using a sewing machine and it has coped thus far with a few tester patches I have attempted but I don't want to cut out all my patches only to find I'm trying to achieve the unattainable !

I think if you have the idea, go for it. My friend who quilts uses all kinds of fabric, a bit unconventional but her results are stunning. Perhaps stick to slightly larger pieces/straighter lines with the thicker fabrics. Have you seen these?

Maybe go for a lighter weight wadding and one that supports fairly wide spaced quilting- say 8-9 inches apart - you will get bulk the more you quilt, so if you're starting with heavy fabrics I'd keep your quilting lines far apart. You don't have to follow the shape of your patchwork - I did a very simple quilt for my DD that was just 5x4 squares, but then quilted circles over it - didn't follow the lines of the squares.

There's a great online quilt shop called Sunflower Fabrics www.sunflowerfabrics.com/ which does really lovely bundles of fabrics and sells patterns which are super easy to follow. When I started I got a book out of the library and chose a basic pattern from that. Very simple 4 x 5 block baby quilt with appliqued hearts. I then just quilted round the hearts so the back is plain fabric with pink heart outlines. Looks lovely (IMHO!).
Recently I made a really simple play mat just by cutting strips of fabric about 4" wide and varying lengths. Sewed them into longer strips and then sewed together to form a large square. I backed this with fleece from Dunelm (about £3/m) and then quilted random star shapes of different sizes over it.

I used to follow patterns religiously but now I've got the hang of it I pretty much make things up as I go along! Last Christmas I made quilted heart tree decorations and sent them instead of xmas cards. That was when I had time on my hands before the twins came along though! Will be doing something a bit less time consuming this year!