Quilting???

[jovi_girl]

The sewing machine thread reminded me that I've been thinking about giving quilting a go. I see such lovely baby quilts on etsy and I'd love to make one for the baby I'm expecting. But I don't know where to start. I know how to basically use my sewing machine, (ie- thread it and sew in a straight line! Lol) do I need to know more than this? I don't need a special machine do I? Is there a good website or something I can go to? Help! Lol

[KateD]

I've made a couple of quilts with my regular sewing machine. It can be challenging to machine quilt the top on a standard sewing machine, but a baby quilt should be much easier than the bulky twin/full denim quilt I'm making. When I first started, I found a website, but then I went to the library and found a good book about quilting and much preferred the book. I don't have a clue which website or book it was now...

Thanks for reminding me that I have to finish up that denim quilt

[MandaT]

Sewing in a straight line is a good start for putting a quilt together.

I've made several quilts, varying in size, but I rarely do the actual quilting of them. I prefer tying them or leaving them loose. I also normally back in flannel & don't put batting in the middle.

I usually start by choosing fabrics I love (which is A LOT of them) & purchase a yard of each (which is way, way more than enough for more than 1 quilt, but I really love having a stash). Then I decide on the top design & plan it out on graphing paper. For me that's the easiest & I still manage to mess up my measurements.

There are tons of books out there & websites. One of the books I use a lot is a this one from BH&G.

[momtutu]

I quilt ALL THE TIME!!! Check out my pinterest for TONS of quilting tutorials from a bunch of different people you can find online. It's so much fun!! Feel free to ask me anything!
http://pinterest.com/kellis/quilt-tutorials/

[momtutu]

I have that book from BH&G and it is a great resource! You will definitely need to be able to sew a straight line and most quilts require 1/4" seam allowances. There are special 1/4" feet to do this that attach to your machine or you can simply tape a piece of cardstock to the bed of your machine as a 1/4" guide. Find a quilt you like, check out the directions and just get going!!

[nikkiARNGwife]

I've always wanted to try quilting. My great-grandmother made hundreds of quilts..I was given 3 when I got married that she made when I was born. She did them all by hand!

[DawnMarch]

It's pretty easy to piece the top if you use a simple design and if you start with a smaller quilt. I made "study quilts" (like little lap quilts for them to sit on outside) for my kids a couple years ago and it was really easy. you might need a special foot for your machine to "quilt" it -- to attach the top pieced layer to the middle and backing. It's called a walking foot and it keeps the top moving through the machine at the same pace as the bottom. Otherwise, the fabric can bunch up a on one of the layers.

Here's one of the quilts I made (I had the kids help too, to try to teach them to sew some):

[jovi_girl]

Originally Posted by momtutu

I quilt ALL THE TIME!!! Check out my pinterest for TONS of quilting tutorials from a bunch of different people you can find online. It's so much fun!! Feel free to ask me anything!
http://pinterest.com/kellis/quilt-tutorials/

Oh my word, thankyou for linking me up! There is so much gorgeousness there! Wow!

[MandaT]

Originally Posted by DawnMarch

Here's one of the quilts I made (I had the kids help too, to try to teach them to sew some):

GORGEOUS. Love the pattern here.

[mariewilcox]

I have done a lot of quilting too - machine stitching the top and usually hand quilting the layers together, depending on the size of the quilt. The last one I made was a pinwheel pattern and it was for a king size bed (took me 8 months to make, but that included hand quilting the layers!) I'm currently making a 9-patch quilt for my daughter's bed and will be hand tying that one instead of quilting it.

I am self-taught from books, and I agree that the BH&G is a good resource. I also bought the quick quilt magazines and just followed the directions for the easy strip quilts or nine-patch quilts and just chose harder ones as I learned. The one thing about quilting is to be accurate - make accurate cuts and sew accurate seam allowances so your quilt comes out all lined up. Binding can be confusing at first but if you find a good book that explains it well you will be fine.

[momtutu]

Yes to what Marie said...accurate cutting and piecing are a must! I don't hand quilt but I do it all by machine and I've recently learned to free motion quilt on my machine which is really quite fun to do! Magazines are a great place for patterns as well. JoAnns also has tons of quilting patterns and books you can get.

[davec777]

This quilt is gorgeous - love it!

Stephanie

Originally Posted by DawnMarch

It's pretty easy to piece the top if you use a simple design and if you start with a smaller quilt. I made "study quilts" (like little lap quilts for them to sit on outside) for my kids a couple years ago and it was really easy. you might need a special foot for your machine to "quilt" it -- to attach the top pieced layer to the middle and backing. It's called a walking foot and it keeps the top moving through the machine at the same pace as the bottom. Otherwise, the fabric can bunch up a on one of the layers.

Here's one of the quilts I made (I had the kids help too, to try to teach them to sew some):