Following are a collection of projects and helpful hints for beginning quilters. I hope that all of ideas and encouragement will challenge you to launch into the wonderful world of quilting.
My problem is that none of my pieces match very well. I was taught to use a template and add 1/4 seam allowance. I trace the template and add the allowance and I have a sewing line. I pin the pieces together and try to sew on that line. I do fine when joining one piece to one piece, but when I join one group to another it gets all out of line. My wall hanging is made out of triangles.
If you are hand piecing, this is the correct approach. You should be able to "adjust" the seams so the corners of your pieces meet. If you are machine piecing, however, you'll never be able to sew on the pencil line because you can't see what is happening with the piece underneath. You need to add the 1/4 inch seam allowance to your template, and cut extremely accurately (this is where a rotary cutter comes in handy). Then test your sewing machine by sewing with your needle and no thread into a piece of paper, until you figure out how to get a perfect 1/4 inch seam allowance. This may mean you can use the edge of your presser foot, or you may need to put a strip of tape on the bed of your machine to help you guide the fabric (several strips will build up an edge you can hold the edge of the fabric against).
When you are piecing triangles, you're sure to have bias edges to sew together. They like to stretch, so you have to be ultra-careful not to pull on them when pinning them together or sewing. Put one pin where each seam is supposed to meet (perpendicular to the direction you are sewing) and don't remove it until you are nearly--but not quite--sewing over it.
For paper piecing, you cut a paper template for every piece in your quilt. You hand baste the fabric to the template, turning under a seam allowance. It isn't necessary to cut the pieces so accurately since the template will hold the fabric to the correct size. Then you sew the two edges together on the wrong side with an overcasting stitch. This is not suitable for machine piecing.
This is really making me feel "stupid." What is a walking foot. I have
a Pfaff 1222E which I have had and been happy with for 17.5 years. It
has a quilting foot, but I do not seem to have the little screw "thingy"
that secures the bar into the foot. So...two questions:
1. Do I need a walking foot, and what is it?
2. Can I replace just the "thingy" I am missing from the q.foot?
I would appreciate any help you all can give with these probably
elementary questions.
The "quilting foot" is probably just a guide that is supposed to help you stitch rows of quilting stitches an even distance from each other. If you want to sew grids on your quilt, it might be useful. But a walking foot is entirely different. It is a big, hunky foot that entirely replaces your regular presser foot. It has feed dogs that help feed the top layer of your fabric through, the same way the feed dogs on your machine feed the bottom layer through. If you want to do quilting in straight lines, it can be very useful, helping you avoid accidental "pleats" of fabric on the top or bottom. But first try quilting with your regular presser foot--just use a longer stitch than normal, and practice on a scrap to see if you need to adjust the tension in your top or bottom thread.
If you want to do curved lines of quilting, you need another foot called a "free motion embroidery foot" or a "darning" foot. It also replaces your regular presser foot and has a spring in it that allows it to bounce up and down as you sew. You need to be able to lower the feed dogs of your machine to use it, which may not be possible with your older machine. Then you feed the fabric through with your hands. Since the feed dogs are not operating, you can even feed it through sideways and backwards. it takes a bit of practice to get even stitches, since the speed that you move the fabric determines how big the stitches are. it's a lot of fun tho, I just used it to do "free applique" on a quilt.
Clothilde's and Treadleart are two catalogs that sell nearly everything for machine (and hand) sewing. I don't have the addresses with me but they are mentioned frequently here so I'm sure others do.
--marina
Even when you have a published pattern with all the pieces beautifully printed on slick paper, and showing seam allowances, DON'T TRUST IT!
Make a sample block first, using extra fabric or other scraps. All too often one pattern piece will be just a tad the wrong size, or a diamond or triangle will have an angle that's just a teensy scosh wrong--doesn't look too bad till you sew all the pieces together, and get a tent or a block with zigzag edges!
Millie -- a sadder but wiser gal :*(
I have noticed that the angle at which I place the fabric and the ruler make a lot of difference. Because of somewhat limited shoulder mobility I have to place the fabric and ruler angled toward the left (NWW on a compass) so that I can get even pressure. The angle varies according to the day's shoulder mobility. What is necessary is even pressure on the rotary cutter downward NEXT TO the ruler, BUT NOT PUSHING AGAINST IT. The cutter must be completely vertical, not angled towards either side.
Also, cutting too long a stroke, beyond a comfortable arm's reach can cause the pressure downwards and sideways to vary and result in a moving ruler and irregular fabric cuts. Better to cut 6 or 12 inches then carefully move fabric and ruler, realigning cut edge accurately, than to try to cut 18 or 24 inches or more if it requires than you reach too far to maintain the correct angle and pressure on the rotary cutter.
For me, at least, cutting fabric is not something to attempt when I am tense or tired. It requires relaxed hands, flexible joints and close attention. It is too easy to let your pressure vary as your mind wanders away from the task at hand. I hate to waste even a 2 1/2 square of fabric, so I pay close attention to what I am doing and change to another quilting activity if I make two cutting errors or let the ruler slip twice.
It is also very important that your rotary blade be sharp. Dull blades, like dull knives, are difficult and dangerous to use.
Diane
Personally, I would recommend taking a class to get started. And the class would depend on what particular kind of quilting the individual is interested in: applique, quilt in a day, sampler, etc.
best tips: forgive yourself for mistakes, we all make them
supplies: rotary cutter &mat
projects: personally, I think a quilt in a day is a good way to start. or a wallhanging or pillow, something small. I started with a sampler and got very disinterested with it, stopped quilting until someone recommended a quilt in a day class. Maybe I would have kept with it if it had been smaller. that's why I recommend a quilt in a day class or something small - so you can finish something and feel good and then start something new.
I'm a beginner myself, but I've managed to complete one quilt -- all by hand.
I took a class from a quilt store. It gave me much better feedback than just reading a book. I also went to my local quilt store and asked questions. Go during off-peak hours, because the sales people will be much better able to talk to you.
Decide how much time you have and what personality type you are. If you don't have much time or aren't very patient, you might want to just go straight to machine piecing and quilting. I'm glad that I did a complete project by hand, because now I definitely know that I am better suited to machine piecing (and maybe even machine quilting).
Be prepared to spend lots of money, because you will be hooked!
Rotary cutter and mat! Much better than scissors!
projects that are easy or help develop skills.
Sampler quilt with just a couple of blocks in it.
Potholders. That way you can practice on small blocks and you can finish them very quickly. I'm practicing rotary cutting, machine piecing, and machine quilting this way. Then I'll be ready to start a wallhanging, baby quilt, or whatever with more confidence.
"The New Sampler Quilt" by Diane Leone
Marsha McCloskey's book about precise machine piecing.
-Lisa
My brother-in-law and I have just started through Roxanne Carter's "Shortcuts Sampler" book. She refers to techniques described in Donna Lynn Thomas' "Shortcuts-A Concise Guide to Rotary Cutting". What is so great about these books is that although you are learning all the correct techniques for rotary cutting, when you finish you have 12 blocks to assemble into a sampler. Roxanne even covers the lattice and borders and binding techniques. I would highly recommend this as a beginning project for new quilters (It's helping a couple of not so new quilters improve their techniques!).
Donna
I've started learning to quilt by doing a baby quilt (log cabin design) with machine quilting on the blocks (stitch in the ditch) and a small amount of hand quilting (hearts) on the border. The book that I'm following is published by That Patchwork Press, "Quilts for Baby Easy As ABC" by Ursula Reikes. I remember reading on QuiltNet to not use anything with triangles for my first project so I selected the log cabin design and I'm glad I did.
I also just bought a book called "The Nine Patch Quilt" by Jean Wells, published by C &T Publishing. It looks like an excellent beginner's book and I plan on doing something from it next.
Vivian
Good Luck!! :-)
Go for the 24 x 6 inch width. Mine is actually 6 1/2 inch (6 inches markings) and I love it, frequently cut things wider than 3 inches. Even a piece which will finish up at 3 inches wide must be cut 3 1/2 inches.
Also, if you have a choice, get one of the rulers with RAISED markings on the back of it. These don't slip around nearly as much as the flat type, so it is easier to hold them in place when cutting strips
Millie
Regarding getting seams to match up: When you pick up your patches (squares or rectangles) to sew them, sew the sides together that were selvage edges first. Try tugging on these and you will see that (even with the selvege trimmed off) they have NO give or elasticity at all. If you tug in the crosswise direction, across the bolt the way the fabric is cut when you are buying it, there is a slight amount of give to it.
Always try to sew the fabrics with the selvage or no-give edges together, and do it first. THEN, when you go to sew one row of patches to the next, you WILL have a bit of give, and can "cheat" the seams closer together and get them to match up.
Also, as you lay them down to sew, "butt" the seams up against one another and hold them in place as they go under the presser foot. Use a pin (thin) if needed. Make sure your upper machine tension is not too tight, this might push down on your fabric too hard and push the top fabric along a bit faster than the bottom one - this could separate what you so carefully matched up
If you are still haveing trouble, call your local quilt guild, they probably would be delighted to give you a one-on-one lesson with a good, accurate piecer who could spot your problem.
If you only buy one quilt book, buy Harriet Hargrave's Heirloom Machine Quilting. I know the title doesn't sound like a beginning book, but she does an excellent job of detailing what kind of supplies (including basic things like scissors and sewing machines) and materials to use and why. It is all done in a very readable, common sense format. I read it from cover to cover after I had been quilting for 10 years. I refer to her pictures for sewing on binding all the time. She goes over in detail how to back, baste, and bind. And the beautiful work in the pictures is inspirational. She includes tips she has learned from her students over the years. And she is the best at machine quilting. I was having a problem with tension. went back to the book and found the answer. Hope this helps
Happy Quilting
Cindy
A couple of the things that helped me get started were:
When I started quilting I started with a book that taught quilting as a planned exercise working from the simplest, most forgiving patterns to the more difficult. There are several really good books out there; the one I used was called Let's Make a Patchwork Quilt published by Farm Journal.
I started by making the simple patterns and made the blocks into pillows. This way the projects were small in scope and I got to see a finished project rather quickly. My first "real" quilt was a crib-sized quilt made of 9 15" blocks and it only took 4 weeks from start to finish. We still have all those pillows and even though they're frayed and lumpy and not exactly works of art, they're old favorites.
Supplies: Good scissors, several marking pencils, rotary cutter and mat, *spend the little extra to buy good thread*, graph paper and colored pencils, join thousands in the search for the perfect thimble.
Anything where the seams don't have to match. I saw a cute quilt yesterday where the blocks were set in rows with sashing, but the blocks were "slid over" a couple of inches in each row so the sashing strips didn't meet up. It looked great! Many people start with a 9-patch, that is just 9 squares sewn together in 3 rows (3 in a row of course).
I'd avoid anything with bias edges for the moment, that means triangles and diamonds (although there's a way to sew triangles BEFORE you cut the angle that will help you avoid trouble). Place two squares together, sew from one corner to the other, then snip off the triangles on one side of the seam. Press open the seam and you magically have two triangles sewn together!
Hi all. I am a novice quilter. I just discovered the greatest thing for us novices - cheater quilts! What a way to try your hand at the art of quilting. You can find all kinds of designs, anything to suit your needs.
Actually my first project was a small wall quilt in which I did not use a cheater quilt, but bought fabric background and picked out small amounts of several others in which I designed a dresden plate. It looks pretty good but boy, that cutting, piecing was quite a job. Actually the plate wasn't so hard, it was the triangles assembled into squares that I did in the background that was quite a job.
As I say, I think cheater quilts are better for us novices, at least for now, until I develop my skills.
World Wide Quilting Page
* FAQ's Page