laurenb1595 asked:


I would really like to get into quilting. Currently I don’t know how to sew or anything about quilting. What do I need to get started?

Kim

Andi asked:


My mom loves to quilt, but I don’t know anything about it. I thought it would be nice to get her some cool quilting tools or gadgets for Mother’s Day, but I have no idea what to get or where to start looking. Any quilters out there with an idea of something she might enjoy? Thanks!

Lori

Penny Halgren asked:


Sometimes tying a quilt seems like the very last resort to getting a quilt finished.

While hand quilters love the look of a skillfully hand quilted quilt, and machine quilters appreciate the beauty and complexity of fine machine quilting, tying a quilt can be equally rewarding. And those ties don’t need to be simple yarn knots with tails tied every 6 inches.

For example, take a look at some of the particularly ornate Crazy Quilts from more than 100 years ago. These gorgeous Crezy Quilts were tied, but it isn’t obvious how they were tied, since you can’t see the ties on the front; thus didn’t distract from the exquisite embroidery stitches.

On the back side of these quilts there are simple double thread tacks holding the quilt together. To achieve this, the patchwork quilt top was sewn to a foundation fabric, securing the top to the inner layer.

The backing layer is also attached to the foundation fabric in the center of the quilt, but the ties do not come through to the quilt top. By carefully pulling the needle and thread through only the backing and the foundation, the double threads could be tied on the back.

Extra work, to be certain, but clearly worth the effort in order to preserve the quality and beauty of the Crazy Quilt top.

But, What About the Patchwork Quilts of Today?

Everyone agrees that tying a quilt is much faster and generally easier than either machine or hand quilting.

Basically anyone who can hold a needle can tie a quilt and get a sense of accomplishment. All members of a congregation are invited to tie a knot in the prayer quilt, no sewing ability needed. Yarn, perle cotton or embroidery thread tied in a simple knot is perfect for that kind of quilt. When the quilts are made, the quilters place the ties in the quilts, and then the members of the congregation finish the quilts by tying the knots.

Other quilts would be ruined by either hand or machine quilting. Anyone who has seen a moderately heavily quilted quilt understands that the quilting tends to reduce the puffiness in a quilt.

If you want a puffy, fluffy quilt, using thick batting will give you that look. And tying the quilt will keep the layers together while maintaining the puffiness you want. Hand or machine quilting this type of quilt would significantly reduce the puffiness, and completely change the look of your quilt.

Many tied quilts are simply tied in the corners between the blocks, leaving the blocks as open space. Other quilts are tied in the center of each block with either yarn or perle cotton.

But, tying a quilt doesn’t need to be boring!

The best ties are washable, won’t unravel, will stay tied, and are strong enough to hold together when they are tied. Even with those considerations, why not add a little flair? Using embroidery floss or cording might be a possibility. And instead of using yarn or perle cotton, try a ribbon.

And what about adding something interesting in the tie? Sew a cute shaped button – say a train or fire truck – onto your quilt, and then tie the knot on the back of the quilt. Simply pull your thread from the back of the quilt, attach the button, and knot the thread, just as you would sew a button on a shirt.

Another possibility is a bow. Instead of just knotting your quilt tie, finish it off with a bow. Add a large button under the bow for an even more interesting look. As added safety against the bow coming untied, double knot it.

And speaking of trains, trucks and other things with wheels, make double-sided circles of fabric and sew them on to your quilt as wheels of your vehicle, attaching them just in the center. You might even add a button on top, and make the fabric circle wheel able to spin around.

If you have a lattice on your quilt top, maybe you could lay down a narrow ribbon and tie it in place with ribbon ties every few inches along the way. If you will wash the quilt or wall hanging, the ribbon strips might need additional stitching to secure them to the quilt top.

Where you place the ties on your quilt can be interesting, too. Just as quilters stitch their quilting to make a design, your ties can add to the design of your quilt.

If your quilt has an ocean flavor, your ties can be like birds in the sky or whiskers on a seal. A basket quilt might have bows along the handles of the baskets. And your Sunbonnet Sue might have ribbons on her hat.

Have fun with every aspect of your quilt – from sewing the blocks together to quilting the top – whether you hand quilt, machine quilt or tie your quilt, finish it so someone you love can enjoy using it.



Gregory

luv2quilt asked:


I’m looking for a good quality quilting frame that will fit a mid-arm sewing machine. I have to be able to easily disassemble it to store it from time to time as my sewing room is not real big. I’m looking at new joy, grace pro, etc. Does anyone have any helpfull information on these so I can make a wise choice? I would also welcome advise on the right sewing machine to go with the frame. Thanks

Thelma

Indigo asked:


I know what cotton jersey, cotton poplin and cotton flannel is but what is cotton quilting fabric?

Jon

Will Robins asked:


Of all of the hobbies out there at the moment, there is none rising as fast as quilting. Although that hobby, and indeed art, has been around for years, it is experiencing more popularity than it has done in over a century. Beginner quilting is a great outlet for your creativity and can occupy your mind for hours on end with something beautiful to show at the end of it. You can simply start with a couple of pieces of material to sew patterns on and move up from there, in line with your growing confidence and expertise. Beginner quilting is a worthwhile pastime for anyone and will nicely introduce you to the art with very little financial commitment. It will also give you good practice so that you will soon graduate to the more complicated designs. For more info see http://www.iheartquilting.com/ on Quilting.

Beginner Quilting – Lesson One

As previously mentioned, a good starting point for beginner quilting is sewing and embroidering on two pieces of material that are already cut to a uniform size. The only items of equipment you will need for beginner quilting is material, a needle and thread. Keeping it simple for a start will teach you more for a lower cost than starting off more complicated and immediately losing confidence. Follow the steps of beginner quilting and you will not go far wrong:

1. Buy two equal measures of fabric. They should be uniform in size and have an all-over pattern. The top and bottom piece can be different, but they should both be continuous in pattern.

2. Buy a piece of batting. This will be used to support the material when you sew it to make sure that the edges are even on the finished product. It is an essential tool in beginner quilting.

3. Before commencing sewing, wash both pieces either in a machine or by hand. Wash them together though so that any shrinkage of the material is experienced by both pieces rather than just one of them. This will save you cutting them to size at a later date.

4. Place the fabric pieces one on top of the other with the right sides, or the sides that will be the outer material, facing each other so that the inside is on the outside as such.

5. Place your beginner quilting batting underneath the pieces and begin to sew a seam around the bottom of the material and on both left and right sides. Only sew the top approximately three quarters of the length of the side so there is still a distinct gap. You should leave half an inch of the beginner quilting from the hem.

6. Turn the beginner quilting inside out via the gap at the top of the quilting after removing the batting from underneath the quilting. Be sure to examine the hem of the beginner quilting so that you notice any mistakes before completing your piece. All extra sewing should be performed with the quilting turned inside out, as it was when you sewed the original hem.

7. Finally, stitch up the rest of the quilt when the beginner quilt has been turned out correctly. Iron it to make sure that the fabric is even.

You have just had you first success at beginner quilting! However, making it and making sure that it stands that test of time are two different things! You should do your best to look after the piece so that it achieves a measure of longevity. Always hand wash the quilting and hang it outside to dry. Never use a dryer. If you want to preserve your beginner quilting then you should cherish it. You should now be ready to move on to your next project!



Loretta

Penny Halgren asked:


ou have never made a quilt, you can start a quilting business.

We’ve been taught all our lives to share – share toys, share money, share food. Why not share your quilting knowledge? You can start a quilting business by sharing what you know about quilting.

You don’t have to be a veteran quilter with 50 years of sewing experience to have sound advice to share, either. If you have quilted for a month, you know more about quilting than someone picking up a needle and thread for the first time. Start a quilting business that teaches basic skills.

Your most basic quilting information could teach some important skills. A lot of wannabe quilters won’t even start a quilting project because the chore of selecting appropriate fabrics seems like such a daunting task. Perhaps you start a membership based website that offers quilting tips to beginners about how to start a quilt. You could also start your quilting business with an old-fashioned paper printed newsletter that you mail out monthly or quarterly to beginning quilters. Some of your topics could be how to select a quilt pattern, how to select fabrics, which threads to use, etc.

Of course, the longer you quilt, the more information you can share with your subscribers. But you sharing information is not the only kind of quilting business you can start.

If you are like most quilters or crafters, you have a lot of leftover fabrics taking up storage space! You could start a quilting business that concentrates on selling your fabric leftovers (and just think how much fun it would be to spend the money you make on new fabric)!

Maybe you could start a quilting business by developing a quilters consignment store online. People could pay you to sell their leftover fabrics, threads and other notions.

If you love quilts, but haven’t ever quilted and are afraid to try, you can still start a quilting business. You could coordinate quilters retreats for others. You can make arrangements at a local hotel or bed and breakfast to get great room rates for any overnight guests. Reserve a location, plan a few games, prepare snacks, whatever the quilters need you to do. They’ll benefit because they got a retreat without having to do a lot of the work and you will benefit by being around quilters and quilting. Maybe you’ll even be encouraged to start your own quilt project!

The two ideas that usually come to mind when people think about starting a quilting business are to sell quilts or to provide a quilting service for tops that have already been pieced. Both are good ideas.

If you choose to sell quilts, you have a lot of options. You could sell only appliqu?uilts (like pieced quilts, baby quilts, etc.). You could sell them online, through a small newspaper ad (or word of mouth since that’s free), or at area craft shows. If selling quilts at a show, take a project along to work on between customers. When shoppers see you working on a project, it draws their interest more keenly to your work which will hopefully lead to a sell.

Don’t let lack of experience be an obstacle between you and your quilting business. Your quilting business can grow right along with your quilting skill level. All you really need to start a quilting business is a love for the art and a desire to succeed – you don’t even need a lot of money. If you’ve been thinking about starting a quilting business, decide today to do it. You’ll be glad you did!



Wesley

Marlena asked:


I am looking for a quilting book for that has applique flowers of the month. I have looked everywhere.

Larry

Karen Lincoln asked:


Quilting has been an age old tradition. In days gone by, women used to gather around and do quilting work together. This was quite exciting for them, as they would get to meet one another, as well as do things that they enjoy together. Quilting has also passed down to generations, and is still carried out by many. Quilters love to spend their time, sewing and patching different pieces of fabrics together and seeing their designs taking shape.

In the olden days, quilts were made by hand, as no machines were available then, and this was quite a time consuming process. If the quilt was small, then it would not take much time. However for larger quilts, time taken to complete was much longer, and these were quite tough to handle. Can you picture, a group of women, all sitting together, making a large quilt, and constantly having to get up and move, in order to cover each part of the quilt. Sounds tiresome doesn’t it?

Thanks to technology, all this has changed. Though there are many, who still prefer to make hand made quilts. Nowadays, you have machines to help you with your quilting. These days, women don’t have the patience, nor the time to sit and hand make quilts, more so if its a large quilt. In today’s age, you’ll find mostly machine made quilts, as hand made quilts have become extremely rare. Machines make the quilting process much quicker, and a lot easier. You can either use a regular sewing machine, which has quilting capabilities or you can use a long arm quilting machine, which is exclusively meant for quilting.

The long arm quilting machine is extremely popular. These machines are specifically meant for quilting larger quilts. Its arm is around 18 inches. These machines are electronic, and make the process of quilting rather quick, as it covers a wider area in a short span of time. Moreover, its much more comfortable as you don’t have to keep getting up and changing your position or the quilt’s position. This long arm machine makes the quilting process much more efficient, and is time saving as well. You can now make a quilt with a long arm quilting machine in a short period of time, and with not too much of effort.

A regular sewing machine can also be used for your quilting purpose. However the main draw back with a regular machine is that, its arm is just seven inches in length. And so the person who’s making the quilt, can focus only on a portion of the quilt, at a time. Moreover, you have to keep shifting your position, along with the quilt, so that it fits into the sewing machine. This lands up being as uncomfortable and uneasy as making your quilts with hand, where you have to keep moving.

You can purchase a long arm quilting machine at various prices. The difference in prices is mainly due to the quality of the machine. Machines of well known brands, are naturally much more higher than the lesser known brands. It all depends on you, your budget and how much your going to be using your long arm quilting machine. You rather spend a little more than compromise on quality. Alternatively you can wait for sales or discounts.



Jerry

Diane Palmer asked:


If you love to sew, and quilt, then why not incorporate them into a business?

I find a great angle for a business like this, is to offer to finish other peoples quilts. I know you may prefer to make them from scratch and show them off at craft shows, but what happens is, many people will walk by your quilt, admire it, then say “Oh I have one I am trying to finish at home”

They feel too guilty to buy your quilt, because they have one they started years ago, and due to time, kids, stress and life, they just have not got it done, and it sits in a corner somewhere collecting dust.

Since quilting is your passion, then why not offer to finish off these quilts for a price?

Or, offer to start one from scratch with their fabrics and colors.

Another great quilt people like, since they are fairly quick, are the rag quilts. You could offer to create a rag quilt for your customer, using their fabrics, or fabric squares you have, and make a rag quilt in a weekend.

A rag quilt is much faster to make, there is not the fancy stitching afterwards, and these rag quilts actually get better the more times they are washed, so they make for a very useful quilt.

If you just want to make your own rag quilt, then there are many books on the subject, and you can purchase many fat quarters, or quilt squares online now. This is a great way to get some unique fabrics, as you are looking worldwide while on the internet.

Get quilting, and make some money.

how to make a rag quilt



Marc