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

Penny Halgren asked:


Have you ever looked at a box of memorabilia or trinkets and wondered what to do with it – other than close the lid and put it back on the shelf?

Maybe you have a collection of hankies from your grandmother. Or what about the bowl of buttons and the box of lace you’ve been saving for some project? Or maybe your husband, son, or boyfriend has a box of military medals.

You can easily share those treasures in a wall hanging style quilt.

Basic quilt blocks are the foundation for these memory quilts, and you will find an expression of creativity and soul as you develop the layout of your quilt and devise methods for attaching the objects.

Designing Your Quilt

Your collection should be the center of interest for your quilt or wall hanging. The first thing to do is pull your collection together and lay it out on a table.

Decide on a theme for your quilt. If you have a collection of gloves, your theme might be elegant parties. A collection of buttons might reflect memories of childhood. Those military medals might be to honor a soldier hero.

You might even want to make notes about your theme and thoughts to guide you as you make your quilt. Think, too, about keeping those notes as a journal for future generations to appreciate your creation.

Fabrics

Select fabrics that relate to the theme of your quilt – both in color and design. For example, you might not want to include a bright fabric with fire trucks in your memorabilia quilt with gloves representing elegant parties. However, that truck fabric might be perfect for a quilt with buttons from childhood.

Use a variety of lights, mediums and darks to give your quilt an interesting background, keeping in mind the mood of your quilt. A quilt with a somber mood might not be the place to put a wide selection of bright, fun fabrics.

Size of Your Quilt

Let your collection determine the size of your quilt or wall hanging. As you lay your collection out on the table, you will get a sense of how large your quilt needs to be in order to display your memorabilia in its best light. You may decide to add or remove some of the items; or even to make two quilts with your collection.

The Shape of the Quilt

Be open to a unique shape that might develop as you design your quilt. Your button quilt might be round; a quilt with military medals might take on the shape of a medal with the ribbon. Or, your collection may be perfect displayed on a traditional rectangular quilt. A hankie or collar quilt might have scalloped edges to echo the shape of the piece.

You may discover that the blocks within your quilt are different sizes, or even different shapes. For example, you may attach each glove to a block. You may place a short glove on a square block, while an elbow-length glove is better suited for a rectangular background. Be open to those different shapes, and know that you can always place strips of fabric around or between the blocks to piece the quilt.

Overall Look

As you design your quilt, keep in mind the idea of repetition in your quilt. By repeating themes, shapes and / or colors, your quilt or wall hanging will have the continuity of a traditional quilt while displaying the uniqueness of your collection.



Cindy

Penny Halgren asked:


just have a lot of denim fabric lying around. Or, maybe you’re recycling old jeans and are looking for a quilt project. If you use your favorite search engine for free denim quilt patterns, you will likely uncover reference to a rag quilt.

Rag quilts are sewn with the seams on the top of the quilt. Snipping the quilt seams, then washing and drying the quilt give the desired ragging appearance. Most people consider it a “shabby chic” style. Rag quilts are very popular and denim’s natural fray would be an added accent to your denim rag quilt.

If you are looking for free denim quilt patterns, there’s good news. You can use any quilt pattern to create your denim quilt.

While you will find many free quilt patterns online or at your local library, there are few quilts designed specifically for denim. Denim is a fabric like any other. So, you may use it in any quilt you feel like trying!

If you plan to use denim in your quilt patterns, there are a couple of things you will need to keep in mind.

First, will your quilt be all denim or just feature a piece throughout the pattern?

Second, will you be using light or dark colored denim? Denim fabric comes in more colors, not just light and dark. There’s stonewashed denim for an extra worn look, and even colored denims.

You will need to consider the weight and colors of your denims as you create your denim quilt. Patterns may not have instructions for denim use so you will have to rely on your judgement.

If you are making a quilt using only denim fabrices, you will need to be certain that the denims are of the same weight range. Interspersing a heavy weight denim with a light weight one without putting some planning into it, could leave you with an awkward quilt. You wouldn’t want too many heavy denim quilt pieces on one side or the quilt’s final weight would be awkward.

Likewise, if you are planning to use denim as an accent fabric in your quilt, keep the weight of the other fabrics in mind, too. Nothing can ruin a quilt faster than mismatched fabric weights.

As important as the weight of your denim pieces, the color of your denim fabric is also important. For instance, if you are appliqu?g an “Overall Sam” onto a quilt that uses mostly cotton fabrics that portray an old, worn look, crisp dark denim overalls would look out of place. Weight of the denim in the same example would also be an important consideration.

If you are recycling your old jeans for your quilting project, maybe there are extra ways you can be creative. Depending on the quilt you are creating, maybe you could cut away the back pocket of your jeans to appliqu?nto your new quilt. If you happen to be making a throw, the pocket could become a handy remote control storage stitched right onto the throw! Maybe you could even recycle the belt loops. Sew them around the top and bottom border of your denim quilt and run a ribbon “belt” through them as an added decorative touch.

Applique quilts are a great way to use old jeans. Your old comfy jeans will transfer nicely to create a brand new comfy quilt for yourself or someone else. Have fun with your denim quilt project, whether you are starting with brand new pieces of denim fabric or simply finding a way to use your old jeans!



Jack

Karen Lincoln asked:


Quilting, like painting is a wonderful art. It is similar to painting in the sense that paints and brushes are replaced by threads and needles. Paper is replaced by fabrics. Quilts were traditionally made by hand, but not with the advent of sewing quilting machines, many prefer to use machines. This is because, machines make quilting work easier, faster and not to mention a lot neater. You have the option of using an ordinary sewing machine which has quilting capabilities or you can use a machine that is specifically designed for quilting.

Small patches of different fabrics are used to make quilts, though you can use the same fabric as well. It’s really interesting and can be likened to working on a jig saw puzzle. Only difference is, in a quilt you need to stitch up the entire thing. Quilting as a craft has been around since many years. Some quilts are passed down to generations, and there are many happy memories associated with these quilts.

If you’re a beginner and your interested in quilting, you can start off by using two or more different fabrics. Basically, you should start collecting left over fabrics or materials that has remained from previous stitching. Once you’ve collected these, you can then start by sewing all of these together. You should be able to use the sewing machine quite adeptly. It’s advisable that you practice using the sewing machine, as much as you can, as handling the machine while quilting is no easy task. You could also create designs of the quilt. Start with simple, basic designs, and then once you have enough experience, you can move to more complex designs. The Internet has a number of sites where you’ll be able to get some free quilting designs. If these seem too complicated, you can just get some ideas and create your own unique designs.

Quilt designs need creativity, so make sure you gear up all your creativity while your quilting. You can create various designs on a quilt, it could be floral designs, geometrical patterns, landscapes, plaids etc. Basically, the choice is so much, you can choose whatever design you think you could work with. If you’re new to quilting or quilting designs, you can try out mini or miniature quilts with easy designs. There’s no hard and fast rule that it has to be a large quilt. Once you gain experience, you can move to larger quilts. It’s basically up to you, and what your comfortable with.

Once you decide on a design, the next step is to draw it on a fabric and cut it out. Place these cut out designs on the quilt in the way that you want it to. Mark these designs using pins on the quilt, or you could also run a needle (without a thread) around the designs. This creates an impression of dotted marks, which will then make the quilting process much easier.

You can choose from an extensive range of colors to make your quilt. Generally a single color is not used for a quilt. Multiple colors are used, which make the quilt attractive and unique. Choosing colors may seem simple, but its important that you choose the color after giving it some consideration. Think of the colors of your bedroom and what would blend in. You can also think of cool and soothing color tones. For a guest room, a brighter color will work great, as they can enjoy your handiwork.

People generally design a quilt on a certain theme. Quilting the theme is the toughest part though. The designs have to fit into the main theme that you have chosen. For example, if your making a quilt for a baby, you can use common things that are attractive to babies such as toys, animals, alphabets etc. Also since it’s a baby, choose the color wisely. Don’t choose dark colors, but go for soft baby colors such as light pink, light blue, light yellow etc.



Anita

Penny Halgren asked:


Keepsake quilting is one of the most popular reasons people begin to learn the craft. Maybe a daughter is getting married, or a first grandchild is on the way. Both wedding and births are popular occasions to give a keepsake quilt. But where do you start if you are new to quilting all together?

There are plenty of sources to help beginners get into keepsake quilting. Check the books in your local library. Another great source is the Internet. Look for quilting clubs that offer quilting demonstrations online for a little extra help.

Perhaps the easiest way to start your keepsake quilting project is to select the design or pattern you want to use. The “Double Wedding Ring” pattern is popular for weddings and anniversaries. Simple patchwork quilts are easy to make for babies. Other popular keepsake quilts for babies and children are “Sunbonnet Sue” and “Overall Sam” designs.

If you are making your first quilt, you might not be aware of level of difficulty of the patterns you are searching through. Don’t worry about it. You will be happier with the results if you complete the quilt of your choice than if you settled for something strictly of beginner status.

Once you have selected your keepsake quilting pattern, you will need to select fabrics. If you don’t have a color scheme in mind, ask for some help at your local fabric store. Take the pattern with you and ask a sales clerk for help. If you are shopping in a fabric department from a large retail chain, keep in mind that all clerks might not have the same knowledge of fabrics.

Don’t forget the necessary notions, too. You will need thread for piecing your keepsake quilt and thread for quilting the project. Your project will also require batting – which comes in various thicknesses.

If you don’t already have a good pair of scissors to use for cutting fabric, make sure you invest in those. You might choose to use a rotary cutter for your keepsake quilting project. Regardless, it is still important to have a good pair of scissors as part of your quilting gear.

Perhaps you have some quilting experience, but want to make a truly unique keepsake quilt. There are several ways to achieve that. Try a t-shirt quilt. Use favorite old t-shirts to make a quilt that will be a fun way to recall favorite memories for years to come.

If you are making a wedding keepsake quilt, incorporate fabrics and laces from the dress into the quilt. Pieces snipped from the flower girl’s sash, ribbon from the bouquest and color swatches that match the wedding colors would be nice pieces to work into your keepsake wedding quilt.

Photo quilts make great keepsake quilts for children on their way to college or leaving for a job out on their own for the first time. There are plenty of ways to transfer photos to fabrics, and many will last years without much fading. Read up on various techniques and decide which is best for your keepsake quilting project. Digital direct to garment printing offers one option. Since the technology is fairly new, finding a digital printer might be difficult and the process a little more costly than doing the photo as a transfer yourself. But the long-lasting results make the process worth considering.

The important thing to remember when making a keepsake quilt is not to worry or stress over minor imperfections. Focus, instead, on the memories your project will capture. The recipient of your keepsake quilt will be proud to receive your labor of love!



Annie

quiltaholic asked:


You take 2 pieces of fabrics…draw your design on the top one and hand quilt around the image…Then turn to the back and using a large needle, pull dark colored yarns through from the hand quilting stitches to the other side of the design to color in your design.

Miguel

Penny Halgren asked:


le love crafting and are drawn toward quilting, but don’t feel like they have enough talent to sell the quilts they make. They sometimes don’t feel comfortable basing their quilting business around sharing their quilting knowledge. If you are one of those people, there is still a place for you in the quilting market!

All quilters need accessories. Your quilting business could be selling those accessories or niche products geared specifically toward quilters.

There are common accessories that come to mind immediately: scissors, threads, fabrics, etc. You could sell those items on an Internet auction site or start your own online store. With a little research, even someone with very little computer experience can get an online store up and running.

Maybe you would choose to offer only one accessory in your quilting business. You could start a quilting business that focuses on selling fabric fat quarters. You could also start a quilting business that sells nothing but threads.

Advertise this type of business on other websites, such as quilting how-to sites, and quilting newsletters.

Another niche idea to help you start a quilting business is to sell a novelty product that quilters would love. For instance, sell custom pin cushions. Sale online and at craft shows.

You could also sell patterns for dolls or toys that are quilted. If you have sewing skills, you could sew and sell the toys and dolls. A small classified ad in a craft or sewing magazine or newsletter should get the results you need for your quilting business. Also, think about advertising online with quilting and sewing newsletters. If you are sewing the toys yourself, try selling them at craft shows.

If the only thing you love more than quilting is a particular holiday, try combining your two passions into a quilting business. If you love Christmas, start a quilting business in which you sell quilted Christmas d?r. Quilted ornaments, tree skirts, stockings and other decor are very popular.

No matter what your favorite holiday, you can create quilted decorations to sell. Advertise in quilting and sewing newsletters online and buy a small classified line ad in a magazine. These are also great craft show items or sell them from your own website.

Advertising your quilting business does not have to be expensive. After all, the idea is to start a quilting business on a shoestring.

Plenty of newspapers offer free classified advertising. Give those a try. Don’t overlook free online classifieds, too.

Another idea is to join free online groups. Look for groups that relate to your particular quilting business. For instance, if your business is selling patterns for quilted toys, you will undoubtedly think about joining a group for quilters. But, don’t forget other groups like stay-at-home or work-at-home moms, etc. Think about the people who would likely use your product/service.

Be sure to follow the group’s rules. Some specifically state that products cannot be sold on their group sites. Usually, those sites do allow a “signature” in which your name is followed by your business website. Having your name followed by your website is good free advertising!

If you subscribe to a quilting or sewing newsletter, send them a press release when you start your quilting business. Press releases generate free publicity. Even if the newsletter does not use your information in its entirety, you could get a little mention somewhere. Always include your contact information — a phone number, email address or website.

You can also contact your favorite newsletters to see if they accept advertising. Getting a link on your favorite site will undoubtedly reach other subscribers who share your interests!



Frederick

Kay A asked:


My basement floor is unsealed, it produces a dust like substance. I use the space as a quilting studio and this dust gets on my batting and fabrics. I cleaned the floor repeatedly but the “dust” problem just comes back. Is this a by product of concrete curing? The house is only 5 years old.

Bruce