Say the word “quilting,” and people think of a room full of old women sewing blankets. Today, quilters are more likely to be young people, artisans seeking new forms of expression. The craft brings together people from around the globe through color, pattern, and fabric.
Explaining Quilting for Beginners translates as “making a fabric sandwich.” A quilt is made of three layers, with the quilt top and backing the “bread” and the batting the insides of the sandwich. Newcomers to the art should start with a small project, using squares or rectangles as the quilt pieces.
Hand quilting requires little in the way of materials. Quilters needles are specialized. They must be sturdy and sharp to pierce three layers of fabric. They come in sizes 8, 9, or 10. An 8 is a good size for Quilting for Beginners. You need a thimble to protect your finger as you push the needle through the fabric, too.
Quilter’s cotton thread has a wax coating. Quilters may also use a thread conditioner on untreated cotton thread, or run the thread across a block of beeswax before threading their needle. Coating the thread keeps it from tangling. Choose a thread color that disappears on the background color of your fabric.
Hand quilters use quilting hoops, or quilting stands to hold the layers of the quilt “sandwich” together during stitching. Hoops are portable whereas frames must stay in place until all the stitching is finished. Hoops and stands keep the tension of the fabric consistent, making it easier to create even, pucker-free stitches.
Other handy tools a beginning quilter needs includes a rotary fabric cutter, quilter’s ruler, quilting stencils, a seam ripper, pins, fabric markers, an iron and ironing board, and self-healing cutting mats. Visit us website for more details about
Quilting For Beginners including step-by-step basics of each stitch, quilt fabric calculators, templates, and tutorials. Start your quilting adventure today!
