Throughout last weekend and this week, I have conducted some research in order to fully commit to learning how to successfully make a quilt. I have started getting my materials after I researched what I'll need. It is important for me to achieve success because I have a tendency to quit sewing projects after I had just begun them. I decided I would make a quilt that would fit perfectly across my lap to keep me warm as well as brightening up the room. My research has included the following: What are the basic quilting definitions or lingo I need to know? 1. Backing: the bottom part of the quilt, typically made of one solid piece of fabric. Most times this fabric is white - I like to use sheets for this! 2. Batting: the cushy middle of a quilt - can be made from cotton, polyester or wool. Typically bought according to the size of the quilt you're making - found in rolls. 3. Bias-tape: strips of fabric used to bind the edges of a quilt. 4. Binding: the edging of a quilt - it encases the raw edges. 5. Blocks: a piece of fabric made from sewing squares together. 6. Piecing: sewing together pieces of fabric to form the top layer of the quilt, typically done in blocks. 7. Quilt sandwich: The three layers - top, batting, backing. 8. Quilt top: pieced fabric, typically put together in blocks. 9. Quilting: sewing through multiple layers of fabric to create one thick layer - typically involves three parts: cloth top, batting middle, cloth bottom. 10. Seam allowance: the standard seam allowance for quilting is 1/4 inch. 11. Square: smaller pieces of fabric that are sewn together to make a larger, square piece of fabric. In this case, we will be sewing together 9 small blocks to make one large square. A quilt top is made up of these blocks sewn together. What materials are required? I would need to acquire micro-tip scissors, an Ergo control rotary cutter (45 mm), a cutting mat (18" x 24"), Razor-edge Softgrip Scissors, a 5x24 transparent plastic ruler, straight pins, safety pins, seam ripper, high quality cotton thread, fabric squares/patterns, cotton batting (filling), iron and ironing board, sewing machine and walking foot for the machine, and the sewing pattern instructions. What are some qu ilting patterns to choose from? I saw these quilts online and I thought these would be great to choose my final pattern from. You can see the different patterns in the slide show that I really liked and believed each one would be fun yet challenging to make. I did not want to quit this project and I decided the pattern on the right is the pattern I want to make as my quilt. Now it's time to start sewing my quilt!!! | Above: This is the pattern I have chosen for my quilt! I love the use of all these bright and vibrant colors and I cannot wait to make this beautiful quilt. |