How To Make A Quilt
Quilts have for a long time been associated with Europe and more precisely Scotland, alongside the bagpipes and other such cultures. However, many different cultures have had their own variants of quilts. Though considered old in some circles, the quilt is quickly coming back as a household item and fashion statement. As such, may be looking for ways on how to make a quilt.
The initial steps in quilt making largely involve preparation of the tools and materials needed in the process. The procedure to be followed to achieve the desired result may either be the traditional one which is rather manual, or the newer methods which involve use of more automation by several machines to ease the workload and reduce and time required.
The first thing you should do is prepare your tools. These include comfortable and adequately sharp scissors or rotary cutters, a flat, comfortable cutting surface, sufficient and good quality fabric, a sewing machine, needles and thread, a ruler preferably 5 inches wide and 12-30 inches long, depending on the size of your quilt. Other prerequisites include a good batting material, an iron and a basic quilt pattern guide.
Once you have all the materials you need, what follows is cutting up the material for the upper part of your quilt. Since most designs are made of regular shapes of various designs and layouts, you should begin by cutting out your preferred shapes. Squares are most preferred for their symmetry and ease of sewing together.
The cut out shapes are then placed on the pattern guide before being sewn together. The size of the quilt may however not allow for easy laying out of the shapes if it is larger than the available work space. In such a case, you may sew them together row wise or column wise and then sew them all together to form the front part of the quilt.
With the front part complete, focus now shifts to the middle part or filling, known as the batting, as well as the back part. These are relatively easy to make since they only require you to cut their respective materials appropriately. They generally require a wider and longer cut to accommodate scrunching of the material after sewing.
Once the cutting is done, the three parts are arranged in their respective order and pinned together. This is done to prevent moving around during final sewing. Unwanted spaces inside and wrinkles should be removed at this point. Sewing is done from the middle outward, with diagonal seams sewn in as support. A binding material is sewn in to give a finished look to the quilt.
Making quilts and sewing of different things in general has been deduced to having several therapeutic benefits. In addition to this, other benefits of learning how to make the quilt include making use of extra and unused material laying around. It may also evolve to be a nice hobby as well as a source of joy when the quilt is given as a gift.
The initial steps in quilt making largely involve preparation of the tools and materials needed in the process. The procedure to be followed to achieve the desired result may either be the traditional one which is rather manual, or the newer methods which involve use of more automation by several machines to ease the workload and reduce and time required.
The first thing you should do is prepare your tools. These include comfortable and adequately sharp scissors or rotary cutters, a flat, comfortable cutting surface, sufficient and good quality fabric, a sewing machine, needles and thread, a ruler preferably 5 inches wide and 12-30 inches long, depending on the size of your quilt. Other prerequisites include a good batting material, an iron and a basic quilt pattern guide.
Once you have all the materials you need, what follows is cutting up the material for the upper part of your quilt. Since most designs are made of regular shapes of various designs and layouts, you should begin by cutting out your preferred shapes. Squares are most preferred for their symmetry and ease of sewing together.
The cut out shapes are then placed on the pattern guide before being sewn together. The size of the quilt may however not allow for easy laying out of the shapes if it is larger than the available work space. In such a case, you may sew them together row wise or column wise and then sew them all together to form the front part of the quilt.
With the front part complete, focus now shifts to the middle part or filling, known as the batting, as well as the back part. These are relatively easy to make since they only require you to cut their respective materials appropriately. They generally require a wider and longer cut to accommodate scrunching of the material after sewing.
Once the cutting is done, the three parts are arranged in their respective order and pinned together. This is done to prevent moving around during final sewing. Unwanted spaces inside and wrinkles should be removed at this point. Sewing is done from the middle outward, with diagonal seams sewn in as support. A binding material is sewn in to give a finished look to the quilt.
Making quilts and sewing of different things in general has been deduced to having several therapeutic benefits. In addition to this, other benefits of learning how to make the quilt include making use of extra and unused material laying around. It may also evolve to be a nice hobby as well as a source of joy when the quilt is given as a gift.