Quilting

Quilting is a relaxing past time that people all over the world enjoy. In the past, quilting was done as a necessary task to provide important and much needed bed covers. The quilts were made by hand, one stitch at a time, sometimes in social settings, but mostly done in the still evenings of winter. Many times they would tell a story by using whatever extra materials that they had on hand. However, quilting is no longer just an activity that grandmothers participate in while rocking in an old rocker, making bed covers to keep their families warm. Over the years quilting has become increasingly easier with advanced technology; therefore, more people have taken up the activity for pleasure more than the need to provide warm bedding for
their homes. As long as the quilter goes step by step and has basic knowledge of the equipment that is necessary, learning to quilt can be easy. Showing a beginner how to quilt is much like showing a adolescent how to ride a bike, once the trade is taught, they never lose touch with their skill and will enjoy the finished project for years.
When beginning a quilt one must first select a pattern. Step by step directions, a list of necessary materials and tools, and a description of the quilt are all included in a pattern. Thousands of patterns can make the choice difficult, but this also means that there is unique patterns for everyone. Once a pattern is picked, the next step is to purchase the correct amount and type of fabric. Selecting fabric is much, much more than just choosing your favorite print or color. A quilter must decide what type of fabric they want to purchase. Different types of fabric include: cotton, linen, polyester, cotton blend, flannel, and many more. Typically, most quilters and patterns prefer that 100% cotton is used when making the quilt. Additionally, cotton is used because of the variety of colors and prints in which it can be purchased and because the fabric is easier to manipulate into the image that is in the quilter’s mind.
After the type of fabric is picked, then come the moment to decide what color or theme the quilt is going to embrace. Themes of quilts range from animals to sports to rainbows. A recent theme that has taken on popularity is the T-shirt quilt. T-shirt quilts are made from recycled T-shirt which are stitched together to create a quilt full of memories. No matter the theme the quilter chooses, there is fabric to match; however, finding quality fabric that matches can be a little more challenging. Quilt shops are more likely to carry quality fabric that won't stretch, fade, unravel, or shrink. A simple way to test to the quality of the fabric is by the “hand” of the fabric. This is to simply feel the fabric; hence, shopping online for fabric can provide to be difficult as the quality can't be felt. Quality fabric can be expensive and with most products, brands of quality are better to purchase, they often retain their color and are more likely will be printed on grain more accurately.
Thread selection would be the next step in the quilt making process.; Thread should be durable, but no too thick and should match the color of the fabric or be a neutral color. Neutral is used when there is a variety of colors in the pattern. A polyester cotton blend or 100 percent cotton thread works best. Always use good quality thread so that the stitches will hold tight and true.
After all the necessary supplies are gathered, the quilter should prepare the fabric to be cut and sewn. Now I know that this sounds strange, but fabric has to be worked with prior to it being used.. The first step a quilter should take is to wash the fabric in a washing machine and then dry it in a dryer. This step ensures that if the fabric is going to shrink or the colors are going to run, it happens before all the time and effort are spent on making the quilt. However, some quilter's do not believe in doing this as it takes the sizing out of the fabric, which takes the crispness from the fabric making it more difficult to cut. Once the fabric is washed and dried, it is then ironed to release all of the wrinkles. This step is very important because the quilter will not have an accurate cut if the wrinkles are left in the fabric; if the fabric is not cut correctly the blocks will not be square, then the whole quilt will be ruined. When cutting the fabric the quilter must be sure to have a sharp, clean cut; the best way to achieve this is by using a cutting mat, acrylic fabric ruler, and a rotary knife. The fabric must be squared up on the grain with the selvage laying flat before the cutting begins to ensure that the fabric will not stretch as it goes under the presser foot on the sewing machine. Next, the quilter will want to lay out all the pieces in the correct order to ensure that all of fabric is cut into the right sizes and shapes for the blocks. Blocks are the sections of the quilt that are repeated. It is always best to measure twice and cut once. This will help keep the cost down so that additional fabric does not have to be purchased for mistakes.
Once the quilter is pleased with how the layout of the quilt looks, the next step is to begin pinning. While pining, the quilter should refer back to the pattern to make sure that they are pinning the correct pieces together. After pinning the first set of pieces together, the quilter can begin to sew. Sewing a quilt together is all about straight lines and correct seam allowance; the straighter the lines the easier to piece together.
Correct and even seam allowances help keep all the blocks squared.
People are frightened at the idea of making a quilt, but out of all of the projects a sewer could decide to create, a quilt could be one of the more simple things. With many of the simpler patterns, there are no curved edges, no zippers, and no worries if it is going to fit once the project is done. There are more in depth patterns for more experienced quilter's, but starting with an easier pattern will make the inexperience enjoy the process more. At first, the idea of making a quilt can seem overwhelming; however, if the quilt is broken up into sections and took step by step, it is then easier to approach and accomplish. The quilter should begin to sew all the blocks together; this is approached by sequence sewing. Every piece of fabric is sewn strategically to create the block, then once that is complete the blocks are then sewn together to create rows. After all the rows are completed, they are then sewn together to create the quilt top. To increase the size of the quilt top without adding more blocks, a quilter would add a boarder. Boarders, some small, some large, are strips of fabric, that added around the rows. A quilter will use like colors or contrasting fabric to accent and to frame the quilt top. One, two, or more boarders might be added. By this point,
a quilter can really picture how the finished product will look after completion.
After the front is finished, the batting must be added between the back and the quilt top. The back must be prepared. Most material will not be large enough to cover the whole back of the quilt, in order to get a backing big enough, two pieces of fabric are sewn together to create a larger piece. Before the back and the front are joined together, the quilter should cut any loose threads and press all seams. Then the front and back are pinned together with the batting in between before the quilting of the top is started. This step ensures that the top and bottom pieces do not shift while the quilting process takes place.
To join the front to the back it can be tied or quilted. Tying a quilt together consists of using some type of thread or yarn in various points around the quilt in a large stitch that catch all layers and then is brought up and tied off. You can quilt a quilt by hand or machine. Hand quilting can be tedious but is a beautiful skill that few have mastered. Most quilts are stitched by machine. Either on a larger machine for this purpose or on a smaller home machine using a walking foot to ensure even stitches.
Once the layers are all quilted or tied, a binding must be added to finish the edges.
This binding usually matches the other fabrics within the quilt top, but does not have to. It just adds a finished look as well as completing the edges. To add the binding, strips of fabrics must be sewn together in enough length to go all around the quilt. It is then stitched to the quilt front all the way around. To finish the binding, the binding is then folded over the edge of the quilt and sewn from the back buy either using a hand stitch or machine stitch. Hand stitching results in a prettier quilt, but machine stitched binding might be more durable.
A quilt is not finished until it has been signed by the quilt maker. This is done by adding a “label” to the back with the signature of the quilter. In addition to the signature, the pattern and the date is often added. In conclusion, learning how to quilt is not a difficult task as long as one goes step by step through the process. It does help to have an understanding of the equipment needed and basic quilting terms. Quilting is such an enjoyable skill that more and more people are learning everyday. From purchasing fabric to the last stitch, quilting is all about building on to the step before the next. No matter what you make or who you make it for, enjoy the process of building a beautiful work of art. Don’t let the fear of inexperience keep you from creating your own fiber-arts
masterpiece.