Beginner quilting tip number 1: Equipment
You could spend a small fortune on quilting equipment even before you have bought the fabric. It's difficult to know at this stage how much quilting you are likely to do, so don't get carried away and buy half the shop until you are sure that you want to continue quilting - although the chances are that you will continue.
You must have a decent pair of fabric scissors. These need to be sharp and have long blades but you may have some household scissors that fit that description. That's fine. Just keep them separate and don't let anyone use them for cutting paper or anything else that will blunt them too quickly.
You will definitely need a stitch unpicker. Trust me - I don't think I have made a quilt yet where I haven't needed to unpick something along the way.
A rotary cutter, ruler and cutting mat are probably a necessity if you do much quilting, and they certainly do save time and improve accuracy, but the first quilters didn't have any of these accessories and they produced beautiful quilts.
A sewing machine is useful and saves a lot of time. If you don't have one, it's perfectly possible to complete a quilt with hand sewing only, but don't expect to make a quilt in a weekend. If you have a basic machine, that will cope adequately with your needs. Don't feel you need one of the new all singing all dancing machines.
An uncluttered workspace is a necessity. Whether you have a dedicated sewing room or plan to use the dining room table, do clear it before you begin quilting. Otherwise you will find yourself hunting for that pen that you know was there but has in fact now been buried in fabric, or searching for the green 4" fabric squares which are now underneath the evening newspaper.
Beginner quilting tip number 2: Planning Think carefully about what quilt you want to make and for whom. Cousin Janice's baby isn't really going to need a double bed sized quilt with a really complicated quilt design. By the same token, your partner probably won't thank you for a baby sized pink quilt with ruffles.
Some quilters feel that once you have begun quilting you can keep going and make the quilt as large as you want. I can see the logic but a large quilt is more difficult to put together and it takes longer before you see the results of your work. Personally I would advise a relatively small quilt with a simple design for a beginner quilting project.
Beginner quilting tip number 3: Accuracy
There's no other way to say it: size does matter.
In a patchwork quilt you could have hundreds of patchwork pieces coming together to make your completed quilt. If these pieces have not been cut accurately, a small variation can become very noticeable when multiplied up hundreds of times. Almost all quilting is based on a 1/4" seam, not the 5/8" seam that you may be used to if you have done much dressmaking. Again, small variations in seam widths can lead to major distortions by the time your quilt top is completed.
The most important factor when you come to sandwich together the three layers of your quilt is how flat each layer is. If you have been tugging at bits to try and make the seams match when they are quite obviously about half an inch apart, your quilt top is going to be lumpy and bumpy. That means that your overall quilt is going to be lumpy and bumpy. Save yourself time and frustration by cutting and sewing accurately.
I hope that these tips will have allayed some of your fears, but for more tips and advice on beginner quilting, visit ludlow quilt and sew.
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