This  post is part of my Learn to Quilt series. You can find all related posts {here}.

Welcome to Lesson 2 in the Learn to Quilt series. This series is aimed at the beginner quilter so we are starting with the absolute basics, like “Basting? Isn’t that for turkeys?” Here is a list of definitions that you will come across in the quilting world.

DEFINITIONS

Scant 1/4” – We talked about the scant 1/4′ seam in Lesson 1 and I’ve included the photo below as a refresher. A scant 1/4′ seam is slightly less than a true 1/4″.

Basting – This is not just for turkeys! Basting is the process of adhering your quilt backing to your batting and your  quilt top so you can quilt it. Basting can be done a variety of ways: by hand with a needle and thread, with quilter’s safety pins, with basting spray adhesive, with fusible batting, and the easiest way – by rolling the three layers onto a longarm frame. There are different reasons for using each method of basting, which I will cover in Lesson 8.

Basting with Safety Pins

Quilt Sandwich – Mmm. Lots of food talk in this lesson. A quilt sandwich is the term for your layers of backing, batting, and quilt top. The fabric is the bread and the batting is the filling.

Binding – This is the finishing touch on your quilt. The binding is the fabric that is sewn around the raw edges of the quilt to hold everything together and make it look finished (and pretty!). It’s like a frame for your quilt.

Quilt with Red + Aqua Checked Binding

Piecing – The simple act of sewing pieces of fabric together. All of the sewing you do to put your quilt top together is called piecing.

Quilting – This is the decorative sewing that holds your three layers together (backing, batting, and quilt top).

Block – A block is the basic unit that makes up the quilt. There are endless varieties of block designs.

Quilt Block

Quilt back – This is very simply the fabric that goes on the back of your quilt.

Batting – Batting is the filler layer between your quilt top and your backing. There are many different kinds of batting, but the most often used is cotton or a cotton/poly blend.

Rotary Cutter – A rotary cutter is like a pizza slicer for fabric. It has an extremely sharp blade and is the only cutting tool you will need for quilting.

Points – Points are the spots where your quilt blocks meet up. Matching points is a skill you will want to master.

Easy to See Points in a Hexagon Quilt Top

Feed Dogs – These are the things that move your fabric under the foot.

Feed Dogs

Free Motion – When you lower your feed dogs so that they no longer move the fabric for you, you have the freedom to move your fabric any direction you wish. This is called free motion, and is used for thread painting and quilting.

Selvedge – The edges of your fabric. One selvedge is typically printed with the manufacturer’s info and the other is a continuation of the fabric print.

RESOURCES

There are endless resources for quilting so I’ve limited the list below to the ones that I personally use.

Moda Bake Shop - A website run by Moda Fabrics with hundreds of free, step-by-step tutorials.

Quiltville - Bonnie Hunter is a master of using fabric scraps and her website is full of tips and patterns.

Quilter’s Cache – Marcia Hohn has compiled a huge range of quilt block patterns (all free!).

Public library – Your local library branch will have a few basic sewing books and depending on the size of your town, maybe even some recent quilting books. It’s definitely worth checking out.

Half Price Books – This store is a great place to browse quilting books and buy them for a reasonable price. Even older books with dated fabrics can be an invaluable resource for patterns so don’t judge a book by its cover.

Flickr – Flickr is a photo sharing website with a huge quilting community. Start an account and share your projects. You can join groups and find online quilting bees and swaps on Flickr.

Etsy – Etsy is an online marketplace with lots of small shops selling every imaginable handmade item, vintage goods, and crafting/sewing supplies. Create an account and browse shops to find ones that carry fabric you like. Even if you don’t buy right away, add the shop to your list of favorites so you can keep up with their inventory.

Pinterest – Pinterest is the ultimate inspiration website. If you are online and reading blogs, the odds are very good that you already have a Pinterest account. If not, go create one ASAP. Check out my boards for inspiration.

Instagram – This is an iPhone app that is growing into my favorite place to chat and socialize “online” with other quilters. I describe it as Twitter for photos. You can see my Instagram feed here to get an idea of what it’s all about.

True Up – This website is the ultimate resource for all things fabric-related.

Your local quilt shop – This is the place to really get started. Go in and check out their class schedule, browse the fabric, meet the staff. Even if you do most of your fabric shopping online, your local shop is the place for notions and tools.

This is really just a drop in the bucket in terms of inspiration and resources. If you have any favorites, please share them in the comments.

See you next Monday for Lesson 3 – Learn to Quilt: Tools of the Trade.

This  post is part of my Learn to Quilt series. You can find all related posts {here}.

Welcome to Lesson 1 of learning to quilt! We already covered the reasons why you should start quilting. Let me tell you how. Baby steps! At this point, we are just talking about this stuff, In later lessons, I will show you step by step how put this information into action and actually make a quilt.

To become a quilter, you will need to know a few basic skills:

1. Basic sewing machine operation | Threading the needle, winding a bobbin, changing feet, cleaning out the lint. You can probably learn all of those things from your machine manual, YouTube, or at a basic sewing class in your town. (in Dallas, I recommend Urban Spools).  These steps vary by machine but I’ll show you the one that I didn’t learn until I got my second sewing machine. No lie…How to Thread the Needle (with an auto threader). I always thought my first machine didn’t have a needle threader but when I went to test new machines, the sales lady demonstrated the needle threader and I realized…”duh. That’s what that thing is.”

2. Sewing a straight line | At it’s most basic, quilting is easier than any other type of sewing. It’s is all straight lines (except when it’s curved lines, but we will get to that much later). Seriously. There is only one trick to sewing straight lines…use your presser foot as a guide.

3. Using a rotary cutter | Sharp and dangerous, rotary cutters are the James Bond of the craft world. I used to work in a corporate environment where every meeting started with a safety minute. Think that way when working with the rotary cutter. They are sharp and they will slice your fingertip off like nobody’s business. And then you’ll bleed all over your pretty fabric and that will be a tragedy. Olfa has a section on their website dedicated to safety and I recommend you read it. My personal rules of rotary cutting are:

• Always cover the blade with the built-in cover when I’m not cutting. Even if I just set it down for a second, it is second nature to me to cover the blade. This is a MUST when you have little ones at home. Imagine this scenario – you are cutting fabric and get distracted by {fill in the blank}. Your cutting surface is covered with fabrics hanging over the edge where little hands can reach them. Little one pulls the fabric and the open rotary blade on himself. Don’t let this happen at your house.
• Never cut towards yourself. Always cut away from your body. This may seem awkward at first, but it’s important. A woman my sister worked with was cutting design board stuff with an x-acto blade and stabbed herself in the stomach with it. Embarrassing, yes, but more importantly, painful and pretty bad for your health (She was fine, FYI.)
• Replace your blade when it stops cutting well. Rotary blades are expensive but working with damaged ones causes you to cut in an unsafe manner. You’ll find yourself using excess pressure to cut through your fabric and that’s a recipe for disaster.

4. Maintaining an accurate scant 1/4″ seam (that sounds intimidating with scant and a fraction thrown in there, but it’s not difficult.)  | All patchwork is pieced (sewn together) with a 1/4″ seam, but you will sometimes read patterns that specify a scant 1/4″ and that is what you should strive for. in all of your piecing. So what’s the difference? All modern sewing machines have markings on them indicating various seams allowances (5/8″, 1/2″ etc). The photo below shows two pieces of patchwork I pieced on my machine:

For the top set, I used my regular foot and lined the edges up with the 1/4″ mark on my machine, For the bottom set, I used my 1/4″ foot and lined the edges up with the edge of the foot. That slight difference you see between the two seams is what will make a world of difference when piecing an entire quilt top.  That fraction of a difference will add up with each seam you piece in your quilt. If you don’t’ start with scant 1/4″ seams, you will have a tough time getting your points to match and your quilt blocks will always be undersized. So my first piece of advice to a potential quilter is this: buy a 1/4″ foot for your machine.

5. Pressing Seams |  This is not the same as forcing wrinkles out of khaki pants. Crank your iron up to the highest setting and press from the top of the seam, not the back. Use starch if desired (I do desire and use lots of starch). Press the light fabrics towards the darker fabrics. That’s the general rule of quilting + pressing. Sometimes you will probably have to break this rule but make it your habit to press light to dark.

6. Squaring Up | Squaring up means you take your pieced block and use a rotary cutter and a ruler to trim it down to the correct size. This can be a tedious step, but don’t skip it because you will see a huge difference in your finished project if you don’t square up.

Questions? Fire away in the comments.

See you Thursday for Lesson 2 | Learn to Quilt: Quilting Definitions & Resources